Hai Phong The buffaloes participating in the traditional fighting festival in Do Son are cared for, nourished and trained like professional fighters.
These days, the central stadium of Do Son district, where the buffaloes compete on September 23 (the 9th day of the 8th lunar month), is always bustling. While the festival organizers are busy preparing to practice flag dancing and drumming, the fighting buffaloes are also brought out to familiarize themselves with the field.
Mr. Hoang Gia Vinh, 40 years old, in Bang La ward, who once had a champion buffalo, said that three weeks before the festival, the buffalo stopped doing heavy training and was mainly brought to the yard to get used to the bustling atmosphere in crowded places.
Mr. Vinh's buffalo number 07 was bought in Cambodia in 2022 for 100 million VND, the smallest of the 16 buffaloes participating in this year's festival. In the first round, buffalo number 07 will have to compete against buffalo number 03, the largest in the history of the festival's final rounds. "There's nothing to worry about, buffalo fighting always has interesting surprises," said Mr. Vinh.
Mr. Vinh is confident that the smallest buffalo at this year's festival will create a surprise. Photo: Le Tan
Having been exposed to buffalo fighting since he was 7 years old when his grandfather took him to buy a buffalo, Vinh still remembers that right after the traditional New Year, he had to prepare for the festival. Villages sent experienced people to the district to ask for a passport to travel to all the provinces of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, and Thai Binh to buy fighting buffalo. "While walking, the elders asked the people in the area if there was any buffalo that liked to fight, so they could come and see and buy it. Buffaloes back then were also plow buffaloes, not as big as they are now," Vinh said.
About 10 years ago, there were fewer places to sell buffaloes, so Do Son people had to go to the northern mountains, then the western region, even to China and Southeast Asian countries to buy them. The price of buffaloes also increased from a few million VND to hundreds of millions VND per animal. In addition, transportation costs were expensive and the cost of care amounted to about 100 million VND per year. Therefore, buffalo owners in Do Son are usually well-off and have a strong passion for their homeland's traditions.
According to buffalo owners, although the Northern buffaloes are smaller in size than the Western buffaloes and foreign buffaloes, they have better endurance and toughness. Each buffalo has a natural fighting style that cannot be trained. Some buffaloes fight tigers, some only fight with the pole, and some use both techniques. Buffalo owners rely on the fighting style and habits of the "buffalo" to develop their fighting skills, not to force the fighting style to their liking.
Do Son buffalo fighting is dramatic and full of surprises. Photo: Le Tan
Buffaloes must be between 10 and 15 years old to be able to fight, because young buffaloes are easily intimidated, while old buffaloes quickly weaken. In addition, good figurative elements according to folk beliefs such as hooves, horns, whorls, eyes, and ears are also selected according to the "taste" of the buffalo owner. Specifically, a strong buffalo must have a pair of large horns, the two ends of the horns close together; squinting, bloodshot eyes with thick eyelashes; strong hooves, vigorous hamstrings, a hard tail, thick skin, and thick hair.
Many buffalo owners spend weeks, even months, to find a satisfactory buffalo. "Each owner has his own way of looking at buffalo. For example, I like buffalo that have been in real combat and fought many times. Just like a boxer, you have to fight in real combat to gain experience," said Mr. Vinh.
The purchased buffaloes will be nourished to improve their strength. Every day, the buffaloes eat 50 kg of grass and dozens of sugarcane stalks. Half a year before the festival, their diet is supplemented with chicken eggs, honey, beef porridge, ginseng, vitamin C, B1, and beer. Foods that the buffaloes cannot eat by themselves will be fed with homemade plastic tubes. Every month, a fighting buffalo eats 10 million VND worth of various foods.
Although they spare no expense in feeding their buffaloes nutritious food, buffalo owners must also monitor their buffaloes' health and dung to adjust their diets appropriately. Sick buffaloes take a long time to recover. Some buffaloes even died from illness.
Along with the luxurious diet, the fighting buffaloes also enter a special training period. From 5am, the buffaloes are taken to wade through mud, run in sand, and swim in ponds to improve their physical strength and strengthen their legs. Some people even tie the buffaloes’ horns to heavy tree roots to train their neck muscles and prepare for the fight.
Trainers must understand the nature and health of the buffalo to come up with a suitable training program, otherwise the buffalo will resist or get injured. "Taking care of the buffalo is very elaborate and time-consuming, so the buffalo owner has to hire two to three more people. In addition, many buffalo-loving friends also contribute to take the best care of the buffalo," said Mr. Luu Dinh Nam, owner of the 1.3-ton buffalo at this year's festival.
In addition to physical training and nutrition, in the afternoons, buffaloes are brought to crowded places with flags to listen to festival drums. This helps the buffaloes get used to the festival atmosphere and not be overwhelmed when fighting. Many owners also tie buffaloes next to each other or try to fight to stimulate their fighting instincts. In nature, male buffaloes fight to protect their territory or in heat. When they see an opponent eyeing their territory, the buffaloes immediately become excited. Buffalo owners must awaken that fighting instinct, not use stimulants as many people speculate, Mr. Hoang Dinh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Son District and Head of the festival organizing committee, affirmed.
Buffalo owners in Do Son are all experienced people, but no one dares to affirm that their buffalo will be the champion or win in the first round. There are big and beautiful buffaloes that have won fighting competitions in other localities, but when they fight in Do Son, they lose. There are buffaloes bought from the people, very small in size, considered "green soldiers", but they fight extremely well and become champions. Many people like to watch Do Son buffalo fighting because of the drama and surprise.
Buffaloes are brought to the stadium to get used to the festival atmosphere. Photo: Le Tan
According to ancient records, the Do Son buffalo fighting festival dates back to the 17th century. After a period of interruption, in 1990, the festival was restored with all its ancient characteristics. In 2012, the festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The festival lasts for 16 days (from August 1 to August 16 of the lunar calendar) and is highly regarded by the people of Do Son. Previously, the festival had a qualifying round that took place in the sixth lunar month. After the incident of a buffalo goring its owner to death in 2017, the qualifying round was not allowed to be held.
Every year, the buffalo fighting festival attracts tens of thousands of participants despite mixed opinions about its somewhat violent nature and the sale of buffalo meat.
Le Tan
1.3 ton buffalo participates in Do Son buffalo fighting festival
Do Son fighting buffaloes must pass three rounds of inspection.
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