Firecracker is a folk game that has existed for a long time in the Northern Delta region, which has been preserved and handed down for generations in many communes of Ninh Giang, Tu Ky and Gia Loc districts of Hai Duong province.
On February 6, at the outer courtyard of Con Son Pagoda (Special National Monument Con Son – Kiep Bac, Chi Linh City), Hai Duong province held the 10th land firecracker festival in 2023.
Firecrackers are a folk game that has existed for a long time in the Northern Delta, which has been preserved and handed down for generations in many communes of Ninh Giang, Tu Ky, Gia Loc, and Hai Duong districts.
The legend of the earth cannon game has many different sources, but there are two widely circulated legends that are people throwing dirt into the Hoa River section adjacent to Hai Duong, Hai Phong, and Thai Binh provinces to save the elephant. of Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan in the battle in 1288. Since then, when farmers are idle, people often gather to reenact this scene and gradually form the game of earth cannon.
The second legend is that this game dates back to the time of Hai Ba Trung when the female general Le Chan used earth cannons for the purpose of diversion and spiritual overwhelming to fight the Eastern Han invaders.
Participating in the land cannon festival in 2023, there were 210 gunners from 7 communes including Duc Xuong (Gia Loc district), Minh Duc, Dai Hop, Quang Khai (Tu Ky district), Tan Huong, Nghia An, and Tan Quang (Ninh district). Giang). These are communes with a tradition of land cannons of Hai Duong.
According to the gunners, the soil for making firecrackers must be meat soil, taken from the fields and not mixed with silt and impurities, taken at a depth of about 2 meters. After taking the soil back, you have to use the sickle to cut and pound it until the soil is smooth, smooth and does not stick to your hands. The player also has to cook the lake to mix with the soil to create cohesion.
When the earthwork is done, the process of making a firecracker is quite elaborate. The gunners have to use their feet and hands to stomp, punch, and compact the earth to shape the cannon. The cannon must have an oval shape, the muzzle is smaller than the nape of the cannon, the middle part is thicker than the sides. After shaping the cannon, the gunners use a cloth to absorb water, squeeze dry to wipe the edge of the cannon, use both hands to press the cannon (edge of the cannon) evenly…
Gunners cannons. (Photo: Manh Tu/VNA)
When the key is pressed, the gunner uses a knife (or sharp bamboo stick) to cut deep into the groove of the stick to cut it off completely. After that, continue to press once the soil covers the notched place to make it seamless. In the muzzle of the cannon, the gunner makes an incision about 5cm long, called the break, where the cannon is released. After the break is complete, the cannon maker adjusts the balance for the last time before sowing.
Each cannon usually weighs from 60-80kg, so before sowing, a few people need to help raise the cannon for the gunner. When preparing to sow, the gunner’s feet stand square with his shoulders, his elbows rest on his stomach, his hands are spread out to support the cannon’s belly and keep the cannon balanced.
When sowing, the gunner must keep his feet open to the shoulder, put his strength into his knees, his armpits close, then use his arms to disperse the cannon, then sow. To sow a good cannon, each gunner must be trained in health and experience.
The winning team in a match must have a total of 2 yards or more of cannons combined than the other team (one cannon is 40cm). Cannons are measured as cannons that must be released more than 2 meters and not disintegrate.
At the end of the festival, the Organizing Committee awarded the first prize in the artillery content to the team of Nghia An commune (Ninh Giang district) and the first prize in the content of the artillery sub-section to the team of Duc Xuong commune (Gia Loc district). The organizers also awarded the longest gunner award to gunner Pham Van Dang of Nghia An commune team.