Do Son Hai Phong buffalo fighting festival

Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival, also known as Old Battle, is an ancient custom, since ancient times, a traditional festival of the people of Van Chai in Do Son waters, Hai Phong; Taking place on the 9th of the 8th lunar month every year; Vietnam's national intangible cultural heritage in 2013. This is a festival with solemn rituals, procession of God, with parasols, Bat Am ward ...

In the culture of the community of Hai Phong people, he still handed down the ancient verse: "No matter who sells it /Nine August, buffalo fights."

 Buffalo fighting festival has two big days. On June 8, the day of selection of typical buffaloes in the final round of August 9. These are the days when the water, the waves are big. Moreover, Do Son is the homeland of "Tiem Nguu", a buffalo breed in the underground water in the river. Therefore, the buffalo fighting festival is to offer Te Thuy Than with praying for the wind and peace.

The buffalo fighting festival has two parts, the ceremony and the interwoven festival. From the first day of the month, the seniors of the villages had buffalo fighting to celebrate the sacrifice of the Divine Diem at the communal house. After that was the procession of water, associated with the Sacrifice of Thuy Than. Spirit water vials once a year, each village has been brought back to her own family once a year.

At the communal house, the buffalo owners allowed the buffalo to celebrate the tutelary ceremony, after the ceremony, buffaloes were called "Mr. Buffalo".

On the morning of the festival, 9/8 lunar calendar, about 1 am, the celebrant of the villages did the ceremony to ask for permission to take the buffalo to the competition. Around 6 - 7 am, held a procession of "Mr. Buffalo" to the arena. Leading the procession is the body of Ngu Phuong, drums, gongs, dragon Dinh, Long Dinh, Bat Buu. The people carrying Long Dinh, Long palanquin, drum, gongs ... chit red scarf, wearing a red shirt with yellow border, waist and red waistband. The speaker caller, or the tuberculosis folded, wearing a black shirt, a red waist, white pants. Followed by the elders, dignitaries and order of buffalo (according to the results of the arena ranking), on the back of a cluster of red cloth, horn wrapped a silk strip. Going next to each buffalo, there were two boys holding the narrowed tail flag to dance. The procession of the "buffalo" on the fried stir -fry in the sound of the bowl of bowl, flag flags and the cheerleading of the population in the area ...

When Mr. Buffalo stepped in to stir fry amnesty, the drums, the sound of the speaker emerged loudly, pouring back like the sound of the waves into the poison, where the buffalo would be donated the water god.

Followed by the ceremony of the opening of the village, the village of the village was divided into two performances that were both flexible and powerful, flexible and fanciful in the sounds of drums and Thanh La; recreating the military ceremony of He Nguyen Huu Cau district before the battle; Expressing the wish to pray for the wind to bless the boat riding into the sea.

Flag dance has just stopped, from the two sides of the two "buffalo" were led into the cultivation, some people covered the parasols and dancing flags on both sides. When the two "buffaloes" were 20 meters apart, the leader quickly pulled "scars" for the buffalo and urgently escaped out to fight. The two buffaloes completely freely rushed to fight quickly.

At the end of the festival, Mr. Buffalo Thang was returned to the procession. On the morning of August 10, all Mr. Trau participated in the festival was killed as a sacrifice in the family, accompanied by a plate of secretion and buffalo feathers (bloodcade). Around 12 noon the sacrifice begins. After that, the hematoma was poured into the sea, the rest was divided into the people with the belief of a new peace of mind, many shrimp and fish.

On August 16, the village conducted the "Song Than" ritual and disintegrated, ending the festival.