Bay Nui Ox Racing Festival - Unique traditional festival of Khmer people

The Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival is a unique traditional festival of the Khmer ethnic group in the Bay Nui region, An Giang. The festival bears the traditional cultural imprint of the wet rice farming residents, a clever combination of culture and sports to create a unique cultural festival, demonstrating the spirit of solidarity and labor of the community. Every year, the event attracts tens of thousands of visitors to come and explore the unique features of the Festival.

An Giang is a land with great potential for tourism development, with millions of tourists coming to visit and explore every year. Besides famous tourist destinations, traditional festivals also attract a large number of tourists each time they are held. The large number of visitors attending each festival shows the vitality of the festival, and at the same time affirms the cultural and economic value that these events bring to the locality.

An Giang has great potential for tourism development.

Along with the Sam Mountain Lady Festival, the Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival is a major cultural and tourism event of the year, attracting special attention from locals and tourists. The Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival is considered a unique tourist highlight of the Bay Nui region, contributing to the overall development of An Giang 's tourism industry.

The Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival takes place on the occasion of the Sene Dolta festival of the Khmer people, usually from August 29 to September 1 of the lunar calendar every year, demonstrating the strength of labor, solidarity and aspiration for a bountiful harvest. The festival is not only a sporting event but also an opportunity for people and tourists to enjoy the dramatic competition and unique cultural beauty of the Bay Nui land, An Giang.

The bull racing grounds are flat rectangular fields, the racing track is dredged about 10 cm deep and must be flooded from 5 to 10 cm, located in Tri Ton and Tinh Bien districts, Bay Nui region, An Giang. The bull racing ground in Tri Ton commune, located in Ta Pa - Soai Chek Sports - Tourism Complex, is one of the main venues for this festival.

The pairs of oxen are carefully selected and trained to have good health and coordination. The famous racing oxen breed is the Seven Mountains oxen. The pairs of oxen compete in a knockout format to select the winning team. The racers will control the oxen on a plowed track to create slippery and muddy conditions, adding to the drama.

The festival takes place in a vibrant atmosphere, with drums, flags and traditional dances. The Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival is not only a sports playground but also brings exciting entertainment moments, attracting tens of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists to An Giang on this occasion.

Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival

A large number of tourists come to the locality during each festival.

Although the time of formation of this festival is unknown, over time, the Bull Racing Festival has gone beyond the limits of the traditional sport of the Khmer people in the Southern mountainous region, becoming the soul that makes the beauty of That Son more sparkling. From the values ​​of the festival, in 2004, the People's Committee of An Giang province upgraded it to a traditional cultural festival of the province, with a larger scale and expanded to other districts in the province to participate. In 2009, the 18th Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival was sponsored by An Giang Radio and Television (ATV) and renamed "Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival for the An Giang Television Cup".

On January 19, 2016, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officially recognized the Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This recognition is of great significance, affirming the unique cultural, historical and spiritual values ​​of the festival in the life of the Khmer people in An Giang, while contributing to the preservation and promotion of national cultural heritage.

Every year, the local government and An Giang province coordinate with other departments to organize the festival professionally and on a large scale. Authorities at all levels have also had support policies to preserve and promote the cultural values ​​of the festival such as renovating the racetrack, supporting racing teams and promoting the image of the festival to the public, contributing to attracting tourists. In addition, An Giang province has considered the Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival as a unique tourism product, contributing to the development of the local economy. The festival is not only a place for cultural activities of the community but also a highlight to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Nowadays, not only the Khmer people but also people of other ethnic groups participate in the festival. In many races, there are also pairs of oxen from the provinces of the Mekong Delta and even from neighboring Cambodia. This shows the strong attraction and strong community connection of ox racing; a vivid proof of community solidarity, attachment to each other in production and also an opportunity for people to have fun, meet each other, and foster beautiful community sentiments, imbued with humanity.

Illustration photo

Every season of the Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival, An Giang province welcomes tens of thousands of tourists and locals to watch and cheer. On the festival day, a large number of locals and tourists come to watch, including hundreds of domestic and international reporters who also attend this unique event. The large number of visitors creates a vibrant and bustling atmosphere at the venues. The large number of visitors not only shows the vitality of the festival, contributing to the overall development of An Giang tourism industry but also affirms the cultural and economic value that this event brings to the locality./.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/le-hoi-dua-bo-bay-nui-le-hoi-truyen-thong-doc-dao-cua-dong-bao-khmer-20251112163820292.htm