VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism discourages violent, brutal and barbaric festivals such as the pig-chopping festival in Bac Ninh Province, the ministry’s spokesman Phan Dinh Tan has said.

The image at the Nem Thuong pig-chopping festival.

As with the case of the Do Son bullfighting festival, which has become a national intangible cultural heritage, the Ministry respects the traditions of the local people, but the Ministry does not encourage the promotion and advertising of this festival.

“In Spain many people have proposed to not hold the bullfighting festival. Living in the civilized world, we should encourage the activities of civilization, culture, and restrict the uncivilized, barbaric and violent ones," he said.

Ms. Trinh Thi Thuy, head of the Department of Grassroots Culture, the agency directly managing festivals across the country, also said that the Department recommended local governments to restrict and eliminate offensive activities in their festivals.

Thuy said the department asked local governments to address festivals under the direction of the Party and the State: building a healthy festival culture, towards good traditional values. Not only Bac Ninh but many other locations have barbaric festivals such as the bullfighting and buffalo stabbing festivals, so the participation of experts to learn about the origin of these festivals is necessary, she said.

“Based on research, we can identify which festivals are new and which are offensive or not because there are religious and spiritual festivals of many ethnic minorities which have been held for a very long time and they are still under debate," she said.

Therefore, Thuy said that for specific festivals, scientific workshops should be organized and the opinion of local people should be collected to have a variety of views.

T. Van