Lễ Cầu ngư, cúng cá Ông (fishing prayer ceremony, offering to the Whale)

South Central Coast, Fishing communities, phường Cửa Đại, Hội An, Village communal-house rites

When

The 16th and 17th days of the second lunar month; formerly held for three days (welcoming the deity and the túc offering, the great sacrifice to the deity, hát bội and games)

Where the offerings are set

Lăng Tiêu Diện (lăng Tứ Chánh Vạn), khối Phước Thịnh, phường Cửa Đại

Who makes the offering

The ban trần thiết is elected by the fishermen: elderly, virtuous, with a complete family, not in mourning; includes 2 chánh bái, 1 chanter, 1 reader of the sacrificial oration, 2 gong and drum players, a ritual music band, and a group of ritual students

Offerings

Steps

1. Lễ nghinh thần: welcoming the Nam Hải deity by land and by water, with offerings at various points, and bả trạo singing on boats
2. Welcoming the deity into the hall
3. Offering to wandering spirits: three rounds of wine, reading the sacrificial oration, burning the oration, scattering offerings to feed the wandering spirits
4. Lễ cúng Cầu ngư (main ceremony): three rounds of wine, reading the sacrificial oration then burning it
5. Villagers offer incense and have lunch together at the lăng
6. Bả trạo rowing, hát bội, and side-by-side boat racing

Things to avoid

• Members of the ritual committee must not be in mourning

South Central Coast, Bình Định, Village communal-house rites

When

Each fishing village has its own day: lăng Nam Hải in Nhơn Hải commune on the 11th day of the second lunar month; lăng Ông Nam Hải in Bình Thái hamlet (Thị Nại lagoon) holds the cầu ngư on the 16th day of the second lunar month and the giỗ of cá Ông on the 5th day of the ninth lunar month; vạn đầm Xương Lý on the 9th, 10th, and 11th days of the first lunar month

Where the offerings are set

Lăng Ông Nam Hải of the fishing village

Offerings

Steps

1. Giỗ announcement ceremony early in the morning, asking the Nam Hải deity to give an omen for the fishing village
2. Going out to sea (to the lagoon) to welcome the Nam Hải deity back to the lăng; in Xương Lý this is called lễ cung nghinh Thủy Lục
3. Lễ chánh tế (great ceremony) at midnight from the first to the second day in Nhơn Hải, with sword dancing to serve the deity; reading a sacrificial oration praising the deity's merits, praying for a good harvest and for peace and safety
4. Bả trạo singing to serve the deity; in Xương Lý there is the lễ Khởi ca
5. Night hát tuồng and fishermen's games: lắc thúng, bơi thúng, tug of war, boat racing
6. After the ceremony, the fishermen put out to sea

North Central Coast, Cẩm Nhượng (Hà Tĩnh), Quảng Bình, Village communal-house rites

When

Nhượng Bạn village (Cẩm Nhượng, Hà Tĩnh) on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month; fishing villages along the coast of Quảng Bình in the first lunar month, tied to the start of the southern fish season

Steps

1. Ceremonial part: procession (including a procession at sea), ceremony to worship the sea god
2. Hò chèo cạn, performance tied to the cult of the Whale (Nhượng Bạn)
3. Festival part: folk games of sea dwellers

Southeast, Cần Giờ (TP. Hồ Chí Minh), Village communal-house rites

When

Nghinh Ông festival on the 14th, 15th and 16th days of the eighth lunar month every year, held since 1913

Steps

1. The fishermen's boat fleet follows the Nghinh boat out to sea for the ceremony welcoming Ông
2. The rites of the traditional great offering
3. Hát bội (classical opera), bả trạo (rowing chant), đờn ca tài tử (southern amateur music), folk games

Huế, làng Thanh Phước, Thừa Thiên Huế, Village communal-house rites

When

The death anniversary of the Whale in the fifth lunar month (according to the Nghi văn collection of Thanh Phước village, 1913)

Who makes the offering

Tiên chỉ, thứ chỉ, the chief sacrificant and the whole village

Offerings

Steps

1. Reading the prayer text announcing to Nam Hải Cự Tộc Ngọc Lân tôn thần, inviting the water deities in attendance to share in the offerings

South Central Coast, Fishing communities, Cù Lao Chàm (xã Tân Hiệp), Hội An, Village communal-house rites

When

Every year before putting out to sea for the southern fish season; the ceremony lasts two days

Where the offerings are set

Lăng Ông Ngư ở xóm Đình, thôn Bãi Làng; gian giữa nối với hậu tẩm đặt các hòm xương cá Ông

Who makes the offering

The elderly, residents on the island and fishermen from nearby areas

Offerings

Steps

1. First day: decoration inside the lăng; in the evening, the túc offering (also called lễ cáo yết, lễ tiên thường)
2. The next day: welcoming the deity with a deity palanquin placed on a large boat with flags and flowers, gongs and drums, and a music band
3. Offering to the wandering spirits, cầu an (prayer for peace and safety), lasting more than an hour, then burning votive paper
4. Sacrifice to ông Ngọc Lân Nam Hải in three rounds: sơ hiến, á hiến, chung hiến, with xướng tế, reading of the sacrificial oration and đi gia lễ
5. Hát bả trạo (islanders call it hát bạn chèo); formerly hát bội was also performed for six or seven days
6. Boat racing, lắc thúng chai, tug of war