Daughter's Festival
The Daughter's Festival is popular in the Guangyuan area. Legend has it that the mother of the Tang Dynasty empress Wu Zetian met the black dragon sense pregnancy when she was swimming in the river bay in Guangyuan and gave birth to Wu Zetian on the 23rd day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the session. On this day, people in groups to the Shengze Temple, Zetian Dam and Jialing River tour women dressed up, invite each other to swim along the river bay for good luck. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this activity was once interrupted. 1988, Guangyuan Municipal Government decided to restore this folk festival, and named "Daughter's Day", the festival will be set on the first day of September in the Gregorian calendar.
The Naxi area around Lijiang, Yunnan Province, also holds two "cattle foot washing sessions" from June 20th to 30th and from September 10th to 30th of the lunar calendar every year. These two periods of time is the spring and fall farming after a busy, need a little rest, so people in the above two periods of time to choose a day, the village held a meal, and wash the oxen, feed it 12 wheat cake and a bundle of grass, but also in the oxen on the fence to hang a string of wheat cake to express the meaning of condolence.
Every year, on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the Gelao people celebrate the "August Festival", or the "New Valley Festival", to welcome the harvest. The Gelao people attach great importance to this festival, which is celebrated for two days in a row. Everyone dressed in holiday attire, gathered in the walled village on the empty field, by a few strong man will wear red flowers on the head of the big bullock into the field, first recited the words of congratulations, silent prayers for a good harvest. Then by the band played "Eight Immortals" music, firing muskets, firecrackers, and then killed the cow boiled meat, and beef equally divided to each family, so that parents to take home for the ancestors in front of the spirit of the whole village and the whole tribe unity of purpose. The elders of the ethnic groups also offer a piglet, a rooster and a duck as the three sacrificial animals in front of the Bodhisattva tree. After the sacrifice, the public gathers for a meal, and the young people sing and dance under the moonlight, and disperse only when they have enjoyed themselves. The next day, fresh grains, fruits and melons are collected from the fields and used for the family feast. After the feast, the women bring their own children to congratulate their mother's relatives with gifts. The youths continue to sing and dance all day long to welcome the arrival of the harvest, and after the festival, the fall harvest begins.
The Miao legend of Chengbu County, Hunan Province, says that there was a period of time in ancient times when there was a shortage of soldiers and horses, and people fled in all directions. Eight girls came to the area and saw the fertile land and the scarcity of people, so they sowed grain seeds here and got a good harvest that year. They settled down and developed the land, making this place rich. Therefore, the Miao here every year after the fall harvest, we have to brew sorghum rice wine, entertaining friends and relatives, *** with the commemoration of the opening up of the wilderness of the eight girls, the formation of a congratulations on the harvest of the "eight nuns festival".
People of all nationalities enter the autumn harvest season after the hard work of spring and summer. In order to celebrate the harvest, many ethnic groups have various festivals to eat new rice and celebrate the harvest. This is a joyous and festive occasion when hard labor is rewarded by nature.
