Vietnamese people are celebrating the new year as the Year of the Goat, the eighth zodiac animal in the lunar calendar.
Thegoat represents a moderate and mild temperament, and thus people expectgood and favourable things to happen during the new year.
InVietnamese culture, the goat is one among six domestic animals – theothers being dog, buffalo, horse, pig and rooster– and is not involvedin any activity outside farms. The goat, therefore, does not have anyplace in history and culture, compared to the horse, last year's zodiacanimal.
Even so, the goat is linked to the childhood of everyVietnamese child, thanks to the folk game of Bit Mat Bat De (catchingthe goat while blindfolded).
Originally, the game included agirl, a boy and a goat within a fenced area. The blindfolded girl/boyhad to try and catch the goat. The game, which is still played in someareas in the northern mountainous localities and the central province ofQuang Nam, is fun for the audience as the girl and the boy often end upcatching each other, instead of the goat.
The game was depictedin the folk paper paintings of Dong Ho Village in the northern provinceof Bac Ninh and Sinh village in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
Childrenaround the country today play the game, with one blindfolded childtrying to catch the others within a circle drawn on the floor. The onewho is caught by the blindfolded child is the next one to beblindfolded.
In the northern provinces of Ha Giang and TuyenQuang, goat-fighting festivals are held annually in the second month ofthe lunar year for the entertainment of local people. The goats selectedfor the competition are strong, mature and male, and are categorisedaccording to their weight.
The winner of each game is determinedby the total marks the judges give in the form of kicks. In contrast toother animal-fighting events, the lives of goats participating in thesegames are spared.
The goat has been featured in Vietnameseculture as sacrifices offered to gods in grand ritual ceremonies, and inpaintings on porcelain items that Vietnamese kings ordered from China.
TheNguyen dynasty (1802-1945) kings, for instance, had a platform forworshipping gods who were believed to hold the fate of the kings intheir hands. Rituals held on the platform were of high significance andwere conducted with very complicated procedures. The sacrificial animalshad to be goats, cows and pigs.
Experts have not explainedclearly how the animals were selected, but believe that they representedanimal husbandry, together with agricultural products such as rice. Thebodies of the animals, kept in the kneeling position, weredisembowelled and grilled.
The offerings were made to thank the god for ensuring good weather for bumper crops.
Similar offerings are also made at grand annual ceremonies in traditional villages.
Onporcelain items, the goat appears in drawings that show three goatsgrazing comfortably or playing, representing good luck and happiness.
Woodcarvings showing goats being hunted by tigers are found on the outerwooden walls of communal houses of the ethnic Co Tu in Quang Namprovince.-VNA