Authorities in An Cu Commune, An Giang Province, have confirmed that this year's Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival will not be held because of a lack of funding.
"We organise two bull racing festivals each year. Although the Chua Ro event will not take place this year, we will continue to hold the Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival," Nguyen Duy Phong, chairman of the An Cu Commune People's Committee, said on August 1.
An Giang typically hosts two bull racing festivals each year, with the Chua Ro event drawing large crowds of tourists, photographers and local residents, according to the caption. (Photo: Hai Long).
The Bay Nui Bull Racing Festival and the Chua Ro Bull Racing Festival are two longstanding cultural events of the Khmer community in An Giang Province, traditionally held during the Sene Dolta festival.
Over the years, both festivals have become major cultural and sporting events, attracting large numbers of domestic and international visitors.
The tradition originated from the Khmer community's custom of ploughing fields for local Buddhist pagodas.
Historically, during the rice planting season, Khmer farmers brought their oxen to help cultivate land belonging to the pagodas. After completing the work, the owners would informally race their animals. Buddhist monks later began officiating the races and awarded the winning pair of oxen with a set of bells to wear around their necks.
The informal rural pastime gradually evolved into one of the most distinctive traditional festivals in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.
