Unique wrestling competition on muddy field in Bac Giang

Happy Vietnam

The players compete for the ball. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The players win a score. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The 200-sqm wrestling field, built hundreds of years ago, is filled with liquid mud. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The players compete for the ball. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
Getting the ball is seen as getting the sunlight, getting a good luck. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The ball represents the sun, thus obtaining the ball also means winning the sun and getting the sunlight to help crops develop. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The players show the unity. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The players compete for the ball. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
The rituals are performed before the game. VNA Photo: Danh Lam
Unique wrestling competition on muddy field in Bac Giang
The traditional wrestling festival of Van village (now Yen Vien village, Van Ha commune, Viet Yen district of the northern province of Bac Giang) is an unique and long-standing festival which features a rugby-style game played on a muddy field. Some 16 local men, 8 on each side, compete for a large ball representing the sun and try to carry the ball back to their own zone, therefore winning the sun. The festival taking place every four years is to show the farmers’ desire for favourable weather and bumper crops. It was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2022. The festival takes place for three days from the 12th-14th days of the fourth lunar month. VNA Photo: Danh Lam