A visit to Van Thuy Tu offers a chance to learn about the tradition of worshipping whales, respectfully called by the local fishermen as Ca Ong (Lord Whale).

Built in 1762, Van Thuy Tu is the oldest temple for whales in Binh Thuan Province, around 200 km from Ho Chi Minh City.

Besides being a sacred place for fishermen, the temple, which was classified by the government as a national heritage site a decade ago, also has the country’s biggest whale skeletons, which draws scores of visitors.

It is believed that the whale is a holy creature and the savior of fishermen and others living along the sea.

This belief has been handed down from generation to generation among fishermen in many parts of the country.

According to tradition, the fisherman who sees a whale washed ashore first is considered the creature’s eldest child and must hold a solemn funeral and mourn for three years for his “father” – thus, people place their relationship with Ca Ong almost at the same level as with other people.

VAN THUY TU TEMPLE WHERE? 20A Ngu Ong Street, Duc Thang Ward, Phan Thiet City (062) 820 362 WHEN? Operating hours (daily) 7:30 - 11:30 a.m. 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. HOW MUCH? VND3,000 (adults) VND1,000 (children)

During the three years of mourning, the people say, the fisherman faces financial difficulties. But these are resolved immediately afterwards when he will get bumper fish catches as if the whale is rewarding him.

Old documents show that soon after Van Thuy Tu Temple was built close to shore - the sea has since retreated several kilometers - a large whale washed up close to it.

Local fishermen took two days to move the over-20-meter-long carcass, weighing dozens of tons in front of the temple, and lashed it to large poles they planted in the water since they were unable to carry it into a burial ground near the temple.

When whales die and wash ashore, they are usually buried in this ground known as Ngoc Lan Thanh Dia (holy cemetery for Ngoc Lan – or precious sea creature, a title a grateful King Nguyen conferred on the whale).

After 24-36 months, their skeletons are dug up, washed with strong liquor and placed in a tomb. The three tam (mausoleums) in Van Thuy Tu on present-day Ngu Ong Street contain more than 100 such skeletons, more than half of them 100 to 150 years old.

The most magnificent is a finback’s skeleton, said to be the country’s largest, on display at the main house of the temple. The 22-meter-long whale is estimated to weigh at least 65 tons.

The Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography and private company Le Vu, both in central Khanh Hoa Province, recovered and assembled the skeleton in 2003.

Highly decorated

The country’s whale temples act as a kind of repository for honors bestowed upon the giant mammals for saving people’s lives at sea.

Van Thuy Tu has received 24 such honors from Nguyen Dynasty kings like Thieu Tri, Tu Duc Dong Khanh, Duy Tan and Khai Dinh. King Thieu Tri, who ruled from 1841 to 1847, alone bestowed 10 such honors.

The royal proclamations show the kings’ acknowledgment of the fact that whales saved several Nguyen Dynasty mandarins in the sea near Thuy Tu.

The area’s Chinese-Vietnamese heritage also finds expression in Van Thuy Tu Temple; the other deities worshipped there apart from the whales and plaques are inscribed with Chinese characters.

The temple displays artifacts that narrate the history and development of the fishing community in Binh Thuan Province.

It is also a venue for the five-day annual Cau Ngu, a festival praying for bountiful catches.

Reported by Thu Thuy