Whale worship and tourism development in the Hoi An-Da Nang corridor, Viet Nam

This paper uses a case study of the Ȟi An-Da Nang corridor in Quǎng Nam province, Viǒt Nam, to examine some of the pressures that whale worship - a traditional cultural practice of coastal fishing communities in central and southern Viět Nam - has faced since the Dǒ Mǒi reforms of 1986. Whale temples, the physical manifestation of the veneration of the whale as an ancestor of fishers, are coming under increasing pressure as tourism development displaces coastal communities from the shores and as the younger generations turn their back on the sea as a source of livelihood. The paper seeks to draw attention to a locally important manifestation of intangible cultural heritage, the existence of which is threatened even before the country s first tentative efforts at cultural heritage conservation come into full swing.