The Tibetan fruit festival in Tibet is a famous festival to pray for a good harvest. The Tibetan language "look" for "field", "fruit" is "circle" meaning, look fruit festival is also a turn of the head of the ground Festival. It does not have a fixed date, in the fall grain maturity and "king bird" (geese) before the flight of the south to choose auspicious days, the festival period of three or five days. Jiangzi, Shigatse in about the middle of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Lhasa in the first day of August to start. As early as 1500 years ago, the yarlung zangbo river in the middle and lower reaches of poor jie, nai dong around the Tibetan people also believe in primitive religion. They interpreted wind, rain, thunder and lightning as the gods descending from the sky for disaster. Therefore, in the fall when the crops are almost ripe, groups of people in the ground around, praying for God's blessing. It is said that this is a way for the master of this religion to teach the farmers to circle around the fields for a good harvest at the request of the Tibetan king, Bude Gonxian. They take the village as a unit, in front of the incense burner and streamers to lead the way, followed by the master of the Church holding a stick around the hatha "Dada" and the right leg of the goat to lead the way, to show that the "collection of the earth's gas, for a bumper harvest," the meaning of; followed by the townspeople holding ears of barley. Villagers around the head of the field, the ears of wheat will be placed on the grain bag or in front of the god, to show that the grain warehouse. Then held jousting, sword fights and other activities. 8 century later, the Nyingma sect was in power, "Wang Guo" activities and added the Nyingma sect's recitation of mantras. 14 century, the founder of the Yellow Religion ZongKaPa to Tibet, Buddhism has become the main sect of Tibet, Gelu dominant, "Wang Guo" festival activities and brought with it the "Wang Guo" festival. "Festival activities again took on Buddhist colors. When the villagers turn to the ground, they have to hold up the Buddha statue and recite scriptures. Now every festival, Tibetans are still dressed in full costume, holding high colorful flags, carrying with barley wheat ears tied into the harvest tower, banging gongs and drums, singing while turning the head of the ground. Then they flock to the linca (woodland or park) to drink, sing and dance, horse racing, archery, in order to wish for a good harvest.
The Menba people in Qiona County, in the Tibetan calendar in July and August to have and Tibetan Wang Guo Festival and the same Tuo Ke Festival. During the festival, each village will invite one or two Redemptorist lamas to recite sutras, and each family will contribute a laborer to the invited lama's home to work as a token of appreciation. The whole village follows the lama around the crop field for a week, praying to be exempted from wind, snow, water, drought and pests, and welcoming the arrival of a good harvest.
Loba people living in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, attaches great importance to the agricultural harvest, the start of the harvest, the men have to go down to the ground early in the morning, three meals a day can not be the same with the women to eat at the fire. Therefore, the end of the hard harvest, we have to choose a day over the "Ang De Lin Festival", for the meaning of the Harvest Festival. Before the festival, the men go hunting in the mountains, while the women cook the newly harvested grains and offer them to the elders to taste, and feed the rest to the dogs. During the festival, the whole village young and old **** with the feast, drinking and singing until the next day. The songs include stories about the origins of agriculture, including men opening up fields, women discovering seeds and harvesting food, and making wine. In addition to the joyous celebration of the harvest, sacrifices are made to the gods and spirits of the ancestors to thank them for their blessings.
The Hani people of Menghai County, Yunnan Province, from the ripening of the grain to the end of the harvest, to hold a number of "Ou Malou" (meaning "sacrifice to the king of the valley") ceremony. With the elaborate festivals, solemnly welcome the arrival of the agricultural harvest. In the basic maturity of rice, Hani people to choose an auspicious day, pick back three ears of grain hanging in the home on the altar, by the parents chanting words of praise, thanks to the ancestors, the king of the Valley of the blessing of the grace. If you find a plant with two ears of rice, it is considered to be the king of the valley. A chicken is killed in front of the king of grain, cooked on the spot, and then raised above the head three times with the hand as a sign of sacrifice. Then the king of grain is cut and placed on top of the altar at home. After the harvest, if the pile of grain collapses, it is believed that the king of grain is in shock, so a chicken is knocked to death in front of the pile of grain, and the chicken feathers are scattered around the pile of grain, and new rice is placed on the pile of grain, in order to make sure that the king of grain lives in peace. When the harvest is over, three packages of offerings are wrapped in green leaves and placed in front of the grain soul ponds that are left uncut, one offering is placed on the lower part of the stalks, one is tied to the upper part, and an egg is placed underneath the stalks. After tying all the grain poles together, cut them off with a knife and put them in a backpack, and retrieve the eggs and hang them on the barn beam. It is important to maintain silence while the ceremony is being performed, and it has the meaning of calling the soul of the grain to return to the barn. Before the rice officially into the barn, parents should first put the offerings in the barn, with the grain bucket loaded with some new grain, covered with clothes, to be carried into and out of the three times. Each back into the barn once, to grab a handful of new grain scattered in the barn. After the above ceremony, the harvested rice can be put into the barn and taken.
