[Culture] On Pig-slaughtering Ritual Ceremony: from the view of cultural study

This is the compiled article, inspired by and mostly based on the interview of Prof. Tran Ngoc Them, on the debating topic: "should pig-slaughtering fest. be kept or revoked?" 

Start of Ritual Ceremony  (Source: Internet)

About Pig-slaughtering Fest. and its spirits (media untold part)

When: 

Lunar Year, Jan 6th. 

Where:

Nem Thuong village, Tien Du,  Bac Ninh, Vietnam 

Spirit: 

The villagers practice this traditional ritual in the spirit of memorializing a General in Ly's dynasty(1009–1225), who slaughtered the boar to raise the local army to fight with invaders*.  

 Ritual

• The pig raisers also being chosen from those families with lot of children and happiness life, especially get good skill in raising pigs. 
• The slaughterers must be healthy, with happy family background and exact age of 50. 
• Two chosen pigs for the ritual are sacred and fully respected and was calling "Ông Ỉn" (Pig deity - as my translation). 
• In the day, they were paraded around the village, accompanied by formal teams of drums, trumpets, parasol and villagers prepared their tray of offerings to show their sincerity and giving economic contribution to the community.
• The main ritual is to slaughter Pig deity in just one blow (for purpose of immediately release His souls from purgatory ), with cheering from the crowd.
• Pork is considered sacred, and would be shared for every villagers after praying to the God.
• While pig blood is considered bringing luck, prime, fertility, liveliness and good harvest...After the ritual, villagers tend to dip stuffs or money into pig blood to pray for luck.
• After the ritual, villagers come back home for lunch. In the afternoon, they gather to join entertaining activities like rice - cooking contest...

Highly Deity parade around the village (Source: Internet)

Argument 

The crowd 

• The fest.got many criticized from international animal's right for being cruel, also be claimed for causing negative effects to children and people who come take part in the fest. 
• Officials claims this ceremony might cause negative affects to young attendant, and it is not an good tradition custom and need to adapt to cultural standard nowadays. Besides, worries are mentioned on the side of Vietnam's image in foreign. They tried to balanced the traditional and civilization by offering villagers changing some forms of ritual like holding the ritual not in a crowded public place, or just give end to the pig life instead of bloody slaughtering process. They even proposed changing name of the fest., or even revoking the slaughtering part and focus on other parts of fest;  
• In an online survey held by VN Express (since 2015 Jan 20) about what is your opinion abt Pig slaughtering tradition, three options are offered. Until Feb 25, there're more than 42.000 people vote, and 79% reacted "this traditions need to be revoked", 14% said should keep this tradition, while 7% told keep practice the ritual, but not in a public place.

The villagers 

• 2013-2014, the ritual was replaced by getting pork for tray of offerings and prayings. 
• 2015, Feb 24, left all the critics and comments behind, the villagers still processed their traditional rituals right in front of Temple as local custom.  

From the view of cultural study

• Barbarism is a concepts of Western culture in period of colonization waves to excuse for their invasion, stating that Asia and Africa still deep down in the darkness of barbarism dark, and spreading the idea of civilizing these native peoples. There's a dividing line between civilization and culture, the former related to high technique and development sciences. 
• No need to argue that Europe have a high level of civilization. Nevertheless, civilization and culture have no relation. It's not true that a civilization possess a ideal status of culture, and anything against Europe's culture is barbarism. In other words (my words), if one culture tradition is judge cruel, barbarism in Europe's culture, it doesn't make sense that we conclude this tradition is barbarism.
• Culture is a product of its community of practice, in a very specific space and time. It is especial, and depends on customs and traditions of different unique ethnic groups. As a consequence, culture is always value and good meaning to its subjects; somehow, to other communities, it seems unacceptable. There's no exactly the same culture models for all the regions and nations.
• The matter is when a nation regarded itself as civilized and criticized other nations' culture is barbarism or backward; sometimes, they unintentionly forgot their culture also has the same customs. We can't judge the customs of these regions and nations are right, and another one is wrong. Culture requires lenient and understanding, not self-central view and public power stress.
• This ritual festival is local, for hundred years, they happens within village. To the local villagers, they take spririts and historical memoirs as best part of the fest; which not causing any moral or young generation educating difficulties. Real problem comes when it was retold by culture outsiders on mass media, causing struggle from both in and out-sides. 
• Cultural concepts would also change by time pass by. Coming waves of urbanization would give a challenge to villagers themselves. Then, the ritual itself would be replaced by another forms or even disappearing, maybe. However, that's a natural process and was decided by cultural subjects. Not any reasons or efforts making by outsiders shall have right to force them making any obvious culture changes.

Personal opinion 

• I am still can't get over the fear of ritual ceremony, so I would rather stay away and enjoy my pork-braised with white rice. However, I don't judge the villagers for their traditions is cruel, and persuade them stop doing it for reasons like keeping pure of Vietnam's culture or staying humanity. Understanding the ceremony's background , however, giving respect to cultural subjects, that's my choice. 
• The customs will adapt with new ways the large community definitions of culture in its own ways and with their own forms. Before, its a small ritual fest., not many pple know abt. I notice mass media just described how cruel the ritual ceremony is (from their point of view) I'd not argue whether it's right. The thing here is, the original meaning and villagers attitudes towards the ritual ceremony were left behind, and kept untold to other outsiders, unless the idea of cruel ceremony. 
• In fact, the attitudes of outsiders who's not really understand the culture though; still keep excited and somehow to me get crazy for prayings or getting good luck from the pig blood is more causing afraids. 

Question left:

Do other places have same ritual festival? Of course, there are. What are they? What do you think and how do you react? 

Reference: 

(last accessed 2015, Feb 25)

1. Prof. Tran Ngoc Them's Interview (Vietnamese)
2. Pig-slaughter festivals in Vietnam, Taiwan prompt outrage 
3. Argument about pig-slaughtering ritual in VN Express

Notes:

* there's another explanation for this the origin character, far different from elderly told version. Futher reading: Toan Ánh, Thần tích của làng Niệm Thượng, Hội hè đình đám Việt Nam, Tp HCM: 1999.