The Achang are mainly distributed in Longchuan and Lianghe counties of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, in addition to a few in Yingjiang, Luxi, Ruili, and Longling and Tengchong in Baoshan, with a population of 33,936 as of 2000.
Achang language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, divided into Lianghe, Longchuan, Luxi three dialects. There is no national script, and Chinese and Dai are customarily used.
The Achang people have similar names such as "Echang", "Wuchang", and "Ochang" in the Chinese books. As early as in the 2nd century A.D., the ancestors of the Achang tribe lived in the Jinsha, Lancang and Nu River basins in northwestern Yunnan. Around the 13th century AD, they settled in the Longchuan and Lianghe areas.
Achang men generally wear blue or white lapel or lapel tops, and some still wear head wraps, but many have worn modern clothes. There are three types of Achang women's costumes. One is that of Lianghe County, Yunnan Province, which is notable for its head-binding. The second is the Longchuan County, Yunnan Province, Lazar, wearing navy blue lapel clothes and short to below the knee skirt, calves wrapped tied legs, chest cloth full of silver ornaments, waist silver chain. The third is the Longchuan County Tousa's, wearing various colors of pants (married wear tube skirt), and then tie embroidered long belt (belt). Buttons on the lapel clothes, are made of silver coins, so as to differentiate from the Han and Dai clothing.
Achang women's belts are particularly striking, black background with various colors (mainly red, yellow, white) silk thread embroidered with a variety of patterns, brilliant, very good-looking. There is also a touching legend about the beautiful floating belt. Tosha Achang girls originally do not tie the belt, one of the most famous hunter's daughter, in order to secretly learn her father's hunting skills, tie the belt to study hard, secretly learned from her father there is a good martial arts, and even worship her father as a teacher of the lads are not as good as her. When the frost archery competition, she won the first place. The girls asked her how she became an archer. She told the benefits of tying the belt for hunting and working. From then on, the Tosha Achang girls all learned from her and tied beautiful embroidered belts. Belt tie good intentionally in front of the body on one side to leave a long and a short two cuts, long drag the ground, short to the thigh, the wind blew, or walk quickly, the belt like a pair of colorful dragons flying, so the belt is also called floating belt. When you work, put the belt to the waist a round, the girl looks more spiritual.
The Achang people have the custom of chewing tobacco. When we get together, men and women have to honor each other, and it is even more essential to receive guests. The raw material of chewing tobacco is a kind of pungent and fragrant plant - rushes, together with the "Saji" (a kind of betel nut root, plum bark, chestnut leaves boiled into a dark brown gelatinous mixture) and a small amount of quicklime, tobacco. Put in the mouth to chew for a while, the saliva in the mouth will turn red. According to laboratory tests, the above mixture contains a small amount of alkaloids, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect, the oral cavity and teeth have a certain protective effect. Chewing tobacco saliva can also treat mosquito bites. If the locusts climbed to the legs, spit a mouthful of chewing tobacco saliva in the locusts crawling, the locusts will automatically fall down.
Traditional festivals and celebrate the development of nature and the heroic deeds of taming wild animals. At the same time, the traditional festivals of the Achang people and religious beliefs also have a fairly close relationship, it can be said that many traditional festivals are with religious colors. The content of Achang festivals varies slightly depending on the region, but on the whole they are basically the same.The Achang people have long lived with the Han, Dai and other people, and their festival customs are y influenced by the multiculturalism. The Achang people have transplanted some festivals of the Han and Dai, grafted them onto their own traditional culture, and reorganized the different cultures with the culture of their own people, which has formed the unique festival customs. Achang festivals are numerous and colorful.
Achang Spring FestivalThe traditional festival of the Achang people in Yunnan Province, the Achang people in the first month of the New Year's Day is approaching, they have to prepare the spring couplets, New Year's paintings, firecrackers, new clothes, etc., and families have to clean furniture, unwash the bedding, and clean to welcome the New Year. As soon as the New Year's Day arrives, Achang families will put up couplets and New Year's paintings on their doors, and slaughter chickens and pigs. On the night of the 30th, the whole family will gather to eat the New Year's dinner, and then they will also observe the New Year's Eve, and the whole family will sit around the fire pit, holding the firewood from Tochigi trees, and burning a big fire until late at night. The Achang tribe year-end vigil there is such a legend: once upon a time there was a poor man called Lafu, New Year's Eve can not afford to buy new year's goods, he had a whim, holding a large pile of hemp oak branches, burned up a huge fire. In the middle of the night, the center of the house suddenly fell a turquoise branch, Lafu feel strange, pick up the branch thrown into the empty rice hoard, not long after, the empty rice hoard full of white rice. Achang people learned of this matter, every New Year's Eve are imitated Lafu, in order to rice grain warehouse, over time, the formation of the Achang fire to observe the custom. On New Year's Day, people have to go to friends and relatives, but also held a variety of recreational activities.
