Full steam ahead

Every year thousands of locals and tourists gather in a paddy field in An Giang Province to watch oxen race.

This year over 30,000 people came out to watch the 17th Seven Mountains Oxen Race on September 27 in Luong Phi Village, Tri Ton District, An Giang Province. The race is a part of traditional celebrations for the Khmer people’s Dolta Festival, the second largest Khmer festival after Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year). The Dolta Festival starts on the 29th of the eighth lunar month. During the four-day festival people will pray for bumper crops and pay tributes to their ancestors. Local farmers used to lend their oxen to the local pagodas after their own fields were ploughed. This was their way of showing respect to the monks. But while gathered in a field competitive spirit obviously got the better of them and the men devised a race in which the fastest oxen would be rewarded. Since 1992 local authorities have been keen to promote the races in an effort to entertain the locals as well as attract tourists to An Giang Province. Farmers begin preparing the racing oxen in the fifth lunar month when the winter-spring crop has been harvested. Racing oxen should have strong, long legs, and this year, white oxen are preferred, according to Chau Muone, an oxen-owner from Le Tri village. The oxen race in pairs and are steered by a jockey, who balances himself on a slim piece of wood that trails behind the oxen like a rake. Chau Chieu, another oxen owner from Nui To Village, claims a pair of racing oxen could fetch a fee of VND30 million. The first races start at seven in the morning, though a large excited crowd gathers before that. For the spectators safety a one-metre-high boundary is in place around the racing track. The race track is basically a rectangular paddy field, 160 metres long and eight metres wide. If a pair of oxen stumbles off this track, they are eliminated immediately, but only two pairs of oxen are allowed to race at one time so carnage is generally avoided! Likewise, if a jockey falls off his oxen are eliminated immediately. The jockeys will hold the oxen back and trot around the course twice before letting the oxen race at full tilt after a blue flag is raised. If one pair is trailing behind they can win by stepping on the other oxen’s feet! No matter what happens to the rivals, the oxen must be controlled by the jockey and pass the finishing line to compete in the next round. “To hold on a pair of speedy oxen is really difficult,” said Nguyen Van But, a jockey from Luong Phi Village. The jockeys compete for the glory rather than the prize money, which was just VND700,000 this year. The winning oxen’s owner, however, drove home on a new Honda Wave with a brand new television and VND5 million in his pocket.
(Source: Timeout)