Temple is an institution through which humans connect themselves with the almighty. It is a place where people offer their devotion to the supreme god in different forms, like male and female deities, and natural elements (rock, water, plants, and animals) even through spiritual mode. Worshipping natural elements is a long-practiced tradition since antiquity. There are multiple reasons or beliefs behind that, safe passage through a hostile environment or natural disaster is an obvious one. Living examples are scattered throughout the world, especially within the indigenous or folk communities, and Vietnam is no exception.
Whale temples (Lang Ông) on the coast of Vietnam present a blend of
local cultural practices, association with marine life, and repository of rich marine fauna. These temples are the places of veneration for the local fishermen of the whale spirit “Câ Ông” or “Lord Fish”. It is a benevolent spirit that helps the fishermen in times of need at the sea, rescuing them from drowning and protecting them from bad weather and marine animal attack. As a token of respect, fishermen deposit bones of stranded or bycatch marine mammals after initial burial and exhumation. As obvious, the concept of Whale differs from place to place therefore bone collection represents a vast range of marine animals.
This vast temple collection recently draws the attention of marine biologists as well as people who are working with the country’s biodiversity. The initial documentation work reveals a plethora of marine members, including Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops spp.), Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), baleen whales, Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), etc. from these temples mimicking any natural history collection. Locals claim few collections as old as 100 years which provide opportunities to study time-bound changes happening in the marine ecosystems in this region. The region-wise variation in the collections also depicts the distribution pattern of the organisms across the Vietnam coast. For instance, Delphinus delphis is markedly available in the southern coastal area but they are poorly represented in the central region. Similarly, the abundance of small-size members in the collection indicates their vulnerability against gillnet fisheries, an issue that requires attention from conservationists. Cumulatively, this old cultural
belief in a way facilitates scientists to understand the regional marine fauna distribution which is still underrated and provides an opportunity to study their relationship with global faunal classes through genetics and phylogeny and current challenges prevalent in the region. It is accepted that surveying whale temples provide a simple method to study marine fauna in the region where bycatch and strandings are difficult choices to monitor their status.
Whale temples are part of the local life and therefore undergo upheavals of the time. Like any older institution, this belief is waning too due to changing socio-economic conditions, the rapidly growing tourism industry, and changing attitude of the younger generation. Fortunately, there are a few initiatives where scientists are working with local fisherfolks to preserve this rich heritage, to aware people of the importance of this tradition, and to monitor the marine faunal assemblage in the coastal area. Hopefully, this cultural practice as an example will encourage more people to reconnect themselves with nature and natural processes through their practices and beliefs.
Image courtesy: McGowen et al. (2021) Whale temples are unique repositories for understanding marine
mammal diversity in Central Vietnam. DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2021-0066
Permission to reproduce the images granted by the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
Collector – Rajasri Ray
