About five kilometers from the center of former Bạc Liêu toward Hưng Hội commune, past fruit orchards, a red-and-gold main hall roof rises above the trees with three tiers and Nāga serpent finials at the gables. Inside, the walls and pillars are completely covered in polychrome reliefs that read in sequence from the Buddha's birth to his enlightenment.
Vietnamese residents in the area call it Chùa Cù Lao (Cù Lao Pagoda), after the hamlet name. Its formal name is Ghositaram, a Pāli name. This is a community (phum sóc) pagoda of the Khmer people, practicing Khmer Theravāda Buddhism, and was founded in 1860. VietnamPlus calls the pagoda a museum of Khmer fine arts in Cà Mau.
IThe Pāli name and the Khmer Theravāda tradition
Ghositaram is a rendering of the Pāli name Ghositārāma. In the Pāli Canon, Ghositārāma was the name of a monastery in the city of Kosambī during the lifetime of the Buddha, named after the wealthy householder Ghosita who built and donated it. The word ārāma means a park or grove where monks dwell and train. Giving a pagoda in the Mekong Delta the name of a monastery in India from more than two thousand years ago connects the temple directly to the scriptures chanted by its monks. Sources also record the spellings Ghôsitaram and Ghoshitaram. The library has not found a sourced indigenous Khmer name for the pagoda and therefore does not list one.
Where Khmer Theravāda stands. Buddhism in Vietnam has two major streams. Northern Buddhism (Bắc Tông), practiced largely by Kinh and Chinese communities, reads Mahāyāna scriptures through Classical Chinese and venerates numerous Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Southern Buddhism (Nam Tông) preserves the Pāli Canon and follows the Theravāda monastic way of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. The Khmer people of southern Vietnam follow this second stream, known as Khmer Theravāda Buddhism (Phật Giáo Nam Tông Khmer). The sanctuary enshrines only Shakyamuni Buddha, and the monks keep the Pāli bhikkhu precepts and go on morning alms rounds. There is no generational Dharma-name gāthā as in Northern Buddhist ancestral temples, because Theravāda transmission passes through ordination rather than verse characters.
A pagoda in a Khmer village community (phum sóc) is also more than a place of worship. According to phatgiao.org.vn and Vietnam Pictorial (quoting Mr. Thạch Phol, head of the pagoda's management board), Ghositaram is a center of monastic study as well as a school offering general cultural classes, Buddhist doctrine, Pāli script, Khmer script, Vietnamese script, and traditional five-tone music (nhạc ngũ âm) for local children. The Vietnam News Agency notes the custom whereby boys around fourteen or fifteen years of age enter the pagoda as novices for a period to repay their parents' kindness and learn the Dharma, literacy, and conduct.
Many travel pages call Ghositaram a miniature Thailand because of its multi-tiered pointed roofs and red-and-gold palette. That description is misleading. This is a pagoda of the Khmer people of southern Vietnam, not a Thai temple. Multi-tiered roofs, Nāga motifs, and gilded ornament are a shared heritage of Theravāda Buddhist architecture across mainland Southeast Asia, with each culture maintaining its own distinct style. Meanwhile, the name Cù Lao (meaning islet) is the name of the hamlet and does not mean the pagoda stands on an island in a river.
IIFrom 1860 to the new main hall
According to phatgiao.org.vn, VietnamPlus, and the Vietnam News Agency, the pagoda was founded in 1860 on grounds of about four hectares. The Bạc Liêu Buddhism portal records that its first inauguration ceremony took place in 1872. The name of the founding monk has not been identified in available sources. The same portal notes that the present abbot is Most Venerable Hữu Hinh. The largest milestone in recent decades was the reconstruction of the main hall, which took nearly a decade.
- 1860Pagoda foundedThe pagoda was built in Cù Lao hamlet on a plot of about four hectares, according to phatgiao.org.vn and VietnamPlus.
- 1872First inaugurationRecorded by the Bạc Liêu Buddhism portal (Phật Giáo Bạc Liêu).
- 2001New main hall begunConstruction began on November 11, 2001, according to VietnamPlus.
- 2010Main hall inaugurated (per VietnamPlus)VietnamPlus records that the main hall was completed and inaugurated in March 2010, and articles in Ngày Nay and phatgiao.org.vn also give 2010 as the completion year.
- 2011Ten years after groundbreakingA Vietnam Pictorial article reprinted on phatgiao.org.vn states that the main hall was rebuilt in 2001 and completed ten years later, with the ornamental relief work alone taking four years.
Two points in the sources require close comparison. The first is the completion date of the main hall. VietnamPlus states that construction began on November 11, 2001 and the inauguration ceremony took place in March 2010 (after more than eight and a half years), while Ngày Nay and a 2022 article on phatgiao.org.vn likewise state that it was completed in 2010. Meanwhile, a Vietnam Pictorial article reprinted on phatgiao.org.vn writes that the main hall was rebuilt in 2001 and completed ten years later (around 2011). The second point is the height of the structure. VietnamPlus gives the main hall's height as 36.3 meters, and articles on phatgiao.org.vn and Ngày Nay give over 36 meters or 36 meters, whereas the figure of over 40 meters mentioned on some travel websites refers to the two ceremonial flagpoles (cột phướn) in the courtyard rather than the main hall itself.
