Travelog - A travel guide to Vietnam

Location: Binh Thuan, Vietnam
Hon Ba is an island rising high up in the middle of the sea, nearly 2 kilometers East of LaGi seashore, Ham Tan district; and about 70 Km South East of Phan Thiet City.

History
Hon Ba is also a young mountain on which there are a lot of big ancient trees at the first half of the seventeenth century, Cham people erected a temple to worship Goddess Thien Y Ana - the ancient Champa Kingdom’s sacred goddess. Since then, this island has got the name “Goddess’s island - Hon Ba “.

The temple has the same architectural structure and art decoration as the Vietnamese temple at the same time. In this temple, the rock statue of Goddess Thien Y Ana was sculptured from an integral rock mass in its place by Cham artisan - artists.

Worshiping the statue of “Ba - the Goddess ” on the top of’ Hon Ba expresses Cham people’s respect and honour for this Goddess. On the other hand in the previous centuries, the fishing job was the main one attracting crowds of Cham fishermen along the seashore and there still have been traces of the ancient fishing villages. Therefore, worshiping the statue of the Goddess here is also their expectation to appeal to the Goddess for protecting, supporting and saving them from the sea danger. Every year, Cham people from every - where often come here in order to do Religious Mass to ask for their rain and other religious rituals.

In the anti - French resistance, due to more and more severe war, the French army forbid the villagers from coming to the island to worship and more difficult traveling also made Cham people neglect and forget the temple gradually. It was this forgetfulness that enabled some evildoers to steal the statue of the Goddess and the sacred worshiped objects in this ancient temple together with its downgrading and ruin.

Development
Until the year 1969, Ham Tan fishermen contributed their money and properties to rebuild the new temple on the base of the ancient one. The Vietnamese people built the temple to worship Goddess Thien Y Ana of Cham people but they have carried out the rituals in the temple according to the Vietnamese tradition, custom and own manner. Here there are always some people to protect and look after the temple.

Theperiodic religious celebration here is Goddess Thien Y Ana’s death anniversary called “Via Ba ” day by the local people here. The religious ceremony is organized on the 23rd of lunar March every year. On this day, many people from everywhere come to the is land by means of boat or sampan, most of them are Cham people from Ham Tan and other places.

Nowadays
Hon Ba is known and admired (by people) not only with its ancient temple but it is also a sheer is land in the middle of the sea, attracting everybody by its own beautiful sights with the magnificence of the immense sea, and the poplar hill along the seashore makes the scenery here more beautiful.