An opening and closing ceremony of the ‘Cau Ngu’ (Fish Worshipping) Festival 2023 for fishermen in Da Nang’s Thanh Khe District took place on Friday, attracting a large number of locals and visitors.

The traditional festival is a typical and unique cultural activity associated with the spiritual life of the coastal community

The traditional festival is a typical and unique cultural activity associated with the spiritual life of the coastal community and is annually maintained by the local government.

This year’s festival took place from February 8 - 10 with many solemn rituals and exciting traditional festive activities. Specifically, the rituals included the procession of the Sea God, a funeral oration delivered to the God of Water, and traditional rituals to honour ancestors and to pray for peace and prosperity throughout the year.

Meanwhile, the festive activities featured various exciting competitions such as fishing net knitting, tug-of-war, paragliding performance, motor surfing, and beach football, along with cultural activities like ‘bai choi’ (singing while acting as playing cards) and tuong (classic drama) performances.

In addition, there were booths displaying typical products of the wards and products processed from seafood, and a documentary exhibition entitled "Hoang Sa belongs to Viet Nam".

The ‘Cau Ngu’ (Fish Worshipping) Festival is one of the long-standing traditional festivals, and typical products of the coastal communities in the Central and Southern regions.

In Da Nang, the festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2016.

The 3-day event aims at honouring the Gods of the Sea and the Whale, as well as praying for a successful fishing season ahead. In addition, it offers a chance for local fishermen to pay tribute to their predecessors who had made great efforts to the development of the local fisheries sector.

The festival organizers perform rituals to pray for peace and a successful fishing season ahead. Photo: X.D

This year’s festival took place from February 8 - 10 with many solemn rituals and exciting traditional festive activities.

Within the framework of the festival, visitors enjoyed a wide range of cultural activities and folk arts such as ‘bai choi’ (singing while acting as playing cards) and tuong (classic drama) performances. Photo: THU DUYEN

Contestants competed in the fish-carrying competition. Photo: X.D

People enthusiastically participated in the game of tug of war. Photo: THU DUYEN

The net-knitting contest was attractive to both contestants and visitors. Photo: THU DUYEN

There were performances of surfing motorbikes and kayak. Photo: X.D

Wards in Thanh Khe District took part in a beach soccer tournament within the framework of the festival. Photo: T.D

Reporting by X.DUNG, Q.CUONG - Translating by M.DUNG