(CLO) The ritual and tug-of-war game of Huu Chap village is an activity to unite the community, honoring the strength of solidarity in production and labor, and fighting against foreign invaders.
Every year on the 4th of January, people of Huu Chap village (now Hoa Long ward, Bac Ninh city, Bac Ninh province) organize a unique tug of war competition using bamboo trunks.
The Huu Chap village tug-of-war festival is held annually in the early days of spring to express gratitude and commemorate the merits of the five village guardian spirits who contributed to the resistance war against the Liang invaders in the 6th century.
The village men carry the “zipper” from the village communal house to the yard. Photo: V.Giang
The unique feature of the Huu Chap village tug of war competition is that instead of using a rope, the whole bamboo tree is used as a rope.
Legend has it that in the past, the Huu Chap people had a profession of hiring out wood haulers in the villages along the river, and were highly trusted by wood hauling guilds in other places. Therefore, the village festival has a tug of war custom. This is an important activity that unites the community, honoring the strength of solidarity in labor production, conquering nature, and fighting foreign invaders throughout the history of the nation.
This year, the bamboo used in the competition was purchased in Bac Giang province half a month before Tet. The selection of bamboo for the zipper was carried out very carefully and meticulously by the people.
The two bamboo trees selected must meet the following standards: straight, not too old or too young, with blooming tips, cottony leaves, and stems free of ants or worms. The bamboo is stripped of knots and neat branches, then a piece of porcelain is used to scrape off the bamboo to reveal the white core. The two ends of the two bamboo trees are cut square, not crushed or broken, and the total number of joints on the bamboo tree must be an odd number.
Members of the two teams arm wrestle before the match. Photo: Bac Ninh Newspaper
To make the tug of war go smoothly, people also make two horizontal arms symbolizing the East and West directions, as support points for players to hold on to and pull.
Between the two bamboo roots, there are three spiral circles woven with bamboo strips of different sizes, which the locals call spider shapes. When finished, the bamboo rope is hung in front of the front door of the communal house to report to the village guardian spirit that the preparations for the competition are complete.
Traditionally, the tug-of-war ritual in Huu Chap must always operate in the East-West direction. The tug-of-war team consists of healthy young men in the village, divided into two sides, East and West, each side has 35 men aged 30-37, healthy and without family members having any death or mourning.
The competition took place with a band of elders playing gongs and drums, 4 Mr. Hoa holding the command flag and 4 Mr. Ve acting as conductors.
The two teams played with all their might under the cheers of the people and tourists. Photo: Bac Ninh Newspaper
The game was lively, crowded, and bustling. The two teams pulled 3 rounds, the people stood around cheering and cheering, waiting for the third round to rush in to pull for the East team to win, believing that if the East team won, the Saint would bless them with a bountiful harvest.
With its traditional values of culture, history, rituals and tug-of-war games, Huu Chap village has been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage and recognized by UNESCO as a Multinational Cultural Heritage in 2015.
The Vu
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hao-hung-hoi-thi-keo-co-lang-huu-chap-post332620.html
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