The brutal festival
at Nem Thuong village, Vietnam
This is one Vietnamese festival that makes even non animal lovers cringe.
Every year, at a village near Hanoi, a pig is brutally chopped into two so that people can smear banknotes with its blood in the belief that it would bring luck.
Origin
The traditional pig chopping festival is held in Nem Thuong hamlet, Khac Niem commune, Tien Du district in Bac Ninh province, north Vietnam.
The festival is held on the 6th day of the lunar new year to commemorate Doan Thuong, a general in the Ly Dynasty, who reclaimed this land. According to legend, the general brought his troops to this land and slaughtered wild boars to feed his soldiers. The pig-chopping festival originated from this. Pig blood in the festival is believed to symbolize prosperity, reproductive ability, vitality and good harvest, according to asian.town.net
The festival is held on the 6th day of the lunar new year to commemorate Doan Thuong, a general in the Ly Dynasty, who reclaimed this land. According to legend, the general brought his troops to this land and slaughtered wild boars to feed his soldiers. The pig-chopping festival originated from this. Pig blood in the festival is believed to symbolize prosperity, reproductive ability, vitality and good harvest, according to asian.town.net
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The 2012 festival
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Farmer Nguyen Hung Truc waves battle flags as he portrays Doan Thuong, an anti-royal military general who lived in 13th century, during a festival at the Nem Thuong village in Bac Ninh, about 40 km (25 miles) north of Hanoi, January 28, 2012.
Organized by the villagers, the festival is held on the sixth day of the first month of the lunar calendar to worship the village's deity Doan Thuong.
Every year, thousands of people from the village and nearby villages will gather to smear the blood of the pig on their banknotes in the belief that it would bring luck in the new year. The festival is known as the most brutal in the country and is condemned by many, including some who called on the government to stop the festival.
Organized by the villagers, the festival is held on the sixth day of the first month of the lunar calendar to worship the village's deity Doan Thuong.
Every year, thousands of people from the village and nearby villages will gather to smear the blood of the pig on their banknotes in the belief that it would bring luck in the new year. The festival is known as the most brutal in the country and is condemned by many, including some who called on the government to stop the festival.
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Villagers play traditional music as they take part in a festival at the Nem Thuong village in Bac Ninh, about 40 km (25 miles) north of Hanoi, January 28, 2012.
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
A pig is carried around the village during the festival...
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
A participant hacks the pig with a sword...
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Villagers smear blood on banknotes...
Photo By KHAM/REUTERS
Protest-letter
to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
To whom it may concern
I wish to express my deep concern about animal cruelty being conducted in the name of tradition in Vietnam.
On 28th of January 2012 - like every year - citizens at Nem Thuong village have celebrated their cruel festival during which a pig is brutally chopped into two. Every year, thousands of people from the village and nearby villages gather to smear the blood of the pig on their banknotes in the belief that it would bring luck in the new year. The festival is known as the most brutal in your country and is condemned by many, including some who called already on your government to stop the festival.
No one can adequately explain why these practices are carried out year after year – except to say they are "traditional". This however is not a valid argument to continue these practices.
I urge the Government of Vietnam to abolish the above practice for the following reasons:
1. It hurts the animals – contrary to what many believe, animals suffer tremendously before and during such festivals.
2. It hurts us - cruelty against animals harms society as a whole; it signals and normalizes insensitivity in children who can become numb to the suffering of living beings. It is also known to influence certain people to commit violence to other humans.
3. It is bad for tourism - as tourists are abhorred by such practices, the festival will have an adverse effect on tourism, an industry which provides the country with much-needed financial returns. Those foreigners who experience or come to know of this practice leave Vietnam confused and with a heavy heart, rather than uplifted by its paradoxical beauty and friendliness.
I implore you to end these violent practice and help Vietnam move towards a truly peaceful country in keeping with its international image.
I trust that you will support these measures (which are becoming more widespread around the world) and thus promote non-violent cultural practices in Vietnam. Until such a time, however, I regret that it will be necessary to boycott Vietnam both as a tourist and by way of commerce and to encourage others to participate in a boycott as well.
