Skeezix Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 I was in a Hmong hill tribe village over new years and witnessed a festival that included formal teen courtship rituals and adult men participating in a highly competitive spinning top tournament. Here's a few snapshots... We arrived in this village --a funeral for a teenage boy was going on.. These men were blowing horns around the dead boy's house to scare off evil spirits. Others were shooting off fireworks. Meanwhile, lunch was cooking... These cute kids were happy to pose with Flat Stanley for my son. Across the valley, we arrived a the festival site. Adolescents line up, boys facing girls, and toss a beanbag back and forth while conversing. This is a formal courtship ritual... The men compete in a spinning top tournament. First one competitor sets his top spinning in a chalked circle. Then a second man stands behind a chalked line about 20 yards away and hurls his top toward the spinning top, attempting to knock it out of the circle. If he successfully knocks the top out of the circle, it's game on, and both competitor's teams try to keep their top spinning longer than the other team's. First top to drop loses. Here's a video: [video:youtube] After the tournament, they celebrate and toast each other with Chiang Beer! These friendly Hmong girls agreed to have their photograph taken in their traditional costumes... Quote
Lars Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 Be sure to keep them away from this guy's car... Quote
sobo Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Where were ya, Skeezix? Vietnam? Laos? What were you doing there? I'm curious... Quote
j_b Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Great upload Skeezix. What's the role of the stick during the throw? to give better control in aiming? Quote
Skeezix Posted January 28, 2009 Author Posted January 28, 2009 The stick is held like a flyrod and used to whip that string and accelerate the top to get it spinning ...it adds leverage to increase the velocity. The aiming is a mystery to me. They throw the top with one hand, and then whip the string back away from the top to impart the spin. So the first throw, into the circle, is a toss. But the second guy really hurls his top at the one in the circle, because he needs to knock it out of the circle ...but even as he pitches it, he whips back with the stick to get it spinning. They also use the stick to touch or tap the spinning top to adjust it's alignment in order to maximize the spin. It's tricky, and they're damned good at it. The photos were taken in the hills above Chiang Mai, Thailand. I took my family on a two-week tour through Thailand over the Christmas holiday... Here's a video of our crazy tuk tuk ride through the streets of Bangkok on our first night there: [video:youtube] Quote
sobo Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 I've got a similar recording of my "Last Night in Saigon Motorcycle Ride" at home. I'm not tech-saavy enough to YouTube it, although it would be a h00t. We were very nearly crushed by at least two lorries and a SUV. My wife wouldn't go with me, since we had just received my son, so I went without her on a motorcyle with our laison man, Phuc. The wife felt that our new son needed at least one parent to get The Boy back to the States. Almost worked out that way, too, but I'd never not do that ride again. Crazy... Quote
Skeezix Posted January 29, 2009 Author Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) I'm not tech-saavy enough to YouTube it... I gotta tell you, you don't have to be tech saavy at all to use one of these things. I carried one in my pocket and recorded over 400 video clips while I was in Thailand. The quality is very good, and the software that comes with the camera makes it so easy to edit and upload videos to YouTube that you can do it in your sleep. The people that invented this thing are geniuses. Can you say Volksmovie? They start at $129 and go up to about $250 for the HD Mino. Edited January 29, 2009 by Skeezix Quote
denalidave Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 My wife wouldn't go with me, since we had just received my son, so I went without her on a motorcyle with our laison man, Phuc. WTPH? Quote
rbw1966 Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 Great photos. You kids must have been loving that experience. Quote
sobo Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 My wife wouldn't go with me, since we had just received my son, so I went without her on a motorcyle with our laison man, Phuc. WTPH? Funny you should say that, Dave. "Phuc" is pronounced as "Fook", as you'd obviously guess. However, on one occasion (just one, mind you) while we were particularly stressed out over something involving acquiring The Boy, I referred to Mr. Phuc as how you might phonetically say it. My wife, horrified, shot me a "I'm gonna kick your fucking ass after Mr. Phuc leaves" look. I was like, "What?" It took a nanosecond for me to realize how I had just spoke his name. Mr. Phuc, true to his ever-casual self, blew it off like he never heard me. :whew: Quote
denalidave Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 My wife wouldn't go with me, since we had just received my son, so I went without her on a motorcyle with our laison man, Phuc. WTPH? Funny you should say that, Dave. "Phuc" is pronounced as "Fook", as you'd obviously guess. However, on one occasion (just one, mind you) while we were particularly stressed out over something involving acquiring The Boy, I referred to Mr. Phuc as how you might phonetically say it. My wife, horrified, shot me a "I'm gonna kick your fucking ass after Mr. Phuc leaves" look. I was like, "What?" It took a nanosecond for me to realize how I had just spoke his name. Mr. Phuc, true to his ever-casual self, blew it off like he never heard me. :whew: That's phucking hilarious! Quote
sobo Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 My wife wouldn't go with me, since we had just received my son, so I went without her on a motorcyle with our laison man, Phuc. WTPH? Funny you should say that, Dave. "Phuc" is pronounced as "Fook", as you'd obviously guess. However, on one occasion (just one, mind you) while we were particularly stressed out over something involving acquiring The Boy, I referred to Mr. Phuc as how you might phonetically say it. My wife, horrified, shot me a "I'm gonna kick your fucking ass after Mr. Phuc leaves" look. I was like, "What?" It took a nanosecond for me to realize how I had just spoke his name. Mr. Phuc, true to his ever-casual self, blew it off like he never heard me. :whew: That's phucking hilarious! fixed it fer ya Quote
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