Artistic cockfighting for the "Cho Lach Royal Cock" Cup

The fighting cocks enter the battle.

The Cho Lach district cockfighting cultural space is held in a separate area in Zone 26, Phu Son commune. Here, the Organizing Committee said, the "Cho Lach Royal Chicken" Cup competition attracted many "cockfighting masters" to come and register to compete.

The total number of registered teams is currently 40, coming from many provinces and cities such as: Bien Hoa, Dinh Quan (Dong Nai), Binh Duong province, Tay Ninh province, Ho Chi Minh City... Each team has 3 fighting cocks, a total of 120 cocks participating in the competition, each cock weighs from 3 - 3.5kg.

Head of the Organizing Committee of the Cultural Space of Artistic Cockfighting in Cho Lach District, Le Tu Guong, residing in Long Thoi Commune, said: “The purpose of this activity is to serve entertainment, not to win or lose but to be lucky or unlucky. The beauty of cockfighting culture is an ancient tradition that still exists today. Therefore, cockfighting is not banned, only cockfighting for money is banned.”

In the arena, the fighting cocks have their spurs covered with rubber to prevent injury to their opponents.

Gathering many booths introducing nutritional products for each stage of development of fighting cocks.

It is known that the "Cultural space of artistic cockfighting in Cho Lach district" gathers 30 booths, implemented with socialized funding, showing that the profession of raising artistic fighting cocks in Cho Lach district is of interest to people near and far. The booths include: Booths introducing types of food and nutrition for each stage of development of fighting cocks, coconut fiber mats for cages for fighting cocks...

Sharing about the famous fighting chicken breed of Ben Tre , Head of the Organizing Committee of the Cultural Space of Artistic Cockfighting in Cho Lach District Le Tu Guong - who is known as the famous "cock master" of the West said: "The characteristic of Ben Tre fighting chickens is that they are very heroic, not afraid of opponents, and do not run away from fighting. In the arena, they are fierce and quickly defeat opponents. That is thanks to the intelligence of Ben Tre fighting chickens, this instinct is determined by the genotype, combined with good breeding".

This is the first time Cho Lach district has organized a separate space for artistic cockfighting culture. Although not yet known to many people, Mr. Le Tu Guong said: “My wish is that through the 2025 Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Festival, I will raise a little bit about the issue of preserving the genetic heritage of Ben Tre fighting chickens. Because in my personal opinion, if we do not preserve this precious breed, within 3 to 5 years, the Ben Tre fighting chicken breed will be separated (destroyed). I have made efforts to preserve the fighting chicken genes for the past 30 years, spending a lot of money, but to preserve the genetic factors of traditional fighting chickens, we need scientists and experts to guide us to preserve the genetic heritage of the breed.”

Not only artistic cockfighting, "Cultural space of artistic cockfighting in Cho Lach district" also organizes an auction of 2 products, to raise funds to support poor farmers who need capital to implement the model of raising fighting cocks.

Mr. Le Tu Guong informed: “I contributed and brought to the festival 3 purebred hens of the Khet sua breed (name of a type of chicken), I set the starting price of these 3 chickens at 10 million VND to compete for fun. In reality, each purebred Khet sua hen costs 50 million VND. The second product is a model of the mascot "Hoang ke Cho Lach" made of iron, simulating the chicken as a tall and mighty warrior, this product was crafted for 45 million VND, but I set the initial starting price at 15 million VND".

The auction of 2 fundraising products took place live at the "Cultural space of artistic cockfighting in Cho Lach district" on January 11, 2025.

News and photos: Thach Thao

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/choi-ga-nghe-thuat-tranh-cup-hoang-ke-cho-lach--a140973.html