The beauty of spring festival folk games
(Baonghean.vn) - Folk games such as pao throwing, cu-wrestling, and cockfighting are both festival fun and cultural features with many ancient spiritual values of the Vietnamese people. These games are still held annually in many localities in Nghe An province.
Pao Throw
At first glance, throwing the ball seems like a simple game of throwing and catching, in the form of a competition between two teams. However, there is an "unspoken rule" in this game, which is that the girls and boys who like each other will throw their ball towards that person. If they like each other, they will catch the ball by all means; if not, they will give the ball to someone else to catch or let it fall.
Therefore, this game is the means chosen by Mong boys and girls in Nghe An to play, through which they can find soul mates and start a love affair.
The Pao fruit is sewn by Mong women from pieces of linen into a round fruit, the size of an orange, stuffed with flax seeds. According to Mong beliefs, flax seeds symbolize fertility and growth. Nowadays, to create color for the Pao fruit, Mong people also use Thai brocade or silk to create softness for the Pao fruit...
Guys can look at the ball and know what kind of personality the girl they are tossing the ball to has, whether she is clever, hard-working or lazy, careless...
The game of throwing the pao is usually played on relatively flat land, the players are divided into two sides, male and female. The distance between the two teams is about 5 - 7 meters. This game requires the thrower and the catcher not to let the pao fall to the ground, the score is calculated by the number of throws, the number of catches of the pao, if the losing side usually has to sing, act or do something that has been predetermined.
With its own unique features, throwing pao has always been a game that the Mong people, especially the young people, often organize. For them, the game is not only a physical activity, training the hands to be more flexible, the eyes to be sharper, quick reflexes, and accurate judgment, but it is also a cultural activity. There, they can play pao, talk, sing back and forth or exchange thoughts and feelings with each other.
Tickling
According to historical records, the game of top wrestling appeared around the 15th century, originating from the selection of strong, agile young men to join the army of General Phan Da to fight against the invading Ming army. The young men participating in the recruitment were divided into teams, competing for a top, if they put it into the hole of the other team, they would win.
The cu is made from banana roots, preferably large seed banana roots, dug up to get the root. The cu is peeled into a circle with a diameter of 30cm, weighing 5 - 7kg, then boiled in boiling water, taken out to dry in the sun and has a dark color and is very flexible, not cracking when played.
The playing field is an alluvial land on the river bank, about 50m long and 25-30m wide. There are three forms of playing top: top golf, top push and top water. All three of these ways of playing have the same scoring and arrangement, at the two ends of the field of each side are two woven bamboo baskets, 1.5m high, 50cm in diameter, or a deep hole 50 x 50cm wide. The side that wins and puts the top into the opponent's basket (or hole) gets one point.
The top will be handed over in the middle of the field (50m long, 25m wide), the teams will have to use strength, dexterity, and solidarity to put the top into the opponent's hole. On the contrary, the opposing members will have to fight fiercely, preventing the opponent from putting the top into their team's hole. Members are only allowed to fight for the top, not to hug or wrestle the opponent... so each top match is truly a battle of wits, a battle of strength, and a display of the dexterity and solidarity of the two teams.
Cockfighting
Cockfighting (as the North calls it) or cockfighting (as the South calls it) has been a folk pastime for centuries. Cockfighting not only appears in festivals but is also a daily pastime of many Vietnamese people in urban and rural areas.
Cockfighting is said to have been introduced to Vietnam during the Ly Dynasty, becoming a pastime of royalty and nobility. This game gradually spread to the people, and during the Tran Dynasty it developed extremely strongly, captivating all classes of society.
To have a good fighting cock requires the player to have effort and experience, from choosing the breed, breeding, looking at the appearance of the cock, raising, training, etc. The proverb "The cock is up to it, the dog is up to us" means that the cock must first be a good breed, then the result of training. According to folk experience, the father is like the chicken, the chicks are like that, you have to find a good breed, a "fighting" chicken that only has 1 or 2 in the flock. However, some regions choose the chickens according to the mother because people believe that "the dog is like the father, the chicken is like the mother".
Since ancient times, the folk have spread the "trick" of choosing a standard fighting cock: "Peacock head, cup body, snail eyes, leaden legs, muscular wings, short neck, not inferior to anyone". According to cockfighters, they never like cocks with big heads, small and soft necks, and rough beaks. The cock must have a high comb that is turned to the left, bright red in color because this type is agile, fights well, and is very strong. The cock's spurs are the most important part because they are no different from a general's weapon when going into battle. For fighting cocks, "Sharp spurs fight well, thin spurs fight poorly". "Sun and moon spurs" are the type of spurs with a black and white spot on the head, only found in "divine cocks", only lucky to find them.
In the minds of many people, cockfighting is both entertaining and a way to foster martial arts spirit, the glue that binds community spirit that has existed for quite a long time in ancient village festivals.