Festival with strong sea culture

(Baonghean.vn) - With the characteristics of settling and living depending on the sea, the worship of sea gods and the fishing festival have formed in the life and consciousness of Nghi Hai fishermen (Cua Lo). The festival conveys the fishermen's beliefs and wishes to the gods, helping them "go to the river to meet a pile, go to the sea to meet a father" to "fill the basket with rice, fill the pot with fish". The fishing festival contains many profound human values, imbued with the cultural nuances of the sea of ​​Nghi Hai fishermen in particular, and Cua Lo in general.

Traditional Cau Ngu Festival 2012.

Humanistic legend

According to legend, the whale was incarnated from pieces of the robe of the Goddess of Mercy thrown into the sea to save drowning creatures. The legend of the whale is also associated with the early days of King Gia Long Nguyen Anh's founding of the nation: When being chased by the Tay Son army, Nguyen Anh's navy fled to the sea and encountered big waves and strong winds. In the midst of danger, a large whale suddenly stopped by to guide the boat to shore. Later, when he defeated the Tay Son army and ascended the throne, in gratitude for saving his life, Nguyen Anh conferred on the whale the title of Nam Hai Dai Tuong Quan and had the people build a temple to worship him,... Therefore, under the Nguyen Dynasty, anyone who discovered a stranded whale would be exempted from paying taxes for 3 years.

Before going out to sea, fishermen often pray to the Whale, hoping for calm seas and an abundance of fish. Especially during storms, the Whale is considered the only god who can help them escape danger in a split second. Stories and legends about miraculous rescues further enliven the belief in the sea god who always protects and helps seafarers.

The fishermen believe that the village where the whale is stranded will be prosperous and safe from disasters. Because of this belief, whenever a whale is stranded on shore, the fishermen often hold a solemn ceremony, bury it, mourn it, and burn incense as if it were their ancestors. The whale's body is bathed in wine, then wrapped in red cloth and buried in a sand dune near the sea. Three or four years after the burial, the villagers will hold a reburial ceremony, then put the remains in a mausoleum.

Traditional fishing festival

Like fishermen in other coastal areas, Nghi Hai fishermen have a strong belief in the sacredness of the Whale and consider it a guardian deity, helping them overcome dangers at sea. To commemorate the Whale's merits and preserve the traditional cultural and spiritual beauty of the people, every two years, Nghi Hai ward organizes the Cau Ngu Festival. The festival takes place at the end of March and the beginning of April to facilitate participation in the annual tourism festival of Cua Lo Town.

Mr. Nguyen Van Bich - Chairman of Nghi Hai Ward People's Committee said: The old Whale Temple built by the people was damaged by war and time. In 2012, with the consensus of leaders at all levels, Nghi Hai Ward called for contributions from children in the ward, businesses, philanthropists... to support the cost of renovating and embellishing Lang Hieu Temple with a value of over 3 billion VND. After the inauguration, the people brought the gods such as Nam Hai Dai Tuong Quan, the gods Co, Cau and Hoang of the village to worship. Lang Hieu Temple is also the place where every time the Cau Ngu Festival is held, the local government and people come to hold the opening ceremony to ask for the seal of Nam Hai Dai Tuong Quan to Lach Hoi gate to perform the ceremony.

This year's Cau Ngu Festival is held for 2 days (April 14 and 15), (ie March 15 and 16 of the lunar calendar) and consists of 2 main parts: the ceremony and the festival. At the beginning of the festival, the locality often organizes a procession of the seals of the General Nam Hai, Than Co, Than Cau (Sea God)... from Lang Hieu temple to the boats at the mouth of the creek to perform the Phung Nghinh ceremony. The altar is decorated brightly and solemnly. All houses have incense tables with offerings. Each boat is decorated with lanterns and flowers. The village selects a ritual committee consisting of elderly, virtuous people who are prestigious with fishermen. The chief worshiper offers the offerings (seafood is not allowed) and reads the funeral oration expressing the villagers' gratitude to the sea and praying for a bountiful fishing season and for boats to return safely from the open sea. As for the festival, there are folk games of the coastal region: sports competitions, boat racing, rowing. Regarding art, in addition to singing and dancing, there is also a typical dance form of the Cau Ngu Festival, which is the Ba Trao dance and singing (ba: to hold, trao: to row a boat) expressing the spirit of solidarity among members in a boat, overcoming big waves and strong winds, bringing a bountiful harvest to the fishermen.

With profound and practical significance related to spiritual and cultural life, as well as in labor production, in recent years, Nghi Hai Party Committee and government have paid great attention to and organized festivals on a large scale, both to create a competitive atmosphere for labor production and to preserve and promote the traditional culture of the sea. This is also the wish of fishermen who aspire for peace in life.

Cau Ngu Festival expresses the desire for peace in the lives of fishermen, who always face many uncertainties when drifting at sea. In particular, Cau Ngu Festival in Nghi Hai is associated with the traditional boat racing festival, and at the same time, it calls on all fishermen in the ward to simultaneously go fishing in the 2014 Southern season with the hope of a bumper harvest... The festival has contributed to enriching the activities to welcome the 2014 Cua Lo sea tourism season.

Thanh Thuy