On Vietnam’s southern coast, a cemetery for whales

The cemetery spreads 2,000 square meters in Phuoc Hai fishing village in Dat Do District. Since it was built 21 years ago 455 whales have been buried here. Fishermen believe whales are sacred and bring them luck, and so worship the creatures both alive and dead.
To fishermen in Vietnam, especially on the central and southern coasts, the whale is worshiped as Ca Ong, or "Lord Whale", who protects them at sea. Fishermen pray to the whale for a safe trip every time they go fishing. This is a practice that has been in vogue for generations.
Phuoc Hai villagers are no exception. A person who spots a dead whale has the responsibility to mourn the death with all the rituals carried out when his/her parent or grandparent passes away.

On each grave, villagers note the date the whale was found dead, and the name of the owner of the boat that found it. Danh Huong, 70, who takes care of the cemetery, says tens of whales wash up every year along the beach in Phuoc Hai village, mostly at the beginning of the year.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Uyen, 30, a villager, prays at one of the graves with incense sticks. She asks for protection and luck for her husband and brothers who are out fishing off Con Dao Archipelago.
She says: "Last year my family’s fishing boat brought two dead Ca Ong back to the shore for burying and mourning. We have been offering flowers and fruits every month to worship them."

Inside the cemetery is a temple to worship Ca Ong. The cemetery was recognized the biggest one of its kind in Vietnam in 2011.

Inside the temple, villagers place photos, statues and bones of whales. Fishermen come here to pray for peace and luck every time they are about to go fishing.
Every year on the sixth day of the last lunar month, the village holds a whale veneration festival to worship all the whales that have died and those who are still out there in the sea.

A larger temple to worship whales built in the 19th century.
Nguyen Ngoc The, who takes care of it, says whales were initially buried inside, but 21 years ago villagers built the land next to it into the cemetery.

A two-meter-long whale skeleton that was polished and placed inside the temple. This whale washed ashore 24 years ago, still alive. Villagers pushed it back into the sea, but it returned and eventually died.

Some fishermen exhume whales’ graves after three years and bring the remains to the palace to venerate.

The says he had been a fisherman for 44 years, and on two occasions his boat almost sunk in rough seas. "I thought there was no chance for us to survive, yet after I pray to Ca Ong for a while, the boat rose up from the water and then I was rescued."
After his son took over the boat and the family’s business, Dinh volunteered to work at the temple to be able to pray for his son.