Boat competition is a part of the traditional festivals in the watery area to pray for favorable weather and a decent life. The boat racing appears in many festivals across the province: Da Hoa temple festival, Hoa- Yen Binh temple festival, festivals in Tra Phuong (An Thi district), An Xa, Tho Cau (Kim Dong district). The boat competition originated from the practice of water praying and rain praying of the agricultural people and reminds us of the use of battle boats of ancestors....

Boat competition is a part of the traditional festivals in the watery area to pray for favorable weather and a decent life. The boat racing appears in many festivals across the province: Da Hoa temple festival, Hoa- Yen Binh temple festival, festivals in Tra Phuong (An Thi district), An Xa, Tho Cau (Kim Dong district). The boat competition originated from the practice of water praying and rain praying of the agricultural people and reminds us of the use of battle boats of ancestors....

"Trai" is a wooden boat decorated elaboratelywith the sacred objects attached with the water god. The boat has the dragon head in the front or looks like the boat image on Ngoc Lu bronze drum of Dong Son culture. The oar is 10 centimeters to 15 centimeters wide, has a short handle which is easy to hold when rowing.

The crew members are even such as 12, 14, 16, 20 people, depending on small boats or large boats provided that weight of two rows sitting on two sides of the boat are balanced. The end of the boat is the people who steers the oars to go straight, turn left, turn right and return to the right direction. At the middle of the boat, a person holds the drum to make the beat to lead the boat. Two crew members firmly plunge the oars down to about 5 meters, pull back strongly, and then lift the oars and repeat the act properly and harmoniously. Previously, Vong Phan communal house festival holds a three-day festival, but now it is chopped to one day only.

Boat competition has spiritual colors. When crew members reach the destination where the river god is worshipped, they go one more round in front of the wharf and knock the oars against the boat. Before they disembark, they useoars to splash the water like a heavy rain.

Cheerleaders crowd to the banks and cry to wake up the god to give rain to the fields and make the weather favorable. This is the chance to challenge the durability, flexibility and cooperation of the crew members and help the men in the village to get familiar with waterways. The fiery atmosphere of crew members and bustling spirit of audiences show the national strength in conquering the nature, the river and the water source.

Nguồn trích dẫn: hungyentourism.com.vn