Cau Ngu festival at Ong Nam Hai Temple –Tuy Phong

About 2-3 year after that, residents performed a rite to take the remains of Ca Ong the temple for worship. Sine than, the whale’s whole skeleton has been kept and preserved by local people in accordance with fishermen’s religious traditions. The Cau Ngu festival is observed each year on June 16^th (lunar calendar) by villagers to pay deference to Ong Nam Hai, pray for favourable weather and smooth sea so that they can catch abundance of marine products.

This year’s festival opened with a procession taking Gods from Binh An temple to Ong Nam Hai’s temple. The rites of welcoming Ong Nam Hai solemnly took place at the seaport under the performance of the ritual board and a Ba Trao rowing team, including a head rower and 12 members, presenting the solidarity of fishing villages and express their good faith. A service of worshiping and praying for peace took place one day later at Ong Nam Hai temple (Binh Thanh commune).

The festival is one of traditional cultural activities of local people to show their gratitude to the ocean and their ancestors, pray for the country’s prosperity, people’s happiness, favorable weather, successful marine catches and well-being livings for people.

Phuong Lan (Source: Binhthuan Online)