Unique Cau Ngu Festival in Thanh Hai Commune

On the morning of May 12, the People's Committee of Thanh Hai Commune (Ninh Hai) organized the Nam Hai Lang Than Fishing Festival in 2025. The festival is held every three years. This is an opportunity for fishermen to pray for favorable weather, favorable winds, and full holds of fish, while also expressing gratitude to the Nam Hai God (Ca Ong) for protecting them from the sea. Each activity in the festival is sacred and solemn, reflecting the spiritual life of the coastal fishing community.

Báo Ninh Thuận•14/05/2025

This year, the festival lasts from the 15th to the 19th of the fourth lunar month. Before that, fishermen along the coast of Thanh Hai were busy preparing. On the main festival day, from early morning, the worshiping group gathered at the Nam Hai God Mausoleum to perform the sacred god welcoming ceremony. Dozens of large boats were splendidly decorated, carrying ritual groups, music teams, gongs, drums, flags, and majestic umbrellas. The boat procession carrying the Nam Hai God majestically went out to sea to the sound of drums, gongs, and the bustling lion and Nap dances. In particular, 3 large boats were tightly attached to each other, departing from the Nam Hai God Mausoleum to the open sea, stopping at Hon Do and Hon Chong to perform the incense offering and prayer rituals.

Nam Hai god procession ceremony.

The welcoming ceremony is one of the most important rituals in the festival, with the hope that the god will bless the fishermen with a bountiful fishing season. The welcoming ceremony is solemnly held with the participation of village elders, shamans and local fishermen. After the welcoming ceremony to invite the god to Ong Nam Hai Temple, there are main sacrificial activities, expressing respect and wishes for a calm sea and a favorable fishing season.

The Cau Ngu Festival in My Tan has an important milestone, which is the inauguration of the Nam Hai Temple, a place to worship the sea god of fishermen. Mr. Pham Y, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Nam Hai Temple Festival in My Tan village, shared: Since the establishment of the village until now, generations of fishermen here have encountered many accidents at sea and were saved by the Nam Hai god, since then, the village has always remembered and built a shrine to worship every year. The festival is not only an occasion to pray for a favorable fishing season, but also a place for villagers to connect and review long-standing cultural traditions. This is an indispensable cultural beauty for coastal people.

After the ceremony, the fishermen here continue the festival with an exciting and vibrant atmosphere with many folk games imbued with the culture of the coastal region, such as: Volleyball competition, blindfolded pig catching,... along with Tuong singing, Ca Dien singing, Nap dancing... These activities create a joyful atmosphere, helping fishermen strengthen their village and neighborhood relationships.

Mr. Pham Van An, a fisherman participating in the welcoming ceremony in My Tan, said: Every year, I participate in the festival to pray for the safety of my family and my boat. This is also an opportunity for us to meet, strengthen our village relationships, help each other go out to sea, and develop the economy .

Cau Ngu Festival in My Tan, Thanh Hai Commune is an important event in the cultural life of coastal fishermen. With its traditional values and unique features, the festival not only attracts local people but also opens up opportunities to develop tourism in this land.

Red Moon

Source: https://baoninhthuan.com.vn/news/153066p1c29/doc-dao-le-hoi-cau-ngu-o-xa-thanh-hai.htm