The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recognised the
traditional ceremony commemorating the sailors of the Hoang Sa (Paracel)
Flotilla as part of the national intangible cultural heritage, the Quan
Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) reported on April 24.
The newspaper cited Nguyen Dang Vu, Director of central Quang Ngai
province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism as saying that a
ceremony will be held on April 28 at Ly Son island district to receive
the certificate of the recognition.
The traditional
ceremony, known as “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 island to pay tribute to local men enlisted
in the Hoang Sa Flotilla to patrol the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa
archipelagoes to mine natural resources and defend the national island
sovereignty.
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).
The certificate presentation
ceremony will coincide with the organisation of the traditional festival
which 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.