The Whale Temple is located in the Diem Pho Relic Complex (Van Loc Commune).
In the minds of fishermen, the whale is not only a powerful sea creature but also an incarnation of a god, always watching over and protecting them, helping them to have a smooth trip at sea, encounter good luck, have a full hold of fish and shrimp, and overcome all dangers and uncertainties. Therefore, the custom of worshipping the whale has a particularly important role and meaning in the cultural and religious life of coastal people.
Coming to Diem Pho sea, you can fully feel the diversity of spiritual culture here. The relic cluster here includes Lien Hoa pagoda worshiping Buddha, the temple worshiping the Four Holy Ladies, the temple worshiping King Thong Thuy - Ne Son, and the whale temple. In addition, there is a small temple here worshiping the souls of 344 people from Ngu Loc commune who died on a sea voyage in 1931.
The Whale Temple was built a long time ago, originally consisting of a front hall, a middle hall, and a back hall consisting of 10 rooms. However, after being moved many times due to sea erosion, the temple no longer retains its original scale and architecture. Currently, the temple has three rooms; above the wall close to the roof hangs a large gilded red-lacquered plaque with three Chinese characters: "Vân cổ hương" (eternal fragrance)...
In particular, in the temple there is a large box, placed right in front of the altar, the height is the same as the altar, 2m long, about 0.70m wide, the front and both sides are made of glass, inside the box contains the whale's jade bones. On the surface of the box, one end is the whale's hat embroidered with gold thread, the other end is a small dragon boat also in bright yellow. Next to the hat is a wooden sign painted with red and gold, the content written on the sign is two Chinese characters: "Hoang Trieu"...
The whale skeleton at the temple is still quite intact, including the head and 21 vertebrae, the largest vertebra has a diameter of up to 0.45m, in addition to many large ribs.
Regarding the whale's jade bones, Diem Pho village still has many legends and miracles. Accordingly, on a December morning in 1739, villagers discovered a whale washed ashore in their village. The villagers saw this as a lucky omen, so each person went home to find a hundred mats to cover the whale's body and then held a burial ceremony. Three years later, the villagers held a ceremony to exhume the whale's bones, the bones were washed with fragrant wine, dried and called "thuong ngoc cot" and a temple was built to worship them.
In the coastal area of Van Loc, in addition to the Whale Temple located in the Diem Pho Relic Complex, there is also a temple to worship the sacred Nam Hai, demonstrating the movement, enduring vitality, role and significance of the whale worship custom in the lives of coastal residents. It is known that decades ago, not far to the North of the Whale Temple in Diem Pho village, at the mangrove beach, Hung Thanh village, Van Loc commune, a whale drifted ashore. Immediately after that, the villagers gathered to hold a ceremony, bury it, and more than a year later, they brought the whale skeleton to shore and performed rituals to bring the skeleton to worship at Phu Ganh in the village. By 2015, the people of Hung Thanh and Yen Loc villages joined hands to build a temple to worship Nam Hai.
The whale skeleton is about 12m long, the skeleton is nearly 2m wide, 40 vertebrae, 2 gill bones and 24 ribs, fan-shaped bones, bow-shaped bones, are placed neatly and solemnly in the temple space. Before being displayed in the glass cabinet, each fish bone, from large to small, is cleaned with alcohol and then dried in the sun to prevent mold.
In fact, at the estuaries, where the rivers meet the sea in Thanh Hoa, there are many places where temples, shrines, and shrines to worship Whales are built, such as Hau temple, Bach Cau village, Nga Son commune; Nam Hai temple in Sam Son ward, temple in Don Dien village, Quang Binh commune, Hon Bo - Lach Truong spiritual cultural tourism park, Hoang Tien commune...
The book “Folklore of the Sea and Islands of Thanh Hoa” by author Hoang Ba Tuong wrote: “Throughout the Nguyen Dynasty, the court bestowed royal decrees on the Nam Hai Cu Toc Ngoc Lan god. Unfortunately, over time and storms, the temples worshiping Nam Hai and the royal decrees have mostly been lost or misplaced, and very few remain, making it difficult to fully visualize the Nguyen Dynasty’s respect for the Nam Hai god. However, with the temples, relics, and antiquities still present in the sites of worship of the god and more importantly through intangible cultural heritages such as legends, worship customs, festivals... preserved in the folk consciousness, the whale worship - Nam Hai Cu Toc Ngoc Lan god has always been a bright and bold color in the spiritual life of the coastal residents towards the whale - the benevolent god of the sea”.
Today, the temples and shrines worshiping the Whale are still bustling places for festivals, cultural and spiritual meetings for the people in the region. The children of the sea solemnly stand before the altar, offering incense to express their wishes and desires for health, luck and peace. The spiritual and cultural colors here beautify and enrich the cultural flow of Thanh land...
Article and photos: Dang Khoa
The article uses many materials in the book "Folklore of the sea and islands of Thanh land" (2022, Thanh Hoa Publishing House) by Hoang Ba Tuong.
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/tuc-tho-ca-ong-cua-cu-dan-vung-bien-xu-thanh-256809.htm
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