What is the Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony and where is it held?
The Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony, also called the Chinh te ceremony or the Hoang Sa soldier-substitution offering, is a folk rite of the islanders of Ly Son, Quang Ngai province, tied to the founding and operation of the old Hoang Sa flotilla13. It is usually held on the 15th and 16th of the third lunar month, organised jointly by the family clans that had men in the Hoang Sa flotilla and the village community1.
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsThe main venue is the national relic An Vinh village communal house, together with Am Linh Tu and the clan halls on the island1. Ly Son is now Ly Son special zone, Quang Ngai province (before 7/2025 it was Ly Son district)4. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ly Son island lies 18 nautical miles from the mainland and comprises Lon island (Cu lao Re), Be island (Cu lao Bo Bai) and Mu Cu islet, with a natural area of 9.97 km2 and a population of over 19,800 at the time of the source1. The same source states that the island district then had three communes: An Hai, An Vinh and An Binh1.
An Hai village holds its own observance at Nghia Tu An Hai and the An Hai communal house, according to the source1. At the 2026 ceremony, Saigon Giai Phong newspaper reported on 2 May, the 16th of the third lunar month, that the Ritual Board of An Vinh village communal house together with the island's family clans held the Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony at the national relic An Vinh village communal house, Ly Son special zone4.
Why is the ceremony tied to the Hoang Sa flotilla that drew men from An Vinh commune?
The answer lies in old texts quoted verbatim by the Department of Cultural Heritage. According to Phu bien tap luc by Le Quy Don: "In former times the Nguyen lords established the Hoang Sa flotilla of 70 men, taking people from An Vinh commune to fill it; each year in the second month they received orders to set out, carrying enough provisions for six months, going in five small fishing boats, and after three days and three nights at sea they reached the islands"1.
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsAccording to Hoang Viet dia du chi by Phan Huy Chu: "The Hoang Sa archipelago lies offshore; the kings of former dynasties set up a Hoang Sa guard of 70 men, usually taken from An Vinh commune. Every year in the third month they received orders, carried six months of provisions, and used five boats to put out to sea; after three days and three nights they reached the islands, where they both kept watch and fished for food"1. These two passages are the basis for the Hoang Sa flotilla having 70 men drawn from An Vinh commune, using five small fishing boats, sailing three days and three nights, carrying six months of provisions, and returning in the eighth month to Cua Eo (Thuan An) to report1.
The Government Portal, citing Dr Nguyen Dang Vu, then Director of the Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, states that the Hoang Sa flotilla was established in the late 16th or early 17th century and was "disbanded" probably in the years when the French colonialists waged their war of invasion against Vietnam2. The same source says each voyage had 70 men conscripted annually, first from An Vinh village and later also from An Hai village, and that from the early 19th century onward the Hoang Sa flotilla was mainly made up of An Vinh men on Ly Son island2.
According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, old historical records only say the Hoang Sa flotilla was established "at the beginning of the present dynasty", "at the beginning of the founding of the country", without a specific year, and that it ceased operating in the years of the French colonial invasion of Vietnam1.
Table of documents and sources
| Document / source | Author, period | Content recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Phu bien tap luc | Le Quy Don, compiled in the Le trung hung period | Hoang Sa flotilla of 70 men, drawn from An Vinh commune, five small fishing boats, three days and three nights at sea, six months of provisions, returning in the eighth month to Cua Eo to report1 |
| Hoang Viet dia du chi | Phan Huy Chu, Nguyen period | Hoang Sa guard of 70 men, usually from An Vinh commune, ordered out in the third month, five boats, keeping watch and fishing1 |
| Genealogies of the island clans | Records of the family clans | Many soldiers never returned; there remain spirit-summoning graves and wind graves on the island3 |
| Ly Son folk verses | Passed down orally | "In the second and third months, offerings are made for Hoang Sa soldiers", "Hoang Sa has many islands and dunes"13 |
What is the deeper origin of the ceremony?
