The Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in An Giang attracts a large number of people and tourists from all provinces and cities to watch, cheer, creating an exciting, bustling atmosphere, connecting the nation during the festival.
The 10th Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in 2024 was held on September 8. This is a unique and typical cultural feature of the Khmer people in the Bay Nui An Giang region every year on the occasion of the Sene Dolta festival.
Participating in the 10th Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in 2024 are 24 excellent pairs of cows of the Khmer people in Tri Ton district and Tinh Bien town, An Giang province.
The festival has attracted a large number of people and tourists from all provinces and cities to watch, cheer, creating an exciting, bustling atmosphere, connecting the nation during the festival.
The pairs of oxen speed towards the finish line. (Photo: Cong Mao/VNA)
From early morning, tens of thousands of tourists and people of all ages from all over flocked to watch. Everyone took advantage of the early arrival to choose a good viewing angle. This is also an opportunity for visitors from near and far to enjoy the specialties of the Bay Nui An Giang region.
In particular, the Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival attracted hundreds of photographers and reporters from domestic and foreign press agencies to attend to immerse themselves in the festival atmosphere and explore the beauty of the Bay Nui An Giang region.
The pairs of bulls participating in the competition are invested in by the bull owners with their own secret care, the “Bull Riders” (bull drivers) have been training for many months to be able to win the highest prize.
Scene of the 10th Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in 2024 in An Tuc commune, Tinh Bien town, An Giang province. (Photo: Cong Mao/VNA)
Before entering the race, the bull owners draw lots to choose the pair of bulls that will go first and the pair that will go after; usually the pair that goes after will have an advantage. If during the race, in the calling round, any pair of bulls runs off the track, or the pair of bulls that steps on the harrow (a wooden board 30cm wide, 90cm long, with harrow teeth underneath) of the pair of bulls that go before will be eliminated.
However, in the releasing round, the pair of bulls that steps on the harrow of the pair of bulls in front will win, and the bull driver must stand firmly, if he falls or falls off the harrow during the race, he will be considered a loser.
Entering the competition, the two pairs of oxen will compete in a round of shouting and a round of releasing (“round of shouting” – is the round for the pairs of oxen to get used to the racetrack, demonstrating the dexterity of the ox drivers; “round of releasing” – when the referee gives the signal, the ox driver uses a stick (a round piece of wood about 3cm in size, with a sharp nail inserted at the end) to poke the buttocks of his 2 oxen, so that the pair of oxen can exert all their strength to rush to the finish line.
The pairs of bulls compete fiercely in the release round, determined to achieve the best results. (Photo: Cong Mao/VNA)
The winning pair of oxen will advance to the next round. The champion pair of oxen must participate in all rounds and eliminate each direct “opponent”.
From the beginning to the end of the race, the festival atmosphere is always filled with applause, cheers, and encouragement for the pairs of oxen that are fiercely competing to reach the finish line.
In the racing space, water from the fields splashes up following the intense chases, along with the cheers, making the festival atmosphere more exciting, bustling, and attractive.
Mr. Chau Hunl (An Cu commune, Tinh Bien town) said that when participating in the Khmer people’s bull racing festival, the bull owners and “Bull jockeys” do not care about the prize, winning or losing, but mainly about having fun, helping to strengthen the friendship between the ethnic groups.
According to the concept of the Khmer people in the Bay Nui An Giang region, bull racing has a very special meaning. The pair of bulls that won a high prize in the year are carefully cared for by the owner, so that they can compete again next year, because the winning pair of bulls not only brings pride to the owner, but also brings joy and determination to the whole village and hamlet to achieve many victories in other fields.
The village’s bulls are healthy, resilient, and good at plowing, helping people to sow and plant easily, bringing a bumper crop and a prosperous and prosperous village.”
No one knows when the Ox Racing Festival began, but according to the elders of the Bay Nui An Giang region, in the past, every year during the planting season, many Khmer farmers from the villages and hamlets led their oxen to plow the fields of the Khmer pagodas, which was called “plowing the merits.”
After plowing and harrowing, they urged their oxen to “plow race” to see which pair of oxen was the fastest and strongest. The monks and nuns saw this and organized (like referees), offering a prize to the pair of oxen that plowed well and ran fast, and would receive a “Ca tha” (bell around the neck of the ox).
The following year, the plowing of the pagoda land continued and from then on, the Bay Nui Ox Racing became the annual traditional Ox Racing Festival of the Khmer people in An Giang province.
In 2016, the An Giang Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, one of the outstanding cultural and sporting events of An Giang province for many years, hosted by Tri Ton district and Tinh Bien town, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to watch the bull racing festival and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mysterious That Son land.
According to Mr. Huynh Thanh Hai, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of An Cu commune (Tinh Bien town), the Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival in particular, the Bull Racing Festival of the Khmer people in the An Giang Bay Nui region has gone beyond the limits of the traditional sport of the Khmer people in the Southern mountainous region, becoming the “soul” that adds to the beauty of the An Giang Bay Nui region.
“The bull racing festival is not simply about bulls racing against each other, but it has become a unique custom and belief of the Khmer ethnic people on the occasion of the annual Sene Dolta festival. The festival is not only associated with the custom of praying for favorable weather, good harvests and a more prosperous life, but also demonstrates the enthusiastic working spirit of the Khmer people, making the festival a playground, a place to enjoy culture and find national traditions with special values, fostering beautiful community sentiments, imbued with humanity” – Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of An Cu commune Huynh Thanh Hai emphasized.
This is also a form of education, propaganda and transfer to the next generation about the ideology of solidarity, sharing without profit in work and connecting people more and more closely./.
Cong Mao
VNA/Vietnam+