Tung Con on Spring Day
Unlike the Thai people, this game has a meaning of praying for the harvest for the Tay people. The shaman will cut open the con thien fruit, which has been blessed before the festival ends, take the seeds inside, and then throw it up for everyone to catch luck. They believe that these seeds will bring a bountiful harvest and luck because the hands of the men and women have transmitted warmth.
On the other hand, for the Muong people, the throwing festival is also an opportunity for couples to meet, get to know each other, and a place to bring them together. When one side loses, that side will have to leave something as a token; usually, the boys will be the losers. And after the festival is over, those boys will return to the girl's house to ask for the item they left as a token. This is considered an excuse for the two to meet and get to know each other.
The locals here said that: This game of throwing Con has existed for a long time. It is a folk game held on holidays and attracts many participants. Players are of all ages, and the girls are very skillful in preparing the cones with colorful colors that are paired together. Not stopping there, they also stuff rice, mustard seeds, cotton seeds, etc., inside the cones to express a desire for fertility and prosperity in human life. Rice seeds play a role in feeding people, and cotton seeds are what give fabric, what people wear. Fabric is also used to sew the cone string. One end is attached to the intersection point of the square cone, the four corners are also attached with fabric tassels with many colors to create eye-catching and also have the effect of helping the cone orient when it is thrown. When going to the festival, everyone wants to be the one with the most beautiful cone. When going to the festival, boys and girls also wear splendid and colorful clothes as spring comes, flowers bloom, and trees bear fruit. They flock to the Tung Con field, where the festival is held every year.
The con is often used from fake bamboo trees, straight, long, and about 2m high. The con will be erected in the middle of a large, flat piece of land. The top is attached with a circle with a diameter of about 60cm, people often paste paper and color the inside of the center of the circle, and decorate the outside with colorful paper. Usually, young men and women will be the ones to throw the con to start the game. The boys will be the ones to throw it first when the con is thrown by the boy on this side, it goes through the circle on the top of the bamboo, the girl standing on the other side catches it and throws it back into the circle for the boy on this side to catch. Just like that, the game lasts until the end of the session without determining the winner or loser because the talented boys and girls understand each other. The most impressive and interesting thing about throwing the con is that before starting the game, the boys have secretly chosen a girl to throw the con. After the con tossing festival, the boy returns to the girl's house (the winner) to ask for the token from the losing game. But more than anything, this is just an excuse for them to get to know each other and move further together. They just wait for spring to come soon so they can join the con tossing festival to "lose" to the girl, and send each other the token.
In recent years, this throwing game is still preserved and passed down in many villages during the New Year. Not only is it a recreational game, but it is also a bonding activity and, above all, it brings love between young couples. The throwing game is both cultural and sporty, training the players' finesse and dexterity.