Brawling beetles crawl for it all
It's not the size of the fighter that matters but the thrill of the spectacle in a week-long northern festival where 'kwang' battles are the main event
Published: 2/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Brunch
If Sumo wrestlers are the largest and fiercest of human fighters, kwang, or rhinoceros beetles, are the equivalent in the insect world. Their bouts begin with the big black bugs stomping their little feet and maneuvering to intimidate each other before hooking up and kicking off a captivating battle of nature. They are one of the world's strongest animals, capable of lifting up to 850 times their own weight. They are strong fliers and are attracted to lights.
Only the males have horns, which they use as weapons when battling rivals over females. Therefore, fighting comes naturally to them. They are territorial, but kwang fights are not to the death.
For millions of years, kwang have proven to be survivors amid changing times and for centuries these mighty six-legged creatures have earned a special place in the hearts and minds of the people in northern Thailand.
In Nan's Pua district, locals take kwang fighting so seriously that they organize the Kwang festival in September every year.
"Beetle fighting is a part of our unique heritage that we want to preserve. I don't believe there is anywhere else in the world where people catch them and get them ready for competition like we do," says Nan Mom, the vice-president of Nan's Kwang Fighting Club, the festival's organiser.
Mr. Nan says that prior to modernisation sweeping the region, kwang fighting offered villagers cheap entertainment during the rainy season. It has since become a part of northern culture, he says.
''We have been doing this for more than 100 years. It's a tradition that's been handed down from generation to generation in the North, not just in Nan, but also Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phrae and Phayao,'' he says.
Kwang trainers start looking for likely prospects in August when the beetles are at the right age to begin fighting.
Somchai Sueaboonmee, a kwang keeper in Pua district, keeps to a strict regimen for his charges. Once he captures a beetle, he focuses first on fattening it up. ''I keep them tied to a stick of sugar cane, so they can feed while they rest. They've just come out of the forest where they feed on whatever sap or fruit is available there, but that's not enough. We have to beef them up first,'' he says. ''At around 4am, I take them outside to let the morning dew fall on them for an hour. But I have to keep an eye on them otherwise bats will eat them.''
TRAINING DAYS: Kwang are tied to sugar cane to feed and rest. After about three or four days of this, it's time for phase two. First Mr. Somchai touches their horns with a carved wooden stick to test for a reaction. Then he places a female kwang between two of them. ''If they move towards each other, then I know they're ready for battle.''
Pua villagers and visitors gather at the district's municipal hall, which is rearranged to accommodate the week-long kwang fighting.
Not everyone comes to the festival for the love of kwang, of course. The children might, but for the adults it's become a lucrative business.
Owners hope to fetch high prices for their well fed fighters _ a male beetle can get from five baht to up to a 3,000 baht for a champion. And, of course, small wagers are made throughout the evening. And small wagers change hands throughout the evening. Food stalls are set up, as are several others selling beetle accessories, but mostly the crowd is here for the thrill of the fight.
Children love the bug battles. ''I'm fascinated by them,'' says one young spectator. ''That's why I'm here. They're huge but agile. Despite looking like some fierce, ancient creature, they don't bite and can't do you any harm. Sometimes I'd like to think I'm a kwang myself,'' he says.
Events get under way about 8pm. Within an hour the place is packed with anxious spectators and trainers. The bugs squeak, excited by the neon lights.
The battlefield is a small one meter-long log. In a chamber in the log is what's fuelling the fight _ the winner's prize, a female kwang.
As soon as the crawling gladiators are placed on opposite ends of the log, they go for each other full throttle. Neither wastes time in first sizing up his opponent. They lock horns and grapple for leverage.
Trainers drum the log with thin sticks fastened with steel clips to motivate their fighters.
Against this drumming, the two struggle before one of the kwang overcomes his opponent, gripping him and lifting him up, all six legs wagging helplessly in the air. The attacker advances and attempts to hurl his foe from the log.
The hall goes silent. No one blinks. But it's over _ the vanquished kwang teeters off the log and a winner is declared in what turns out to be the most lopsided battle of the night. The victorious beetle is introduced to his female prize.
Like their two-legged fellows, kwang have a limited span during which they can be effective fighters.
''We must understand the rules of nature. A kwang's total life is only about one year long, with the larval period taking up to 10 months, and adults living only a couple of months,'' Mr. Nan says. ''Keepers need to understand their life cycle _ when they are strongest for fighting, and when to let them mate and return to the woods.''
At the end of the September festival, kwang owners free their beetles, both male and female; to mate before releasing they back into the forests.
Although the kwang only have a couple of months to live, their short lives have had an impact on the people who have fun watching them. They wait patiently for nature to take its course so that next year they can enjoy the battles of these mighty bugs again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น