On the 8th day of the first lunar month every year, the entire village of Thi Cam is shrouded in smoke, amidst the resounding beats of drums and cheers echoing through the air.

The rice cooking consists of four teams, each with 10 participants. One member runs to the Nhue River to fetch water, two others set the fire. When they see smoke rising, they stop and blow to ignite the fire, using this flame to cook the rice.

Other team members handle tasks like pounding rice, fetching water, rinsing rice, and cooking the rice evenly – all requiring skill and precision. The contest lasts for an hour from when the teams start blowing rice until they finish.

As the rice pot runs low on water, the teams cover it with a pile of burning straw to evenly cook the rice. After a round of incense offerings, members of the contest organising board scoop out four best bowls of rice to offer to the village's guardian. The rice from each team is then publicly judged by the villagers.

Throughout the competition, the sound of drums and the cheering of villagers and tourists, along with the vibrant spring atmosphere, create an exciting and captivating scene. 

With its unique cultural values, the Thi Cam rice cooking contest has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Organizing the festival annuallynot only preserves and promotes the cultural heritage but also introduces tourism products to visitors from both inside and outside of the country./.

VNA