Yours sincerely,
.....................................................................
please sign with your name and address
INSTRUCTIONS:
Please copy and paste the above text (or chose you own words) and send it to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam using their contact form on their website:
http://www.vietnam.gov.vn/portal/page/portal/English/contact
You can also send an email to the embassy of Vietnam in your country, or to your country's embassy in Vietnam. Email addresses can easily be found using the following online portal:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Vietnam/vietnam.htm
Use the following information for the embassy in US, other countries, please use the above link:
Embassy of Vietnam United States
1233 20th St NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-861-0737
Hotline for Consular Affairs: 202-716-8666 or 202-739-1666
Fax: 202-861-0917
Click HERE for access to free faxing from your computer. No fax machine, registering, or credit card required. Please remember to confirm the fax via your email after submitting.
info@vietnamembassy.us (for general information)
vnconsular@vietnamembassy.us (for consular affairs)
The Petition
Please SIGN our ONLINE PETITION to be delivered to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html
Thank you very much for your signature and for speaking out against this brutal tradition.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html
Thank you very much for your signature and for speaking out against this brutal tradition.
First letter to the President of Vietnam
On April 12th, 2012 we have sent the letter below to the President of Vietnam, Mr Truong Tan Sang,
together with more than 12,000 signatures
The signatures had been forwarded again in July and October, 2012. Our letters remained without response until now (January 23, 2013)
To:
The President of the Vietnam
Mr Truong Tan Sang
Luxembourg, 12th of April 2012
Dear Mr. President,
We wish to express our deep concern and regret about animal cruelty being conducted in the name of tradition in Vietnam.
On 28 January 2012 - like every year – Vietnamese citizens at Nem Thuong village celebrated their cruel festival, during which a pig is brutally chopped into two.
Every year, thousands of inhabitants of Nem Thuong and nearby villages gather to smear the tortured pig’s blood on their banknotes in the belief that it would bring luck in the new year. This festival, which has shocked the world, is notoriously known as the most brutal in your country and is condemned by many, including those who have already called on your government to put an end to it.
http://www.occupyforanimals.org/the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html
Within a month, the video in the link above has had over 40,000 views, and more than 12,400 people from all over the world have signed our petition, calling on the Government of Vietnam to abolish the Nem Thuong festival. The world knows what happens there on the 28 January every year. And people are asking you to make sure it does not happen again on 28 January 2013.
What are you going to tell them, Mr. President?
No-one can adequately explain why these practices are carried out year after year – except to say they are ‘traditional’. This is, however, not a valid argument to continue these brutal practices.
We sincerely urge you, Mr. President, to abolish the above practice for the following reasons:
- It hurts the animals – contrary to what many believe, it is a fact that the animals do suffer tremendously, both before and during such an event.
- It hurts us - cruelty against animals harms society as a whole; it encourages insensitivity, particularly in children, who can become indifferent to the suffering of fellow living beings. Surely this is not the legacy we want to leave our children? Violence and cruelty are also known to influence people to commit violent crimes against other humans. These are both well-documented facts.
- It is bad for tourism - as tourists are generally peace-loving and abhor such practices, the festival, now that the world knows about it, is sure to have an adverse effect on tourism. And tourism is an industry that provides the country with much-needed foreign exchange. Those foreigners who experience or come to know of this practice leave Vietnam confused and with a heavy heart, rather than uplifted by its paradoxical beauty and friendliness.
Mr. President, we implore you to end this violent tradition and help Vietnam redeem its image of being a humane country in the eyes of the world.
We trust that you will support measures to abolish the Nem Thuong festival and thus promote non-violent cultural practices in Vietnam. Until then, however, we regret that it will be necessary to boycott Vietnam, both as tourists and by way of commerce, and to actively encourage others to participate in a global boycott as well.
Yours sincerely,
- Occupy for Animals -
The next "festival" will be celebrated on
the 6th day of the lunar new year,
which is February 15, 2013
Occupy for Animals had written and forwarded the collected signatures three times to the Vietnamese president. Our requests remained without response so that we must assume that the next festival will take place again.
Please take a moment to sign our new petition that is addressed to the president of Vietnam and that will be sent to several Vietnamese embassies.
To:
The President of the Vietnam
Mr Truong Tan Sang
Dear Mr. President,
We wish to express our deep concern and regret about animal cruelty being conducted in the name of tradition in Vietnam.
Every year, on the 6th day of the lunar new year, Vietnamese citizens at Nem Thuong village celebrate their cruel festival, during which a pig is brutally chopped into two.
Every year, thousands of inhabitants of Nem Thuong and nearby villages gather to smear the tortured pig’s blood on their banknotes in the belief that it would bring luck in the new year. This festival, which has shocked the world, is notoriously known as the most brutal in your country and is condemned by many, including those who have already called on your government to put an end to it.
http://www.occupyforanimals.net/the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html
The petition that Occupy for Animals had started after last year's "festival" has collected 28,067 signatures so far (at date of February 3, 2013 - http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html), and the video of last year's "festival" that has been uploaded to youtube has over 133.482 views.
The world knows what happens there on the 6th day of the lunar new year. And people are asking you to make sure it does not happen again on 15th of February, 2013.
