Vietnam revives ancient tradition
DO SON - Drums pounded and the crowd roared as two water buffaloes
rushed from opposite ends of the stadium, their heads set on a
powerful collision course.
Barely stunned despite the audible blow, they locked horns in a
fierce contest that is part of a revival of an ancient Vietnamese
cultural tradition interrupted by 44 years of war, revolution and
impoverishment.
The buffalo fighting festival in Do Son, a seaside resort near
Hanoi, resumed in 1990 and has gained popularity ever since.
Officials were forced to close the gates at this year's competition
on Tuesday after the town's stadium was jammed with 20,000 people.
``Next year, we're planning to enlarge it so it can hold 40,000 to
50,000 people,'' said Nguyen Van Tieu, head of the organizing
committee.
Some matches end in a few moments, others last for nearly 15
minutes and aren't finished until one animal yields and runs away,
his head hanging low, through one of two stadium gates.
Still, the fate of winners and losers is the same — both are
slaughtered after the festival, their heads placed on neighborhood
altars in the belief they will bring prosperity to the community.
In the past, their meat was offered at community feasts. Today,
some is sold and some given away free.
Do Son, a fishing village, began the festival several hundred years
ago as a way of boosting the spirits of its fishermen as they
prepared for the long season, Tieu said.
This year, the winner was buffalo No. 1, owned by Pham Van Thuc,
who bought the animal after the lunar new year in February for $530
and won $1,000 in prize money.
``I do it for the enjoyment, not for the money,'' he said. ``I just
want to bring joy and happiness to my community.''
Vietnam's village festivals, and many of its traditional performing
arts, were halted by the outbreak of wars with France in 1946 and
later with the United States. Poverty and revolution prevented an
immediate revival following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Do Son was one of the first communities to apply for permission to
revive its festival after the Communist Party decided in the late
1980s to encourage traditional culture, previously viewed as
superstitious and a waste of scarce resources.
The government has since designated Do Son's buffalo fighting as
one of the nation's 12 top festivals.
The Associated Press, September 25, 2001
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