About Dat Tai to watch wrestling festival

Every second day of the Lunar New Year, people of Dat Tai village, Hoang Ha commune (Hoang Hoa) bustlingly organize the traditional wrestling festival filled with joy and good meaning.

The traditional wrestling festival of Dat Tai village takes place on the second day of Tet.

The festival consists of a ceremony and a festival. At noon on the second day of the Lunar New Year, people will go together to the Tay temple to report to the village's tutelary god. After that, the strong and healthy men will take charge of carrying the palanquin and the procession from the Tay temple to Quan temple (now Ben market).

Before the festival, there is a procession of the village's tutelary god's palanquin from the Tay communal house (pagoda) to Quan pagoda (now Ben market).

After completing the respectful rituals, there will be a lively festival between the villages. Accordingly, the participants are men with good health, agility, and dexterity, competing in the top spinning top contest.

The bamboo ball is woven tightly, with sand inside and red cloth outside.

The cu is woven firmly, with a core of sand inside and a red cloth wrapped on the outside. In the middle of the area where the cu wrestling takes place, there is a pole made of bamboo or rattan, above which hangs a “cu basket”, a basket woven from bamboo. When the gong sounds to signal the start of the festival, the cu is tossed high into the air. Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the people, the participants will jump high, raising their long, strong arms to compete for the cu. Whoever wins and holds the cu for the longest time, then throws the cu into the basket will “score points”. The team that throws more cu into the basket will be the winning team.

After announcing the rules of the game, the village chief will be the one to deal the tickles.

Before that, during the days before Tet, the "braiding" of the cu will be assigned to an experienced person in the village.

In Dat Tai, although it only happens once a year, the “weaving” of “cu” is also “passed down from father to son”. If in the past in Dat Tai, the weaving of cu was done by Mr. Le Van Chi, now Mr. Le Van Thanh - Mr. Le Van Chi’s son “takes over” his father’s job.

The wrestling festival is attended by strong, flexible and skillful men.

Participants compete to throw tops into the hanging basket above.

According to the elders in the village, the wrestling festival in Dat Tai has existed since ancient times. Legend has it that in the old days, in the village garden, there were 3 lions who often played with each other, called "hy cu". From that legend, the ancients organized the game - wrestling festival on the occasion of Tet with the meaning of praying for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, good crops, and prosperous business for the people.

The traditional wrestling festival of Dat Tai village attracts a large number of people to participate and have fun.

The team that hits the basket the most times wins.

The traditional wrestling game also demonstrates the martial spirit and the strength of community solidarity. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Kien, head of Dat Tai village, said: “The traditional wrestling festival of Dat Tai village has existed for hundreds of years and has been maintained and organized by many generations of people. On the first day of spring, the wrestling festival takes place alongside the spiritual meaning, sending and wishing good things to the villagers; maintaining the organization of the traditional wrestling game also creates a useful playground, once again affirming the spirit and strength of solidarity, from which people can work together to build their homeland and country.”

Khanh Loc

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ve-voi-xu-thanh/ve-dat-tai-xem-hoi-vat-cu/206658.htm