ENTRY DESCRIPTION
In the heart of Bac Giang, Vietnam, the annual Mud Wrestling Festival unfolded, not just as a spectacle of strength, but a celebration of resilience and unity.

Legend had it that the festival began centuries ago during a time of drought. The community, desperate for rain to nourish their crops, turned to a ritual involving mud, symbolizing fertility and the hope for a bountiful harvest.

As years passed, the Mud Wrestling Festival evolved into a vibrant tradition, where locals embraced the mud not just as a means to connect with nature but also as a metaphor for facing life's challenges. Participants, coated in the symbolic mud, grappled with each other, not in aggression, but in a spirit of camaraderie and shared struggle.

The festival, with its laughter echoing through muddy fields, became a powerful reminder that life’s difficulties, much like the mud, could be faced with a sense of community and a dash of humor. It transformed into an annual pilgrimage, drawing people from different walks of life to experience the unique blend of tradition, unity, and the joy found in the mud of Bac Giang.

In a sea of color, black and white photos stand as timeless whispers, capturing emotion and essence in shades of grayscale. Each monochromatic frame tells a story that transcends the spectrum.

AUTHOR
Trần Tuấn Việt (Tran Tuan Viet) is an award-winning Vietnamese photographer and internationally published visual-storyteller, currently based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Being passionate about photography since 2007, Viet offers in his photographs the beauty of his motherland: Vietnam.

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