Go to Van Dien, watch wrestling festival
(Baonghean.vn) - When he became Emperor, in order to "select generals and soldiers", every year in the Spring, King Mai Thuc Loan organized wrestling competitions in the regions, selecting strong wrestlers to supplement his vanguard army. Since then, wrestling has become a custom in village festivals in Van Dien -
At the age of nearly 70, Mr. Phan Van Quang - who has been a referee for the wrestling festival for nearly 20 years, recounted the traditional wrestling festival of the commune and the years he participated in organizing the wrestling festival: The wrestling festival of Van Dien village has existed since ancient times, since the time of King Mai Hac De and has been preserved by the people until today. As scheduled, every year on the afternoon of the 2nd day of Tet, thousands of people flock to Van Dien commune to watch wrestlers compete.
In the early spring atmosphere, on all roads, people flock to attend the festival. Along the roads to the village, red flags are hung, increasing the solemnity of the ancient traditional rituals. The wrestling festival lasts from the 2nd to the 6th of Tet. People in the area believe that: If a wrestling festival is not held in a year, it means that the harvest will be bad. Therefore, at exactly 2:00 p.m. on the 2nd day of Tet, when the drum beats to open the traditional wrestling festival in the early spring, every household calls each other to go watch the wrestling festival. The drum beats are bustling, the cheers echo throughout the area. Therefore, wrestling is an indispensable part of Tet, contributing to the completeness of the spring flavor in
The wrestling festival is attractive because of the drum beats, sometimes urgent like a march, sometimes bustling like joy, sometimes hurried, full of enthusiasm for battle. Therefore, the drummers in the village wrestling festival are selected very carefully. The selection criteria are always clearly set out such as: Must be a villager, have prestige, be responsible for the work of the village...
Normally, the people who beat the drums at the village festival must be the elders and respected people in the village. After the drum beat to start the festival, dozens of wrestlers from Van Dien commune and neighboring communes in the district such as Nam Nghia, Nam Anh, Nam Thai... gathered together. After the opening ceremony, wrestlers of all ages began to compete. According to Mr. Phan Van Quang, wrestlers must win 3 tournaments to be able to participate in the next round.
The winner must throw the opponent to the ground, making his back touch the ground. A wrestler must defeat three opponents in a row to enter the semi-finals and finals. On the 3rd, 4th and 5th of Tet, the wrestling festival becomes more exciting when wrestlers compete for the Encouragement and Third prizes. On the afternoon of the 6th of Tet, the final matches for the First and Second prizes take place. This is the day that attracts the most fans, the entire road to the Van Dien commune football field is packed with cheering fans.
The end of the wrestling festival is also the time when the whole commune goes to the fields, starting a new year of labor and production. According to the elders in the village, the traditional wrestling festival of Van Dien commune has a very important meaning for the people here, is a spiritual food, an indispensable cultural beauty every time Tet comes and Spring comes. In particular, the wrestling festival is a place to show the martial spirit of the people of Van Dien commune in particular and the district in general.
The wrestling festival is a village festival, but the participants of this sport are expanded, visitors from all over can register to compete. There is a separate tournament called the talent tournament reserved for professional athletes. In addition, amateur wrestlers will compete with each other. The prize of the competition is also quite special, the value of the prize depends on the sponsorship and support of visitors to the festival.
Mr. Nguyen Van Du - 65 years old, in Nam Dan Town - a passionate audience of traditional wrestling, who is never absent from the wrestling rings in early Spring, and is also a "benefactor" of the Van Dien wrestling association, specializing in "giving instant rewards" to wrestlers who win high prizes, said: "Going to watch wrestling can help you see the fun, the beauty, the uniqueness of this national sport. Only the wrestling association in early Spring can bring a jubilant, bustling, bustling atmosphere that makes people celebrate Tet with excitement. People from near or far away from home, coming home for Tet, are all eagerly waiting. At the wrestling associations, regardless of age, gender, everyone can come to watch, cheer, if you want, you can also become a wrestler. Personally, I am not lucky enough to become a wrestler because my health does not allow it, but I am the "most enthusiastic" audience. I have never been absent from the wrestling rings".
In previous years, the Van Dien wrestling festival was only held for 1-2 days, but in recent years, due to the people's demand and the large number of wrestlers participating, it has lasted for 5-6 days. The good news is that the wrestling festival is attracting more and more young wrestlers to participate, including teenagers. The good thing about the Van Dien wrestling festival is that anyone who comes to watch can become a wrestler if they feel healthy and excited enough to challenge.
That's why there are many people dressed up to watch the festival but willing to take off their clothes and wear belts to the wrestling ring. Mr. Nguyen Trong Cong (in Van An hamlet) has been a wrestler for many years and is also the "heaviest" wrestler, having won a silver medal in traditional wrestling at the Provincial Sports Festival, shared: Every year he participates in the wrestling festival and every year he wins the prize. Although the winner's prize is only a T-shirt with the words "Spring Wrestling Festival" printed on it, for "village" wrestlers like us, it is a source of pride, joy, and excitement because we have achieved success right from the beginning of the new year. There were years when he competed continuously for several days, only when he met an opponent of equal strength and talent did he decide the winner. Many times he came to the festival with the purpose of visiting his brothers, but when he heard the jubilant drumbeat, his "wrestling blood" surged again.
Since 1997, after the district
Mr. Tran Huu Giap - Director of Nam Dan District Cultural and Sports Center, said: In addition to the Van Dien commune wrestling festival which is regularly held at the beginning of Spring, some localities in the district also organize wrestling festivals such as Nam Nghia, Nam Thanh, Nam Xuan... However, these communes do not organize it systematically and continuously like Van Dien due to many different reasons. In order to preserve and maintain the traditional wrestling festival at the beginning of Spring and New Year, as a foundation for wrestling festivals in the homeland of Nam Dan, in the coming time, the District Cultural and Sports Center with its functions and tasks will develop a specific plan. Advise the District People's Committee to have reasonable mechanisms and policies to support local authorities in organizing folk games in general, the early Spring wrestling festival in particular, to become an attractive playground, a gathering place at the beginning of the year for people in localities in Nam Dan and neighboring areas...
Thanh Thuy
