People in a village in the northern central province of Thanh Hoa have contributed money to build a temple to worship a whale skeleton.

Most of the households in Hung Thanh Village, Hau Loc District have lived on fishing for many generations.

The temple to worship the whale skeleton

In early 2004, while fishing at sea, some villagers found a dead whale drifting to the shore, after preserving the carcase for seven months, they brought to its skeleton to the village to clean it.

For Vietnamese fishermen, the whale is seen a guardian angel for their voyage. When finding the dead whale, people in Hung Thanh Village thought that the fish wanted to take permanent rest.

Early 2012, villagers contributed their money to build a VND1 billion (USD47,600) temple for worshiping the whale. The skeleton is now being kept in a glass house with the close watch by security guards.

People in the village take the first day of the lunar December every year is the anniversary of the whale's death. Lots of people from other localities came to the village to see the skeleton and burn incense. They call the whale Ngai Nam Hai or Ca Ong.

The skeleton is preserved at Ca Ong Temple

On every New Year, people in Hung Thanh Village hold a ceremony to express their gratitude to Ca Ong and wish for their safe and bountiful fishing expeditions.

Many local fishermen said that since the skeleton was preserved in the village, they have faced fewer accidents and caught more fish.

On every New Year, people in Hung Thanh Village hold a ceremony to express their gratitude to Ca Ong