Pig-chopping ritual to be held next year, but not in public

October 22, 2015 | 15:06

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Bac Ninh authorities have said that the pig-chopping rite of Nem Thuong Village will be continue next year but it will not be held publically.

A dispatch sent by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh Province to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last week said that the Nem Thuong Festival 2016 will remain in order to preserve traditional rituals.

However, the pig chopping ritual will not be held at the court of the village communal house as usual, but in a private area. The organizers will not let people embed money in pig’s blood.

This decision came after a meeting between Bac Ninh officials with representatives of Nem Thuong Village on September 16.

Each year, on the sixth day of the lunar new year, Nem Thuong villagers organize a festival to honor their local guardian deity, Doan Thuong. The celebrations include traditional festival features such as a march and live music, and one part of the ceremony is the pig-chopping rite.

A live pig is shuttled around the village before being placed on the ground on its back. Assistants hold ropes attached to the pig's legs, spreading the animal's appendages apart to expose its belly. A man wielding a large blade, then chops the pig in half, and the villagers rush to smear the blood on bank notes, hoping for good luck in the new year.

This rite has been opposed by many people and some animal protection organizations for its brutality. However, locals still want to maintain the rite as their tradition.