Distinct role alongside Xiêm Cán Pagoda. About 7.8 kilometers away stands Xiêm Cán Pagoda, also belonging to Khmer Theravāda Buddhism, a major coastal temple built in 1887 with Angkor-style tower architecture that the library covers in a separate entry. Ghositaram is the older foundation, dating to 1860, and is renowned for its rebuilt main hall and narrative reliefs of the Buddha's life. Also in the vicinity, about 7.5 kilometers away, is the Bạc Liêu Avalokiteśvara Shrine (Quan Âm Phật Đài), a Northern Buddhist site belonging to a different stream from this pagoda.
IIIThe main hall and its relief cycle
The pagoda compound covers about four hectares, fronted by a tall row of palmyra palms according to Vietnam Pictorial, and contains the main hall, lecture hall, monks' quarters, stupas, school, and guest house (an xá) according to VietnamPlus. The main hall is the centerpiece of the temple, covering 427.5 square meters and rising 36.3 meters high, with a three-tiered overlapping Khmer roof, pointed spires, five-headed Nāga serpents along the gables and eaves, and red-lacquered, gold-gilded columns. VietnamPlus notes that the lotus-petal and rosette motifs carry the imprint of Khmer art and the Angkor style.
Covering the walls and columns of the main hall, they narrate the Buddha's life from birth to enlightenment alongside doctrinal tales and scenes of daily Khmer village life. According to Vietnam Pictorial and Ngày Nay, the sculpting and painting alone took four years to complete.
The roof rises in three tiers, with five-headed Nāga serpents extending from the eaves and balustrades. In Theravāda tradition, the Nāga recalls the serpent king who sheltered the Buddha from rain during meditation.
The Bạc Liêu Buddhism portal records that the abbot's reception room preserves nineteenth-century palm-leaf scriptures (lá buông), including the Pāli Nikāyas (Dīgha, Majjhima, Aṅguttara, Saṃyutta, and Khuddaka) and four groups of folk Satra texts including Satra Rương (narrative tales), Satra Lbeng (folk games and customs), and Satra Chơ-bắp (didactic moral verses). The Khmer knowledge and technique of writing on palm leaves is recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Offers general cultural classes, Buddhist doctrine, Pāli script, Khmer script, Vietnamese script, and traditional five-tone music for local children, according to Vietnam Pictorial and phatgiao.org.vn.
The relief cycle here serves as a wordless scripture. Worshippers walking along the walls of the main hall read the life of the Buddha in order from his birth, renunciation, and ascetic practice to his meditation beneath the Bodhi tree and enlightenment, interspersed with scenes of Khmer community life. For elders in the village who do not read Pāli script, these panels are a visual way of learning the Dharma. The palm-leaf manuscripts preserve the written tradition. According to Most Venerable Hữu Hinh on the Bạc Liêu Buddhism portal, the exact number of palm leaves has not been fully inventoried because the paper catalogs were lost when the scriptures were moved from the old monks' quarters to the new building, and the bundles are now wrapped in cloth and kept in glass cabinets in the abbot's reception room.
Some websites call the main hall of Ghositaram the largest Khmer main hall in Vietnam. The library has not found a comparative survey measuring other Khmer main halls across the country, and therefore records only the dimensions of this temple. Visitors should also note that the main hall seen today is the structure rebuilt from 2001, not the original 1860 building. The age of the pagoda lies in its site and in the continuous monastic life of the hamlet, not in the new masonry.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional geomancy, not a doctrine recorded in the pagoda's texts. Khmer Theravāda Buddhism does not use Chinese-Vietnamese geomancy to select sites. Khmer pagodas follow their own rule of orienting the main hall toward the east, rooted in the belief that the Buddha sat facing east when he attained enlightenment. The sources on Ghositaram consulted by the library do not separately record a compass bearing for this building, so this discussion addresses the shared Khmer custom rather than a site measurement. The paragraphs below offer a comparative reading for readers familiar with the traditional Vietnamese way of reading land.
The Cù Lao hamlet area lies on the flat alluvial plain of the Cà Mau peninsula, surrounded by long-established fruit orchards, including the old longan gardens well known in former Bạc Liêu. On flat land without mountains or high mounds, trees are what gather and hold qi for a sacred site. A four-hectare compound ringed by orchards forms a windbreak, especially against the dry-season easterly winds, and keeps the courtyard cool. In traditional Vietnamese geomancy, this acts as an embracing ring built of trees in place of hills.
Regarding the eastern orientation, traditional Five Phases theory associates the east with Wood, the direction of rising life force and morning light. A main hall facing east receives the early morning sun directly upon the Buddha image. The Khmer tradition chooses this direction for its own doctrinal reason, and the Vietnamese geomantic reading happens to converge on the same compass point.
Most striking of all is the vertical height. A main hall roof rising more than thirty-six meters above a flat plain performs the role that a mountain plays elsewhere, becoming a landmark visible across the surrounding countryside. In traditional geomantic thought, a tall structure on flat ground serves as a point where qi converges. For the villagers of the hamlet, it is above all the roof of their own pagoda, visible from every field and orchard.
