Unique water god worship custom

With a large sea surface area and a large river system, Quang Ninh has a relatively unique folk belief in worshiping water gods.

Statue of Queen Mother in Queen Mother Temple. — Statue of Queen Mother in Queen Mother Temple in Quang Yen Town.

Quang Ninh has a large river system concentrated in the West, the Southeast is the coast, the Northwest of the province is a mountainous area with short, steep rivers, where ethnic minority communities live. Due to such characteristics, most of the village tutelary deities are water gods worshiped in the area along the Bach Dang River, that is, the land of Quang Yen and Dong Trieu.

The custom of worshipping the god Linh Lang is found in 4 communes of the ancient Dong Trieu with a total of about 13 relics at the head of the Da Bach river branch. The main deity of the temple is usually Linh Lang Dai Vuong in the Hung Vuong period, the main Hong Bang family, the second sect of Bach Viet. However, the number of relics worshipping the god Quy Minh Dai Vuong is more than Linh Lang with 25 places. Most of them do not have the legend of Quy Minh, but are often associated with the god Cao Son in the time when Tan Vien Son Thanh fought against Thuc.

For example, in Cam Pha commune, Giap Khau village worships Quy Minh Dai Vuong ton than. Meanwhile, Thai Binh village of Cam Pha commune worships Trung Thien Long Mau, Tam Giang Thuy Khau Ba Ai Dai Vuong, Tuan Hai Dai Vuong chi than, Phu Binh village of Cam Pha commune worships Long Mau Thuong Dang Than, Tuan Hai Dai Vuong chi than. My Son communal house on the Ha Coi river (Hai Ha district) worships Van Canh tutelary god who guards the river mouths and Quy Minh Dai Vuong ton than.

Mother Temple seen from above. — Mau Temple in Quan Lan commune, Van Don district seen from above.

Around the Man Mountain relic site (Ha Long City), there is a temple to worship three snake gods: Mr. Dai, Mr. Loang, and Mr. Coc. According to legend, the three snake gods here are three water gods who sacrificed themselves to protect the people. The temples of the three snake gods are all located in areas where ethnic minorities live: Mr. Coc Dong Hang (Nhong Waterfall area, Hoanh Bo ward), Mr. Loang Dong Cai (Cai village, Dong Lam commune), Mr. Dai Da Trang (Da Trang village, Thong Nhat commune) all in Ha Long City. The spiritual works at the foot of Man Mountain also worship Quy Minh Dai Vuong, Long Hai Son Than, De Nhi Long Vuong, Tam Vi Long Vuong, Long Mau Ton Than (the god who governs the river area).

The relics worshiping sea gods in Quang Ninh are concentrated in the Bach Dang estuary, Ha Long Bay. Among them, a significant part is the legend of Nam Hai or Dai Hai Pham, who is a general Pham Tu Nghi of the Mac Dynasty. Ba Men Temple on Ha Long Bay worships the Lady with a festival that has many characteristics of the worshiping beliefs of Quang Ninh fishermen who make a living at sea. Trang Y village, Dai Dien commune, Ha Mon canton (now Dai Binh commune, Dam Ha district) worships Cua Hai Cua Ha Ba Long Vuong, the great god, and Cua Hai King Khanh Thien Dai Vuong. In ancient Mong Cai, there was Quat Dong village, Ha Mon canton, worshiping Thuy Tien Long Vuong, Binh Ngoc village and Tra Co village, Ninh Hai canton, worshiping Ngoc Son, the sea god, Ninh Duong village, Van Ninh canton, worshiping Dong Hai Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tang.

Among the water gods, in Dong Trieu city and Dam Ha district, Ha Ba is worshiped, some places worship the gods Hai Te, Hai Khau, Thuy Chung, Thuy Phu Diem Vuong, Long Cung. In particular, in Hang Son (Uong Bi city), Bat Hai god is worshiped with the story of a water god reincarnated as a student, helping to pray for rain to dispel drought.

In Quang Ninh, there are some places where the Holy Mother is worshiped, whose incarnation is often associated with the generals of the Tran Dynasty (who appeared to help) in the resistance war against the Yuan-Mongol invaders at the Bach Dang River. That is the Queen Mother who transformed into a woman who sold out her country, giving Tran Hung Dao in Yen Giang a plan to ambush the invaders on the river. Cap Tien Temple (Van Don District) worships the little girl Cua Suot, who is believed to be the daughter of Hung Nhuong King Tran Quoc Tang.

Phong Coc Temple (Quang Yen Town) and Quan Lan Temple (Van Don District) worship the tutelary deities, the Four Holy Ladies. Also in Quan Lan, there is a temple worshiping the Three Holy Mothers, including the Mother Goddess. Ben Duoi Temple in Vi Duong Village, Lien Vi Commune and the Mother Goddess Temple in La Khe Village, Tien An Commune also worship Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh, Mother Goddess Thoai and Mother Goddess Thuong Ngan. Thien Hau Holy Mother Temple in Tra Co (Mong Cai City) worships a statue of a goddess who drifted in from the sea. Cai Lan Temple (Ha Long City) worships Mother Goddess Thoai Palace (also known as the Third Mother Goddess or the Lady Thoai Palace), daughter of King Bat Hai Long Vuong of the Dong Dinh Water Nation.

Another notable point is the Trung Thien Long Mau temple relic in the Cua Ong temple relic complex in Cam Pha city. In some places, the main deity is a human god but is considered the incarnation of the holy mother. The mother of the three snake gods mentioned above is a mortal with the surname Hoang but is considered the incarnation of the mother of Thoai Phu (mother of water) worshiped at the temple at the foot of Man mountain.

White Stone Temple at the foot of Man Mountain.

In general, the worship of the water god is closely related to the image of the mother water, one of the holy mothers in the worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people. At the same time, it is also related to the natural laws of rivers and originates from the agricultural cultivation with the wet rice civilization. The worship of the water god has enriched the intangible cultural heritage of the ethnic groups in Quang Ninh.

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