Unique Bird Singing Contest

(Baonghean.vn) - In addition to spiritual activities such as the opening ceremony, the announcement ceremony, and the fishing ceremony, the bird singing contest also attracts a large number of players and visitors. This is also a unique feature only found at the Con Temple festival (Hoang Mai Town)...

The opening day of the Con Temple Festival this year coincides with the monsoon season, so in terms of "weather", it is not favorable for bird lovers. However, despite the cold winds blowing in from the sea, despite the freezing cold that makes the skin and flesh freeze, nearly 250 bird cages of bird lovers in Hoang Mai town, Vinh city, Tan Ky, Dien Chau and some neighboring provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh, Hanoi still gathered in front of the temple yard.

Hundreds of birds gathered together also made the large yard suddenly become a vivid picture because each "contestant" was warmed by its owner and decorated with colorful scarves. Looking at that, it can be seen that the players really appreciated the competition, considering it a real tournament even though the main competitors were just... birds.

"Contestants" participating in the contest

As a veteran player, Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang from Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City is considered the most “lucky” player among the participants. Because his starling bird with the witty name Toshiba has won the championship 7 times in tournaments inside and outside the province. The biggest tournament was held in Dong Anh, with more than 500 cages and the participation of many veteran players from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Although he was equipped quite comprehensively, coming to this year's contest, Mr. Quang still couldn't help but worry because the number of participants was quite large, with many birds with great potential. Mr. Quang said: Bird keeping requires a lot of effort, from how to prepare food for the birds to how to care for and bathe them. Each person also has different interests, some like red-whiskered bulbuls, some like white-throated birds, some like starlings. In addition, just like listening to singers, some like low voices, some like high voices, some like opera singing... birds also have high voices, some sing low voices. Those who sing persistently, resiliently and have a clear voice usually have the advantage.

To select a prize-winning bird, the “contestants” must go through 10 rounds of competition, in which the birds must not be too shy, not yet standing in the cage, missing too many feathers or having disabilities. The first round of competition lasts the longest, about 20 minutes, called the unlimited qualifying round. After this round, any bird that stands still, has ruffled feathers, or cannot adapt to the weather will be eliminated. Similar to the following rounds, each round of about 10 minutes will gradually eliminate the corresponding birds to finally select 5 birds to participate in the final round.

The bird that meets the criteria for voice and singing (singing regularly, the voice must have at least 3 syllables or more), competitive attitude (flexible, knows how to jump, transfer the bridge, flutter its wings), endurance in competition (birds can sing many songs), posture (slim, solid, fast birds...) will be the winning bird. Bringing a fairly strong army, including the "reigning champion" in the Tan Ky District Starling Singing Contest, Mr. Hoang Thanh Nam - President of the Tan Ky Bird Club said: In recent years, the bird-playing movement in Tan Ky has developed quite a lot. This is a healthy hobby, in addition to entertainment, it also helps players forget about social evils, stay away from bad habits and creates opportunities for players from different regions to exchange and learn from each other.

A look at the birds in the competition also shows that, in addition to the contestants with certain achievements and a lot of competition experience, there have also appeared many potential contestants, with birds with market prices of up to tens of millions of VND. This is also an opportunity for players to introduce to the competition sophisticated cages, some made of rosewood, performed by highly skilled artisans, priced at around 100 million VND each.

Awarding prizes to the winners

Up to this point, it has been nearly 5 years since the bird singing contest has been held within the framework of the Con Temple Festival. However, previous contests were mostly spontaneously organized, mobilized by clubs. In 2014 alone, Hoang Mai town’s Youth Union was the host and called on clubs and guilds to participate. Thanks to that, the scale of the contest, the organization and the number of participants were more complete – said Mr. Le Van Luong, Secretary of the Hoang Mai town’s Youth Union. The success of this year’s contest is also the basis for Hoang Mai town to make the bird singing contest an annual contest in the Con Temple Festival. This is also a cultural feature, both a folk game and a trend that is loved by many players and many generations…

My Ha - Trieu Duong