Achang mother festivalalso known as the ground ghost festival, Yunnan Province, Lianghe around the Achang traditional festivals, is a folk religious festivals, held three times a year on the lunar calendar in February Ma day, May 28, June 25th.
Rainwater mixed with sands made into the sun, and rainwater mixed with silver sand made into the moon, but also with colorful stones made into the sky, and finally with their own *** made into the Sun Mountain and Taiyin Mountain, since then men have no ***. Chamima plucked her own facial hair to weave the earth, and from then on women had no beards. Then blood flowed into the sea, and the world had life. The union of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother gave birth to mankind. The God of Heaven taught people to hunt, cook and build houses; the Mother of Earth taught people to carve wood to remember things, and to use divination and incantations to drive away diseases and disasters, so the God of Heaven and the Mother of Earth became the gods and goddesses worshipped by the people. The rituals are held under the big green tree, and no earth is allowed to be moved and no rice is allowed to be pounded during the rituals. The first ritual is to pray for the Earth Mother's blessing for the safety of the whole village. At that time, the whole village Achang tribe will abstain from work for one day, and each family will go to a man to have a meal, and outsiders are not allowed to enter the village in order to avoid inauspiciousness. The second sacrifice is to pray for the blessing of Mother Earth livestock prosperity, after the sacrifice, *** business animal husbandry. The third sacrifice is to pray for the Earth Mother's blessing for a good harvest. At that time, the whole village gathered together, set up offerings burning incense, the ritual of sacrifice. After the sacrifice, the Achang people will be sprinkled with chicken blood and paste the chicken feathers of the bamboo inserted in each field, while inserting the incantation, praying for a good harvest and expel disasters. Achang Qingming FestivalA traditional festival of the Achang people in Dehong, Yunnan Province.
The Achang people in this area before the Qingming Festival, the family cleaning, the day of the festival, each family cleaned the graveyard of ancestors, to show respect for the ancestors and the feelings of remembrance. Some people also invite Buddha to recite sutras on this day. The Qingming Tomb Sweeping is not only to sweep their own ancestral graves, but also to pay homage to the heroes of the nation and the spirits of the dead.
Achang Water FestivalAlso known as Sangjian Festival or Watering Festival. It is a traditional festival of the Achang people in Dehong, Yunnan Province, and is held on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival every year for four days.
The main activity on the first day is to pick chestnut flowers. According to legend, Sangjian is the name of the Achang god of the chestnut tree, who defeated the devil and brought happiness to people. During the festival, young Achang men in full costume gather together and go into the mountains to pick flowers. On the way, by a person in front of the team waving the Achang knife, others walk while firing guns, to the mountain before picking flowers and firecrackers. Picking flowers to return, along the way to beat the elephant foot drum. Stay in the village of the Achang women have long been ready Suzi handle handle, heard the gun, immediately to the village to meet the flower picking team. The young men offered bouquets of chestnut flowers to the girls, and the girls offered the handles to the young men. After eating the handles, everyone went back to the village with songs and dances. The village elders had already set up bamboo poles in the square to welcome the flower-picking team. People came to the site, the chestnut flowers in a circle tied to the bamboo poles, so that it becomes a flower tower, some are made into a sedan chair. At night, the Achang people around the flower tower, sedan chair, singing and dancing late into the night. The second and third days of the activities are mainly watering flowers, men ringing drums, gongs, etc., carrying four-color flag in front of the road, the girls are lined up in a long string to the river to pick the water to water the flower towers, palanquin, and with the water bath palanquin for the statue of Buddha. The fourth day is the festival ***. People pour water on each other to bless. First of all, the Achang invited the village over fifty years old old lady in order of age in a row, the girls will splash water on the old people's sleeves or hands pinched sweat towel, in order to eliminate the disaster blessed longevity. Then, Achang unmarried young men and women splash each other. The apparatus used for splashing water must be clean and the water must be clear water. Splash water also have to first ask each other with a song whether to agree, such as agree, the first male initiative to splash, female after the splash, and bless each other, say "Amitabha Buddha".
