Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival

The 10th Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in 2024 was held on September 8. This is a unique cultural feature of the Khmer people in the Bay Nui An Giang region every year on the occasion of the Sene Dolta festival.

The 10th Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in 2024 has 24 excellent pairs of bulls from the Khmer people in Tri Ton district and Tinh Bien town, An Giang province. Photo: Cong Mao-VNA

The 10th Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in 2024 has 24 excellent pairs of bulls from the Khmer people in Tri Ton district and Tinh Bien town, An Giang province. The festival has attracted a large number of people and tourists from all over the provinces and cities to watch, cheer, creating an exciting, bustling atmosphere, connecting the nation during the festival.

From early morning, tens of thousands of tourists and people of all ages from all over flocked to watch. Everyone tried to go early to choose a good viewing angle. This was also an opportunity for visitors from near and far to enjoy the specialties of the Bay Nui An Giang region. In particular, the Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival attracted hundreds of photographers and reporters from domestic and foreign press agencies to attend to immerse themselves in the festival atmosphere and explore the beauty of the Bay Nui An Giang region.

The organizing committee presented souvenir flags to cow owners participating in the 10th Chu Ro Cow Racing Festival in 2024. Photo: Cong Mao-VNA

The competing pairs of oxen are cared for by their owners according to their own secret, and the “Cow Riders” (cow drivers) have been training for many months to be able to win the highest prize. Before entering the race, the owners draw lots to choose the pair of oxen that goes first and the pair that goes after; usually the pair that goes after has a slight advantage. If during the race, in the calling round, any pair of oxen runs off the track, or the pair of oxen that steps on the harrow (a wooden board 30cm wide, 90cm long, with harrow teeth underneath) of the pair of oxen that goes before will be eliminated. However, in the releasing round, the pair of oxen that goes after only needs to step on the harrow of the pair of oxen in front to win, and the driver must stand firmly, if he falls or falls off the harrow during the race, he will be considered a loser.

Entering the competition, the two pairs of bulls will compete in a round of shouting and a round of releasing (“round of shouting” - is the round for the bulls to get used to the racetrack, demonstrating the dexterity of the bull drivers; “round of releasing” - when the referee gives the signal, the bull driver uses a stick (a round piece of wood about 3 cm in diameter, with a sharp nail on the end) to poke the buttocks of his two bulls, so that the bulls can exert all their strength to cross the finish line. The winning bull pair will advance to the next round. The champion bull pair must participate in all rounds and eliminate each direct “opponent”.

From the beginning to the end of the race, the festival atmosphere was filled with applause, cheers, and encouragement for the pairs of cows that were fiercely competing to reach the finish line. In the race space, water from the fields splashed up following the intense chases, along with the cheers, making the festival atmosphere more exciting, bustling, and attractive.

The pairs of oxen speed towards the finish line. Photo: Cong Mao-VNA

Mr. Chau Hunl (An Cu commune, Tinh Bien town) said that when participating in the Khmer people's bull racing festival, the bull owners and "bull jockeys" do not care about the prize, winning or losing, but mainly about having fun, helping to strengthen the friendship between the ethnic groups.

According to the concept of the Khmer people in the Bay Nui An Giang region, cow racing has a very special meaning. The pair of cows that win a high prize in the year are carefully cared for by their owners so that they can compete again next year, because the winning pair of cows not only brings pride to their owners, but also brings joy and determination to the whole village and hamlet to achieve many victories in other fields. The cows of the village are healthy, resilient, and good at plowing, helping people to sow and plant easily, bringing a bumper crop and a prosperous and warm village.

The pairs of bulls compete fiercely in the release round, determined to achieve the best results. Photo: Cong Mao-VNA

No one knows when the Bull Racing Festival started, but according to the elders of the Bay Nui An Giang region, in the past, every year during the planting season, many Khmer farmers from the villages and hamlets led their bulls to plow the fields of Khmer pagodas, which was called "plowing the merit". After plowing and harrowing, they urged their bulls to "plow race" to see which pair of bulls was faster and stronger. The monks and nuns saw this and organized (like referees), offering a prize for the pair of bulls that plowed well and ran fast, which would win the "Ca tha" (bells worn around the cow's neck). The following year, they continued to plow the land of the pagoda and from then on, the Bay Nui Bull Racing became the annual traditional Bull Racing Festival of the Khmer people in An Giang province.

In 2016, the An Giang Bay Nui bull racing festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage. It has been one of the outstanding cultural and sporting events of An Giang province for many years, hosted by Tri Ton district and Tinh Bien town, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to watch the bull racing festival and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mysterious That Son land.

The pairs of bulls compete fiercely in the release round, determined to achieve the best results. Photo: Cong Mao-VNA

According to Mr. Huynh Thanh Hai, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Cu Commune (Tinh Bien Town), the Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in particular and the Bull Racing Festival of the Khmer people in the Bay Nui An Giang region have gone beyond the limits of the traditional sport of the Khmer people in the Southern mountainous region, becoming the "soul" that adds to the beauty of the Bay Nui An Giang region.

“The bull racing festival is not simply about bulls racing against each other, but it has become a unique custom and belief of the Khmer ethnic people on the occasion of the annual Sene Dolta festival. The festival is not only associated with the custom of praying for favorable weather, good harvests and a more prosperous life, but also demonstrates the enthusiastic working spirit of the Khmer people, making the festival a playground, a place to enjoy culture and find national traditions of special value, fostering beautiful community sentiments, imbued with humanity” - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Cu Commune Huynh Thanh Hai emphasized.

This is also a form of education, propaganda and transfer to the next generation the ideology of solidarity, sharing without profit in work and connecting people more and more closely.

Cong Mao (Vietnam News Agency)

Source: https://baophutho.vn/hoi-dua-bo-chua-ro-net-van-hoa-doc-dao-cua-dong-bao-khmer-218552.htm