| Lieu Doi wrestling festival | ||
 | Written by vietnamheritagetravel 19 months ago | |
| Time: 5th day to 10th day of the 1st lunar month Place: Lieu Doi (Liễu Đôi) village, Liem Tuc (Liêm Túc) commune, Thanh Liem (Thanh Liêm) district, Ha Nam (Hà Nam) province. Characteristics: to worship Thánh Ông (Male Saint) (a man with the family name Ðoàn, he gained feats of fighting against the invaders from the North; he was also the creator of the wrestling sports here). History Lieu Doi is a place of sporting tradition. There is a famous team of wrestlers here attracting wrestlers from other places to compete with them. There remain a lot of legends of the origin of the festival as well as the legends of wrestling and team of wrestlers. Lieu Doi’s legend has it that, a young man of Doan (Đoàn) family has the extraordinary power and the special ability of martial arts. He can defeat 5 competitors in the stage. One day, in Nuong Cui (Nương Cửi), a bright blue light ray frightened everybody but the Doan man. He came near it and realized that the light was from a sword placing in a red scarf. He kowtowed to the god, then held the sword, tied the red scarf around his waist and fenced in front of villagers. Procedures - First is the procession of Saint to the stage: The stage is the place where wrestling contest is celebrated, the procession of Saint to the stage is to bring Saint Palanquin to the stage. Offerings consist of some truncated cones of sticky rice, some bananas, and a pot of tea (substituting for wine). An old man holding a mirror walking backwards at the beginning of the procession starts the worshiping ceremony. ............... For original article, please visit: http://vacationstovietnam.com/lastest-travel-news/lieu-doi-wrestling-festival.html Vacation Vietnam Vietnam Culture Vacation | ||