Trained, loved and eaten

       With his big dark eyes,cuddly girth and gentle manner, he didn't look like a fighter. Except for his horns - curved like a scythe, they could inflict serious damage.
       He was known only as buffalo No 18, one of 16 specially-trained beasts that made it through to the finals of an annual northern Vietnam buffalo fighting contest that took place recently.
       Do Son's buffalo fighting tradition dates back centuries, organisers say, but its modern form has become a big money event with high-priced sponsorship, high-stakes gambling and millions of dong in prizemoney.
       For the participants, though, it is most importantly for community pride in the coastal resort of fishermen and farmers near the northeastern port city of Hai Phong.
       "I trained this buffalo like an athlete,"Luong Duy Hong,59, said the day before the fight. Mr Hong, a nephew of the buffalo's owner, likened the animal to a professional football team with a big following of fans.
       "It's the pride of the whole club. This is Manchester [United]," he said as he walked the buffalo in the late afternoon sun.
       Buffalo can still be seen labouring in Vietnam's fields, but the fighting buffalo are different. Like professional athletes, they are scouted and bought with only one thing in mind - to compete.
       "I sent my nephews to try to find a proper buffalo," said No 18's owner, Luong Trac Ty,75.
       After months of searching they settled on this one, which had no name and was known only by the number painted in white on its dark rump.
       The farming family bought it in February for 60 million dong (112,000 baht) and spent another 40 million of their own money on training and upkeep, they said.
       That is a large sum in a country whose average per capita income is about 17.8 million dong.
       Tradition says Mr Ty's buffalo was brave because its thin hair twirled into small spiral formations above each shoulder and on each side of its rump.
       "That's one of the reasons we chose this one," he said.
       Bravery is one thing, but a fighting buffalo also needs training. Gesticulating and talking excitedly, Mr Hong said he had spent two hours every day swimming in a river and running with the buffalo, which made it through two preliminary rounds to reach the finals.
       After spending so much time with each other, man and buffalo became close -"like brothers", Mr Hong said. But this was their last day together because, win or lose, every buffalo is slaughtered and its meat sold outside the stadium to people who believe it will bring them luck."When he is killed, I will not be there," Mr Hong said.
       Owners can recoup some of their expenses from the meat, which sells at a premium, but winning the fight earns them a prize of 40 million dong.
       But Mr Hong said buffalo fighting is not a business."We participate for our honour and for the traditions of our area."
       The next morning, haze turned the newlyrisen sun into an orange disc before seven teams, each from a district in the Do Son area, paraded to the stadium.
       In traditional dress they held altars aloft,carried Buddhist flags and banged drums with their buffalo following behind.
       Several thousand people filled the stadium to overflowing. Mr Ty smiled and said his buffalo was ready.
       The fights are between two buffalo at a time. Sometimes there is a dramatic charge and a cracking sound as horns smash together,and they push to and fro like wrestlers in a sumo match.
       "It's like a martial art," said Nguyen Van Hung,29, a spectator from Haiphong.
       "I feel sorry when I see the blood on their faces," said Nguyen Quynh Huong,28, who nonetheless cheered throughout.
       The crowd shouted at the violent butting of heads, but was far more restrained than the area's notorious football fans.
       At times there was little for them to get excited about; the animals simply stood there ignoring each other.
       As soon as one of the beasts turns tail and begins heading toward the exit, he loses.
       After months of preparation, Mr Ty's buffalo had its chance. It briefly touched horns with its opponent, which then gave chase. No 18 trotted off, a loser.
       The final bout finished just as quickly.A buffalo owned by Hoang Gia Bon, which beat three challengers earlier that morning,rushed towards its last opponent, hooking into its horns and lifting its head high. In about 60 seconds it was over.
       "This buffalo was born with the nature to win," Mr Bon said.
       The wet-nosed animal's young handlers - among them Mr Bon's son Vu Duc Minh - crowded around, shouting in victory.
       As a handler, Minh,17, was on the edge of the field during the fight.
       "I was very scared, not for myself but for the buffalo, because he is the pride of the whole extended family and we invested so much energy in him," he said.
       His sadness that the animal was to be killed was somewhat tempered by the knowledge that its meat would be offered to their ancestors and to the community's patron saint.
       Local legend attributes the festival's origins to the 18th century, when two buffalo about to be sacrificed to the patron saint suddenly began fighting.
       The Do Son festival is not the only buffalo fight in Vietnam, but it is one of the most renowned contests."There will be a winner and a loser," Mr Ty said, accepting his animal's defeat."It's a lot of fun."