Thousands of people jostle to see the ball at the Het Temple festival.

Het Temple Festival is held from the 7th to the 9th of the first lunar month - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

On February 5 (January 8), from early morning, despite the cold weather, thousands of people and tourists from all over the country flocked to attend the Het Temple festival (Thai Thuong commune, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province) and participated in unique folk games demonstrating the martial spirit of the people in the coastal countryside.

During the festival, in addition to the ceremony, procession, and incense offering, there are also art performances, wrestling, tug of war, and boat racing competitions... In particular, the wrestling and wrestling competitions created by General Pham Ngu Lao (1255 - 1320) to train the health of soldiers stationed here are still passed down by local people to this day.

To participate in the wrestling game, the villages select 18 players, all of whom are strong and healthy men. They are divided into 2 teams, each team has 9 people, including 1 general and 8 soldiers. The general chosen must be healthy, have good morals and qualities, and be loved by the villagers - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

Before starting the game, the players go to the temple to perform the incense offering ceremony, then go out to the field to compete - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

Talking to Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Pham Duc Thiet - Chairman of Thai Thuong Commune People's Committee - said: "After thousands of years of history, the ball wrestling game is still preserved in its original form by local people. Today, the Het Temple festival space has surpassed the boundaries of the village festival to become a festival of the whole region, annually attracting a large number of people and tourists from all over the world."

After entering the temple to burn incense, they will go to the field and divide into two teams (Ngoong team and Ngu team). The Nong team (in the word Nong nghiep ) wears red pants, the Ngu team (in the word Ngu nghiep, aquaculture and aquatic exploitation) wears blue pants. The two teams will compete on a sand field - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

The ball is a banana root, weighing about 8 - 10kg, peeled round and smooth - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

After the referee's signal, the wrestling match begins. Players must use their strength, agility, and dexterity to grab the smooth, solid, and heavy round ball - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

Then use all your strength, be skillful, and promote collective strength to lift the bridge and bring it back to your lover - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

After two rounds of play (about 20 minutes), the team that gets the ball into their goal more times wins - Photo: KHÁNH LINH

Het Temple (Thai Thuong commune, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province) is the place to worship General Pham Ngu Lao (1255 - 1320), a talented man, proficient in martial arts and good at using troops.

During the war against the Yuan-Mongol invaders, Pham Ngu Lao led troops to fight the enemy, achieved many great feats, was trusted by King Tran, Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan married his daughter to him and was appointed Dien Suy Thuong Tuong Quan.

When King Tran assigned him to command the army to guard and protect the Northeastern border, General Pham Ngu Lao chose Dai Toan seaport (now Diem Dien seaport), a sacred land with talented people and a dragon descending and tiger frolicking position, as the place to set up a military camp and train soldiers. Later, the local people built a temple to worship him at the place where he stationed his troops.

Up to now, Het Temple has been preserved, restored, and embellished, and retains intact seven royal decrees from the Le - Nguyen dynasties, a Chinese-language relic, many sacrificial objects, parallel sentences, a pair of horses, and an ancient stone stele.

In 1993, the Ministry of Culture and Sports recognized Het Temple as a national historical relic.

Youth,vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-ngan-nguoi-chen-nhau-xem-vat-cau-o-le-hoi-den-het-20250205220216829.htm#content-6