Kind of knowledge: School: Department of Cultural HeritageSchool's interpretation. How one school or one book reads it; other schools may read it differently. The five labelsAccording to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the deeper origin of today's Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony is the old "soldier-substitution offering" rite of the people of An Vinh village and the family clans on Ly Son island, held to pray for the safety of Hoang Sa soldiers before the flotilla set out on duty1.
Kind of knowledge: Folk beliefFolk belief. What people believe, avoid or pass on by word of mouth, recorded as a belief, not as a checked fact. The five labelsIn folk belief, the Hoang Sa flotilla faced many dangers at sea and often went out without returning, so during the ceremony people made paper figures or figures of rice dough pasted with five-coloured paper, made boats from banana trunks, placed the effigies on them to stand in for the Hoang Sa fleet, offered them at the communal house and then set them adrift, hoping the substitute fleet would take on all risks in place of the real soldiers, and also to give the soldiers confidence and resolve to complete their royal mission1.
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsAccording to the Department of Cultural Heritage, later, when the Hoang Sa flotilla no longer existed, the family clans that had men in it organised ceremonies following the old rites at their own clan halls in remembrance, and this became a custom in the life of generations of Ly Son people1.
What rituals does the Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony include?
The ceremony has two main parts: preparation and offerings at the communal house and its yard, and the casting of the offering boats to sea, followed by the festival. The order below follows the description of the Department of Cultural Heritage and news reports1234.
Table of ritual sequence
| Order | Ritual | Description per source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preparation | Making five model boats, offerings, spirit tablets of the Hoang Sa Cai doi (captains) and soldiers, and tablets of the deities ruling the seas1 |
| 2 | Offering to the gods on the eve | The communal house ritual board holds an offering to the gods on the eve and a prayer for the safe passage of the spirits of Hoang Sa soldiers1 |
| 3 | Khao le offering in the communal house yard | Performed by the clans with a ritual master; the village elder and dignitaries act as assistants; three altars hold offerings such as pork, chicken, salt, dry cakes, and tablets of the Cai doi and soldiers; in front of the altars are five model fishing boats1 |
| 4 | Mudra ritual to ward off evil | The ritual master performs mudra rites to ward off evil and consecrate the spirits of the Hoang Sa soldiers1 |
| 5 | Reading of the oration | The ritual master reads the oration1 |
| 6 | Casting the offering boats to sea | The offering boats are taken out to sea and set adrift, praying for the spirits of the old soldiers to be released and for a peaceful life1 |
| 7 | Festival | Lantern festival, classical opera, lion dance, procession and the traditional Tu Linh boat race1 |
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsSaigon Giai Phong newspaper describes the rituals at the 2026 ceremony as including the cung nghinh rite, the yet rite, a procession of the deities and the spirit tablets of Hoang Sa soldiers, the traditional offering, the casting of effigies, and the boat race4. The same source says a conch horn urged preparations to carry the effigies of the soldiers down to the boats, and that right after the ritual came the Tu Linh boat race with teams bearing the symbols of Long, Lan, Quy and Phung competing at sea4.
Kind of knowledge: School: Department of Cultural HeritageSchool's interpretation. How one school or one book reads it; other schools may read it differently. The five labelsAccording to the Department of Cultural Heritage, in recent years the ceremony has been held quite solemnly by the locality, with the broad participation of islanders and many other localities in Quang Ngai province1.
How is the legend of the Hoang Sa soldiers told?
Kind of knowledge: Folk beliefFolk belief. What people believe, avoid or pass on by word of mouth, recorded as a belief, not as a checked fact. The five labelsLegend has it that each soldier in the Hoang Sa flotilla, before setting out on duty, had to prepare a pair of mats, seven bamboo splints and seven rattan cords, so that if he died at sea his body could be bundled and cast into the water13. This is a detail told in folk tradition and in articles about the ceremony, not a record of the court's historical documents.