VKhmer festivals through the year
The Vietnam News Agency notes that major Khmer festivals such as Sene Đôlta, the robe-offering ceremony, and Chôl Chnăm Thmây draw large crowds to the pagoda. Alongside those three celebrations, the temple observes the full liturgical calendar of Khmer Theravāda Buddhism.
| Time | Festival | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-April (solar calendar) | Chôl Chnăm Thmây | The three-day Khmer New Year festival, when villagers come to the pagoda to bathe Buddha statues and build sand stupas. |
| 15th day of the 4th lunar month | Visak Bochea | Commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and Parinibbāna of the Buddha. |
| 15th day of the 6th lunar month | Chôl Vôssa | Monks enter the three-month rains retreat (vassa). |
| Late 8th to early 9th lunar month | Sene Đôlta | Ancestor memorial festival, when families bring food offerings to the monks and dedicate merit to deceased relatives. |
| 15th day of the 9th lunar month | Chênh Vôssa | Monks conclude the three-month rains retreat. |
| After the rains retreat until the 15th day of the 10th lunar month | Kathina (robe-offering ceremony) | Lay Buddhists offer robes and requisites to monks who have completed the rains retreat. |
During festival days, the pagoda courtyard becomes the gathering place for the entire hamlet. Sene Đôlta carries a special meaning, as children and grandchildren working far away return home and bring food to the pagoda to offer the monks on behalf of their ancestors. At a pagoda that runs its own school for language and five-tone music like Ghositaram, festival days are also an occasion for students of Khmer and Pāli script to pay respects to their teachers.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Ấp Cù Lao, xã Hưng Hội (xã Hưng Hội và xã Hưng Thành cũ nhập lại năm 2025, huyện Vĩnh Lợi cũ, tỉnh Bạc Liêu cũ), tỉnh Cà Mau
- Getting there
- The pagoda is located in Cù Lao hamlet, Hưng Hội commune, Cà Mau province (formerly Vĩnh Lợi district, former Bạc Liêu province), about five kilometers from the center of former Bạc Liêu.
- Coordinates
- 9.3076, 105.752
The pagoda is a monastic training center and the communal heart of the Khmer village, so visitors should respect temple customs. Remove shoes before ascending to the main hall and wear clothing that covers shoulders and knees. When sitting inside, never point your feet toward the Buddha statue. Do not climb onto the balustrades or Nāga sculptures for photographs, and do not touch the relief panels. Women should not touch monks or hand objects directly to them.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Ghositaram Pagoda
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Chùa GhositaramEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
Thầy Ưng Khiêm mời cộng đồng cùng làm giàu trang này. Ảnh chụp tận nơi, một chi tiết lịch sử chưa được nhắc, một đoạn video ngắn: mọi đóng góp đều được đọc và trả lời.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first. Chưa có đóng góp nào từ cộng đồng. Bạn có thể là người đầu tiên.
?Quick Questions
Where is Ghositaram Pagoda located?
The pagoda is in Cù Lao hamlet, Hưng Hội commune, Cà Mau province. Prior to the 2025 administrative merger, this area belonged to Hưng Hội commune, Vĩnh Lợi district, former Bạc Liêu province. It lies about five kilometers from the center of former Bạc Liêu among fruit orchards, and locals commonly call it Chùa Cù Lao.
What does the name Ghositaram mean?
Ghositaram is a rendering of the Pāli name Ghositārāma, a monastery in the city of Kosambī during the Buddha's lifetime named after the householder Ghosita who built and donated it. The word ārāma means a grove or monastery for monks. Chùa Cù Lao is the local Vietnamese name taken from the hamlet.
When was Ghositaram Pagoda built?
The pagoda was founded in 1860 according to phatgiao.org.vn and VietnamPlus, while the Bạc Liêu Buddhism portal records its first inauguration in 1872. Construction of the present main hall began on November 11, 2001. VietnamPlus records its inauguration in March 2010, while a Vietnam Pictorial article reprinted on phatgiao.org.vn states that it was completed ten years after the 2001 groundbreaking.
How tall is the main hall of Ghositaram Pagoda?
VietnamPlus records that the main hall is 36.3 meters tall and covers 427.5 square meters, and articles on phatgiao.org.vn and Ngày Nay give over 36 meters or 36 meters, whereas the figure of over 40 meters on some travel websites refers to the two ceremonial flagpoles in the courtyard. The roof rises in three Khmer tiers, and the interior is covered with reliefs and murals narrating the Buddha's life.
Which Buddhist tradition does Ghositaram Pagoda belong to?
It belongs to Khmer Theravāda Buddhism (Phật Giáo Nam Tông Khmer) and serves as the community pagoda of the local Khmer village. The monks observe the Pāli Canon and Vinaya, and the sanctuary enshrines only Shakyamuni Buddha. The pagoda also preserves nineteenth-century palm-leaf manuscripts and runs classes in Buddhist doctrine, Pāli, Khmer, Vietnamese, and five-tone music for local children.