Topic: Descriptive Essay on the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival
I. Detailed outline
II. Sample essay
Description of the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival
Tips How to write a good descriptive essay
I. Outline for Descriptive Essay on the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival
1. Introduction:
- Introducing the issue that needs to be explained.
2. Main body:
a. Origin, time:
- A long-standing tradition of the fishermen in Do Son sea area, Hai Phong province, which has been preserved and developed until today.
- The festival takes place on the 9th of August lunar calendar every year.
- In 2013, it was honored to be listed as one of the intangible cultural heritages at the national level.
- Originating from the legend of 'Tuoc Diem Dai Vuong' - the Sea God ruling over the Do Son sea area.
b. Meaning:
- To commemorate the merits of the sea gods, to pray for successful fishing, favorable weather, abundant catch, and to show the spirit of solidarity, mutual assistance among villages.
- It manifests the beauty of community life of coastal people, with a delicate combination of the agricultural culture of the delta region with the culture of coastal residents.
c. Festival content:
- Buffalo selection:
+ Buffaloes for the event are chosen a year in advance from regions known for beautiful and healthy breeds, to be brought back for nurturing, caring, and training throughout the year.
+ A standard fighting buffalo is a big, healthy male buffalo with pink skin, curly hair, swollen chest, broad and thick back, wide and tapering hindquarters, shiny black horns, hard hair on the head, a round swirl between the horns, black eyes, red insides, etc...
- The fighting arena or the place where the buffalo fighting is held is a spacious land area of about 800 square meters, surrounded by a water ditch, with stands arranged around it.
- The ceremony starts from the first day of the month when the elderly in the village perform the Water God worship ceremony at the communal temple, followed by the water procession, where the holy water jars are brought to each village's temple.
- Then, the owners of the fighting buffaloes must bring their buffaloes out for the Thanh Hoang worship ceremony, after which the buffalo is respectfully called 'Mr. Buffalo'.
- On the 9th of August lunar calendar, the buffalo fighting festival officially takes place.
- When the buffaloes are brought into the arena, standing in their positions, the drumming and trumpet sound simultaneously, cheering vigorously, combined with the flag dance ritual performed by 24 selected young men from the villages, to increase the atmosphere and kick off the buffalo fighting festival.
- After the flag dance, the buffaloes are led to positions 20 meters apart, the buffalo owners quickly remove the restraining object called 'scar' so the buffaloes can freely rush at each other to fight amidst the cheering from the outside.
- The winning 'Mr. Buffalo' is then ceremoniously brought back to the communal temple, and on the 10th of August, all the buffaloes that participated in the fights will be slaughtered to offer as sacrifice and feast for the whole village.
3. Conclusion
Express feelings.
II. Sample Essay On the Buffalo Fighting Festival in Do Son
'No matter where you buy or sell,
On the 9th of August, remember to return for the Buffalo Fighting.
No matter what trade you're in,
On the 9th of August, remember the Buffalo Fighting.'
Our Vietnam is a country with a cultural heritage of over four thousand years, with the richness and diversity of cultural genres, traditional customs, especially folk festivals. In each locality, each region has its own festivals organized throughout the year, with many unique features reflecting unique beliefs and meanings. One of the notable festivals is the Buffalo Fighting Festival in Do Son.
It is unclear when the Buffalo Fighting Festival in Do Son started, but it is known to be a long-standing tradition of the fishermen in the Do Son coastal area, Hai Phong province, which has been preserved and developed until today. The festival takes place on the 9th of August lunar calendar every year, attracting thousands of tourists from all over and is considered one of the most important cultural activities of the local people. In 2013, in terms of outstanding and typical cultural values, the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival was honored to be listed as one of the national intangible cultural heritages.
