Around 10,000 gathered in Bac Lieu province of Southern Vietnam to pay their final respects to “Your Excellency”, a 52-foot dead whale carried along their coast a day earlier. Lavish preparations were observed during its funeral held at the mouth of Cai Cung River, of which, a temple is to be built in honor of the huge sea mammal.

The news about the discovery of the whale’s corpse on the province’s shore had caused hundreds and thousands of people to turn up, burn incense and bring offerings as such is considered a sacred occasion for many. Honoring whales as “ngai”, the same title given to the most respected kings, emperors and renowned leaders, the creatures are seen as divine and supreme gods of the sea bringing good fortune and safety to seafarers.

Such worship for this enormous creature exists among the fishing communities along the coasts of the country and had become a tradition even from the periods rooting in the early Kh’mer and Cham cultures. The center of their devotion, the Cá Ông (whale), is believed to grant people favourable fishing seasons, keep fishermen safe in their every voyage, even rescuing those whose lives at sea are placed in danger. The religion, also known as Lễ Cúng Cá Ông throughout Vietnam, holds various intricate beliefs concerning whale worship and is known to celebrate an annual festival held at whale-worshipping temples. There are a number of temples that holds old whale skeletons dating back from the Nguyen dynasty. Thanh Thuy (Binh Son), Con, Tan and Chanh temples (Ly Son), Thach Bi (Duc Pho), An Chuan (Mo Duc), Chanh (Tinh Ky, Son Tinh) are just among the many. Yet, the Van Thuy Tu or Thuy Tu Temple is the most recognized and is where most of these festivals are popularly centered. Built in 1762, it is believed to be the oldest temple dedicated to whale worship, holding hundreds of skeletal remains of whales along with the bones of other strange water creatures. The temple, found in Ngu Ong street, is now a known national cultural heritage site.

Their festivities, of which exact date vary from year to year in reference to the lunar calendar, is presented with classical drama performances, traditional folk songs, parades, lion dances, and colourful garlands and lanterns hung or set afloat to the shores as offerings and symbolism of their sincere respect to the God of the Sea. But most importantly, the worship rites centers the whole event as it is seen by fishermen as an opportunity to pay homage to the spirits and ask favors at the same time.

Like all other whales given the most lavish burials and exhumed years later for its bones to be taken to the temples and be worshipped, “Your Excellency” was treated with the same reverence. The great numbers from neighbouring fishing villages and more distant places who came to mourn and provide a royal send-off to the whale is a living proof of these people’s strong belief to the deity creature’s powers. As fishing comprises a great part of Vietnam’s livelihood, the adoration for the ocean’s largest creature has been rooted in its history and will continue to be practiced in a country with such vast coastal area.