The two teams are ready for the game.

The traditional festival features an array of rituals and attractive folk games. The offerings in the festival have been decided by the village convention, including a black pig, a cock and glutinous rice.

The festival takes place in a vast area with various folk games such as ball catching, wrestling, cockfighting, bamboo swinging, ca tru (ceremonial singing), and a culinary contest. The most special game is ball catching that attracts crowds of people. This is a unique religious activity with different rituals of the Noi communal house’s festival. 

However, such rituals and folk games are on the verge of oblivion. The game of catching a ball using hooks had not been organized for many years. To preserve and promote traditional cultural values, in 2017, the Bac Giang provincial Museum joined hands with local people to restore this game during the Noi communal house’s festival, which took place at the beginning of the year.

Traditionally, the village’s men who are selected for the competition must be physically strong and have good ethics. On the main day of the festival, the men are divided into two teams, wearing brown clothes with red and yellow belts, and their heads wrapped in scarves. 

They line up solemnly in the communal house to perform rituals. At the best moment, the ball will be carried from the back to the center of the communal house. The host of the festival asks the God for organizing the contest. The red ball, measuring 40 centimeters in diameter, is made of jackfruit wood and put in the back of the communal house. 

In the past, players used bamboo trees measuring 1.5 meters in length with hooks made of bamboo root on its top to catch the ball. However, nowadays, they use bamboo trees with hooks made of steel covered by rubber.

After the worshipping ceremony, the host puts the ball on a palanquin which is carried by the men to the yard of the communal house. The atmosphere is heated up with cheers of local people. The ball is then put in the main hole. There are two other holes in the western and eastern sides. Each of them is planted with a flagpole. 

The men surround the ball, holding the bamboo trees with hooks touching the ball. After the host makes an order to start the game, they will run three rounds counterclockwise and then stop. They then make two lines, facing the main hole, with the hooks ready for the game. After the host throws the ball, the arbitration will raise the flag, allowing the two teams to catch the ball. 

According to the rules of the game, the host will beat the drum when the ball runs out of the yard or players violate the rules. The ball is then put back to the centre of the yard for a new round. After two rounds, the team that catches the ball to their hole will be the winner.

The ball-catching festival is a traditional cultural and religious activity, during which local people pray for bumper crops and show their respect for nature. The ball is a symbol of the sun and the moon. Catching the ball demonstrates catching the light and people’s wish for favorable weather conditions and bumper crops. The game also helps improve physical strength of local people.

Dong Ngoc Duong