In early spring, go to Thi Cam to watch the fire-making and rice-cooking competitions.

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

The competing teams stripped and broke bamboo into smaller pieces to make it easier to start a fire.

At exactly 11 o'clock, the water-gathering and fire-making competition began. Each team nominated a person carrying a copper pot to run to the Nhuệ River bank to fetch water for cooking rice. However, to ensure safety, the water had to be taken from the river and boiled beforehand.

Next, each team sent four young men to participate in the fire-making competition. To make fire, they took two bamboo sticks, clamped them to a bundle of tinder, and used two bamboo sticks to hold one piece on top and one piece on the bottom, securing both ends. Two people then pulled back and forth, causing the bamboo sticks to rub against each other repeatedly to create friction. When smoke started to rise, they stopped and blew on the fire to make it flare up, using this fire to cook rice. At that moment, the village communal house in Thi Cam was filled with smoke and flames, resounding with the sound of drums and the cheers of villagers and tourists. The members exerted themselves to blow on the bundle of straw to make the fire burn brighter. The moment the first spark caught the straw, the atmosphere in the communal house courtyard became lively.

Quickly sift the rice again…

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

Each grain of rice contains the heart and soul of the person who cooked it.

The teams have about 30 minutes from the time they light the fire until the rice is cooked.

A lively atmosphere prevails at the fire-making and rice-cooking competition in Thi Cam.

"For us, the village festival has become an indispensable part of starting a peaceful new year," one resident enthusiastically shared.

Cooking rice in this traditional way requires precision and experience from those involved.

When the rice pots were almost empty, the teams hid them in piles of straw ash to wait for them to cook. After a week, the judges searched for the four rice pots among many piles of straw ash. If the teams hid them skillfully, the cooking time was extended and the rice would cook evenly; if they hid them clumsily and were found by the judges first, the rice would likely be undercooked.

The judging panel, which also includes the village elders, oversees the competition entries.

After finding four pots of rice, the judges scooped four bowls to offer to the village's tutelary deity. The rice was then publicly judged 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