7/31/2019 Choi Trau Do Son

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Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival

A rousing drum roll commenced the festival. People screamed cheerfully as they saw twobuffalos entering the stadium. For many people, this was the hundredth time they had watched abuffalo-fighting match; but their excitement in the game had not waned. It was the Buffalo FightingFestival again!

The boisterous cheering of the spectators mingled with the sound of drums and gongs as thebuffalos stalked to the fighting ring. They were the two strongest ones who had defeated all the otherbuffalos in the previous rounds. Around each buffalo, twenty four sturdy men dressed in red wereheating the atmosphere with their dancing and waving flags. Two men in front of each buffalo wereblocking its view with a red cloth, so that it could not see its opponent. Everyone was getting more and

more eager.

The flag of the referee went down, and the match began. No sooner had the blocked cloth been

removed than the two buffalos hurtled towards each other. Their bow shaped horns and foreheadswere now in contact. The two vigorously pushed themselves forward, trying to make the other fall byusing their strength and fighting skills. Both of them were tough, so the match did not end so easily.Suddenly, the buffalo from Vinh Bao village moved to the right, causing the buffalo from Kien An villageto lose its balance. However, before being knocked down, the buffalo from Kien An village quickly

retreated a little. Then, it rushed towards its opponent.

All the spectators were cheering excitedly, especially the people from Vinh Bao village and KienAn village. In the fighting ring, the two buffalos continued fighting fiercely. Each buffalo had usedrepeatedly all its most tricky and practised movements but their opponent did not make any mistakes.After about ten minutes of fighting, they seemed to get tired, and the buffalo from Kien An village couldnot stand against the enormous force pushing it backword anymore. It turned around and ran out of thefighting ring, being chased by its aggressive opponent. At that moment, the stadium exploded with the

whoops of joy and yells of delight from Vinh Bao people. However, the interesting part was still ahead.

The crowd soon got silent. Uncle Nghia - leader of Vinh Bao team was ready in his position. Hehad to catch the winning buffalo in order to receive the prize. As the spectacle began, the watchfulspectators burst into laughter. The hardy buffalo did not obey its owner and pushed Uncle Nghia downto the ground. Eventually, Uncle Nghia, an experienced tamer, managed to get control of the stubborn

animal after several falls.

The winning buffalo was towed around the stadium, followed by a colorful procession. People,both tourists and locals, sang and danced joyfully in the stadium. The festival had connected everyone,

wherever they were from. Music, drums and singing all harmonized in a gleeful atmosphere.