An unusual game, the sitting tug-of-war, is considered to be a spiritual ritual in the Tran Vu temple festival in Ngoc Tri village, Long Bien district, Hanoi.


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The festival, held annually on the third day of the third lunar month, manifests the local people’s aspiration for a peaceful life
The game originated from an old story which goes that 11 of 12 wells in the village were dry when the village suffered a prolonged drought, only the well in Dia hamlet still had water
Residents in the hamlet did not want to share the water with other hamlets so they prevented men from Duong and Cho hamlets from taking any.
The two sides had to sit down to keep the water pail on their side for fear of spilling water out of the pail
The elders in the village made the tug-of-war while sitting down to remember the old story and pray for favourable weather conditions and bumper crops
Two teams sit on the ground and tug a rope over 30 metres long that is passed through a hole in a wooden pole fixed firmly in the ground
The pole in the middle symbolises the linga, or male virility, and the tugging back and forth denotes the longing for growing and bumper crops
It also reinforces and renews social relationships and strengthens communal solidarity
Therefore, the focus is not on winning but on enjoying the game thoroughly
The game was not played during the war and for over a decade after national reunification
In 1989, the villagers restored the event and held it on the same day of the local festival 


VNA