Soldier's memorial ceremony in Khe Tan fishing village

Residents of the Tran family, Tinh Khe branch (Quang Ngai city), wherever they go, always remind each other of the custom of worshipping soldiers on the 5th day of the third lunar month. On this day, descendants of the family, living in Binh Chau commune (Binh Son), Tinh Ky, Tinh Hoa, Tinh Khe, An Phu (Quang Ngai city) gather at the family temple, located in Khe Tan hamlet, Co Luy village, Tinh Khe commune to attend the ceremony.

Paper boat models and paper figures at the soldier worshiping ceremony of the Tran family, Tinh Khe branch (Quang Ngai city).

Similar to the Hoang Sa Soldiers' Khao Le The Linh Festival held in February and March of the lunar calendar every year in Ly Son district, to prepare for the soldiers' Khao Le The Linh Festival, the elders of the Tran family, Tinh Khe branch also meticulously make paper boat models. However, while in Ly Son district, the Hoang Sa Soldiers' Khao Le The Linh Festival uses 5 paper boats, the soldiers' Khao Le The Linh Festival held by the Tran family, Tinh Khe branch only includes one paper boat. On the boat are paper figures and a full range of items symbolizing drinking water, rice, and food. Next to the figures are paper tablets with the names of the ancestors in the family in the past.

According to the descendants of the Tran family, Tinh Khe branch, in the past, the children of the family obeyed the king's orders, became soldiers on duty at sea, often encountered many risks and uncertainties, and left without a return date. Therefore, the family held a ceremony to worship the soldiers with paper boats and paper figures at the church, then brought them to the sea to release them with the wish to pray for peace, hoping that the paper boat team would take all the risks in place of the living.

Tran family temple, Tinh Khe branch - where the soldier's memorial ceremony takes place in the third lunar month.

“In the family temple, we still keep a wooden chest containing books and papers written in Han Nom characters passed down by our ancestors. In it, there are the names of our ancestors who were soldiers in the past, going to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands. To show gratitude to our ancestors and their contributions and sacrifices, our family takes turns preserving the soldiers' sacrifice ceremony. The ceremony takes place one day before the Thanh Minh ceremony. The soldiers' sacrifice day is also the only day of the year when we respectfully ask for permission from the gods and ancestors to open the wooden chest before holding the ceremony. It is a way for us to express our sincerity, hoping that the soldiers who went to Hoang Sa in the past will witness for future generations,” said Mr. Tran Quang (74 years old), who was trusted by the Tran family, Tinh Khe branch, and elected as the chief priest at the soldiers' sacrifice ceremony.

Along with the residents of Ly Son island, the Tran family and Tinh Khe branch have also preserved and passed down the soldier worship ceremony through many generations. This is also a rare clan on the mainland that still maintains this sacred worship ceremony.

“According to the Han Nom documents I found in Ly Son, in 1604 (during the reign of Le Kinh Tong), Vietnamese residents officially moved from the mainland to Cu Lao Re - Ly Son to reclaim the land, and then established two wards, An Hai and An Vinh, both in Binh Son district. Administratively, these two wards were still under the management of the two original communes on the mainland, An Vinh and An Hai in the Sa Ky estuary. Soldiers who joined the Hoang Sa team in the past were recruited from An Vinh and An Hai communes on the mainland, as well as from the two wards in Cu Lao Re. In the following centuries, soldiers from many other localities in the province also joined the Hoang Sa team. That is why in the mainland of Quang Ngai, there are still clans that preserve the funeral orations in Han Nom to honor the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa soldiers, as well as still practice the funeral oration for the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa soldiers until the first half of the 20th century. In 2011, I found a funeral oration in Han Nom to honor the Hoang Sa soldiers in Han Nom in the Diep family temple in Tinh Long commune (now Quang Ngai city). In 2018, I found more Han Nom documents talking about the sacrifices to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa soldiers in the Pham family temple in Nghia Chanh ward (Quang Ngai city). Unfortunately, these families no longer preserve the soldiers' sacrifices - a type of cultural heritage associated with the great contributions of their ancestors who made many contributions to the exploration and establishment of the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland," said Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu - Chairman of the Provincial Culture and Arts Association, former Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Article and photos: DONG YEN

Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/van-hoa/202504/le-cung-the-linh-o-lang-bien-khe-tan-3001da2/