A ceremony was held in Thach Ban ward, Hanoi’s Long Bien district on April 7 to receive a certificate of UNESCO recognition of the sitting tug-of-war games and rituals at local Tran Vu temple as part of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The ceremony took place within the annual traditional festival of Tran Vu temple.
In the game, 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 symbolises the linga, or male virility and the tugging back and forth denotes the longing for growing and bumper crops.
On this occasion, Nguyen Van Se, who has greatly contributed to preserving the folk games and rituals, was presented with the President’s decision recognising him as an outstanding artisan.
Apart from Vietnam, tug-of-war games and rituals of Cambodia, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines also won UNESCO recognition. -VNA