After the splash, the lovers will meet on the grass or the hillside to sing, until the sun goes down before dispersing.
In the Achang people around Tousha and Lasa, there is the Watering of Flowers Festival, which is a festival for young men and women of the Achang people. The festival is held during the third month of the lunar calendar every year. On this day, Achang young men and women stroll in groups from one walled village to another, using new pots of water, pouring water on each other, very lively. After watering, invite each other, groups of people came to the village outside the river or shade meadow, singing love songs to each other, pouring out the love between each other, some even take this opportunity to determine the relationship.
The Achang sacrifice Sermon
The traditional festival of the Achang people in Yunnan Province, is a folk religious festival, held twice a year, one in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the other in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the day of sacrifice must be the day of the cow or the day of the pig.
Sermon is the embodiment of the gods believed by the Achang people, mountains, land, water gods are included in the Sermon, the two sacrifices, aimed at praying for Sermon to protect the village. Color Man temple has three styles, one is in the Walled City next to set up a stone or wooden column, the top of the column placed a stone or wooden board; a kind of earth rammed into a width of one and a half meters high two meters of the wall, on the beams to cover the tiles; a kind of sacrificial offerings before the temporary cover a small temple.
Achang Torch Festival
Yunnan Province, Dehong around the Achang traditional festivals, held annually in the second half of the sixth lunar month.
Before the festival, Achang families make their own pine torches. It is said that burning torches is to expel diseases, in order to pray for the prosperity of people and animals, the day of the festival, every family should eat rice noodles, the more affluent people should eat fire roasted small whole pig. When night falls, the Achang people light up torches and first turn around indoors to burn off the cobwebs and other unclean things to show that they drive away evil spirits and security. Then, the whole village Achang people holding torches gathered to the village square or on the field, and then around the village, hillside and field roaming, in order to pray for the elimination of pests, wishing for a good harvest. Finally, young men and women gather in the square around the fire, singing and dancing late into the night. Dancing, led by one of the most good song and dance, the rest of the people with their hands on their hips to follow the back with the song, sing a line, dance step, onlookers often shouting to help, the scene is very lively, often all night long.
The Achang festival of the Achang people around Dehong, Yunnan Province, held every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar on the day of the horse.
"Seimen" is the name of a soldier leader, but also represents the god of war. Legend has it that in a battle, Saimen was killed by the enemy, which happened to be the July Horse Day, and later Saimen became a god. Therefore, every day, the Achang people will use the whole pig to commemorate him, and pray for his blessing of the village peace, human and animal well-being, and a good harvest. Normally, if there is any loss of wealth, disaster, etc., people have to temporarily sacrifice to the Sai people.
In the past, in the event of a war disaster, they also have to sacrifice to them to bless the victory over the enemy and the safe return of the soldiers.
The Achang Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. On the morning of August 15, Achang families will use the newly harvested rice to cook and feed their dogs, and then visit their friends and relatives and gather for entertainment. Achang Catch Pendulum
Catch Pendulum, also known as do pendulum, Yunnan Province, Achang traditional festivals, religious festivals, in principle, once a year, but because of Catch Pendulum consumption is too large, so you can also be once every three or four years, the time is generally in the lunar calendar in August, September, the festival period of three days.
The Achang people believe in Hinayana Buddhism, and thus, the content and form of the Catch Pendulum is more or less the same as that of the Dai people. The Achang people believe that the drive pendulum can make the grain abundance, village peace and prosperity, they also believe that the drive pendulum is a kind of virtue, the future death, the soul can go to heaven to live a good life, no longer suffer. Before the ceremony, the Achang people have to prepare a large amount of pork, rice, oil, paper, incense and candles, as well as seven Bodhisattvas. During the period, the host village has a large number of visitors, who must be warmly treated and provided with food and lodging. Do pendulum in three days, people all in catch pendulum field to eat and drink, due to the long time of many people, coupled with the festival meals must have meat, spend amazing, so this custom is now rare. The first day of the festival, the Achang people beat gongs and drums, to the Buddha Temple to welcome Buddha, and so the Buddha arrived, people offer offerings, the night carnival. The next day is the most lively day, early in the morning, people want to worship Buddha, listen to Buddha preaching. After breakfast, the firecrackers sounded, indicating that the procession around the Buddha Temple began, the streets were immediately crowded with people, the procession at the forefront by a few small Achang girls carrying offerings, and finally a few statues of the Buddha, and a few other people walking around while scattering rice flowers, a few people can not stop setting off firecrackers, and finally there are gongs and drums team. The procession continues until the afternoon. After dinner, people had their usual revelry. On the third day, which is the end of the procession, people from outside the village leave the area, and people from the village erect a high pole in the square and tie a flag coil, which is said to guide people to their place in heaven. Finally, the Achang people get together to eat a meal, catch the pendulum that is considered the end.
