Nem Thuong Pig-Chopping Festival 2023 in Vietnam

Disclaimer: rove.me doesn't seek to promote this event but rather raise awareness of this phenomenon. Silencing it won't make it stop. Only public pressure and outrage will. So we encourage our readers to act in the manner they consider necessary.

Once a year, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, it is important for the village of Nem Thuong, located in Bac Ninh Province, some 40 km from Hanoi, to organise a festival in the belief that it will bring good fortune and prosperity to the area. The procedure of the festival is not for faint-hearted and draws in a lot of protest and criticism. The villagers gather yearly to chop the pig in quite a brutal way by cutting it in two pieces with a machete. Next, it is customary for the villagers to rush to the pig and soak the banknotes into the pig's blood, which is believed to bring good luck in the new year. Moreover, some people also take some of the blood to their fields to ensure good harvests as well. Extremely opposed by animal protecting groups, the proponents, however, claim the festival is a major part of the village's culture and must not be judged by anyone else apart from the villagers themselves.

Warning: the video below contains violent content.