| Out of Saigon - Cao Dai Temple tips and photos posted by real travelers and Ho Chi Minh City locals. • 34 Photos
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A "new" religion (quite confined only to the province of Tay Ninh), absorbing an eclectic mix of elements from other worldly religions (Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam to name a few). I am sure you could arrange a day tour out (the agencies usually tying the Cu Chi tunnels with the Cao Dai temples) and have a look at Caodai-ism. Rather amusing. The symbol of the religion is "The Eye" symbolising truth (see attached picture). Leave a Comment
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Cao Dai is a relatively young religion and a modern fusion incorporating the elements of major religions as well as famous world leaders and their moral principles.
All of tourists were escorted by our tour guide to second floor with our cameras clicking as the ceremony proceeding on the ground floor. As the devotees are praying or meditating, we kept a quiet respectful presence.
It is a unique South Vietnamese religion with its ardent followers The ceremony is slow moving. The decor is eye catching and ornate to say the least. After taking all the pictures, we were more ready to go.
You usually can go to this temple as part of your Cui Chi Tunnel tour. So that makes it a full day tour outside Saigon. Recommend worth seeing.
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You are allowed into the temple during prayer times. Men and women enter through separate doors and you take off your shoes. You go up to the balcony and observe from above, the worshippers chant and bow before the ‘eye’. There is a large sphere with an eye looking at the worshippers. Leave a Comment
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If you book a tour to Cu chi they usually include this as well.
The temple holds it's service around lunchtime and hundreds of tourists come along to watch from the upstairs balcony.
The worshippers are very colourful and not a bit fazed by the huge audience they have. Photography is allowed inside but some of the areas outside are cordoned off so good pics of the outside are difficult to get. Leave a Comment Address: Tay Ninh
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I did a day trip to this temple and the Cu Chi tunnels. This temple is really a must see, make sure that you are there for the midday masS. The main attraction is the Great Divine Temple. It was built between 1933 and 1955. The Divine Eye represents supreme knowledge and wisdom. There are nearly 3million worshippers belonging to this religion. The coloured robes worn by some, mean that they are a higher ranking. It was quite an experience to see. The tour cost to see both was $7us, lunch not included.
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Cao Dai worship 4 times a day, noon, 6pm, 12 midnight & 6am in the morning.
Male worshipers will dress like some muslim outfit & female worshipers will dress in white Ao Dai.
Note:
Please do not mistaken Vietnamese female students as Cao Dai devotees as their school uniform is actually white Ao Dai too. Cao Dai religion is mostly popular at Tay Ninh districts only. Leave a Comment Address: Tay Ninh Districts
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The Cao Dai Temple was a 3-hour ride away from Ho Chi Minh City Centre. We boarded the bus at 0815h outside Sinh Cafe, arrived at around 11 plus, and watched the praying ritual (held at 12 noon).
The devotees were dressed in robes of different colours, each colour a symbol of different religion -
Yellow: Buddhism
Red: Confucianism
Blue: Taoism
White: other religion
Visitors had to remove their shoes before entering the temple. The temple itself was colouful, a blend of different styles of architecture. This is one place where you will find paintings of Chinese unicorns, phoenix and turtle, together with Victor Hugo (one of Cao Daism's saints), etc.
To sum it up, it was a weird sight to behold, but very interesting, nevertheless. Leave a Comment Directions: Contact Sinh Cafe for tour reservations (See my Cu Chi tunnel tip).
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The Cao Dai Holy See was founded in 1926. I took the tourist cafe tour in which you arrive there for the noon mass. It is an interesting and colourful place that is worth seeing. Most tours combine this trip with a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels.
Caodaism is an attempt to create the ideal religeon by mixing and matching all other religions. So you have pieces of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam all thrown together. The whole religion is based on a man named Ngo Minh Chieu who received messages revealed during seances. Most baffling is the reverence for people such as Victor Hugo in a religious context.
The religion does stress love for one another and the belief that God resides within each of us. There are now around 2 million followers of this faith. Leave a Comment Address: Tay NinhDirections: Tours from Pham Ngu Lao are $4
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Caodaism combines the three main religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism and includes Christianity, Islam and the traditional Vietnamese Cult of Ancestor Worship.
The Army of Caodai were once aided French to fight Viet Minh. Leave a Comment
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This colourful temple is located in Tay Ninh and it hosts a religion founded in 1920s by Ngo Minh Chieu. This unique religion combines religions from east and west. The temple attracts many tourists during noontime prayer and ceremony. The colourfully attired followers in red, blue, yellow and white chant religious hymns while tourists take pictures of the ceremony from the second level of the temple. It is worth visiting this colourful temple. From Saigon daily tours including Caodai Temple visit and Cu Chi Tunnels cost around 8 USD, Address: Tay Ninh
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