| Description |
Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival (Boat Racing Festival) has existed since ancient times, taking place from the 9th to the 11th of the third lunar month, an activity that depicts the use of the navy to repel the invaders of General Dao Truong during the reign of King Hung (Hung Due Vuong). The Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival is associated with the communal house festival and the relics including: Tay Dam Temple, Dam Communal House and Trung Tuu Communal House in Tay Tuu Ward (Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi City). Tay Tuu used to be Dam Village (Ke Dam) with three hamlets: Thuong, Trung and Ha. Tay Dam Temple in the Upper region worships Bach Hac Tam Giang - the person who contributed to repelling foreign invaders to protect Van Lang country during the reign of King Hung. After a period of interruption, in 1994, the traditional Dam Boating Festival was re-organized. The Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival is held every five years, on even years. The special and unique feature of the traditional Dam swimming festival is the procession of the Saint on land and by water.
The festival takes place at a branch of the Nhue River, also known as the Thuy Giang River (Pheo River), which is nearly 1km long and about a hundred meters wide. The racing teams come from local villages. The festival has 6 participating boats, numbered equally among 3 villages. The Thuong village boat has a Crane head, numbered 1 and 4; the Trung village boat has a Dragon head, numbered 2 and 5; the Ha village boat has a Ly head, numbered 3 and 6. Each boat has 25 people participating, including: 01 driver, 01 assistant driver, 10 sailors, 01 gong player, 01 flag waver, 01 water bailer and 18 swimmers. In addition, there is a 7th boat - the Quan boat, whose job is to supervise the race. The race is conducted over 6 laps on the 10th and 11th.
The starting point is from the front of the communal house to the temple, about 1km away. Before entering the official race, at the drum signal, the boats take turns sending people to the boat to perform the Saint's ceremony - an indispensable ritual. After completing the rituals, the referee uses flags and loudspeakers to guide the teams to position their boats in order, lining up evenly at the starting point. The boats of the 3 regions are arranged alternately, ready to wait for orders. When the referee's command flag is waved down, the boats begin to swim. On each racing boat, there are people beating the gong and shouting to give more strength to the rowers. In a ready position, the boats simultaneously rush forward, under the command of the Head of the Department. The gong and command sounds in harmony with the unison shouts... creating a bustling, exciting atmosphere like entering a fierce naval battle. The swimming teams put all their strength into the steering wheel and oars, the boats raced like shuttles.
On both sides of the Nhue River, crowds of spectators and tourists gathered to witness the rowing competition during the Dam rowing festival. The drums sounded like thunder, continuously, adding strength to cheer and encourage the racing teams. At the end of the competition, the boat with the most first-place finishes received the first prize, the boat with the most second-place finishes received the second prize. The two village boats with the most first-place finishes won the first-place team prize, the two village boats with the most second-place finishes won the second-place team prize. The winning boat also had the honor of carrying the Saint's throne to the Upper Temple, because according to ancient customs, "The Saint walks on foot - returns by water". Therefore, the two boats that won the highest prize will be able to carry the Saint to his palace on the 11th day of the third lunar month. After the boat race, the villagers held a thanksgiving ceremony and then carried the Saint down the boat to his Temple.
Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival is a very ancient ritual, protected and maintained by villagers from generation to generation. Bơi Đăm Village Boat Racing Festival (Tay Tuu) contributes to promoting and strengthening community solidarity, has educational significance towards the origin, and is also a form of physical exercise for local people. Bơi Đăm Swimming is both fun, beautiful, attractive and unique. This is also a traditional cultural sport that competes in intelligence and talent, deserving the top position in traditional festivals throughout the region. With such typical values, in 2018, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the traditional Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. |
