|
Competitors race in the annual Bay Nui Ox Race during the Khmer Sene Dolta Festival on October 8, 2018 in Vinh Trung Commune, Tinh Bien District, An Giang Province, Vietnam. Thousands of Vietnamese villagers gather every year on the paddy fields near Tho Mit Pagoda in An Giang Province for the Bay Nui (seven mountains) Ox Racing Festival and celebrate Khmer ethnic people's traditional Sena Dolta Festival in southwest Vietnam as farmers compete to see who has the best bulls while paying homage to their deceased ancestors and wish for a good harvest. Running its 25th race this year near Tho Mit Pagoda in the Mekong River Delta region, 64 pairs of oxen competed on October 8 after farmers spent the year selecting their strongest cows and keeping them to a strict diet which includes coconut milk and chicken eggs on a daily basis. During the race, two cows are randomly selected to compete with each other along the muddy 120-meter-long racing path with the rider hitting them with a wooden stick added with a pin called the “xalul” until they reach the final winners. Khmer ethnic minority groups from around the region gather for the traditional event, as they promote the cultural identities during the four-day event while wishing (Photo by Linh Pham/Getty Images)
|
