Unique rice cooking contest in Hanoi's Thi Cam village
Thứ Tư, 13/02/2019, 14:07
Thi Cam villagers in Xuan Phuong commune of Hanoi’s Tu Liem district gathered at the communal house on February 12 (the eighth day of the first lunar month) to take part in an annual traditional rice cooking contest .
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An annual rice cooking contest was held in Thi Cam village, Xuan Phuong commune in the Hanoi outskirt district of Tu Liem on February 12 (the eighth day of the first lunar month), in commemoration of General Phan Tay Nhac, who is believed to have lived during the reign of 18th Hung King.
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Legend has it that the General regularly launched the contest to find the best cook to serve his soldiers before going to battle. The event has been handed down through many generations as a fine tradition in early spring and attracts a large number of local residents and visitors each year.
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| The rice cooking contest include 3 contents: water bringing exam, fire building exam and rice cooking contest. The rice cooking contents include rice pounding, white rice choosing and rice cooking. |
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| Traditionally, there are four teams taking the test, each team of 10 people with their own costumes and colours, regardless of male or female: 4 people mill and pound the rice, one person screens the rice, one brings water, two people build fire with bamboo, and 2 cook the rice. |
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| As the rice is cooked in bronze pots only until the incense sticks burn out, the whole competition takes place within just one hour. Competitors often play a little trick on the organising board: they make many heaps of ash on the ground and hide their rice cooker in one of them so that the board’s member will take longer time to find their cooker, ensuring the rice will be well-cooked. |
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| Contestants busy preparing rice, water and pot. |
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| The most unique feature of the competition is the rice cooking part. According to custom, the villagers cook rice with pots placed on a tripod over a fire of straw and wood, then the pot is buried in ash until it is finished. |
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| Competitors often play a little trick on the organising board: they make many heaps of ash on the ground and hide their rice cooker in one of them so that the board’s member will take longer time to find their cooker, ensuring the rice will be well-cooked.. |
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When all four rice cookers are found, they are offered to the village’s tutelary god before they are judged by the village’s elderly.
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| When all four rice cookers are found, they are offered to the village’s tutelary god before they are judged by the village’s elderly. After the winning team is announced, the rice is delivered to all of the villagers to pray for a new year full of prosperity and peace. |
By Thien Minh
