Traditional boat racing festival at Dinh Cu hamlet - Phu My village

Boat racing is considered a long-standing sport in Thuan Hoa since the early Vietnamese followed the Nguyen Lords to South Vietnam. Dam Sam belongs to Dinh Cu hamlet, Phu My village - a hamlet that was established for people on the lagoon to have a place to settle on the mainland.

The aims of the boat racing festival are to create an opportunity for the people to compete on the lagoon, to support health promotion, to create a joyful atmosphere as well as to pray for favorable weather for the villagers’ aquaculture livelihood.

The boat racing festival had two contents: Male (10 race laps) and Female (3 race laps). The whole hamlet had 5 teams participating in the competition.

Below are photographs of this traditional festival captured by the young photographer Trung Phan.

From early in the morning, elders in the village held a worshiping ceremony before the festival began

The crowd gathered on the shore to cheer the competitors

On the lagoon, people also followed on boats to cheer for their teams

The men's team competition was very intense

For the men’s team, there were 10 race laps

The women's teams competed in 3 race laps

The audience enthusiastically cheering

The joy of winning of the people from Group 3

The winning team

The reward is a 30kg pig