The bull KINGS

For at least 300 years, people of Khmer ethnicity in An Giang province have been holding annual bull races. Today, the festival attracts competitors and onlookers of various ethnicities.
At the age of 68, Tran Van Tan of Nui Voi commune in An Giang province earned the grand prize at his district's annual Bull Race Festival. Having won five silvers in previous races, Mr. Tan was thrilled to finally take home the top honors: more than VND5 million in cash plus a new Honda scooter valued at VND13 million. And the good luck didn't stop there. Mr. Tan's son, Nguyen Van Duong, secured a trophy plus VND2 million in cash.

Mr. Tan's prize-winning team of bulls didn't just bring glory to his family but to their whole commune, as winning the race is said to precede a bumper crop for the village. "This race has existed since my grandmother was a little girl," says Mr. Tan. "At that time it was just unprompted bull races. After the fields were raked, farmers in different communes often challenged each other to bull races. In the dry season they raced with wagons. In the wet season, they competed in plowing races".

WINNING STREAK

Winning bull races isn't easy, with few people managing to achieve repeated success. One man who has earned the title of "Bull King" is Nguyen Van Tan of Tich Bien in An Giang province, who won the championship two years in a row.

As a boy, explains Mr. Tan, he was always interested in bulls. His father taught him to choose, train and race them. "It is 15 years since the first Bay Nui bull race, which I also took part in," he says. "Now my son and grandson raise and bulls."

Buying and training top bulls is expensive. A quality bull costs VND 30 to 40 million and requires a great deal of training.

"I started training racing bull when I was 17 years old," says Nguyen Van Duyet, a bull owner in Tinh Bien. " I often competed with my friends. It was clear that Mr. Tan had a talent for choosing and training bulls. I often resigned myself to losing, although it really annoys me."

"During the harvest, bulls go to plow and rake the fields," said the Bull King, Nguyen Van Tan, speaking in 2005. "At this time the villagers judge the bull's features. I always choose a bull with beautiful horns, glistening eyes, neat hooves and a straight nose with a narrow nose ring. This year I sold five hectares of land worth VND 75 million to buy three pairs of bulls, all of which will complete for this year's championship."

He explained that, while these are working animals, in the days leading up to the contest they are retired from the fields to conserve their strength. They are also treated like the valuable athletes that they are, with regular swimming trips and beds in airy places. Their diet consists of nutritious green grass and, once a week, a serving of pork tripe soup.

The racecourse is nothing more than a flooded field, from 60m to 160m long. Each pair of bulls is controlled by two drivers and competes in three rounds, including a final 90m sprint.

Success depends as much on the driver, as it does upon the bull. Nguyen Van Bi, the grandson of Nguyen Van Tan is top in his sport, with ten championship awards between 1995 and 2005. "My race-bulls are like relatives," he says. "I understand their characters. When driving, the most important is to be brave and to keep your balance."

Some novice competitors, he adds, use nail-studded whips to try to force their bulls to run faster. "Such treatment just makes bulls go crazy with hatred," he says. "Moreover, they can get frightened and bolt. I never use this method. Normally, in the final 90 meters, I hold the bull's tail. I don't whip them but encourage them to run fast."

More prize money has led to increasing cruelty against losing bulls, contends Mr. Bi. Luu Minh Thanh, chairman of the Tri Ton People's Committee, has plans to address this issue by forbidding the use of nail-studded whips. "Next year, all competitors must use a standard whip," says Mr. Thanh: "And our commune plans to invest around VND 5 million to build a better racetrack."

Since the Bay Nui Bull Race-Festival was declared an official traditional sporting event in 2002, it attracts many more visitors. The number of racing bulls has also doubled. Prize money keeps growing higher. Originally started by ethnic Khmer people, this race now unites people of Kinh, Cham, Hoa and Khmer ethnicity in That Son, Bay Nui.

Truong Cong Kha Reports.
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