Every lunar month of August is the Dragon Day, the Hani ethnic group will be "Che Shiza", that is, the new rice festival. At that time, women first go to the field to pull back a pocket of rice, planted in their own wells or vegetable fields, to symbolize the god of the earth. After dawn, they carry the new grain back to their homes, pound out the rice grains, cook part of it into new rice, and fry the other part into rice flowers. Before eating the new rice in the evening, ancestors are sacrificed and dogs are fed with the rice flowers before the meal begins to show remembrance and respect for Omar for bringing grains to the earth. Around the festival, friends and relatives are also invited to come and gather to ***celebrate the harvest.
Jingpo people in Yunnan Province, in the lunar calendar between August and September before the grain harvest, choose an auspicious day to sacrifice ghosts to eat new, called the "new rice festival". The master of each family back to a bundle of glutinous rice, placed in the home of the "ghost door", this day can not slaughter poultry, so young people meet in the river to touch the fish and shrimp, the preparation of delicacies. The whole village gathered at the chief's home, by the sorcerer's rituals. After the sacrifice is completed, each person gets a small package of new rice, take home to taste the new festival. Legend has it that a long time ago, the grain did not grow well because the spirit of the grain went to heaven. The family dog barked day and night to call back the spirit of the grain to its owner, so that the rice of the Jingpo people grew better and better. So before the meal to feed the dog and cow, to show their gratitude
Some areas of the Yao people, in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the new grain is still home, but also to eat a new festival, to the new rice steamed sacrifices to the valley mother, and to provide the dog a full meal. But they do not do so because the dog brings seeds to the people, but in honor of the ancestor of the dragon dog Pangguo married the princess and reproduced offspring.
The Achang people hold the Taste of the New Festival on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, which is mainly devoted to praying for the old aunt. On this day, they first clean their houses, go to the ground to pull a pocket of taro with many and big knots, cut a corn with double ears, tie it together on a meter-long bamboo stick, and then lean it against the left or right corner of the hall and house. And cook new rice, kill a chicken instead of the old station Mrs. loved to eat partridge meat. Fruit, pears and other dried and fresh fruits are also offered, and the whole family stands together with the parents reciting the words of sacrifice to ask for the old aunt's blessing.
Taiwan's alpine tribe on the island, every year after the fall harvest, from the first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, to have a grand "Festival of Good Harvest" festival, held for several days in a row. In the event of a bumper harvest year, the festival will be extended appropriately. A few days before the festival, men go hunting, women prepare food. On the day of the festival, each family will use the ancient method of drilling wood for fire to obtain kindling and let it burn itself out once. The fire is then used to cook glutinous rice, steam cakes, and make dishes. Offerings are brought to the community's centralized worship point, where five witches preside over the ancestor worship. Women concentrate on dancing with mortar and pestle music, and men with hunting equipment hold hunting rituals to celebrate a good harvest in all agricultural and hunting industries. On the night of the third day of the Lunar New Year, a bonfire is held in the plaza, "Simala". All members of the community gather around the bonfire, enjoying a banquet and dancing while drinking. The melodious singing resonates through the night sky. "The deer are caught and the rice is harvested. The members of the community come together to drink at the opera. Gold is the grain and white cotton, and every family makes wine like a spring. The children in the community dance like crazy, wishing that next year will be better than this year." The song expresses the joy of a good harvest and good expectations
The Amis branch of the Taiwan Alpine tribe holds a "rite of passage" festival every seven years. It is held in the middle of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, on the day of the full moon after the Corn Harvest Festival. All young people in the tribe who have reached the age of 18 participate in the festival, and a month before the festival, they start practicing long-distance running, singing and dancing, and two days before the festival, they go into the mountains to catch pheasants and prepare corn wine for the elders and for the festival. On the day of the festival, the youths first gather at the home of the tribal chief to hear the elders admonish them and announce that they have grown up to be adults, and that they are to be held to adult standards in every aspect of their lives in the future. Then they run naked together to their destination by the sea, where they sing and dance in celebration. In the afternoon, they dress up again in full regalia, wearing feathered crowns and ear spools, and go to the village's youth clubhouse, where they continue to dance in a circle. At this time, the tribal chiefs also have to lecture and teach them how to follow the norms of tribal etiquette, and laugh and laugh until the end of the day as they feast and drink to their heart's content.