What are you going to tell them, Mr. President?
No-one can adequately explain why these practices are carried out year after year – except to say they are ‘traditional’. This is, however, not a valid argument to continue these brutal practices.
We sincerely urge you, Mr. President, to abolish this violent tradition and help Vietnam redeem its image of being a humane country in the eyes of the world.
Your exemplary handling of the case of 3 army personnel who were sentenced for torturing monkeys did much to show the world that the Vietnamese Government is taking measures to ensure that animals are treated better, for which we applaud you.
We look forward to hearing that the festival at Nem Thuong has been abolished, and that those found celebrating by chopping a pig in half will be severely dealt with.
Yours sincerely,
[your name]
The President of the Vietnam
Mr Truong Tan Sang
Dear Mr. President,
We wish to express our deep concern and regret about animal cruelty being conducted in the name of tradition in Vietnam.
Every year, on the 6th day of the lunar new year, Vietnamese citizens at Nem Thuong village celebrate their cruel festival, during which a pig is brutally chopped into two.
Every year, thousands of inhabitants of Nem Thuong and nearby villages gather to smear the tortured pig’s blood on their banknotes in the belief that it would bring luck in the new year. This festival, which has shocked the world, is notoriously known as the most brutal in your country and is condemned by many, including those who have already called on your government to put an end to it.
http://www.occupyforanimals.net/the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html
The petition that Occupy for Animals had started after last year's "festival" has collected 28,067 signatures so far (at date of February 3, 2013 - http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-the-brutal-festival-at-nem-thuong-village-vietnam.html), and the video of last year's "festival" that has been uploaded to youtube has over 133.482 views.
The world knows what happens there on the 6th day of the lunar new year. And people are asking you to make sure it does not happen again on 15th of February, 2013.
What are you going to tell them, Mr. President?
No-one can adequately explain why these practices are carried out year after year – except to say they are ‘traditional’. This is, however, not a valid argument to continue these brutal practices.
We sincerely urge you, Mr. President, to abolish this violent tradition and help Vietnam redeem its image of being a humane country in the eyes of the world.
Your exemplary handling of the case of 3 army personnel who were sentenced for torturing monkeys did much to show the world that the Vietnamese Government is taking measures to ensure that animals are treated better, for which we applaud you.
We look forward to hearing that the festival at Nem Thuong has been abolished, and that those found celebrating by chopping a pig in half will be severely dealt with.
Yours sincerely,
[your name]
February 2015 - Festival goes ahead despite protest
V I C T O R Y !
via tuoitrenews.vn - July 6, 2015 - Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh has recently confirmed the elimination of brutal festivals in which animals are killed cruelly as a sacrifice to God.“As the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and a National Assembly deputy, I confirm that the barbaric animal sacrifice rituals in festivals, such as the pig slaughter festival in northern Bac Ninh Province or the buffalo killing fest in Phu Tho Province in the northeastern region, must definitely be terminated and disposed of,” the minister said at a conference on reviewing the festival management during the first six months of the year held in Hanoi early this month.
“Bloody images of slaughtered pigs or buffaloes with heads being beaten to death are truly offensive and need to be removed,” he stated, adding that such images have met with strong criticism from the public.
“Though the killing scenes take place at some villages’ fests, the whole world has learned about them thanks to the Internet,” he added. “It’s the image of the country and our people, not just the villages anymore.”
He also expressed his resolve to end those festivals, saying that if those events keep being organized, it will prove the state management agencies’ impotence and indifference to public opinion.
In addition, amid implications that some places organize fests to get benefits from ticket sales, Minister Anh said those localities that allow organizers to hold ‘commercial festivals’ to make profit should be disciplined and the organization of the events would not be approved anymore.
However, according to festival representatives attending the conference, it is not easy to remove the animal sacrifice ritual part at the festivals.
Nguyen Dinh Loi, representative of the Nem Thuong village’s pig slaughter fest in Bac Ninh, said it is impossible to change the awareness of people, as well as the village’s elders, to stop the pig slaughter immediately.
Meanwhile, the representative of the buffalo fest in Phu Tho said his locality cannot put an end to the event, adding local residents will kill the animals in other ways instead of beating them on their heads to death like before.
Vu Xuan Thanh, chief inspector of the culture ministry, said the localities should sacrifice the animals more discreetly and subtly without leaving pain on them or offending society.
Also, Tran Huu Son, deputy head of the Association of Vietnamese Folklorists, said that the sacrifice part is indispensable so the point is how people do it.
