Festival «Nghinh Ông Lại Sơn» (Welcoming the Whale)

   Once a year the fishermen of Lại Sơn island give thanks to the whale, the sea deity they believe has carried their boats through storms for generations. For two days the island turns towards the Lăng Ông Nam Hải shrine, and the high point comes when flag-decked fishing boats follow the whale god's palanquin out to sea. If you want to see coastal faith in Vietnam's south-west as a living tradition rather than a museum piece, this is the time to come to Kiên Hải.

   Nghinh Ông means «welcoming the Whale». This year the festival runs under the theme «Đặc khu Kiên Hải – Hội nhập và phát triển» («Kiên Hải Special Zone – Integration and Development») and marks 20 years since the Lăng Ông Nam Hải shrine was listed as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic on 15 November 2006. Lại Sơn, known locally as Hòn Sơn, is an island of the Kiên Hải special zone in An Giang province, which took in the former Kiên Giang province in 2025. Under the plan of the Kiên Hải authorities, the ritual part includes traditional ceremonies such as:

• — Lễ Thỉnh sắc Thần Hoàng và Bà Cố chủ — the ceremonial inviting of the guardian deity's royal decree and of Bà Cố Chủ;
• — Lễ An vị — enthroning the sacred objects in the shrine;
• — Lễ Cầu an — prayers for peace and safety;
• — Lễ Dâng hương – Nghinh Thần Nam Hải — the incense offering and the welcoming of the Spirit of the Southern Sea.

   The festive side brings 10 cultural, tourism and sports activities, among them:

• — an opening arts programme;
• — a tourism showcase with OCOP products and local specialities;
• — an exhibition on the sea and islands, the sights of Kiên Hải and its development;
• — a chefs' contest built on local dishes;
• — a famtrip programme and environmental protection activities;
• — the «Vì Hòn Sơn Xanh» («For a Green Hòn Sơn») cross-country run;
• — the launch of a đờn ca tài tử club, the traditional chamber music of southern Vietnam, linked to community tourism;
• — sports tournaments and the «Không đồng» («Zero Dong») charity kitchen.

   Last year's festival shows how the main rite unfolds. Drums sound at Lăng Ông Nam Hải and a procession heads for the pier: lion and dragon dancers in front, then costumed guards, ritual students, the officiants, the whale god's palanquin, village elders, local officials, residents and visitors. The palanquin is carried onto a boat that leads a few dozen vessels dressed in flags and flowers out to sea; at the welcoming point the chief officiant makes offerings and reads a prayer for peace. Visitors were also treated to free vegetarian dishes, vegetarian bánh xèo pancakes and drinks, offered as a charitable act.

   The festival is for anyone curious about the beliefs and daily life of Vietnam's fishing communities, for travellers planning to explore Hòn Sơn and the other Kiên Hải islands, and for photographers after the boat procession at sea.

   In local belief the whale, respectfully called cá Ông («Lord Fish»), is Nam Hải Đại tướng quân, the «Great General of the Southern Sea», who protects seafarers in rough weather and sudden danger. When a whale strands on the shore, people do everything they can to return it to the sea; if it stays there, it is buried with full honours and a shrine is built to worship it.

   Truong Van Duoc (Trương Văn Được), deputy head of the management board of the Lăng Ông Nam Hải relic, says whale worship has been part of Kiên Hải's spiritual life for more than 100 years. Fishermen used to come to the shrine on the full moon of the tenth lunar month to give thanks for a safe year at sea and ask for a good new season, and over time the custom grew into a festival. That is why it always falls on the 15th and 16th days of the tenth lunar month, and its Western calendar date moves every year.

   Historical note:
Worshipped: the whale, Nam Hải Đại tướng quân
Origins: a thanksgiving rite on the full moon of the tenth lunar month, held as a festival since the 1990s
Lăng Ông Nam Hải shrine: provincial-level historical and cultural relic since 15 November 2006

   The exact timing of each ceremony and the dates of the sports events have not been published yet; check announcements from the Kiên Hải authorities before you set out for the island.

   Two days when a whole island turns to the sea to thank the whale are a rare chance to see a century-old belief still at work in everyday life.