Hefeng, Enshi, Jianshi, Xuanen and other places on the border of Hubei Province, the Tujia, respectively, in the lunar calendar on the third day of the fifth month, the twelfth day of the seventh month, or the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the annual daughter of the meeting. The girls who come to catch the market on this day are especially beautifully dressed. They put on traditional national costumes, some buy daily necessities, some sell souvenirs and so on. Young men and women often take this opportunity to meet their first or dating lovers. Some people also get married at this time, forming a lively, festive, full of love festival.
The Yi people who live in the area of Xinping, Eshan, and Shuangxiang in Yunnan Province have to celebrate the festival of "Catch the Flower Street" twice a year. The first is on the 23rd and 24th day of the sixth lunar month; the second is on the 14th and 15th day of the seventh month. At that time, the Yi men and women dressed in full costume, to the three counties bordering the Daxi Mountain, dancing and singing, buying and selling souvenirs, all night long. Girls and boys in this alpine mountain, through the flower street, not only spend the joy of the festival, but also the exchange of materials, pray for a good harvest of crops of all kinds of significance.
July and August every year, the Tibetan grasslands of the Tibetan herdsmen, to choose a day to focus on the town of Nagchu near the horse race. Festival activities in addition to horse racing, there are men and women running, weight lifting, riding shooting show. Running is at an altitude of 4500 meters above the plateau, barefoot run through 180 meters of ore track. Weightlifting is to use both hands to pick up heavy sandbags, from the front of the body lifted over the shoulder, thrown behind the body to win. Recent horse race festivals have added cultural performances and material exchanges to the traditional sports programs.
Taiwan's alpine tribes hold a "Basket Festival" on the night of the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. On the occasion of the rising moon, the host will be in love with the young men and women into the betel nut forest, chanting words of congratulations, wishing everyone happiness and fulfillment. The young man then climbs up the tree on his hands and knees, picks 30 betel nuts, chases the girls who are running and hiding in front of him, and throws the betel nuts one by one into their delicately patterned small baskets. The girls only take the betel nuts thrown by their lovers, but leave the betel nuts thrown by the others, singing and laughing as they run away. The girl who gets the betel nut often pulls out her embroidered purse and gives it to the boy, and together they thank the host for his blessing, and both of them disappear into the depths of the betel nut forest to spend the night together.
