“Lay co” is a folk game of ethnic groups that has long appeared in the folk culture of the Tay and Nung people. Over time, gradually, lay co has become more popular, being included in competitions at spring festivals, exchanges, and competitions in sports competitions.
“Lay co” or “sai ma” is an exchange activity during holidays, Tet, and happy days of the Tay and Nung people in Cao Bang and some neighboring localities, carrying a unique folk culture. Lay co can be played anytime, anywhere, and is most often played at weddings, housewarmings, and full-month celebrations for newborns…
Weeding with its unique culture has been deeply rooted in the subconscious of the Tay and Nung people. Whenever there is a party, weeding is an activity that many people respond to and participate in, increasing the lively and joyful atmosphere, preserving the time together longer, thereby strengthening the bond between the community and the family. Even people who are not Tay or Nung but only know how to weed can participate. Especially during the New Year and Spring, there are 3-4 people sitting together to weed. They drink wine and play weeding, the fun sometimes lasts from the afternoon until 3 or 4 in the morning.
Grass cutting does not distinguish between age or gender. In the past, only men often participated in the game, but now women also participate. Grass cutting can be played one-on-one, or in teams of 2-5 people on each side. When competing in groups, playing in a circle, the winner of this team takes turns competing with other members of the opposing team. Therefore, the participants must be quick-eyed, quick-handed, and most importantly, quick-thinking. Each individual needs to demonstrate their abilities to their opponents and innovate the way they spread their hands without following any rules to make the opponent unpredictable.
Players must guess how the opponent spreads his fingers to give the result. The way of calling out the result and spreading the fingers must be the same, otherwise there will be a penalty. If both sides say the correct and identical result, it is a draw, called "Thong sinh ma". The process of judging the result is called in Han Nom language, such as: first is number 1, second is number 2, slam is number 3, sixth is number 6... Playing Lay Co requires that when calling out, there must be a "tail". "Tail" here means the rhythm of the sentence, the last word is sung and prolonged, called "Lay Mi Thang", specifically: number 3 is called "Slam tim slam", number 4 is "Sle hung sle", number 6 is "Loọc woáy loọc"... Lay Co creates a lively, exciting atmosphere among the players and demonstrates their will and ingenuity to distinguish between winning and losing. Many games create a point-by-point tug-of-war that can last 15 to 20 minutes without a winner.
If the opponent opens his hand according to the rules and is caught, it is called catching the horse, in the local language it is called “pat ma”. If one side loses continuously without gaining any points, it is called “pac pan”, which means “knock out”, and will be subject to double the penalty. If the side that wins 4 points wins, the losing side must accept the form of “penalty”, which can be a cup of wine or sharing a cup of wine or other forms of agreement. While playing the game, the referee must understand the rules of the game, be fair and transparent. In games without a referee, the players themselves take four chopsticks or 4 toothpicks to act as referees. The chopsticks are divided equally among each side, the loser voluntarily takes one stick and gives it to the winner, taking all 4 sticks is the end of a round, which means that he is the loser.
Society is increasingly developing, the cultural and spiritual life of the people is clearly improved, but the folk game of playing grass is still maintained. It has become a means of cultural exchange and is included in competitions during spring festivals and long tong festivals.
In recent years, authorities at all levels have paid great attention to and encouraged this sport to preserve and develop it. In Cao Bang, in 2018, grass-plowing was officially included in the provincial sports tournament. With many tournaments at all levels taking place, athletes have the opportunity to exchange, learn, and improve their competition experience. Thereby, spreading grass-plowing to many people.
Khanh Duy
Source: https://baocaobang.vn/lay-co-tu-tro-choi-dan-gian-tro-thanh-mon-the-thao-tri-tue-3172737.html
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