The central province of Quang Ngai has completed a scientific dossier on the traditional ceremony commemorating the sailors of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Flotilla, in an effort to seek its recognition as part of the national intangible cultural heritage.

“Le khao le the linh Hoang Sa” (Hoang Sa Soldier Feast and Commemoration Festival) has been observed through hundreds of years by families in Ly Son islands to pay tribute to local men enlisted in the Hoang Sa Flotilla to patrol the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos to mine natural resources and defend the national island sovereignty.

This year the festival will for the first time be organised at provincial level together with the 2013 Quang Ngai Sea and Island Cultural Week from April 25-29.

A wide range of ritual activities will be held in Ly Son island district and Quang Ngai city during the events, including a requiem for the dead, a procession of the four supernatural creatures, the release of lanterns, boat races, and the launching of replica boats carrying effigies of Hoang Sa-Truong Sa fleet sailors to sea.

According to Vietnam’s feudal state history, the Hoang Sa Flotilla was set up when the Nguyen Lords began their reign in the south of the country. Troops were sent to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes throughout the past three centuries, since the time of the Nguyen Lords and through the Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties. The Hoang Sa Flotilla was then assigned to control Bac Hai (Truong Sa).

At the same time, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism also compiled a file on the communal temple of An Vinh village in Ly Son district, in order to apply for recognition of it as a national cultural-historical site, said Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, director of the department, on April 8.-VNA