The Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival was recognised as national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2013 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Do SonBuffalo Fighting Festival in the northern city of Hai Phong will lose nationalintangible heritage status if its organising process does not fulfill itssafety commitments, according to a report submitted by the Agency ofGrassroots Culture to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen NgocThien.
The report was compiled after a man was gored to death by hisbuffalo during a fight on July 1. Authorities halted the festival after theincident.
The agency has also proposed a meeting between the minister andthe Hai Phong city People Committee to discuss the festival’s future.
The agency will review the organising process ofthe festival, including security and safety measures in its dossier of nationalintangible heritage.
If the festival is found to have fallen short of its commitments,the agency will consult the minister about taking the festival off the list of Vietnam’snational intangible heritages.
The report also suggests that inspectors from the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism tighten examinations of managing and organisingfestivals, particularly those lacking evidence to be confirmed as traditionalfestivals, and those with brutal elements, in addition to strictly fining violationsof the guidance.
The agency also urged the local People’s Committee and Departmentof Culture and Sports to hold a workshop on the festival. The workshop shouldinvolve relevant organisations, culturists and historians.
If the buffalo fighting festival continues to be held, itsorganising procedures must be conducted on a foundation of preserving andpromoting the festival’s original cultural values.
On July 1, soon after the festival opened in the city’s Do SonStadium, buffalo number 18, while fighting a fellow creature, turned on itsowner, gored him in the thigh, chest and neck, and then threw him into the air.
The victim Dinh Xuan Huong, 47, a Do Son district native, wasrushed to hospital and succumbed to his injuries later.
This is the first time such an incident has happened at the Do SonBuffalo Fighting Festival, which was recognised as a national intangiblecultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2013 andlisted among major cultural festivals by the ministry.
The festival is held annually to wish local fishermen a prosperousfishing season.
According to Luu Toan Thang, a local in Hai Phong city, the Do SonBuffalo Fighting Festival was first held in the 17th century.After being halted for a period of time, it was revived and has been conductedannually since 1990.-VNA
The report was compiled after a man was gored to death by hisbuffalo during a fight on July 1. Authorities halted the festival after theincident.
The agency has also proposed a meeting between the minister andthe Hai Phong city People Committee to discuss the festival’s future.
The agency will review the organising process ofthe festival, including security and safety measures in its dossier of nationalintangible heritage.
If the festival is found to have fallen short of its commitments,the agency will consult the minister about taking the festival off the list of Vietnam’snational intangible heritages.
The report also suggests that inspectors from the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism tighten examinations of managing and organisingfestivals, particularly those lacking evidence to be confirmed as traditionalfestivals, and those with brutal elements, in addition to strictly fining violationsof the guidance.
The agency also urged the local People’s Committee and Departmentof Culture and Sports to hold a workshop on the festival. The workshop shouldinvolve relevant organisations, culturists and historians.
If the buffalo fighting festival continues to be held, itsorganising procedures must be conducted on a foundation of preserving andpromoting the festival’s original cultural values.
On July 1, soon after the festival opened in the city’s Do SonStadium, buffalo number 18, while fighting a fellow creature, turned on itsowner, gored him in the thigh, chest and neck, and then threw him into the air.
The victim Dinh Xuan Huong, 47, a Do Son district native, wasrushed to hospital and succumbed to his injuries later.
This is the first time such an incident has happened at the Do SonBuffalo Fighting Festival, which was recognised as a national intangiblecultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2013 andlisted among major cultural festivals by the ministry.
The festival is held annually to wish local fishermen a prosperousfishing season.
According to Luu Toan Thang, a local in Hai Phong city, the Do SonBuffalo Fighting Festival was first held in the 17th century.After being halted for a period of time, it was revived and has been conductedannually since 1990.-VNA
VNA
