The champion buffalo, locally known as Ong Cau, won the final match at the Hai Luu Buffalo Fighting Festival 2026 before being slaughtered and sold immediately after the event. Despite the steep price, supplies quickly sold out. Last year, the meat fetched VND 7 million per kilogramme.
Local authorities said nearly 300 police officers and security personnel were deployed to maintain order during the festival, which ran from March 4 to 5 and attracted more than 100,000 visitors.
Twenty buffaloes raised by local villages, clans and households competed in a series of quarter-final, semi-final and final bouts at the commune stadium, which remained packed with spectators throughout the event.
Along the dike road leading to the centre of Hai Luu Commune, numerous stalls sold buffalo meat, while nearby restaurants serving buffalo dishes were crowded with customers.
According to local tradition, the head of the winning buffalo is offered to the village’s guardian deity in a ritual held after the festival.
Authorities said meat sold to visitors carries official certification labels issued by the commune administration.
The Hai Luu Buffalo Fighting Festival, believed to date back to the second century BC, is regarded as one of Vietnam’s oldest traditional festivals. Local legend says military leader Lu Gia organised buffalo fights to boost troop morale after victories against Chinese Han forces.
