A ceremony to rebury remain of a death whale has been held in Phu Quy island in April. It is one of whale worshipping rituals by the fishermen, including Phu Quy islanders.
The death whale was found drifting nearly Phu Quoc island on April 17, 2016 by a fishing trader. He then bought it back to the island and buried it. According to the traditional whale worship, he has been worshiping the buried whale for 24 months and bones of the whale will be recovered and reburied in a most sacred place in the village.
Before the reburial the bones must be clean and washed with alcohol and dried, then put in a box of wood or ceramic. The reburying ceremony includes many solemn rituals in a good day, including offerings and special music by the villagers.
Legend has it that the whale (ca Ong) is very virtuous and often appears to save fishermen in times of danger. Therefore, when a whale died and washed ashore, the villagers would stop their daily activities for taking him to a burial.
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