Gripping mud ball wrestling festival of Bac Giang
VOV.VN - A mud ball wrestling festival was recently held in Van village in Viet Yen District of Bac Giang Province, showing the desire of farmers for a year of good weather and bumper harvests.
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| The festival traces its origins to about the 4th or 5th century, it has been restored since 2000. The highlight of the festival is a competition to grasp a large mud ball with a diameter of 35cm and weighing approximately 20kg. |
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| The game is played between sixteen healthy young men divided into 2 teams. They try to keep hold of the ball on muddy ground. Before the competition, the men each drink 3 bowls of wine and eat fruit such as watermelon, mango, dragon fruit, and lychee. |
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| The festival is held on a pitch 14 meters wide and 18 meters long. The surface is wet and muddy and has 2 holes at either end which players must push the ball into. A half of the game is ended when a team successfully pushes the ball into a hole. |
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| Ahead of the competition, each team sends their strongest men to wrestle for the right to kick off the match. |
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| During the competition, the ball is brought from east to west following the sunrise and sunset. Grabbing hold of the ball represents catching the sun needed for good crops. |
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| There are 2 holes at either end of the pitch to push the ball into, each hole is 1 meter deep and 0.5 meters wide. |
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| Following traditions, each time the ball is pushed down the hole, it symbolizes a bumper harvest and happy life for the local people. |
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| The rule of the game is that all competitors must be unmarried, have no disease, and their families must have no funerals. |
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| When a man grasps the ball, other members of his team do their best to push the ball into the hole. |
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| Pushing the ball into the hole is not easy on the wet and muddy pitch. |
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