From February 5th to 7th (corresponding to the 8th to 10th day of the first lunar month), thousands of people from all over flocked to the Cai Cung coastal area (Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu province), where the Duyen Hai Ancestral Temple is located, to attend the Ancestor Worship Ceremony.
Most of the people who come here to worship the Whale God (also known as the Whale God) are fishermen or involved in the seafood production and business.
A large crowd of people flocked to the Ông Duyên Hải Mausoleum in Bac Lieu to attend the New Year's Ông Nghinh ceremony (Photo: TC).
According to local people, the most important part of the Nghinh Ong ceremony is going to the sea to perform the ritual of carrying (receiving) the deity into the mausoleum for worship, presided over by respected elders in the locality.
Several large boats (usually fishing vessels belonging to local fishermen), decorated with flags, flowers, drums, gongs, and offerings such as meat and sticky rice, sail from the shore to the mouth of the sea to welcome the deity in a lively atmosphere.
Those who couldn't board the boat stood along both banks of the river to watch the procession carrying the deity, adding to the lively and festive atmosphere of the ceremony.
The train heads out to sea to welcome Ông (the deity).
According to the ceremony's ritual, the procession takes a small amount of seawater, symbolizing the sea where the fish lives, and brings it back to the mausoleum for worship, expressing reverence to the fish believed to protect fishermen from strong winds and rough seas while they are out fishing.
Fishermen from both the local area and beyond also come here to light incense, offer prayers, and hope for a bountiful harvest of shrimp and fish in the new year.
The ceremony to welcome Ông (the deity) was very solemn (Photo: CK).
"Every year, right after the Lunar New Year, we fishermen gather here to perform the ritual of welcoming the deity. Since we work at sea, this is a tradition, with the hope that everything will go well for our work in the new year," shared a fisherman from Hoa Binh district.
The Ông Duyên Hải shrine (Vĩnh Thịnh commune, Hòa Bình district, Bạc Liêu province) houses a 16-meter-long whale skeleton, which has been worshipped by local fishermen for many years.
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