Discovery of the memorial of Hoang Sa soldiers on the mainland

Quang Ngai province has just discovered a funeral oration for Hoang Sa soldiers found deep inland in addition to the funeral orations kept on Ly Son island.

Mr. Diep Cong Thang and the memorial service for soldiers in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa
Photo: Nguyen Huy.

“Oh my!/ The land of Vietnam in the South/ Has gone through many hardships/ Thinking of the miserable people from long ago/ Giving birth to the spirit/ The dead return/… Hoang Sa/ Truong Sa territorial waters/ The vast ocean/ The months and years are uncertain”. Every February and March of the lunar calendar, the people of Ly Son respectfully offer incense and chant the funeral oration in the ceremony to honor the soldiers of Hoang Sa. For hundreds of years, these funeral orations have been carefully preserved by generations of people of Ly Son and Son Tinh (Quang Ngai).

Sacrificing people to Hoang Sa on the mainland

The funeral oration was found deep inland at the home of Mr. Diep Cong Thang (Gia Hoa village, Tinh Long, Son Tinh), more than ten kilometers from Quang Ngai city. At the age of 90, few people are as healthy and clear-minded as he is. The memories of the times he followed his father to the altar are still vivid.

“From my grandfather to my father, everyone has been a shaman. When I was 10 years old, I also started to learn the profession. Four years later, I was able to follow my teacher (father) to practice the rituals, wandering around the villages and hamlets,” Mr. Thang said.

He carefully turned each page of the stained Chinese writing and said: This is the copy he copied from the original one passed down by his father. There are 16 pages in total, of which the first pages are dedicated to the water gods and river gods for protection and blessing, while pages 11-16 are dedicated to the soldiers preparing to go to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Every year in the second and third lunar months, when the Hoang Sa soldier recruitment campaigns take place in the fishing villages of Binh Son, Sa Ky, Ly Son, etc., Mr. Thang and his father travel to worship. Every time they worship, the father and son must bring the prayer text to chant.

At that moment, all the villagers gathered on the beach, planted flags and flowers, and beat drums. In the smoke of incense, boats and effigies were released into the sea. At the sacred moment, the celebrant chanted tragic proclamations.

“Welcoming the river god Truong Sa, Hoang Sa. The waves of the eastern sea spread. The river god opens the gate”. Each pair of eyes looked out to the sea gate, praying for the river god and the souls of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa soldiers to come and bless them… “Saving people and animals, helping all people, being wise and virtuous, with boundless merit, all requests will be answered”.

According to Mr. Thang: At that time, wherever there were people recruited to fight for Hoang Sa, a priest was invited to perform a ritual, regardless of the coastal area or the mainland. The ocean was vast, danger lurked, and human lives were hard to keep, so whoever was selected performed the ritual.

“I still remember the feeling of everyone shaking hands as they said goodbye. No one set a date for their return, but one thing was certain: both those who left and those who stayed were ready for the task of protecting the sovereignty of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa,” Mr. Thang said.

During the ceremony, people release bamboo boats with flags, rice, salt, tokens, life-saving figures, and rattan ropes, modeled after each voyage of the soldiers. Depending on the locality and clan, the bamboo boats used for the ceremony are of different sizes, but all carry the same value of wishing for a safe and smooth voyage.

Echoes of the proclamation

According to Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai: the discovery of this memorial is very meaningful in terms of research, history and values ​​affirming sovereignty. Memorials for soldiers of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa commonly appear on Ly Son Island, or in coastal fishing villages, but deep inland, as in the case of Mr. Thang, is the first discovery. This proves that the movement of recruiting soldiers spread across many different areas. It affirms that the awareness and responsibility to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands are of concern to everyone.

Also according to Dr. Vu: The content of the funeral orations are basically the same. However, Mr. Thang's funeral oration emphasizes the invitation to the gods and water gods to protect the sea voyages of the soldiers, while the funeral orations outside Ly Son tend to tell the merits of the soldiers of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa: How many of them returned after leaving/How pitiful/Still loyal and steadfast/The will of a man/The storms were fierce/The snow and bones were not afraid/The wind and rain were not afraid/The border military service/The sadness of being far away/Hoang Sa and Truong Sa territorial waters/The vast ocean/The uncertain months and years... (excerpt from the funeral oration at Am Linh Temple).

(According to Tien Phong)