Vietnam's Mysterious Whale Cult (A Unique Religion) Options

[Henry123]

I thought this was interesting. Enjoy!


Vietnam's Mysterious Whale Cult

In April, 2004, a 25m dead whale was washed up onto a beach at Ben Tre, in the Mekong Delta. More than a thousand Vietnamese people from all over Vietnam converged on the site to burn incense and worship the carcass, and then to use its bones to build a temple.

The story was picked up by a news agency and spread around the world’s newspapers. Most treated it as a humorous item, or regarded it simply as bizarre behaviour.

However, the event was not an isolated occurrence. Whales and other large sea mammals are routinely beached or washed up on Vietnam’s 1,400km coastline. Wherever this happens, the creature is treated with great reverence and worshipped by local people, particularly fishermen.

The cult of the Whale God
The little-known cult is thought to be linked to the early Kh’mer and Cham people, and thus predates every established religion in Vietnam. However, the country has strong animist roots, so the cult’s origins could be local and even older.

The beliefs centre upon the Whale God, a powerful spirit that can calm the waves and lead seafarers to shelter. He is known as ‘ngu ong’, which means ‘Mr. Whale’. Such a prosaic title is a mark of both fear and reverence, a god so powerful that even to speak its name is courting danger.

Living whales are revered as well. Followers of the cult never hunt the large marine animals, which they regard as giant fish. The carcasses of whales that have died natural deaths are buried with great respect and ritual ceremonies. After three to five years, the bones are exhumed, shrouded and carried to the temple to be worshipped, as if the creature was a beloved community god.

Whale funerals always attract large crowds but make the authorities uneasy. Vietnam’s constitution condemns ‘superstition’, but the whale cult is deeply rooted in the country’s culture.

Some of the many temples and festivals devoted to whale worship
There are many festivals associated with the worship of the whale god. In Vung Tau, there is a pagoda devoted to the deity and an annual festival in the eighth lunar month. On festival days, the temples are decorated with flower garlands, while colourful lanterns are hung during the night. There are also cultural activities including hat boi (classical drama performances) and hat ba trao (traditional folk songs).

In Danang, a centuries-old whale festival takes place in the middle of the 3rd lunar month each year. The whale temple, as well as all the houses and boats, are beautifully decorated. The peace offering is conducted in the first evening at the whale temple by village elders. Offerings, which do not contain seafood, are distributed while the oration is read out.

At dawn the following day, a procession of boats on the sea in a set formation is a ritual affirmation of the fishermen’s devotion to their Whale God. At midnight, the official ceremony is conducted as school children offer incense and the orchestra plays a classical opera.

Founded in 1762, the Thuy Tu communal house in Phan Thiet city looks like a Chinese temple and contains a collection of six hundred whale and sea turtle skeletons. Up to a century ago, whales were frequently spotted in the surrounding coast of Phan Thiet and fishermen believed they were Gods of the Sea who guided and protected them. When a whale died, their remains were brought back and buried in the grounds. After 3 years, the bones were placed in a pagoda for worship. On display is the preserved bone structure of an enormous fin whale that is over 120 years old, 22 metres long and weighs over 65 tons. The rituals are still practiced today - the last whale burial was in 2002.

The invisible ‘religion’.
There is remarkably little attention paid to the whale cult of Vietnam. To the best of our knowledge, no academic studies of the cult’s beliefs and rituals have been made, and no sources of information appear to be available. This is surprising, considering the large numbers of active followers around the coast from the Gulf of Thailand in the south to Ha Long Bay and beyond in the north.


http://www.haivenu-vietnam.com/vietnam-rel...-whale-cult.htm

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rroossiinn // Dec 14, 2007

Dear all,

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You look for teacher because you are poor baby! Poor baby syndrom–”take me there”.

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You have to do it yourself!

Anything would do: Tensegrity is perfect, the most brilliant all inclusive guidance that include such secrets as the crucial knowledge of the assemblage point! Or get a Mantac Chia book and PRACTICE!

You get to feel the energy. Then, in a viscious circle, the more you feel it the stronger it becomes – enhanced by your attention and awareness of it!

It is a vibratory force: will, intent… chi whatever…

You need to practice from INNER SILENCE!

