Thuy Tuong Whale Temple

One of the city's largest whale temples, in Can Gio, home to the Nghinh Ong Festival – National Intangible Heritage

In the former Can Thanh town centre, bordering the Can Gio sea to the north, Lang Ong Thuy Tuong, also known as Thanh Phuoc Lach or Hai Than Mieu, is one of the largest whale (ca Ong) temples in Ho Chi Minh City. The temple honours Nam Hai Dai Tuong Quan (General of the Southern Sea), the guardian spirit of seafaring fishermen. Legend has it that, in gratitude for the whale saving his life, Emperor Gia Long conferred on it the title Nam Hai Dai tuong quan; the people of Can Gio fondly call it Ong Nam Hai or Ong Thuy Tuong. In 2012, the temple was classified as a City-level Architectural and Artistic Relic. According to Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi, Can Gio already had a whale shrine in the early 19th century. According to village elders, in 1816 the royal court had a temple to Ong Thuy Tuong Nam Hai built on the site of the old Hai Than shrine. In 1905, after a storm, the shrine was moved to a nearby location; in 1914, village head Truong Ba To moved the whale worship day from the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month to the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, a season of calm seas and good catches; in 1952, the temple moved to its present location. The temple follows the four-pillar architectural style, with a worship layout characteristic of Southern communal houses and shrines, including the altar hall, the vo ca (front hall), a hat boi (classical opera) stage for festival days, an exhibition room and a reception house. In the exhibition room, a 12 m whale skeleton is kept in a glass case and solemnly venerated, with models of Can Gio fishermen's trawlers and boats below; around it are old fishing tools and photographs of past festivals. Every year around the full moon of the 8th lunar month (main rituals from the 14th to the 16th day of the 8th lunar month), the Nghinh Ong Thuy Tuong Festival, Can Gio's largest traditional festival, recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, takes place at the temple and out at sea: the procession sets off from the temple, goes down to the ferry landing, then boards boats out to the "tam giang khau" (three-river mouth) to make offerings to the whale; inside the temple, the Xay Chau and Dai Boi rituals are held with hat boi performances offered to the whale. On ordinary days, visitors can hear the temple keeper tell legends of whales helping fishermen at sea.

English text: machine translation from the Localis platform — proper names kept in Vietnamese.