August 15 festival, in Guangxi Xilin and other places in the Zhuang people have "scolding the Mid-Autumn Festival" custom. Legend has it that in ancient times there was a straight girl who did not love the hypocritical sweet mouth, but appreciated the art of harsh scolding. There was a young man on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, scolded the girl in public for stealing the sugar cane planted by the people, scolding painfully, the girl was touched, and married the young man. From then on, a custom was formed for young people to play pranks to attract people to scold them. They are in groups of three or five, take the old man in the mid-autumn moon festival occasion, with the unlocked door, move away from the stone mill, pulling out the vegetable seedlings, shaking off the fruit and other small pranks, in order to cause the master scolded. Pranksters often have to pick the family who are good at cursing, provocative activities. According to the custom, the curser can not use obscene language, only to the harsh language to show its talent for cursing. The local custom is that the more people are scolded on Mid-Autumn Night, the longer they will live. Therefore, it is a peculiar festival which is not about singing and dancing, but about cursing. The Mulao ethnic group in the vicinity of Luocheng, Guangxi, celebrates the 15th of August as the "Housheng Festival". On this day, young men and women with food such as zongbao, playing cloth umbrellas, together in the field to walk slope, from the collective song to the two pairs of singing, and after having a love affair, they will agree to see you again period, in the bright moonlight under the seed of love. Liping, Guizhou and other places of the Dong ethnic minority, in the 15th of August over the "Catch Ping Festival". However, in order to calculate the year, only one day in a single year, the Lusheng will be held; in a double year, two days, the first day of the Lusheng will be the second day of the song. The first day of the Lusheng Festival and the second day of the Song Duo will be held. The winning song team will be selected at the Lusheng Festival. Song, young men to dumpling leaves wrapped face, mud tattoo, wearing costumes, dressed as a beggar, and the girl song, so that the girl can not recognize who is, but also can not distinguish between rich and poor. After the end of the song, the boys went down to the river to wash themselves, put on clean clothes, and then back to the song Ping and the girl to talk and laugh.
The Gelao people of the Longlin Autonomous County in Guangxi hold a "tree-worshiping festival" twice a year, on the 14th day of the first month of the lunar calendar and on the 15th day of the eighth month. The festival is held on the 14th and 15th of the first month of the lunar calendar. The festival requires a bullock, which is kept by three families in turn each year, or **** with the pooled funds to buy it. The Gelao people who live in scattered villages during the festival are concentrated in the village of Maki, where the ancestral tree is located, and the longhouse of the family presides over the ceremony of worshiping the tree. First, the neck of the rooster is broken, and the cock's head, legs and heart of the cow are pulled off as offerings; the head of the rooster and its left wing and leg are offered to the ancestral tree; the head of the rooster and its right wing and leg are offered to the ancestral tree of the grandmother. The offerings are wrapped in red paper, put into the hole of the tree, and the hole is sealed with paper money. The officiating priest prays to the tree and fires a toast. The heart of the cow is cut open and divided equally among the households to show that they are working together and sharing the same pain. The entrails of the cow and other alcoholic beverages are eaten in a potluck **** with the people of all ethnic groups who come to participate. The cohesion within the ethnic groups is strengthened through the activities of the Tree-worshipping Festival.
Every year, on the day of frost in September of the lunar calendar, the Zhuang of Xiaolei, Baowei and Leiping in Daxin County of Guangxi and of Jingxi and Debao Counties also have to have a Frost Festival in honor of the national heroine Cen Yuyin. There are two different legends about Cen Yuyin's deeds. One says that Cen Yuyin, a Zhuang woman with excellent archery skills and bravery, once led troops to fight against Japanese invaders along the coasts of Guangdong and Fujian. She was decisive in her use of military force, and she was able to defeat the invading Japanese many times, and was rewarded by the emperor, but finally she returned to her hometown, where she remained until her death. Since she defeated the Japanese invaders on the day of the Frost Festival, a festival was held on this day to commemorate her, which gradually became the Frost Festival. It is also said that she, together with her husband, defended the peace and property of the Zhuang people and led the troops to defend against the invading enemy, and won a great victory on the day of Frostfall, so the local people celebrated for three days and designated it as a festival. The day before every frost, Zhuang compatriots from all over the world to the village cottages near the lower Lei borrowed, the next morning to the Yuyin Temple to pay homage. It is said that during the Qing Dynasty, local state officials also prepared offerings to participate in the festival. After returning from the festival, the crowd performs lion dances and sings Zhuang opera and folk songs to celebrate the festival of remembrance of the national heroes.