The Achang people change the yellow sheet
Dehong, Yunnan Province, a traditional religious festival of the Achang people. It is held every year on the ninth and tenth month of the lunar calendar.
At that time, the masses in the area of the Buddhist temple to carry incense, paper and food, but also to prepare the Buddha to wear a yellow sheet and in the Buddhist temple to hang a variety of cloth sheets, together with the Buddhist temple for sacrifice. After arriving at the temple, the Achang people first worship the Buddha with incense, and then the new yellow sheet is changed to the statue of the Buddha by the Buddhist master for the people who worship the Buddha with incense to show the piety of their faith.
The Achang people out of the Puddle FestivalMeans to send Buddha out of the temple. A traditional festival of the Achang people in the Dehong area of Yunnan Province, held on the 15th day of the 12th month of the Dai calendar every year, the festival lasts for three days.
At this time of year, the harvesting of farmland is completed, entering the idle period, so the ban on entering the Puddle Festival is canceled, and the Achang young people are free to have fun. On the 15th, the whole village of unmarried young man with flower paper, beat the elephant foot drum in the village parade, Achang old people into the Buddhist temple to burn incense, and to put before the puddle in the temple when the offerings behind the seat of the Buddha to take out and burned, said the Buddha has been out of the puddle. On the 16th, the Achang people held the ceremony of Buddha out of the puddle, all the unmarried girls have to go into the Buddhist temple to worship Buddha. On the 17th, the young men and women of all villages will concentrate on listening to the Buddha's recitation of scriptures, and then, people will sing and dance and congratulate each other. Achang young men and women from this day onwards and can talk about love, concluded marriage.
The Achang Sowing Festival and New Tasting Festival are held on August 15th.This Achang festival originates from a beautiful legend: it is said that in ancient times, there was an old Achang old woman who, during the harvesting season in the middle of June in the lunar calendar, always carefully chose and kept the seeds of all kinds of grains, and then distributed them to the villages and cottages to help the townsfolk to improve the yield. For this reason, she was loved by the villagers. The old woman grew older every year and finally died in August of one year. In order to make up for the old woman's regret of not having new grain, people offered rice made of new rice at her spirit. After that, in order to commemorate the old lady who brought happiness to people, every year on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, every Achang family used newly harvested grains, vegetables, fruits and melons to make rice, thus forming the Tasting the New Festival. In the spring of the next year, people cherished the seeds she left behind and sowed them into the fields. From this, it formed the Sowing Seeds Festival on the tenth day of the third month of the lunar calendar.
There are many kinds of legends of the Sowing Festival and the Tasting Festival, and one legend says that in ancient times, there was an old woman in the Achang people, who always took great pains to carefully select and leave all kinds of cereal seeds during the harvest season in the middle of August of the lunar calendar, and transferred them to the farmers in the villages and cottages. She was y loved and respected by the people because she helped them improve their farming techniques. In August of one year, the old woman suddenly died before the harvest. In order to make up for the old woman's regret of not being able to wear and taste new clothes, people offered fragrant rice and new clothes in front of her spirit. After that, on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar every year, Achang families used the newly harvested grain, vegetables, fruits and melons to cook, thus forming the Taste of the New Festival. In the following spring, people would again scatter the seeds left by her into the ground, forming the Sowing Festival on March 10 every year. There are also legends that on August 15, Tengu borrowed the seeds from the sky god, and from then on, the ancestors of the Achang people planted grains, therefore, this day to "taste the new" to thank the Tengu.
