Early spring, go to Thi Cam to watch fire making and rice cooking competitions

Every year on the 8th of January, people of Thi Cam village (Xuan Phuong ward, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi city) and visitors from all over gather at the village communal house to participate in the traditional fire-making and rice-cooking competition.

The teams compete to strip and break bamboo into small pieces to make it easier to start a fire.

At exactly 11 o'clock, the water fetching and fire making competition began. Each team sent a person holding a bronze pot to run to the Nhue River to fetch water to cook rice. However, to ensure safety, the water had to be taken from the river and boiled beforehand.

Next, each team sent 4 young men to participate in the fire-making competition. To make fire, people took two bamboo sticks, clamped them to the steel wool, used two bamboo sticks, one on top and one on the bottom, held the two ends firmly, then the two people tugged the bamboo sticks against the bamboo sticks many times to create friction. When they saw smoke, they stopped and blew to make the fire flare up, using this kindling to cook rice. At that time, the space of Thi Cam communal house was filled with smoke and fire, resounding with the sound of drums and cheers from villagers and tourists. The members tried their best to blow into the bundle of straw to make the fire grow. When the first kindling caught the straw, the atmosphere in the communal house yard became bustling.

Urgently sift the rice again…

In 2021, the Thi Cam village rice cooking contest was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Each grain of rice contains the heart of the cook.

Teams have about 30 minutes from the time the fire is lit until the rice is cooked.

Exciting atmosphere at the fire-pulling and rice-cooking competition at Thi Cam.

“For us, the village festival has become an indispensable part of starting a peaceful new year,” an excited resident shared.

Cooking rice in this traditional way requires precision and experience from the participants.

When the rice pots ran out of water, the teams hid them in a pile of straw and coal to wait for them to cook. After a week of incense burning, the members of the jury searched for 4 pots of rice in many piles of straw and coal. If the teams hid them well, the time would be extended and the rice would be cooked evenly. If they hid them clumsily and were found by the judges first, the rice would easily be undercooked.

The judges, who were also village elders, checked the entries.

After finding four pots of rice, the judges scooped four bowls to offer to the village's tutelary god. The rice was then scored publicly in front of the villagers and members of the participating teams.

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Source: https://baolangson.vn/du-lich/644667-dau-xuan-toi-thi-cam-xem-keo-lua-thoi-com-thi.html