Go to Van village to see mud wrestling

Perhaps this is considered a “unique” festival in Vietnam, attracting many tourists from all over the world because of its uniqueness and difference. Both the participants and the audience had a good laugh. Legend has it that in the past, there were brothers Truong Hong and Truong Hat (Saint Tam Giang) who followed Trieu Quang Phuc to fight the enemy. When they defeated the Liang army and returned to Da Trach lagoon, they were harassed by black demons in the lagoon. The two sides went into battle, and the demons set a condition: if they won, they would be greatly rewarded; but if they lost, they would submit to serve the Saint. In the end, the black demons lost the battle and had to submit to Saint Tam Giang. That is why the people of Van village held a wrestling festival on the day of the saint's death, with the meaning of celebrating the victory. Local people called it Khanh Ha festival.

In addition to the spiritual element, honoring the victory of Saint Tam Giang over the black demons, the Van muddy water wrestling festival is also associated with the worship of the sun god, the sacred symbol of wet rice civilization. Folklore has a saying:

Khanh Ha village wrestling festival

There is no place in Kinh Bac region.

The army tried its best to win.

Mud and water playground painted one color.

The festival is held in a temple yard of more than 200 square meters filled with mud. The water poured into the yard is Cau River water stored in earthenware jars from Tho Ha village, the type of jar used to store wine carried from the river by beautiful girls in traditional costumes. At both ends of the yard are two holes nearly 1 meter deep and more than half a meter wide. The team that can push the ball down the opponent's hole wins.

The ball is made of ironwood, 35cm in diameter, weighs about 20kg and has been passed down in the village communal house from generation to generation. The ball represents the sun, while the hole represents the yin. According to spirituality, each time the bridge is pushed down the hole, it symbolizes harmony between heaven and earth, favorable weather and wind, helping the crops to yield bountiful harvests. The wrestling team consists of 16 strong young men carefully selected from 5 hamlets, divided into 2 groups: Upper Group and Lower Group (each group has 8 people). The wrestlers will have to be vegetarian, not eat garlic, and abstain from sex for 3 days according to the village's rules before the wrestling festival opens. The boys are thoroughly trained from the ceremony to the competition. Before the match, the elders performed an incense offering ceremony in the temple, and there was a lion dance before the match. The soldiers stripped naked and wore loincloths, performing the ritual of worshiping the Saint Tam Giang. They lined up facing the temple to worship the saint, then went up to the temple yard to drink the battle wine. Then they sat cross-legged in rows, facing each other, with the feast in the middle, consisting of fruits and Van village wine, the famous wine of Viet Yen. Each person drank 3 bowls of wine and ate fruit, then presented themselves to the audience. Next, the two teams line up in pairs, facing each other. Each team sends out a pair to wrestle with each other. The winning team will serve first. The master of ceremonies is the one who throws the ball down to the field for the two teams to play. The ball is carried from east to west in the direction of the rising and setting sun when it comes to the field. When the master of ceremonies throws the ball down to the field, it is also the time when the two men jump in to fight for the ball in the muddy ground, determined to win luck. With the idea that if you can grab the ball, it means you can grab the sun, the light for the plants, for all things, that is why the mud wrestling festival has the meaning of a festival to pray for a bountiful harvest. The Upper and Lower teams compete fiercely for 3 days, each day "playing" 1 match (currently depending on the reality, there are five organizations that play 2 or 3 matches - called 2 or 3 bridges), each match lasts 2 hours. The match starts with a fierce fight between the two teams, cheers resound throughout the area. However, with the meaning of praying for luck, no matter how fierce the match is, there is no violent collision. Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=766781795562979&set=pcb.766800528894439