From the reality of losses among many generations sent on duty, Ly Son developed a substitution rite for the living, praying that those who went would return safely to their homeland1. Islanders also built graves of the "spirit-summoning" type; there remain the graves of Cai doi Pham Quang Anh, Pham Huu Nhat and several "ma liep" (spirit-summoning graves) of Hoang Sa flotilla men who perished at sea1.
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsAccording to the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ly Son people also jointly worship Cai doi Vo Van Khiet, Pham Quang Anh, Chinh Thuy quan Suat doi Pham Huu Nhat and the heroic soldiers of the old Hoang Sa flotilla at Am Linh Tu relic, An Vinh village communal house and several other shrines1.
The Government Portal names some Cai doi recorded in historical documents: Cai doi Vo Van Khiet (1786), Cai doi Vo Van Phu (1803), Chinh thuy quan suat doi Pham Van Nguyen (1835)2. The same source says these were men sent to Hoang Sa, and jointly in charge of Truong Sa, by the Tay Son dynasty, King Gia Long and King Minh Mang, not only to search for marine products and resources, survey sea routes and patrol the islands, but also to plant markers and erect sovereignty steles on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos2.
When was the ceremony recognised as heritage?
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsIn April 2013, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to include the Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, under the category of social customs and beliefs, by Decision 1524/QD-BVHTTDL dated 24 April 201313.
The ceremony to receive the recognition certificate took place on 28 April 2013 at the national relic An Vinh village communal house, Ly Son island district, Quang Ngai province, organised by Quang Ngai province together with the family clans of Ly Son2. The Government Portal also says that on this occasion Ly Son island district received the national intangible cultural heritage certificate for the Khao Le The Linh ceremony and the national relic certificate for An Vinh village communal house2.
How is the ceremony tied to maritime and island sovereignty?
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsAccording to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony reflects the history of Vietnam's protection of its territorial sovereignty in the Bien Dong, especially sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, held by the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa flotilla and the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa navy1.
The history of protecting sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos was written with the sweat, blood and lives of many generations of able-bodied men on Ly Son, according to the Department of Cultural Heritage and the Ly Son special zone information page13. Hoang Sa and Truong Sa are two archipelagos under Vietnam's sovereignty, established through historical process and the documents and maps left by Vietnamese dynasties and the Vietnamese state.
The Ly Son special zone information page says the Hoang Sa flotilla was later strengthened into the Hoang Sa Navy, jointly managing the "Bac Hai flotilla" tasked with exploiting the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa waters, and that over many centuries of operation tens of thousands of Hoang Sa Navy soldiers took part3.
How has the ceremony been held in recent years?
Kind of knowledge: DocumentedHistorical record. Backed by a document, a date and a source; the note number beside it points to that source. The five labelsThe Ly Son special zone information page reports that a working delegation of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration met with Quang Ngai province and Ly Son district on organising the Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony at national scale with a series of events from 24 to 28 April 2024, including the opening ceremony and the traditional Tu Linh boat race, an arts programme, a Miss Vietnam Sea contest, a three-region folk song contest, a women's beach volleyball tournament, a Ly Son - An Binh open-water swim, a Ly Son island route marathon, and a thematic exhibition related to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa3.
According to Saigon Giai Phong newspaper, the 2026 ceremony took place on 2 May, the 16th of the third lunar month, at the national relic An Vinh village communal house, Ly Son special zone, Quang Ngai province4. Mr Tran Cuong, Head of the Ritual Board of An Vinh village communal house, told the newspaper that the ceremony is held to remember and honour the heroic soldiers of former times who, by order of the court, went to Truong Sa and Hoang Sa to erect steles and plant sovereignty markers on the sea and islands4.
Kind of knowledge: UnprovenNot enough evidence. Someone has claimed it, but no source or study is strong enough to confirm it. The five labelsFigures for the age of the ceremony ("over 400 years", "several hundred years") are given by the press as conventional expressions, without a specific date in the source, so they should be seen only as a traditional way of describing the age of the rite.
