Heartlessness

Phuong Thao

People in Nem Thuong celebrate the festival on the sixth day of the first lunar month to commemorate a general who took refuge in the area while fighting invaders a thousand years ago. He killed wild hogs to feed his soldiers, hence the tradition. At the festival, villagers parade two pigs around the village before slicing them into two halves with repeated machete hacks to the cheers from spectators. They then wet banknotes with the fresh blood from the pigs and put them on the altars in their houses to pray for good crops and health. The rite usually attracts thousands of villagers and visitors, including children.

In late January, Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) launched a petition asking the public to reject the festival and Vietnam’s government to end the Nem Thuong Pig Slaughter Festival. The group called the ritual “extremely cruel” and this activity not only affects the human psyche but also economy and society, in particular, the tourism industry and the image of Vietnam. AAF also cited research as indicating that witnesses of cruel treatment toward animals tend to cruelly treat other people in the community. Responding to the petition, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has called on villagers to tone down the more bloody aspects of the ritual sacrifice and then Bac Ninh Province’s culture officials have suggested that they should transform the festival into a less gory parade.

Unfortunately, the pleas fell on deaf ears. Locals went ahead with a pig slaughter rite in public as part of their traditional Lunar New Year festival on Tuesday, where thousands of revelers gathered to witness the brutal slaughter of two pigs in the blood-tainted tradition. As reported by local media, Nguyen Dinh Loi from Nem Thuong’s senior-citizens’ association says they refused to change the festival’s name from “Pig Slaughter” to “Pig Parade” as requested and they will not try to hide the slaughter from the public eyes either. Villagers had been angry as their celebration of a heroic tradition and for good crops was condemned as brutal.

He said the festival has clear history and the villagers are determined to protect it.

“We all wish to observe the festival with all the original elements, especially the killing of the pigs at the front yard of the main temple. We don’t want to move the killing to the back yard of the temple,” he says.

Nguyen Tam Thanh, an Animal Welfare Officer from AAF, in an interview with Vnexpress says that in 2013, AAF sent a letter expressing concern about this festival to Hoang Tuan Anh, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Nguyen Van Phong, director of the Department of Culture of Bac Ninh. Then, we continued to send a dispatch to Phong asking for his confirmation that the pig-chopping festival was still being held.

“Chopping healthy live pigs is a cruel behavior toward animals. It hardens emotions of those witnessing how the animals are treated brutally, especially children, who are vulnerable and have incomplete psychological stability. In addition, the festival causes unnecessary suffering and pain to animals. The continuation of this festival sends out a message that animals are things not to be respected. Should the killing of animals in a barbaric way start a new year?”

Culture and tradition has changed and evolved over time. The good things and ones that are consistent with modern trends will be maintained. The things that are no longer appropriate should be changed or discarded. Besides, festivals should be associated with local identity and culture of the nation to spread humane behavior to future generations, Thanh explains.

AAF’s Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen says on Vnexpress that he is very disappointed that the festival still took place this year, defying culture authorities’ warnings. The group will keep calling for the community to support its petition and show respect to animal rights.

“We suggest culture agencies reconsider all animal slaughter festivals in Vietnam and their negative impacts on society. Besides, we will design education programs to improve awareness of animal rights among people, especially residents in the localities organizing the festivals. We should change the mindset that animals are just something for people to have fun with,” he adds.

Professor Ngo Duc Thinh, former dean of the Vietnam Institute of Cultural Studies, is quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying that the best method is not to use administrative measures to interfere in cultural, religious, and spiritual festivals as every cultural and religious activity in folk festivals of Vietnamese people has its root and reason. Culture researchers also suggest that locals will automatically end those rites no longer appropriate in modern society.

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