Fishing Festival

The Cau Ngu Festival (also known as the Cau Mat Festival) is a traditional festival and a unique cultural and religious feature in the spiritual life of the coastal communities of Thanh Hoa province. The Cau Ngu Festival is held at the Diem Pho Historical Site Complex, Ngu Loc commune, Hau Loc district, Thanh Hoa province.

The ceremonial part was held solemnly with a procession of the golden palanquin and the Long Chau boat along the coast of Ngu Loc commune to the festival area. Here, offerings were presented to the deities of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, the Four Holy Mothers, the Great King of the East Sea, the Venerable God of Ne Son, and the Great General of the South Sea to express gratitude for favorable weather, calm seas, abundant fish catches, bountiful harvests, and a prosperous and happy life. This was followed by rituals such as processions, sacrifices, reading of congratulatory texts, drum performances, and incense offerings.

The festival was lively, joyful, and wholesome, featuring performances such as traditional music, lion dance, folk singing, drum performances, chess competitions, squid fishing competitions, and sports exchanges.

According to records from the Diem Pho - Ngu Loc geographical chronicle and the Diem Pho legends left by our ancestors, in the early 12th century, fishermen came to this area to establish villages, build dikes to prevent flooding, create settlements, and build rafts and wooden boats to make a living. After more than eight centuries, the people of Ngu Loc still maintain the fishing profession passed down from their ancestors. The Cau Ngu Festival (also known as the Cau Mat Festival) has been closely associated with the spiritual life and culture of many generations of Ngu Loc fishermen.
The Cau Ngu Festival is a cultural and spiritual activity that plays an important role in the spiritual life of the people of Diem Pho in the past, now Ngu Loc. Every year, as is customary, from the 22nd to the 24th of the second lunar month, thousands of fishermen from Ngu Loc commune and other coastal communes of Hau Loc district sincerely gather in Diem Pho to participate in the traditional Cau Ngu Festival.

During the festival days, the fishing community will gather before the Long Chau boat to offer their wishes for a year of favorable weather, peace and prosperity, calm seas, abundant catches, and safety for people and vessels on each fishing trip. At the end of March 15th, the Long Chau boat will be burned at sea. This ceremony also marks the conclusion of the annual Fishing Festival.
Previously, in September 2017, the Cau Ngu Festival in Ngu Loc commune was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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