One of the most unique Nha Trang festivals every year is the Whale festival, held at Lang Ong. If you have the opportunity to visit Nha Trang at the right time of the festival, visitors will be able to attend the sacred traditional ritual and experience extremely interesting things.
Whale’s meaning in the life of fishermen in the sea
Nha Trang is a coastal tourist destination, people have lived by fishing. Since then, the mind of the sea and the festivals associated with life in the fishing village have also been formed, contributing to creating beautiful cultural features of fishermen in coastal areas of Nha Trang.
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| Whale Festival is held every year to honor the sacred meaning of whales (Photo collection) |
Whale in the subconscious of people in Nha Trang waters is a sacred animal. This fish is rare, gentle and often helps fishermen when they encounter misfortune at sea. Based on these characteristics, the people of Nha Trang have created many thrilling stories, as well as myths about whales.
According to legend, one time fleeting on the high seas, King Nguyen Anh was unfortunate due to shipwreck. However, the king “got through the accident” thanks to the whales that saved them. When he ascended to the throne, Nguyen Anh proclaimed himself King Gia Long, and gave the whale the title of “the Southern Sea and the Jade God of the Superior God”.
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| Whale Festival is a well-known Nha Trang festival (Photo collection) |
Later, the kings of the Nguyen dynasty continued to attach great importance to the whales and ordained the title “Dai Nam Nam Hai National”.
Whale is considered as a god of the people of the sea with such beautiful names as Nhan Ngu, Duc Ngu and Ngoc Lan. This fish has become more and more sacred in the minds of people in Nha Trang waters. Therefore, this day, the Whale festival becomes a very special Nha Trang festival .
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| When traveling to Nha Trang , tourists are very excited to join the Whale festival (Photo collection) |
Local people often avoid calling the whale name directly but it is called Ong Ong or Mr. Nam Hai. To show respect, the fishermen here built a shrine of worship (Ong Ong) and held a very respectful and serious annual Whale festival. Lang Ong has a respectful place to place a chest containing the whales’ bones, also known as “Ngoc Cot”.
Over time, the Whale festival has become a Nha Trang festival not only meaningful in the local fisherman’s life but also a lot of tourists eager to attend.
Whale Festival – the traditional beauty of the coastal region of Nha Trang
Every year, the people of Nha Trang often hold a whale festival solemnly on the day of the dysentery (ie the day of the whale’s death), two sacrifices, sacrifices and the annual fisherman ceremony when preparing for the season. catch.
The holiday was held with the expectation that the rain and wind would be harmonious. The fishermen sheltered to keep the waves quiet, helping the fishermen catch the fish smoothly and peacefully.
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| Whale Festival is held to pray for favorable rain and wind, Thai Thai An (Photos collected) |
Whale Festival brings together traditional rituals, games and folk performances to create a unique, unique and interesting. In it, a highly respected person in the community plays the leading role, the rituals take place sequentially, everyone is solemn and respectful.
The bustling drum gong, the colorful parasols of the procession, the dance songs create a radiant and cheerful atmosphere in an entire coastal area of Nha Trang. At the end of the ritual was the hymn, which opened the door for a singing festival – an interesting kind of performance in the South Central Coast. The singing festival can last until a few days later.
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| Whale festival for hundreds of years retains the great spiritual value (Photo collection) |
Through many ups and downs and changes of history, the Whale festival still retains great spiritual value in the spiritual life of the people of Nha Trang city.
Many tourists visiting Nha Trang on the occasion of the festival are very excited to discover a traditional beauty of the coastal fishermen. Especially, through each festival, visitors realize that the lives of the people here are always in harmony and protect nature as the most sacred and precious things.
