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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Inside the cemetery is a temple to worship Ca Ong. The cemetery was recognized the biggest one of its kind in Vietnam in 2011. |
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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. |
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A larger temple to worship whales built in the 19th century. |
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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. |
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Some fishermen exhume whales’ graves after three years and bring the remains to the palace to venerate. |
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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." |