Doi Bong Association

Quang Ngai: Doi Bong Association Doi Bong Festival is held on January 7 every year, in An Hai commune, Ly Son district. This is a typical folk performance in An Hai village communal house festival. In the minds of the people of An Hai village, they always remember the festival through the song "On the fourth day there is a boat racing festival / Until the seventh day to catch bullies", expressing an indispensable need for spiritual and cultural activities during the first days of the year. The boon festival of the people of An Hai village has existed since ancient times. Through the form of festival activities, it can be seen that this is one of the types of cultural activities of agricultural residents in the Northern Delta, following the Vietnamese people in the process of migrating to Quang Ngai, to Ly Son island (early 17th century) and is organized by the people of An Hai village on January 7 every year after the end of the traditional boat racing festival at the beginning of the year in the village. The end of the sausage festival also means the end of the spring festivals held at the communal house so that people can embark on a new year with new beliefs and hopes after winning at the sausage festival. The space where the festival takes place is the communal house yard, where people build a platform to hold the ceremony called "game house", in front of the game house on a wide beach, at both ends of the beach, there are 2 bamboo trees with tops, about 4 meters high, on each bamboo tree hangs a bamboo basket. During the game, the two sides appoint 2 people to hold each other's 2 bamboo poles, so that every time the ball is thrown in, they try to shake it vigorously to make it difficult for the ball to get into the bamboo basket, if either side wins the ball. If you shake and throw it into your side's bamboo basket, you will be considered the winner. Bong balls to organize the festival are bought by the village from the mainland in the last days of December. On the day of "planting swings on lanterns" (December 24), the village will hold a ceremony to open the communal house to prepare for the village's festive activities and put the bells in the "long communal house" - the abode of the gods during the first days of the year festivals at the village communal house. Therefore, the gong fruit in the sausage festival is not simply a fruit to organize the festival but also a "sacred fruit" of the gods, so that whoever wins it later in the festival, according to the people's concept, will bring many elements of luck to themselves, their family and the village. To organize the festival, people are divided into 2 factions (each faction includes 2 adjacent hamlets), An Hai commune has 4 hamlets: Tay hamlet, Trung Yen hamlet form one faction; Trung Hoa hamlet and Dong hamlet form a faction, each faction appoints a representative called "faction boss" to participate in the game to win the ball. “Faction Bosses” are dressed like boat racing athletes and to distinguish one hamlet from another, red and white crosses are made on the foreheads of the Faction Bosses. The faction boss is the person who is allowed to participate in the second sacrificial ceremony at the "game house" before organizing the sausage festival. Before entering the festival, on the 7th day of the first lunar month, the village leader presides over the worship of the gods at the village communal house according to a solemn ritual with the full presence of dignitaries in the commune and representatives of the seven ancient clans to pay homage to the local tutelary god, the gods worshiped in the commune and ask for permission to perform the ceremony (organize performances). After the sacrifice is completed in the communal house, the incense burner and dragon communal house are carried out to the "play house" in front of the communal house yard to continue the second sacrifice - this sacrifice has the nature of appeasing the deity when moving the deity from the communal house to the "play house". After the end of the sacrifice ceremony and the boat race on the 7th day, the whole village came to the dragon's temple, bowed 3 times and then took the gong worshiped in the dragon's temple and stepped back close to the playground to throw. After 3 bells of the drum, the Villager raised the bamboo ball high above his head, looked at the dragon's court, and threw the bamboo ball back into the yard for the factions to compete with each other. Amid the constant beating of drums and the cheers of thousands of spectators, fierce fighting took place among the "faction bosses" to try to win the ball. Sometimes the fighting caused the ball to break, so no team won the ball in that year's festival. If anyone wins the ball, they immediately throw it back to their team to keep. When the ball is thrown by the "faction boss", another fight is also very fierce among the members of the faction divided into hamlets to try to win and keep the ball. Immediately, the member of the faction who catches the ball will quickly carry the ball and run towards their neighborhood in the fierce opposition of the opponent. Meanwhile, the "faction boss" also runs after to receive the ball back from the hands of his team member and throw it into the bamboo basket hanging on the bamboo pole of his team. me. If any side wins and throws the ball into their side's bamboo basket, that side is considered the winner and will be rewarded by the village. People call the gong fruit "the fruit of peace" - at the beginning of the year, eat the fruit of birth of peace/peace of mind, with the desire to bring peace in life, pray for favorable weather, good harvests, and prosperity for the people. That is also the eternal desire of agricultural residents who work hard all year round in the fields but always "look for the right weather and sunshine" to make life more peaceful and prosperous./.