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Wrestling for glory at Vietnam’s festival · of a three-day annual festival held in Thuy Linh...
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Bare-chested men in brightly coloured belts grapple for possession of a giant woo- den ball at a Vietnamese fes- tival, tumbling from corner to corner as hundreds of ex- cited spectators cheer them on. They are playing Vat Cau — a centuries-old sport which began as a training ex- ercise for soldiers and con- tains elements of wrestling and rugby. Vat Cau is the main draw of a three-day annual festival held in Thuy Linh village during Vietnam’s Tet Lunar New Year, just 10 km from Hanoi. A single match has four separate teams of eight men wearing waist straps of diffe- rent colours. They tussle ov- er a 17-kg ball made from the wood of a jackfruit tree, la- boriously inching it towards one of the holes dug in each team’s corner. “This game is the tradi- tion and the pride of the Thuy Linh people,” Le Duc Duong, an athlete with 15 years of experience playing Vat Cau, said. In tip-top shape Before the annual show- down at Thuy Linh’s com- munal temple, each sport- sman must train in sports like swimming, running and bodybuilding to get in tip- top shape, he added. The audience at Satur- day’s competition were in high spirits, laughing and cheering as a match announ- cer commented on the ath- letes pouncing on each other in the field. “Some of our athletes have a six-pack body, and some have a six-pack-in- one,” he said wryly. At the end of the three- day tournament, the squad with the most points advanc- es to the next round, and the champions in the final stage will receive a cash prize of $260 to share between them — a small reward that gifts bragging rights to one team among the 16 competing. Dating back to the 11 th cen- tury, the game was invented by a revered general to teach his recruits about the impor- tance of teamwork, intelli- gence and strength when fighting against foreign in- vaders, festival organiser Le Minh Xuong said. “(This game) inherits the tradition of our forefathers, which is to train the men in the village to have health and fitness for the ultimate pur- pose of protecting our ho- meland,” he said. But for the players today, the stakes are not so high. “We play this game for fun actually. The prize is not im- portant for us,” 20-year-old player Nguyen The Hien, a kickboxing trainer, said. “Each year we play it and it brings joy to us.” Wrestling for glory at Vietnam’s festival The main draw is Vat Cau, a sport that started as a training exercise for soldiers Ball game: People watching as men wrestle for the prized ball made of jackfruit wood during ‘Vat Cau’in Hanoi. * AFP Agence France-Presse Hanoi
Transcript of Wrestling for glory at Vietnam’s festival · of a three-day annual festival held in Thuy Linh...
Bare-chested men in brightlycoloured belts grapple forpossession of a giant woo-den ball at a Vietnamese fes-tival, tumbling from cornerto corner as hundreds of ex-cited spectators cheer themon.
They are playing Vat Cau— a centuries-old sportwhich began as a training ex-ercise for soldiers and con-tains elements of wrestlingand rugby.
Vat Cau is the main drawof a three-day annual festivalheld in Thuy Linh villageduring Vietnam’s Tet LunarNew Year, just 10 km fromHanoi.
A single match has fourseparate teams of eight menwearing waist straps of diff��e-rent colours. They tussle ov-er a 17-kg ball made from thewood of a jackfruit tree, la-boriously inching it towardsone of the holes dug in eachteam’s corner.
“This game is the tradi-
tion and the pride of theThuy Linh people,” Le DucDuong, an athlete with 15years of experience playingVat Cau, said.
In tip-top shapeBefore the annual show-down at Thuy Linh’s com-munal temple, each sport-sman must train in sportslike swimming, running andbodybuilding to get in tip-top shape, he added.
The audience at Satur-day’s competition were inhigh spirits, laughing andcheering as a match announ-cer commented on the ath-letes pouncing on each otherin the fi��eld.
“Some of our athleteshave a six-pack body, andsome have a six-pack-in-one,” he said wryly.
At the end of the three-day tournament, the squadwith the most points advanc-
es to the next round, and thechampions in the fi��nal stagewill receive a cash prize of$260 to share between them— a small reward that giftsbragging rights to one teamamong the 16 competing.
Dating back to the 11th cen-tury, the game was inventedby a revered general to teachhis recruits about the impor-tance of teamwork, intelli-gence and strength whenfi��ghting against foreign in-vaders, festival organiser LeMinh Xuong said.
“(This game) inherits thetradition of our forefathers,which is to train the men inthe village to have health andfi��tness for the ultimate pur-pose of protecting our ho-meland,” he said.
But for the players today,the stakes are not so high.
“We play this game for funactually. The prize is not im-portant for us,” 20-year-oldplayer Nguyen The Hien, akickboxing trainer, said.
“Each year we play it andit brings joy to us.”
Wrestling for glory at Vietnam’s festival The main draw is Vat Cau, a sport that started as a training exercise for soldiers
Ball game: People watching as men wrestle for the prized ballmade of jackfruit wood during ‘Vat Cau’in Hanoi. * AFP
Agence France-PresseHanoi
