The Game of Dragon-Snake (Rong Ran Len May)-Vietnamese Folk Games

Vietnamese Folk Games
Along with the rapid development of urbanization and the invasion of Western culture is the disappearance of traditional villages and rice fields in Vietnam where people had nurtured and enriched the distinctive agriculture culture for thousands of years. Nowadays, we can only see the traditional games in some festivals and sadly, most of the kids do not even know the names of these used-to-be very familiar, healthy and exciting entertainments. This list video will show you about what and how Vietnamese people play in the past.

2.The Game of Dragon-Snake (Rong Ran Len May)
Every child used to play this game a lot. It’s fun and makes you run a lot. There is a doctor who chases after the tail of dragon-snake after the dialogue between him and the head of line:

Where are you going, dragon-snake?
I’m searching for medicine for my son.
How old is he, your son?
He is one year old. – The doctor is not well.
He is (two, three, four, five… repeated each time) years old. – The doctor is not well.
The dialogue continues until the dragon-snake says:

He is ten years old.
Then the doctor answers:

All right, the doctor is well.
With this, the doctor stands up and says:

Give me your head
Nothing but the bones
Responds the dragon-snake:

Give me the body.
Nothing but the blood.
Give me the tail.
Pursue at will!
The doctor then will chase to catch the last child who presents the tail of the dragon-snake while the head child will spread out arms to block the doctor. In the end, if the dragon-snake succeeds in rolling into a circle before the physician can touch the tail, it wins. On the contrary, if the doctor catches the tail of the dragon-snake, the entire group loses the game. Punishment for losers is to stretch out their hands, palms downwards, to the winner, who slaps them one after another.