The ritual acts of Whale Worshipping Ceremony have been performed on the occasion of Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Sea Festival for many years. The street art activity reflected the typical cultural characteristics of the coastal areas and was interested by locals and tourists in Nha Trang.
The ritual acts of Whale Worshipping Ceremony have been performed on the occasion of Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Sea Festival for many years. The street art activity reflected the typical cultural characteristics of the coastal areas and was interested by locals and tourists in Nha Trang.
The Whale Worshipping Ceremony originated from the belief in Ông Nam Hai (the Whale) of the fishermen in the coastal areas in Vietnam. Khanh Hoa is among the localities where the religious ceremony has been well maintained and practiced regularly with all traditional ritual acts. The Whale Worshipping Ceremony of Khanh Hoa Province was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2014. The practice of Whale Worshipping Ceremony helps to preserve a typical religious characteristic of the coastal regions and introduce the unique of this cultural heritage to the tourists in and outside the country, according to Le Van Hoa, Director of Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture and Sports.
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Performing the ritual acts of Whale Worshipping Ceremony in the 2019 Sea Festival were the fishermen of the wards Vinh Nguyen and Vinh Truong (Nha Trang). Hundreds of fishermen joined the procession in traditional colored costumes, carrying flags, flowers, palanquins, and model of boat, etc. The sound of musical instruments, the ritual songs and dances, and the performances of unicorn-lion-dragon dance created a lively atmosphere and attracted the attention of many people. “I know more about the culture of fishermen thanks to this activity,” said Le Thi Thanh Dao, a tourist from Hanoi.
Reportedly, the flower lantern dance and unicorn-lion-dragon dance were the new features of the performance of Whale Worshipping Ceremony in Sea Festival 2019. In 2018, the Whale Worshipping Ceremony of Khanh Hoa was introduced to the people in Hanoi and received a good respond from the public.
Every year, the fishing villages in Khanh Hoa often organize the ceremony to honor the Whale. The fishermen feel proud of their custom and desire that the ceremony can be held at a larger scale. As said by folk culture researcher Nguyen Tu Hai, the Whale Worshipping Ceremony reflects the typical cultural characteristics and religious of the fishermen. It can be organized as a street art festival and needs to be widely promoted. However, there are many difficulties that the cultural sector of Khanh Hoa needs to deal with in order to hold the ceremony more often and extend its’ scale.
Giang Đinh
Translated by H.N
