Ba Duong Noi village kite flying festival

Since the establishment of the village, the villagers of Ba Duong Noi have made and flown kites along the banks of the Red River and organized their own kite flying contests in the village and expanded to other villages.

Unlike the colorful kites of Hue or Hoi An in the Central region, which have many sophisticated shapes, the Ba Duong Noi kite is simple, without a tail, shaped like a crescent moon or a boat, attached to flutes. wood plays gentle melodies when the wind is full.

There are 3 types of kites Ba Duong Noi. The first type, called the grasshopper kite, is long, large, pointed, curved, and can carry many flutes. The lemon-leaf kite can fly much higher than the long-horned grasshopper kite. The third type is a smooth kite with wide wings and a rounded head. This type carries less flute but can fly very high, more difficult to control than the other two ways. Most people like lemon leaf kites.

According to the rules of the kite competition in the village, a kite must be 2.2m long, 0.6m wide and have 3 or more flutes. The smallest flute should be 2.5 cm in diameter. Competition prizes are judged on the size, height, balance and sound of the flute.

On the morning of the festival, an incense offering ceremony is conducted at the village communal house to worship the delta gods. All contestants bring their kites here and make offerings to the gods before sending them out into the field. Kite flying is done in the afternoon from 2pm to 5pm.

The kite flying festival of Ba Duong Noi village is a festival of the inhabitants of the wet rice growing area. If the kite flies high in the sky and the flute sounds loud, the village will experience favorable rain and good harvest. The sound of the flute is said to ward off miasma and disease. The winner's kite is placed in the temple of the gods for a year to honor the gods, next to the kite made by the villagers of Ba Duong Noi to worship. Vietnam is the only country in the world that has flute kites.

Each kite team is divided - half keep the kite line and half fly the kite onto the field. The audience stood along the edge of the field shouting, laughing.

The kite flying festival of Ba Duong Noi village also attracts international tourists to admire. Lionel Cau, a French tourist, said: “I am very happy to attend the festival and be warmly welcomed by the locals. Here comes the meeting of traditional and modern values. These flute kites are special. We also have a kite festival in France, which usually takes place near the beach. But our kites don't carry flutes. "

The kite-flying contestant starts preparing from the 8th lunar month of the previous year. Villagers have to prepare bamboo for kite making, flute and 800 to 1,200 meters of string for kite flying. A kite usually flies to an altitude of 500 to 600 meters. The winning kite should fly higher than the clouds. At that height it was just a small speck in the sky. The flute sound should be clear and rhythmic like an air symphony.

Kite flying is the passion of most people in Ba Duong Noi village. Generation after generation of villagers have maintained and preserved the traditional culture of their nation. The village is one of the folklore destinations promoted by the Vietnam Folklore Association.