Bay Nui bull racing - cultural feature of An Giang province

The Seven Mountains Bull Racing Festival of the Khmer people in An Giang province is one of the prominent cultural activities in the Southwest region. The festival brings exciting and bustling moments to thousands of participants. Not only does it demonstrate the traditional cultural beauty of the Khmer people, the festival is also a meaningful sports and entertainment playground that attracts the attention of tourists from provinces and cities across the country.

Every year, the Bay Nui bull racing festival is often held during the Sene Dolta festival (ancestor worship ceremony) of the Khmer people in the South, bearing the traditional cultural imprint of the residents who practice wet rice farming .

The Bay Nui bull racing festival is a festival of the Khmer ethnic group in the South. It has strong folk cultural identity, including the traditional bull racing festival, a unique cultural activity and sport in the Bay Nui region, An Giang . Photo: Vietnam.vn

To organize the traditional bull racing festival, the Khmer people choose a flat field. Vietnam.vn

To organize the traditional bull racing festival, the Khmer people choose a flat field, about 200 m long and 100 m wide, with water all around, which is "turned" many times to make it slippery with mud, with embankments on all four sides and a clear road at the finish line to make a safe stop for the bulls. The main racing track only needs to be 120 m along the field next to the embankment. At the starting point, there are two green and red flags, each 5 m apart, and the same is true at the finish line. The pair of bulls standing at which color flag will have the same color as the flag at the finish line. Before the race, they choose each pair of bulls from each other or draw lots and agree on some necessary rules such as who will go first, who will go last... But usually the pair that goes last has an advantage. If during the race, a pair of bulls runs off the track, they will be disqualified and the pair of bulls that steps on the harrow set by the pair of bulls in front will win. The driver must stand firmly, if he falls or falls out of the harrow, he is considered to have lost. To prepare for the racing bulls, the bulls are selected and bought from many regions to participate in the competition. Each competing team consists of a pair of bulls and two "riders" - the ones who directly control the racing bulls, the assistant jockeys are responsible for taking care of the bulls. After the pair of bulls are yoked to a special harrow, the harrow is a pedal consisting of a wooden board 30 cm wide, 90 cm long, with harrow teeth underneath. The bull rider holds a rattan whip or a round piece of wood about 3 cm in size, with a sharp nail on the end - the xa-lul. When the referee gives the starting command, the bull rider will stab the xa-lul strongly into the bull's butt, the painful bull will quickly gallop forward, the important thing is to stab both bulls evenly so that the speed of the pair of bulls will be fierce and attractive. This is different from horse racing in that each person rides one bull, whoever reaches the finish line first will win. The breed of bull racing in the festival is the Bay Nui Bo breed. Bull racing takes place in pairs. The driver of the pair of bulls, also known as the "driver" or "bull jockey", stands on a harrow and holds a whip called a xalul to urge the bulls to run faster or slower.

The pair of bulls that reach the finish line first will move on to the next round and continue to compete in a knockout round until there are two pairs left. Photo: Vietnam.vn

On the festival day, tens of thousands of tourists and people of all ages from all over flock to watch. Everyone tries to go early to choose a good viewing angle, bringing food and drinks because the race lasts from morning until afternoon. Bull racing is not simply about bulls racing against each other, but it has become a unique custom and belief of the Khmer ethnic people. A festival is not only associated with the custom of praying for favorable weather, good harvests and a more prosperous life, but also shows the enthusiastic working spirit of the Khmer people, making the festival more sacred and solemn.

In recent years, An Giang province has focused on building and promoting the image of the Bay Nui bull racing festival, building it into an attractive cultural tourism product, a cultural feature, to introduce the land and people of An Giang. Thereby spreading the unique cultural features of the province to a large number of people at home and abroad. Especially tourists who come to visit and learn about the cultural life of the province, thereby contributing to promoting socio -economic development in An Giang province./.

Yanjiang