Ho Quyen Arena (built 1830)

 

Ho Quyen Arena (built 1830)

Ho Quyen is an arena where tigers and elephants fought to the death, gladiator style, for the benefit of the royal family and other high-ranking spectators. It was constructed in 1830 along the south bank of the Perfume river, about 200 yards from Long Chau temple where royal war elephants were worshipped and buried.

In traditional Vietnamese culture, tigers were feared beasts that preyed upon helpless villagers and their livestock. In contrast, elephants were noble animals who represented the prestige and virility of the royal family. The fights held here between the two species were carefully rigged so that the elephants held the upper hand in every fight. The tigers were routinely declawed and tethered, with their teeth filed down to further put them at a disadvantage. Although the tigers could put on a show by jumping and charging at the elephants, the elephants would generally (if not always) win in the end by trampling the tigers to death.
Fights were usually staged once a year, and the last was held in 1904, though royal elephants continued to be reared in the area until the August Revolution of 1945. Unfortunately, the site is not well preserved, and is rapidly approaching ruin unless conservation measures are taken soon.
According to the author's GPS, the site is located at 16 26.91584' N, 107 33.26380' E (WGS84 map datum).