Building a Vietnamese tug-of-war heritage community network

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Tug of War Ritual and Game being recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports coordinated with Long Bien Ward and the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association to organize a series of activities to honor this unique heritage, within the framework of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025.

The event aims to affirm the sustainable value of tug of war, a symbol of agricultural culture, associated with the wish for favorable weather, good crops and community solidarity. This heritage was inscribed in 2015 at the 10th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (held in Namibia), a multinational dossier between Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and the Philippines. Representing Vietnam are communities from Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho and Lao Cai.

Sitting tug of war in Long Bien, Hanoi

After a decade of being recognized, the number of communities practicing tug of war heritage in Vietnam has continuously increased, from 6 initial communities to 10 communities today. The spread and exchange between localities has contributed to enriching the practice form from sitting tug of war, beak tug of war, bar tug of war to the tug of war styles of the Tay, Thai, Giay... showing the diversity and creativity in Vietnamese folk culture.

The number of communities practicing tug-of-war heritage in Vietnam is constantly increasing.

The commemorative program includes two main activities: the international workshop "A decade of protecting and promoting tug-of-war rituals and games" (afternoon of November 15 in Long Bien ward) and the exchange and performance program of tug-of-war rituals and games (morning of November 16 at Tran Vu Temple, Long Bien ward).

The workshop is expected to gather more than 250 domestic and foreign delegates, including UNESCO representatives, embassies of co-registered countries, experts and heritage-holding communities. The performance will feature the Gijisi Tug of War Association (Korea) and 8 representative tug of war communities in Vietnam, along with drum and lion dance performances by artists from Sehan University (Korea).

The highlight of the event was the launching ceremony of the Vietnam Tug of War Heritage Community Network, marking a new development step in the journey of connecting, transmitting and promoting the vitality of the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

MAI AN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/xay-dung-mang-luoi-cong-dong-di-san-keo-co-viet-nam-post823024.html