Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa (ceremony to thank and substitute soldiers for Hoàng Sa)

South Central Coast, Lý Sơn, Quảng Ngãi, đình làng An Vĩnh, Village communal-house rites

When

The second and third lunar months every year; the ceremony at An Vĩnh communal house in 2026 is held on the 16th day of the third lunar month, the clans of An Hải village hold it in the second lunar month

Where the offerings are set

An Vĩnh communal house, An Hải communal house; the ceremonial boat is carried to the seashore to be released

Who makes the offering

The Ban Khánh tiết (ceremony committee) of the communal house together with the clans on the island; the village elders perform the rites and read the văn tế (sacrificial oration)

Offerings

Steps

1. Lễ cung nghinh, cáo yết nghinh thần (welcoming and announcing rite to invite the deities)
2. Lễ nhập yết (rite of entering and announcing)
3. Procession of the deities and the spirit tablets of Hoàng Sa soldiers
4. Chánh tế (main offering) according to traditional ritual, the village elders read the văn tế (sacrificial oration) and offer to the soldiers
5. Blowing the ốc u (conch horn), escorting the effigies of soldiers down to the boat
6. Young men carry the ceremonial boat and effigies to the sea and release the boat
7. After the ritual part is the boat race of the four sacred creatures (Long, Lân, Quy, Phụng)

Where the sources differ

• Time: a folk verse on the island says "tháng hai, tháng ba khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa" (in the second and third months, thank and substitute soldiers for Hoàng Sa); an article in Sài Gòn Giải Phóng citing the Ban Khánh tiết of An Hải communal house says the clans of An Hải village hold it in the second lunar month; an article in Báo Văn Hóa about the program at the Làng Văn hóa Du lịch writes in the third month, at the end of the third lunar month; the ceremony at An Vĩnh communal house in 2026 is held on the 16th day of the third lunar month.
• Tuổi của lễ: các bài viết "hơn 400 năm" (Sài Gòn Giải Phóng, Thế giới và Việt Nam) hoặc "gần 400 năm" (Báo Văn Hóa 2026).

South Central Coast, Lý Sơn, Quảng Ngãi, Folk practice

When

The second and third lunar months every year; according to the article, in former times it was before the Hoàng Sa conscripts set out

Where the offerings are set

Ancestral houses of the clans whose members went to Hoàng Sa as soldiers (Phạm Quang, Phạm Văn, Võ Văn and other clans), the Âm linh tự (Nghĩa tự); the ceremonial boat is released into the sea

Who makes the offering

The clans prepare the offerings; the thầy cúng (ritual master) performs the rites, in a red robe and tam sơn hat

Offerings

Steps

1. The clans arrange offerings at the clan temple; the ritual master moulds figurines and places them beside the spirit tablets
2. The ritual master performs the rite to the music of bát âm (eight-instrument ensemble) or ngũ âm (five-instrument ensemble), which according to old reports lasted two days; the soldiers stood in attendance throughout the ceremony
3. Place the figurines, spirit tablets together with rice, salt, firewood, fresh water and nets into the banana boat
4. Carry the boat to the sea and release it