Regarding the origin of this festival in folklore, there are quite a few legends and myths. The most famous one is the legend of 'Tuoc Diem Dai Vuong' - the Sea God ruling over the Do Son sea area. It is said that around the 19th century, a person passing by the temple of this deity accidentally witnessed two buffaloes fighting, but when they heard the noise, they ran down to the sea. It is believed that these two buffaloes are the vehicles under the jurisdiction of this sea deity, so every year on the 9th of August lunar calendar, the local people organize the buffalo fighting festival to worship the deity, to choose the biggest and healthiest buffaloes to participate in the sacrifice. There is also another legend about a village girl who was married by the Sea King and every year when the procession passed by the beach, countless shrimps and fish gathered there. Therefore, to ensure fairness, the people organized the buffalo fighting festival, where the village whose buffalo wins is allowed to fish in that area for a year. Another legend says that the reason why there is a buffalo fighting festival here is to appease the Kinh fish under the sea. Every year, the people organize the buffalo fighting, then take the winning buffalo to offer as sacrifice to pray for the villagers to go to sea without being eaten by the Kinh fish anymore,...
The main significance of the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival is to commemorate the merits of the sea gods, to pray for successful fishing, favorable weather, abundant catch, and to show the spirit of solidarity, mutual assistance among villages. It manifests the beauty of community life of coastal people, with a delicate combination of the agricultural culture of the delta region with the culture of coastal residents, when using fighting buffaloes - which are considered the agricultural foundation of farmers for sacrificial offerings, ritual ceremonies to the sea gods, forming a very unique cultural custom.
Preparing for the annual Buffalo Fighting Festival is also quite meticulous. Buffaloes for the event are chosen a year in advance from regions known for beautiful and healthy breeds, to be brought back for nurturing, caring, and training throughout the year. A standard fighting buffalo is a big, healthy male buffalo with pink skin, curly hair, swollen chest, broad and thick back, wide and tapering hindquarters, shiny black horns, hard hair on the head, a round swirl between the horns, black eyes, red insides, etc... Generally, to choose a good buffalo, it requires the buffalo viewers to have abundant experience, patience, and a lot of time to search for and care for the buffalo. It can be said that the buffalo preparation process is meticulous, laborious, and also a very important, decisive factor in the buffalo fighting festival. As for the arena or the place where the buffalo fighting is held, it does not require much preparation, just a spacious land area of about 800 square meters, surrounded by a water ditch, with stands arranged around it, seating for the audience to watch the buffalo fighting.
Like many other traditional festivals, the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival is divided into two parts: the ritual and the festival, but the difference is that these two parts are intertwined rather than distinctly separate like many other festivals. The ceremony starts from the first day of the month when the elderly in the village perform the Water God worship ceremony at the communal temple, followed by the water procession, where the holy water jars are brought to each village's temple. Next, to prepare for the buffalo fighting festival, the owners of the fighting buffaloes must bring their buffaloes out for the Thanh Hoang worship ceremony, after which the buffalo is respectfully called 'Mr. Buffalo'. On the 9th of August lunar calendar, the buffalo fighting festival officially takes place. After asking for permission from Thanh Hoang for the buffaloes to fight, the 'Mr. Buffaloes' are paraded with grand ceremonies including palanquins, flags, five-color flags, drums, gongs, and long banners. The procession is lively and solemn with the sound of eight-tone music, fluttering flags, and enthusiastic cheers from the spectators, creating a very lively atmosphere. When the buffaloes are brought into the arena, standing in their positions, the drumming and trumpet sound simultaneously, cheering vigorously, combined with the flag dance ritual performed by 24 selected young men from the villages, to increase the atmosphere and kick off the buffalo fighting festival. After the flag dance, the buffaloes are led to positions 20 meters apart, the buffalo owners quickly remove the restraining object called 'scar' so the buffaloes can freely rush at each other to fight amidst the cheering from the outside. After the match, the winning 'Mr. Buffalo' is ceremoniously brought back to the communal temple, and on the 10th of August, all the buffaloes that participated in the fights will be slaughtered to offer as sacrifice and feast for the whole village, aiming to distribute luck, so that everyone can enjoy the blessing from the sea gods, hoping for a better life. The festival lasts until the 16th of August lunar calendar, ending with the 'escorting the deity' and dispersing the crowd, officially closing an important festival of the year, and the people return to normal life.
The Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival is one of the most remarkable festivals, with great cultural significance, demonstrating the beauty of traditional customs of coastal people in production and labor, as well as the harmonious relationship between humans and nature. However, alongside the beauty and the precious traditional values, ensuring safety in buffalo fighting also needs attention and strict measures to avoid unfortunate accidents that would detract from the beautiful meaning of this festival.