About 1,000 grasshoppers took part in a chirping contest held on Wednesday night, in Ban Lae Mang-ok village in the Saba Yoi district of Songkhla province, in the hope of winning prizes ranging from cattle, cellphones and ovens to electric fans.
The traditional local event, which was once popular in the four southern provinces of Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, was organised by the Saba Yoi district office, working with local leaders, and was aimed at reviving this type of competition, which has been suspended for many years due to the unrest in the region.
According to the organising committee, only grasshopper species caught locally were allowed to compete. Species caught elsewhere, and which were reported to be stronger and louder, were prohibited to ensure fairness.
Entry registration started in the evening and the entry fee was set at 50 baht per insect. The competition began at 9pm, the time when grasshoppers usually begin to chirp.
The rules of the competition are simple. There are 50 wooden poles on the competition ground. Each competitor was allowed to hang a bag, containing a grasshopper, on a pole. The contest committee approached each pole to listen to the sound of the insect. Those which chirped the loudest would be selected. This process continued for all the competing grasshoppers.
The selected grasshoppers then enter a second round and those which chirp the loudest would be chosen as the winners.
The problem for the judges was that they must keep quiet while approaching each grasshopper and the light must be dimmed, otherwise the insects may not chirp at all.
Adam Saimeethan, one of the organisers, said outsiders were appointed as judges to avoid criticism that local judges might be biased in favour of local competitors, adding that they must have previous experience of judging chirping contests of the red-whiskered bulbul bird, which is another popular pastime in the Deep South.
The revival of the grasshopper chirping contest has stimulated trade opportunities for startups. Supatra Salaeyawo, for an example, said she started selling cages for grasshoppers, using coconut shells as raw materials.
Two grasshopper species are popular for the competitions, the green and the brown. They are mostly caught in rubber plantations.
