Unique ritual and bamboo tug-of-war game in Huu Chap village

Illustrative photo.

The ritual and tug-of-war game in Huu Chap village is a unique heritage with many good meanings of the local people and is also a beautiful feature in the culture of Kinh Bac people. After 10 years of being recognized as an intangible cultural heritage representing humanity, the ritual and tug-of-war game are maintained, preserved and developed by the people to honor the strength of solidarity.

The village's tug of war differs from others' because the two teams struggling to pull each other off their feet don't pull on a rope, but rather two bamboo trees.

The Tug of War game is a main ritual in the village's traditional festival, which has existed for nearly 400 years and is solemnly held every 2 years.

As one of the oldest festivals of the Kinh Bac region, the festival is held on the fourth day of the first lunar month. A worship ceremony takes place in the morning and the tug-of-war game is held in the afternoon.

Two bamboo poles are prepared by strong men over the age of 40, who are from happy families and have both sons and daughters. The players should be between 30 and 37 years old.

The straight bamboo poles have to be more than 20m long. They are then pierced and linked to each other with two shoulder poles. The connecting holes are tied with bamboo strings. The bamboos are then hung at the temple for worship. Seventy strong men are divided into two teams that face the east and the west, respectively. The team that wins two of three rounds wins the game. In the third round, the audience can join the game as well.

People believe that if the team facing the east wins, it will bring bumper crops and good luck, and that the situation will be just the opposite if the team facing the west wins.

In the third round, many people join the team facing the east to help it win, following a typical belief of those who cultivate rice and worship the Sun God.