Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa Commemoration Festival Ly Son

Schedule: 18 Tháng 4 – 20 Tháng 4, 2026 (Trung tuần Tháng 3 Âm lịch) | Location: Vietnam

The Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa Commemoration Festival is an extraordinary spiritual and historical maritime ritual practiced exclusively on Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai Province, officially inscribed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Held annually during the middle of the third lunar month at the ancient An Vinh Communal House, this solemn commemoration pays homage to the heroic naval soldiers of the historic Hoang Sa Flotilla during the Nguyen Lords and Nguyen Dynasty eras, who courageously navigated frail wooden sailing craft across treacherous oceans to establish national sovereignty markers, measure navigational sea routes, and safeguard Vietnam's sacred island borders. The core and most emotionally stirring element of the ceremony is the symbolic launching of sacrificial straw-effigy boats (thuyền câu thế linh) into the deep sea. Centuries ago, seafaring soldiers braved monstrous typhoons with minimal chances of survival; families performed preemptive sacrificial rituals using straw effigies clothed in personal linen, carrying rice, salt, bamboo splints, and sleeping mats to invoke spiritual substitutes before departure. Amidst thunderous drums, gongs, and the solemn blowing of gigantic sea conch horns summoning warriors' spirits, village elders in formal silk robes perform ancestor rites and reverently release five miniature wooden boats out past the reef crest into the vast Pacific. The sacred liturgy is paired with vibrant folk festivities, highlighted by the thrilling Four Mythical Creatures (Dragon, Qilin, Tortoise, Phoenix) Boat Racing Cup held across Ly Son's crystal-clear turquoise lagoons, accompanied by rhythmic fisherman sea-chanting dances (hát bả trạo). Participating in this ancestral festival offers international travelers a profoundly poignant glimpse into Vietnamese seafaring heroism, unyielding patriotism, and enduring maritime pride.