Quang Ngai: Sacred Hoang Sa Soldiers' Commemoration Ceremony on Ly Son Island District

The Hoang Sa Soldier Commemoration Ceremony is like a link between the sovereignty of the sea and islands from the past to the present, and is a message conveying Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Model of 5 fishing boats in the Hoang Sa soldiers' memorial ceremony in Quang Ngai. (Photo: Dinh Huong/VNA)

On the morning of April 24, the An Vinh Communal House Festival Committee, Ly Son District (Quang Ngai Province) and the clans of An Vinh Village organized the Hoang Sa Soldiers Commemoration Ceremony, to show gratitude to the heroic Hoang Sa soldiers in the Hoang Sa Bac Hai team who crossed the ocean and erected an eternal stele about Vietnam's sovereignty over the sea and islands of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

This is an activity within the framework of Quang Ngai Provincial Tourism Week 2024 .

The Hoang Sa soldier's Khao Le ceremony on Ly Son island has existed since the early 17th century, when the Nguyen lords established the "Hoang Sa team" consisting of 70 skilled seafarers, sailing across the waves to search for marine products, measure waterways, patrol the sea and islands, and at the same time plant landmarks and erect sovereignty steles in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Even though they knew that "nine parts death, one part life," our ancestors always put the fate of the country above all else.

A shaman performs a ceremony to put rice into fishing boats during the Hoang Sa Soldiers' Commemoration Ceremony in Quang Ngai. (Photo: Dinh Huong/VNA)

According to researchers, the Hoang Sa soldier memorial ceremony is not only held on Ly Son island, but also in localities along the coast (places where people go to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa).

However, up to now, only Ly Son has restored and preserved this ceremony in the most complete and vivid way.

Ly Son is the cradle of soldiers who went to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the past, so Ly Son people preserve the ceremony almost intact, without any break.

Before 2005, the Festival was only held in clans and families. Later, with the attention of local authorities, all levels and sectors, based on the subjects being the clans in Ly Son, the Festival was restored on a larger scale.

The Hoang Sa Soldiers' Commemoration Ceremony is like a link between the sovereignty of the sea and islands from the past to the present, a message conveying Vietnam 's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, becoming a thread to convey knowledge about the precious history of the sea and islands to the Vietnamese people.

Blowing the conch shell - the command for the young men in the village to carry the model of 5 fishing boats out to sea. (Photo: Dinh Huong/VNA)

Fisherman Nguyen Hung Huy (42 years old), who works as a diver in Hoang Sa fishing grounds, shared: "As a fisherman who regularly stays at Hoang Sa sea, each fishing trip, I go for 30-40 days. Every time the Hoang Sa soldier's Khao Le The Linh Festival comes, even though the fishing trip has not ended, I still return with my fellow fishermen to attend. For us, the Festival is not only a spiritual culture, but also an occasion to thank our ancestors, praying for our fathers and ancestors to bless us to have smooth sailing trips, with a full hold of shrimp and fish."

The Hoang Sa soldiers' Khao Le festival includes a ceremony and a festival. At the end of the ceremony, the sound of the conch shell is blown in deep and solemn tones, giving orders to the young men in the village to carry out models of five fishing boats to the sea, reenacting the farewell ceremony for the Hoang Sa Bac Hai soldiers of the past who set out on their sacred mission to the Fatherland.

The festival includes a traditional boat race of the Four Sacred Animals (Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, Phoenix), reenacting the selection of strong and skilled seafaring militiamen to join the Hoang Sa Bac Hai team with the mission of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

With its significance and importance, in April 2013, the Hoang Sa Soldiers' Commemoration Ceremony was included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List./.

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