Vietnam village reveres centuries-old whale skeletons
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Residents of Canh Duong Fishing Village in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, have worshipped two whale skeletons for nearly two centuries.
The village, founded in 1634, considers whale worship central to its culture and spiritual life because whales have historically helped them make a living from the sea.
Villagers keep the skeletons of ‘Duc Ong’ (the Revered Lord) and ‘Duc Ba’ (the Revered Lady) at Ngu Linh Temple, displaying them on wooden platforms with an altar. ‘Duc Ba’ washed ashore in 1809, and ‘Duc Ong’ arrived in 1907. Despite damage and loss of parts during wartime, villagers carefully preserve the remaining bones, including ribs over four meters tall.
Researchers measured ‘the Revered Lord’ at 28.8 meters long and ‘the Revered Lady’ at 28.5 meters, estimating they weighed hundreds of metric tons when alive. Beyond the temple, Canh Duong maintains a dedicated cemetery for whales that strand on the local coast. Villagers bury the whales in graves resembling those for people, marking each with a headstone bearing the whale’s name and discovery date.
Residents give each whale a unique name, such as Nam Duong Duke or Princess, and erect the headstones six to seven years after burial.
