Kite flying festival

The kite flying contest was held in Dai Hoang village, Hoa Hau commune, Ly Nhan district, Ha Nam.

Since ancient times, Dai Hoang village has had a kite flying festival to celebrate the harvest and pray for prosperity.

The venue for the kite flying competition is at the inner communal house, the outer communal house and the inner communal house. In front of the communal house is a fish pond and lotus pond, before that is a sandy soil village field, very dry and flat in the following May. The communal house, fish pond, lotus pond, and east of the village all face southeast. Therefore, when the kites are full of wind and fly high, the kites follow the southeast wind towards the temple worshiping the tutelary god, looking like a flock of birds flying back to their nest.

Trước đình làng có một cổng lớn, trên nóc cổng có phù điêu bọc trứng rồng tượng trưng cho cộng đồng tổ tiên nòi giống Việt. Cột cờ là một cây gỗ lim đồ sộ, một người ôm không xuể, được đặt trên một bẹ đá lớn. Trên đỉnh cột cờ có hình một con chim lớn, kéo dải cờ đào dài 20m bay trên cao.

Fourteen villages in the village participate in the kite flying competition, each village has its own pattern to easily distinguish. Kite making is carefully prepared from the 11th lunar month of the previous year. Old people often choose long, straight, smooth old bamboo trees that have lost all their leaves to mix, split, and sharpen the strips to make kite frames, then put them on the stove to dry until May of the following year. In April, the elders also took the sap from young persimmons to use as glue to glue paper and paste paper onto the kite frame. Big kite strings are spun with silk, small kite strings are sewn with sewing thread. In addition, we also have to make an extremely large bobbin, with wheels at both ends to wind the wire and quickly release the wire.

The shapes of kites in Dai Hoang village are diamond-shaped and flat. When the kite flies high, the wings are flat and elegant. When the kite lands, the kite flies like a sword piercing the ground.

On the morning of the 15th day of the 5th lunar month, the village begins a big kite competition. A gong and drum sound rang out crisply. The jury and the contestants are dressed beautifully, with heads tied in scarves, long dresses, tight pants, and straight backs in five colors. Each competing team has 3 participants, one person holds the kite string, one person controls the kite, and one person pushes the kite up high. When the competitors have taken their positions on the village field, the jury lights incense to calculate the time. A drum sounded, the loudspeaker began to call, and the kites simultaneously jumped up and ate the string. The operator must pull the string and adjust the kite to rise very slowly. When there is no wind, the kite soars high, perches in the air, getting smaller and smaller until it looks like a leaf. Then there was another drum beat, and there was the sound of a loudspeaker: Loudspeaker! Loudspeaker! The kites are wired together to begin judging. On the field, the players go to one point. In the communal house yard, the panel of judges discussed to judge the kite prize. Next, the kite was ordered to land. About 30 meters above the ground, the kite is controlled to fly down like a straight arrow, standing in the field. When finished, the competitors returned to the communal house to listen to the judge announce the prize.

The game ended but the joy and excitement lingered in the players and viewers. They were able to relax in the free flying of kites in the elegant sky. They also lived in nervous moments with the competitors waiting to see the prize. Those are rare moments that help people escape from daily life to reach exciting spiritual uplifts, helping each person fully integrate into the community. For Vietnamese people, the need to awaken the sense of community in each person has different manifestations from time to time but has probably never cooled down. That's why festivals always have a strong attraction.