Distributed in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other provinces of the Yao tribe Pan Yao branch, legend has it that the origin of the sacred dog Pan Gui. Because of Pan Guo bite to kill the enemy king is meritorious, get married with the princess, moved into the mountains, gave birth to six men and six women, reproduced as a nation, so there is a festival of Pan Wang Festival in honor of the King Pan Guo. This festival is usually held on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar or the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the seventh month. At that time, they all kill pigs and chickens, sing and dance, and offer sacrifices to their ancestors to seek blessings.
The Dong ethnic group in Xinhuang, Hunan Province, whenever the night of the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, women can go to other people's gardens to steal melons and pick vegetables as long as they cover themselves with open umbrellas. This is a festival called "Stealing Moon Vegetables". The girls usually always go to their favorite young man's home garden to steal, one side picking side shouting: "I pulled your melon vegetable, you go to my home to drink oil tea." If you pick the fruit and beans, it is considered an auspicious omen. Women with children specialize in stealing fat melons and hairy beans to symbolize the healthy growth of their children. There are also young men who steal moon vegetables, but they can only be cooked in the wild.
Guangxi Sanjiang Chengyang around the Dong ethnic group has a youth of their own "pumpkin festival". Every year on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the villages of young men and women were organized "pumpkin team" and "oil tea team". Participate in the pumpkin team of boys first to register, and pay a fee; participate in the oil tea team of young girls to actively prepare a variety of condiments used to cook tea. Parents also try their best to support them, and on the night of the festival, the young boys of the pumpkin team go to the field to pick pumpkins first. According to the local custom, during this festival, the owner of the pumpkin will not be angry even if he steals more pumpkins, and the pumpkin stealers have to follow certain rules: when there are two pumpkins on the vine, only one will be taken away; when there are four pumpkins, two can be taken away. When there are two melons on the vine, only one will be taken away; when there are four melons, two will be taken away. When a melon is taken away, a flower will be put on it to show that the melon here has been stolen. Pumpkin team to steal enough, the production of colorful flags and bouquets, the pumpkin arrangement, carried to the neighboring villages have been pre-found to cook tea object, by the oil tea team of the girl's hospitality. They drink oil tea together, *** with eating boiled pumpkin, and divided into two teams of men and women to play the pumpkin battle, you chased me, playing and laughing until dawn.
The Korean people living in the northeast, in August 15, "Jia Hai Festival", (i.e., "Autumn Sunset Festival"). Legend has it that in ancient times, when King Ruri of Silla was in power, his two daughters divided the women of Mokpo into two groups and held a hemp weaving contest in the courtyard of the capital from the morning of July 15 to the end of August 15, and the losers were given a banquet. The losers had to host a banquet for the winners and perform songs and dances, which later evolved into the Kahai Festival. On this occasion, people slaughter cows and sheep, make cakes and muffins with new grain, and engage in activities such as wrestling, swinging, and skipping between villages and towns. Sometimes the festival lasts for several days. In the evening, each family in the courtyard set incense to the moon, eat mooncakes to see the bright moon.
The same August 15 day, in Guangxi Jingxi, Napo, Debaos around the Zhuang, but there is a "please sac sea" of the festival. "Sanghai" is the Zhuang language, that is, "moon aunt" meaning. On this day, girls bathe in mugwort leaf water, dress up, clean the inside and outside of the house, and sprinkle pomelo leaf water around the house. A five- to ten-meter-long bamboo pole is erected in front of the door in the open space, and a pomelo full of incense is inserted on the top, with the smoke lingering around it, as a ladder to guide the moon goddess down to the earth. A table is set up in front of the door with mooncakes, bananas, pomelo, sugar cane, mandarin oranges, boiled taro, and handfuls of beans and other offerings. The girls and boys sit together, and a girl is chosen to pretend to be the Moon Lady, sitting in the center of the mat, pressing her eyes and ears with the middle finger and thumb of her hands, and rotating her head to show that she is descending from the Moon Palace. Everyone recognized Yue Gu as a "sister of the same year" (righteous sister) and asked her to sing a song. Everyone asked questions, she answered, the scene of laughter, love and long.