The island district of Ly Son in the central province of Quang Ngaihas long preserved a historical story about the militia heroes ofthe Hoang Sa Flotilla in the Nguyen Dynasty who rowed boats to Hoang SaArchipelago (Paracel), ready to plant sovereign landmarks and defend theislands of the motherland.

Ly Son Island coversan area of less than 10 sq.km but it has nearly 100 relics, most ofwhich are related to the Hoang Sa Flotilla, such as the sacred temple,the graves of Hoang Sa soldiers, the communal houses of An Vinh and AnHai Villages, the chambers worshipping Pham Quang Anh and Vo Van Khietwho were captains of the Hoang Sa Flotilla, the showroom displaying theitems of the Hoang Sa Flotilla who also controlled Bac Hai and Ba RiLagoon. In particular, “Le khao le the linh Hoang Sa” (Feast andCommemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldiers) which is held every Aprilon Ly Son Island has been recognised as a national intangible culturalheritage by the State.

As a custom, every year on thiscelebration day the natives of Ly Son Island, wherever they are livingand working, return to their homeland to attend the ceremony to expresstheir gratitude to their ancestors. The fishermen in the neighbouringprovinces such as Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Quang Nam also eagerlyflock to the island to attend the ceremony because they consider it acommon anniversary in the region.

“All Ly Son fishermenbelieve that when they go out to sea they will be helped and protectedby the Hoang Sa Flotilla against big waves and strong winds. For them,this has become a belief,” said Pham Van Bien, a descendent of the 7 thgeneration of the well-known Pham family of the Hoang Sa Flotilla on LySon Island.

A monument and the memorial housededicated to the Hoang Sa Flotilla stand near the main road of theisland. The exhibits at the memorial house include the mats, identitycards, bamboo splints and rolls of rattan strings, which themilitia-soldiers often took with them on each trip to Hoang Sa. In case asoldier died at sea, their team mates would use these things to wraphis body and release it to the sea, hoping that it would drift to thehomeland on the waves.

Not a few soldiers died at sea and theirbodies never found the way home, and that was the reason why there arehundreds of so-called “ wind” graves on the island. Local people saidthat in the old days, in February, the militia-soldiers of the Hoang SaFlotilla went on their mission to Hoang Sa. In August if a soldier didnot return, his family would know he had died. To have a grave toworship him, his family invited a monk to use the clay taken from thepeak of the Gieng Tien Mountain, the earth from the T-junction, eggyolk and the twigs of a mulberry tree to make a dummy and bury it in a“wind” grave.

On the day of the ceremony, the soundsof the horns made of snail shells spread across the island and streamsof people gathered at the communal house of An Vinh Village. The mainaltar was placed in the yard, facing the sea. Well-dressed elders of sixlarge families on the island solemnly conducted the rituals, such asthe requiem, the offering ritual for the captain and the launching ofthe boats with dummies to commemorate the Hoang Sa Flotillas.

This year, a tomb has been built for Pham Van Nhat, Captain of the HoangSa Flotilla, who led naval forces on multiple occasions to defend HoangSa (Paracel) archipelago nearly 200 years ago.
In the 17thyear of the Minh Mang reign (1836), Nhat was assigned to lead boats tosurvey, plant milestones and erect steles of sovereignty on Hoang Sa. Hedied at sea in 1854 during a trip to the archipelago.

The Pham Van family dug a symbolic grave for the captain in An Vinh village.

For his contributions, Nhat’s name has been given to an island of Hoang Sa archipelago.

The Pham Van family is one of more than 40 families in Ly Son thatprovided manpower to naval defence squads that sailed to Hoang Sa andTruong Sa under royal orders to exploit resources and plant territorialmarkers to affirm the country’s sovereignty.-VNA