Exciting practice of "Sitting Tug of War" at Tran Vu Temple Festival

Sitting tug of war is a ritual performance in Tran Vu temple festival to serve Duc Thanh Linh Lang - the Thanh Hoang of Ngoc Tri village, Cu Linh commune in the past, now Thach Ban ward, Long Bien district, Hanoi city.

According to legend, Ngoc Tri village used to have 12 wells. When there was a drought, the only well in the village that had water was in Dia hamlet, also known as Dia side. Men from Duong side and Cho side went down to Dia side well to get water but were prevented by men from Dia side. At that time, the water carrying pole was made from bamboo rope. Both sides tugged at each other to hold the pole. One side was pulling, the other side was holding, afraid of spilling water so they sat down and hugged the whole bucket of water. After the drought passed, remembering that story, the local people came up with the game of sitting tug of war to perform in the village festival with the wish to pray for favorable weather and wind. Sitting tug of war has been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity and is still one of the most attractive activities of the Tran Vu Temple festival.

Exciting practice of — Tug of war teams enter Tran Vu Temple to perform rituals before practicing tug of war.

Tran Vu Temple in Thach Ban Ward, Long Bien District, Hanoi was built during the reign of King Le Thanh Tong. It has undergone many renovations and was completely renovated and rebuilt during the Nguyen Dynasty. According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Khai, Head of the Tran Vu Temple Relic Management Board, the Temple still retains its original architecture from the Nguyen Dynasty. In addition to its unique architecture, the Temple also retains many valuable artifacts such as 50 wooden hexagrams and 23 royal decrees that have been recognized as rare documents. In particular, the statue of Huyen Thien Tran Vu - one of the two largest ancient bronze statues remaining and recognized as a national treasure in 2015.

Every year, the local people still maintain the Tran Vu Temple Festival. In 2025, the festival will be held from March 29 to April 1 (March 1 to 4 of the lunar calendar). The festival has many attractive activities, of which, Sitting Tug of War still retains its unique ritual, spiritual and cultural values, attracting a large number of people and visitors from all over.