Achang culture is all-encompassing and plays an important role in Chinese national culture. The most representative culture of the primitive Achang people is the Aluwoluo Festival. The Aluwoluo Festival is mysterious and unique. It is not only a large-scale entertainment activity, but also a unique kind of literature. So, let’s follow me to learn about the traditional festival of the Achang people: Aluwoluo Festival.
The traditional festival of the Achang people is called "Aluwoluo Festival". It is merged from the Woluo Festival and the Alu Festival. "Woluo Festival" is an important festival of the Achang ethnic group, and is popular in most areas of the Achang ethnic group in Lianghe County, Luxi City, Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Tengchong County, Longling County, Baoshan City, and Yunlong County, Dali Prefecture.
The "Woluo Festival" originates from the Achang people's Dengwoluo custom. "Wo Luo" originally had no real meaning. It evolved from the interjection "O Luo" formed in the hunting life of the Achang ancestors, and gradually developed into a primitive religious song and dance to celebrate the capture of prey. "Walking with feet", thus developing into the primitive nature worship sacrificial activity of "thanking the gods of mountains and forests and rewarding prey". Gradually evolving later, the group "Dengwoluo" activity of the Achang people sprouted into a folk activity. The folk activities are mainly held in the villages and villages from the second to the sixteenth day of the first lunar month during the slack agricultural season every year.
"Alu Festival", also known as "Aolu Festival", and "Huijie Festival" in Chinese, is a religious event to welcome Bodhisattva to earth. According to legend, on the tenth day of the ninth lunar month, the Bodhisattva returns to the human world. On this day, the earth will shine with golden light, the green dragon will jump out of the water, and the white elephant will run out of the mountains. All disasters in the world will disappear. From then on, every time on this day, the Achang people made beautiful green dragons and white elephants, and people sang and danced in the square to welcome the Buddha back to the world.
The Aluwoluo Festival is the most solemn traditional festival of the Achang people. It originates from an ancient religious ceremony to worship the God of Heaven "Zhepa Ma" and the Earth Mother "Zhemima". In the past, there was no unified fixed date. On April 9, 1983, it was approved by the first meeting of the Eighth People's Congress of Dehong Prefecture that the first month of the lunar calendar each year is the Woluo Festival of the Achang people in Lianghe County, and the ninth month of the lunar calendar is the meeting of the Achang people in Longchuan County. Street Festival, the festival lasts for two days. On May 20, 1993, the 13th Session of the Ninth People's Congress of Dehong Prefecture officially unified the two festivals into the "Aluwoluo Festival" and set the festival around March 20 each year, with the festival lasting two days. . Since then, the "Aluwoluo Festival" has become a legal festival of the Achang people, and has given new meanings such as celebrating national unity, celebrating harvest, and blessing a better life.
Festival activities
Aluwole activities are generally held in villages.
Choose a sacred tree
Everyone in the village, men, women, old and young, must go to the mountain to choose a straight chestnut tree as the sacred tree. The tree will be cut down only after a respected old man presides over the sacrifice. , cannot be carried on the shoulders, but tied to the tree body with countless ropes, and all the participants drag it to the village, crossing ditches and obstacles, beating gongs and drums along the way, and cheering to welcome the sacred tree into the village.
Building an altar
After the sacred tree reaches the spacious sacrificial ground in the village, the sacred tree is erected, an altar is built around the sacred tree, and a big bow is hung on the tree. The sun is installed, flowers and green leaves are hung, and Achang's costume patterns are painted on the sacrificial platform. As the wooden otter cat was lifted onto the throne, the altar was announced to be set up.
Sacrifice
After the spirit-possessed wizard placed the grains, tea, wine, flowers and fruits on the altar, he waved his eagle tail fan and chanted the sutra loudly. Sing the creation epic of Zhapa, Mazhemima, and praise the great kindness of the ancestors of mankind. Then the lion dance team and the elephant dance team paid homage to the God's throne together to pay tribute to the founder of the world.
Dancing
After that, all the villagers dressed in festive costumes, holding flowers and green leaves, dipped in clear spring water, sang Zele songs and danced Aluwo music around the throne. Express deep gratitude to ancestors. Following this, various cultural and artistic activities were carried out one after another until the ceremony was over.