PANO - Hai Duong province is well known for its traditional folk games including hurling clay crackers, which is usually organised in the early days of the Lunar New Year.

Legend has it that one day while in pursuit of enemies, some elephants carrying our soldiers got bogged down in a vast muddy field. Villagers tried to pull out the bogged down elephants and threw dry earthen blocks for them to stand on, making an interesting sound. That was the origin of the idea to organise a game by hurling clay crackers. The contest is held annually during the new year's festival to remind villagers of the good old days and the local people’s contributions to the fight against invaders.

The clay cracker game begins right after a drum beat. Each team includes 2-3 boys. The crackers are made of a mixture of clay and rice glue in an oval shape. The big one might be 5cm thick, and between 50cm-70cm long and weighs up to 30kg. It needs two healthy young men to lift it up and throw it. The main player inclines his body and get up speed to hurl the cracker. The winning cracker makes the loudest and most resounding sound.

Translated by Mai Huong