Every year before and after the Ching Ming Festival, every Achang family has to choose an auspicious day to do symbolic seeding in the rice paddies, and insert peach and plum branches between the rice paddies, burn paper money in the sky, and offer rice sacrifices to the God of Heaven and Earth to bless a good harvest. It is said that after the peach and plum branches are inserted, the grains will not float and will take root quickly. During the sowing festival, girls and husbands who got married a year ago have to bring wine and other items back to their parents' homes.
On the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the Taste of the New Festival is held, the Achang people must use the new grains just harvested to make dinner, and if their own rice is not yet ripe, they have to borrow new grains from other families. After the rice is cooked, the ancestors, the god of wealth and the god of grain are sacrificed, and a bowl of new rice is fed to the dog first, and then the whole family can **** into the dinner and taste the new rice joyfully. The Achang girls who got married that year, this day must bring gifts back to their mother's home to taste the new festival. Sowing Festival and Taste the New Festival these two days, Achang families are in accordance with the traditional custom, clean the courtyard, houses, prepare fish, rice noodles, acidic food and rice wine, and then go to the ground to pull up a root and stem of the largest and most knot taro, cut a knot of double ears of corn, then corn and taro bundled in a three or five-foot-long bamboo poles, placed in the left or right corner of the hall house. Afterwards, the new grain is pounded into rice and steamed, and a fat chicken is killed and placed on the sacrificial table to honor the ancestors. They also take back the married girl and have a family reunion. After the meal, the men wear short blue, black or plain lapel tops and black pants; the women wear blouses and skirts with lapel tops and waistbands, and silver collars around their necks with silver chains, silver whiskers, silver dollars and other decorations; and the young girls have their braids plaited on top of their heads. Everyone gathers in the village before and after the singing and dancing, lively and unusual.
Achang Catch the Street
Catch the Street is a traditional festival of the Achang people, but also an ancient traditional custom, the Achang language is called "boiling Lu", the Chinese called the street.
The Achang people believe in Hinayana Buddhism, and the Huijie was originally a religious festival for the Achang people to welcome the return of a "horse" (Achang language: Bodhisattva) to the earth. It lasted for five days from the tenth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. At that time, the Achang people to drive five streets, a street a day, has been driven to the 14th. During this period, the girls and boys do not sleep at night, responsible for collecting fasting rice, cooking fasting rice, fasting and other activities. The original is held on the day of farm leisure, now generally concentrated in the "eleventh" time to hold. During the festival, Achang men, women and children, everyone dressed in costumes, singing and dancing. "On the east side of the street, there are lanterns, colorful palace lanterns, lotus lanterns and chandeliers flying up and down, which make people dazzled; on the west side, there are Achang young and strong men with elephant foot drums, which make people think of the distant age; on the north side, there are countless crowds of people surrounding an adorable "White Elephant". The north side is a crowd of numerous people surrounding a popular "White Elephant". Juggling white elephants is the most ethnic activity in Achang Street. The "white elephant" is made of wood, with a body made of colorful paper, a trunk made of cloth, and a rope pulled by a pulley. Before "playing the white elephant", one person first hides in the elephant's stomach. When he pulls the rope with pulleys back and forth with both hands, the elephant's nose will be flung up and down, left and right. The street will start, the Achang men, women and children surrounded by white elephants out of the village, the boys beat the elephant foot drums and cone gongs, playing colorful flags, firecrackers in front of the road, and other people with green leaves and green branches followed from all directions to the street will be the venue. Then, young and strong men and women with the drums, hand holding branches dance, dance partner pairs are not limited to the number of cymbal people always hit the cymbal and the elephant foot drummer against the dance, dance action across a back a crouch for three consecutive times, the third time to squat down, hit the elephant foot drummer outside the drum body, the end of the drum from the cymbal partner spine and head swept over. Then, the drummer throws back the left foot, and the drum tail follows the drummer forward, bowing the waist and half squatting until it touches the ground. At the same time, the person playing the cymbals also followed the jump squatting, playing the shackles, all of a sudden separate cymbals to the ground press to the ground, not touching the ground immediately before and after the separation, and then quickly jumped up and turned to each other to look sideways. When playing white elephant activities reached ***, hand holding a branch of the Achang men, dancing, issued once cheered "Oh - will will!" The crowd of onlookers also broke out into a burst of laughter. In the laughter, the white elephant's trunk also flung higher and harder.