Human mind has been predated by an inorganic predator who trapped man in the state of constant selfreflection. Break this mirror of selfreflection by taxing it with INNER SILENCE like in the video of POD Sleeping Awake!

And most importantly: KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A ENERGY TWIN/energy body! Connect with it! You need to open the gates for it to start to show up. It is already there but you will feel vibratory sensations all over, and of all kinds!

Don’t get hooked to the intent of spectacular “tricks doings”! Notice how mr Cheng is HUMBLE!! Look at his eyes: they are humourous, dettached and humble! Defy the predator by shutting the mirror of self-reflection! The infected center is the crown of the head: it should circulate like all other vortexes but it goes tick-tack like pendulum. Tax it with INNER SILENCE and don’t focus obsessively on this centre!

And, most of all, connect with other beings: we are all interconnected and we affect each other beyond physical boundries! Great interconnecting is on the way and the masses awake in a wild chain reaction….but the evil “gatekeepers” are advancing too! So,
it’s not the time of “”oh, but ME and my sifu”….
it is the time of WE!!!!!!

energy!
intent!
freedom!

http://www.martialdevelopment.com/blog/fin...-of-john-chang/ post#64

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This post has been edited by Henry123: May 1 2011, 09:57 AM

[Henry123]

http://www.vietnamtravellook.com/news/viet...le-worship.html

Fishermen prepare for four days of whale worship
The annual Nghinh Ong or Whale Worship Festival, a traditional festival for fishermen, will begin on October 2 in HCMC’s only coastal district, Can Gio.

The four-day festival will open at several venues at 8am in Can Thanh Town. On the third day, a ceremonial offering will be made by village elders in the traditional manner to show people’s gratitude to the whale and commemorate those fishermen that had died at sea.

The offering, one of the highlights of the entire festival, will feature a palanquin procession from Lang Ong Thuy Tuong, or the Whale Tomb, to the sea and a whale welcome ceremony involving a fleet of 500 boats.

The rituals will be followed by festivities to celebrate the community’s well-being and prosperity last year. This will involve several folk performances like playing football on stilts, unicorn dances, tying crabs and wrestling, with the highlight being a performance of human chess.

La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the district is hoping to turn the Nghing Ong Festival into a major tourist event and develop local tourism by focusing on sights, culture and history, he said.

“Can Gio has potential to develop a wide range of eco-tourism. We aim to develop the district into an ideal weekend destination for city residents,” he said.

A road connecting the city with the district, the first of its kind, would be completed this year, he said.

The district lacks enough facilities or services to host a large number of international tourists but is likely to welcome around 3,000 visitors every day.

The HCMC Youth & Children Outdoor Activities Centre at the district’s Long Hoa Commune will offer an exploratory two-day tour of the Can Gio mangrove forest at a moderate VND 413,000.

Can Gio District, situated around 50km to the southeast of downtown HCMC, spreads over 70,421ha. Well over half of it is occupied by forests, 22,850ha by canals and rivers, and the most of the rest by aquaculture farmers, orchards and salt fields.

The mangrove forest here was recognised as Vietnam’s first biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2000, joining a global network of 368 others in 91 nations.


Source VNA



Gideon: If she isn't willing to date a chinese man, then she doesn't truly "like" chinese culture in my opinion.

Me: Would you say the same thing for Asians living in predominatly white countries???

Gideon: ... So I would not say the same thing for Asians living in a white country because they didn't move there because they "love the culture". Asians who move to white countries move to achieve a better life because opportunities are easier to find/achieve.

Me: ... What about non Asians moving to China for better life and opportunities?
Or Chinese populations in Indonesia and Malaysia who dont want to assimilate into the cultures there?
Your thoughts?

Gideon: (no response)

This post has been edited by Henry123: Apr 15 2011, 11:12 AM

[samnang]

being in a cult sounds like it'd be kinda fun. especially if you got to wear a cool hooded robe.

[asean.asia]

I'd rather worship a whale than a WHITE man.

[samnang]

[chiuchimu]

being in a cult sounds like it'd be kinda fun. especially if you got to wear a cool hooded robe.

Are you going to walk around town like that?