A traditional event of the Ly Son islanders in Quang Ngai province held to commemorate the soldiers of Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago, was recreated at the Viet Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Son Tay town, Hanoi on June 29.
Known as Le Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa (Feast and Commemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldiers), the two-hour ceremony was undertaken by 47 Ly Son islanders and included performances, Bai Choi singing (folklore music of the South Central region), the launch of five replicas of the boats that carried the soldiers to the sea, and a requiem for Hoang Sa sailors.
The festival is observed annually by Ly Son fishermen during the third lunar month to pay tribute to those who followed the king’s orders, leaving their homeland to protect the country’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes over the past three centuries.
The ritual was recognised as National Intangible Heritage in 2013.