At the ‘Nghinh Ong xuat du’ ritual (Photo: VNA) Binh Thuan (VNA) – Thousands of locals and tourism flocked to PhanThiet city, in the south central province of Binh Thuan on September 1 to jointhe ‘Nghinh Ong xuat du’ ritual, a key part of the biennial Nghinh Ong (WhaleWorship) festival.
Some 1,000 people masqueraded as the nation’s legends, and processed Ong’stablet through the streets of Nguyen Hue, Dinh Tien Hoang, Trung Trac and TrungNhi. Stellar dances and martial art performances were featured during theprocess.
The highlight of the ritual was the performance of a 49-metre long dragon, thelongest one in Vietnam.
Various traditional rituals were revived at the event, aiming to preserve anddevelop the folk culture of the Hoa ethnic community in Phan Thiet city as wellas pray for peace, favourable weather conditions, bumper crop, happiness andprosperity.
The festival, together with four others, was chosen to serve tourismdevelopment in the province, making contributions to popularising local imagesamong domestic and international friends.
This year’s event took place from August 30 to September 1.
Phan Thiet city worked to ensure social order, traffic safety, and hygieneduring the festival.
Nghing Ong or Cau Ngu festival is a cultural identity of south central coastallocalities, which has been preserved and passed down through generations. Thefestival is to pray for bumper hauls of fish, safe voyages and peace for thenation.-VNA
VNA
