Lion dance stops cars... to ask for money

(Baonghean)For a long time, lion dance has been a folk art form serving festival activities and has become a traditional cultural beauty of the nation. However, recently, every Mid-Autumn Festival, lion dance has been transformed into a money-making tool, causing public outrage.

Last Mid-Autumn Festival night, along National Highway 7, running through Yen Son, Thinh Son communes, and Do Luong town (Do Luong district), dozens of lion dance groups blocked cars to beg for money. These lion dance groups consisted of about 4-5 people, each with a task: 3 lion dancers, 1 drummer, and 1 beggar: When they discovered a car's headlights from afar, regardless of the danger, the lion dance group jumped out to block the car. Immediately after, a person with the task of jumping onto the car, banging on the window and "beautifully asking" for money from the driver before letting them continue. The activities of these lion dance groups took place openly without any warning from the authorities, making many drivers angry.

Mr. Tran Van Hung - a truck driver transporting goods to Vinh on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, encountered 6 consecutive lion dance groups operating on a road less than 3km long, said: "Each time I have to give them money before they let me go. This is like a form of begging."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nam, a resident of Thinh Son commune, regretfully said: "In the past, every Mid-Autumn Festival, people really wanted to see the lion dance. People even brought lions home to dance for good luck, not blocking the road and forcing people to give them money like now."

Thus, from a cultural activity imbued with national identity during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the lion dance has been inadvertently "tainted" by some bad elements.

Doan Hoa