Cau Ngu Festival recognized as a national cultural intangible heritage

Some images of Cau Ngu festival in Phan Thiet city

Cau Ngu is a festival venerating the whale and praying for a wealthy and happy life. This tradition is imbued with cultural characteristics of coastal region, with a series of rituals, cultural identities which attach to livelihood environment of local residents, as well as cultural values of other religions.

Fishermen consider whale as the companion of seafarers in their voyages, on the vast ocean full og dangers. In their mind, whale is not just a normal kind of mammal, they sanctified it and respectfully call it Ong Nam Hai or Ca Ong. The worship for Ong Nam Hai has gone through a long history and become an important spiritual activity of coastal people in the South central of Vietnam in general and in Binh Thuan in particular. The rituals show fishermen’s aspiration to have safe and sound sea journeys, great fishing results, express their gratitude towards the ocean, and especially Ca Ong (the whales), who always protect them in every fishing trips.

The recognition of Cau Ngu festival as a national cultural intangible heritage will contribute to the conservation, enrichment and promotion many kinds of traditional cultural activities and festivals in order to boost the development of tourism sector in the locality.

Translated by Phuong Lan (Source: Binh Thuan Online)