Water Wrestling Festival

Every four years, from the 12th to the 14th of the fourth lunar month, the people of Van Ha village (formerly called Yen Vien, commonly known as Van village), Viet Yen district, Bac Giang province, enthusiastically hold the Water Wrestling Festival - a festival rich in history, unique, joyful, dramatic and "one of a kind" of the village.

Please join author Nguyen Ngoc Thai in this festival through the photo series "The Water Ball". The photo series was submitted by the author to the Happy Vietnam Photo and Video Contest, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications .

The Van village water-ball wrestling festival has been associated with the cultural life and folk beliefs of the local people for many generations. Legend has it that: In the past, the two brothers Truong Hong and Truong Hat assisted Trieu Quang Phuc in fighting the Liang invaders. When they defeated the Liang army at Da Trach dam, they were harassed by the black demons in the swamp, who rushed out to fight against the Saint's army. The two sides went into battle, and the black demons set a condition: If they won, they would be greatly rewarded. If they lost, they would have to submit to serve the Saint. The battle took place, and in the end, the black demons lost the battle and had to submit to the Saint Tam Giang here.

The ritual of worshiping the objects before the match. The players perform the ritual of worshiping the Saint Tam Giang. Before entering the match, the elders perform the incense offering ceremony, the players wear loincloths to perform the ritual of worshiping the Saint Tam Giang. The players sit in a line facing each other, each team sends out one person to wrestle, the winning team will serve first.

Soldiers and spectators covered in mud

Thousands of tourists from everywhere flock to see the festival.

The image represents the wish for good harvest and harmony, a unique beauty in the Water Wrestling Festival.

The joy of victory.

The festival is a Sun God worshiping belief of ancient people, typical of wet rice culture, expressing the desire of agricultural residents. In 2022, the Van village water wrestling festival was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage./.

Vietnam.vn