“We couldn’t give administrative orders to ban the animal sacrifice at festivals since it’s not related to human life,” he said. “This is the villages’ customs so we should call on people to make changes instead of order them to stop.”
He proposed that the management of those festivals should be clearly divided so that the villages will be in charge of things related to their traditions and the government will manage issues like social security or food safety.
Other issues
Tran Quoc Chiem, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said at the event that some big fests in the capital city still have inadequacies, including a lack of recycle bins, rip-offs, and scrambling for tourists.
Furthermore, Pham Xuan Phuc, deputy chief inspector of the culture ministry, said the reason for the rip-offs at those places is the high land rent rate sellers have to pay.
“I found that a seller has to pay VND1 billion [US$45,935] per year to rent 12 square meters in the Sam Son tourism town in Thanh Hoa Province,” he said. “Elsewhere festival organizers even rent 4-5 square meters at tens of millions of dong in a few days. That’s why people have to sell a bottle of water for VND25,000 [US$1.15] [nearly five times the normal prize].”
Another issue related to festivals is security.
A representative from the Ministry of Public Security said some fests which see overcrowding, fighting, rough shoving, elbowing and scrambling should be changed.
In response, the culture minister expressed his determination to discipline authorities in locales showing inadequacies in organizing and managing festivals.
Minister Anh ordered the managing board of Huong Pagoda to solve the problem of a lack of restrooms, or reverse the situation in which people blatantly sell forest animal meat on the way to the pagoda in Hanoi.
“Local governments must be stricter and comprehensively handle the shortcomings instead of pointing them out only,” he stated, adding that managers should give heavier administrative penalties.
“Bloody images of slaughtered pigs or buffaloes with heads being beaten to death are truly offensive and need to be removed,” he stated, adding that such images have met with strong criticism from the public.
“Though the killing scenes take place at some villages’ fests, the whole world has learned about them thanks to the Internet,” he added. “It’s the image of the country and our people, not just the villages anymore.”
He also expressed his resolve to end those festivals, saying that if those events keep being organized, it will prove the state management agencies’ impotence and indifference to public opinion.
In addition, amid implications that some places organize fests to get benefits from ticket sales, Minister Anh said those localities that allow organizers to hold ‘commercial festivals’ to make profit should be disciplined and the organization of the events would not be approved anymore.
However, according to festival representatives attending the conference, it is not easy to remove the animal sacrifice ritual part at the festivals.
Nguyen Dinh Loi, representative of the Nem Thuong village’s pig slaughter fest in Bac Ninh, said it is impossible to change the awareness of people, as well as the village’s elders, to stop the pig slaughter immediately.
Meanwhile, the representative of the buffalo fest in Phu Tho said his locality cannot put an end to the event, adding local residents will kill the animals in other ways instead of beating them on their heads to death like before.
Vu Xuan Thanh, chief inspector of the culture ministry, said the localities should sacrifice the animals more discreetly and subtly without leaving pain on them or offending society.
Also, Tran Huu Son, deputy head of the Association of Vietnamese Folklorists, said that the sacrifice part is indispensable so the point is how people do it.
“We couldn’t give administrative orders to ban the animal sacrifice at festivals since it’s not related to human life,” he said. “This is the villages’ customs so we should call on people to make changes instead of order them to stop.”
He proposed that the management of those festivals should be clearly divided so that the villages will be in charge of things related to their traditions and the government will manage issues like social security or food safety.
Other issues
Tran Quoc Chiem, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said at the event that some big fests in the capital city still have inadequacies, including a lack of recycle bins, rip-offs, and scrambling for tourists.
Furthermore, Pham Xuan Phuc, deputy chief inspector of the culture ministry, said the reason for the rip-offs at those places is the high land rent rate sellers have to pay.
“I found that a seller has to pay VND1 billion [US$45,935] per year to rent 12 square meters in the Sam Son tourism town in Thanh Hoa Province,” he said. “Elsewhere festival organizers even rent 4-5 square meters at tens of millions of dong in a few days. That’s why people have to sell a bottle of water for VND25,000 [US$1.15] [nearly five times the normal prize].”
Another issue related to festivals is security.
A representative from the Ministry of Public Security said some fests which see overcrowding, fighting, rough shoving, elbowing and scrambling should be changed.
In response, the culture minister expressed his determination to discipline authorities in locales showing inadequacies in organizing and managing festivals.
Minister Anh ordered the managing board of Huong Pagoda to solve the problem of a lack of restrooms, or reverse the situation in which people blatantly sell forest animal meat on the way to the pagoda in Hanoi.
“Local governments must be stricter and comprehensively handle the shortcomings instead of pointing them out only,” he stated, adding that managers should give heavier administrative penalties.
