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The Mausoleum of the Sea God – a temple dedicated to the sea deity – is one of more than 1,000 temples along Vietnam's 3,260-kilometer coastline. While the afternoon sun blazes down on the coastal town of Can Thanh in southern Vietnam, the interior of the Mausoleum of the Sea God, a single-story, pale yellow building on the waterfront, always remains cool and refreshing.
Sunlight streamed into the main hall, filling the air with the scent of incense. A man, possibly a fisherman, entered the hall, walked toward a 20-meter-long whale skeleton displayed in a glass case in the center of the temple, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head in profound reverence.
Whale temple in Can Thanh.
At these temples, locals worship whale skeletons of various sizes and shapes, hoping their prayers will reach the Whale God, the whale deity, for safe voyages and bountiful catches. Relatives of fishermen also frequently visit the temples to light candles and incense and pray for peace. Sometimes they offer fruits, money, and other offerings, hoping their prayers will be heard.
A place that preserves history.
For over two centuries, fishing communities along the central and southern coasts of Vietnam have built numerous shrines dedicated to the carcasses of marine animals that have washed ashore.
A temple dedicated to whales and other marine animals in Phan Thiet.
From grand architectural structures to small, simple wooden tombs adorned with incense and flowers, these "whale temples" are a part of the country's cultural history dating back centuries, and also preserve evidence of its natural history. Vu Long, co-founder of the Center for Biodiversity and Endangered Species Conservation (CBES) in Ho Chi Minh City, visited the Whale Mausoleum.
"Besides being a unique aspect of Vietnamese culture, these temples are also a great source of information for our research," said Mr. Vu Long.
Stories from the skeletons
Mr. Le Van No, a 71-year-old retired fisherman, has volunteered to look after the temple for over 20 years. He comes to clean the temple daily and, along with others, decorates it for special occasions, such as the Nghinh Ong festival, which is held annually in the eighth lunar month.
The Mausoleum of the Whale God is one of the famous ancient temples dating back to 1805. Therefore, Mr. No wanted to share the story of the whale skeletons behind the glass – just one of dozens of skeletons associated with this temple. The other skeletons are arranged in rooms or stored in 17 coffin-like containers located in a nearby plot of land. "Local people found this whale with bullet wounds. It was another victim of the war," Mr. No said.
Vu Long, a marine animal researcher.
Mr. No showed Mr. Long a black-and-white photograph from 1971 and recounted the moment the whale carcass was found floating in the sea near the temple. At the time, Mr. No was only 20 years old and remembered that the carcass was about the length of 13 benches, making it very difficult to move by human strength alone.
Therefore, the locals used a small motorboat to tow the whale carcass to the nearby mangrove forest. The carcass decomposed over several months before the skeleton was transported to the temple.
In Da Nang, about 1,000 km north of Can Thanh, fisherman Tran Van Mui, 35, has prayed at Van Nam Tho Pagoda since he was a child. In a previous interview conducted by Mr. Long, he heard about Mr. Mui's belief in the miraculous power of whales.
In 2005, Mr. Mui and his fishing crew avoided a storm that the weather forecast hadn't predicted. At sea, his crew observed whales surfacing and heading towards shore, interpreting it as an omen from the Whale God. They set off for home earlier than planned. By doing so, Mr. Mui believed they had avoided the storm and their lives were spared.
According to Mr. Long, the deep belief in the mystical power of whales can stem from three stories with different origins. One originates from Hinduism and another from Buddhism, but the belief most widely held in Vietnam originates from the country's history.
Whales are sacred animals often worshipped in temples near the sea.
In the 18th century, during a battle, Lord Nguyen Anh was in danger of being captured. He prayed to the gods for a way to escape. At that moment, two whales surfaced and carried Nguyen Anh's ship out of the encirclement.
Later, upon ascending the throne, as a token of gratitude, Nguyen Anh declared that all whales in Vietnamese waters should be worshipped as deities. Therefore, fishermen considered it their duty to retrieve whale carcasses floating at sea or washed ashore and perform burial ceremonies. After three years or more, the fishermen would bring the whale bones to the village temple.
