Ba Den Pagoda (Chua Ba Den – Pagoda of the Black Lady). Real name: Tien Thach tu pagoda of the Immortal in stone. On the slope of Mount Ba Den, at 5km of Tay Ninh urban agglomeration (South Vietnam), this scenic spot also includes of Chua Han Grotto. The cult is made to numerous Buddhist divinities, but the central figure remains Ba Den (the Black Lady) with blackish statues (almost of natural size) in both pagodas. The statue of animist inspiration represents supernatural power in the spirit of an agricultural people; it reminds one of Holy Mothers (Mau – Taoist popular cult).
The use of a grotto as a place of cult, a widespread phenomenon in the North, is rather uncommon in South Vietnam. On an altar in the grotto pagoda, a stone pillar (about 50cm) lying on a stone plate recalls the Indian symbols of Linga and Yoni. In the past, old ascetics used to sit in caves to meditate.
