Mong people in Nghe An carefully choose bulls to compete in fighting on the first day of the year.

In the last days of the year, Mr. Lau Ba Tu (Truong Son village, Nam Can commune, Ky Son) had to travel to Thailand and Laos to buy his family the most satisfactory fighting bull to participate in the bullfighting festival in the early spring of Ky Hoi 2019.

“For us Mong people, fighting bulls are loved and cared for in a very special way, different from other normal bulls. Fighting bulls are a symbol of the strength, reputation and wealth of the owner,” Tu explained.

The bull was just bought by Mr. Tu from Laos for nearly 70 million VND for fighting. Photo: Lu Phu

The bullfighting festival of the Mong people in Ky Son district was formed long ago, and has become a unique traditional cultural feature of the people in this border area. The festival is often held on major holidays. Especially on the occasion of Tet, Spring, the bullfighting festival is held at its largest and most extensive scale.

On the occasion of Lunar New Year 2019, Nam Can commune was one of three localities hosting the district-level bullfighting festival with over 90 bulls in the district and 30 bulls, whose owners came from neighboring districts of Laos to compete.

The district-level bullfighting festival in Ky Son will take place over three days, from the 3rd to the 5th of January (lunar calendar). In preparation for the upcoming festival, the Mong people in Ky Son have been actively preparing and choosing the biggest, strongest, and best fighting bulls to participate in the past few days.

The bull fighting festival is considered a cultural feature by the Mong people in Ky Son. Photo: Lu Phu

It is expected that the bullfighting festival of the Mong people in Ky Son in the early spring of the year of the Pig will be divided and held in 3 commune clusters. Cluster 1 will be held on the 3rd day of Tet, in Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, including Nam Can, Tay Son, Ta Ca communes and Muong Xen town; cluster 2 will be held on the 4th day of Tet, including Muong Long, Huoi Tu and Dooc May communes, held in the center of Huoi Tu commune; cluster 3 includes cows and cow owners in Na Ngoi and Nam Can communes, held at the new bullfighting ground of Na Ngoi commune on the 5th day of Tet.

Mr. Ly Ba Thai - Standing Deputy Secretary of Ky Son District Party Committee, said that the spring bull fighting festival of the Mong people in Ky Son is an opportunity to show solidarity, to gather Mong people and ethnic minorities who work and work far from home to meet in a spirit of solidarity. The festival is not organized for business purposes, but mainly for entertainment.

"We will widely send invitations to all villages in the district so that all people who are interested can come and enjoy the spring festival," said Mr. Thai.