Picking Flowers Festival
held, the festival period of two days. Flower Picking Festival is a very rich ethnic characteristics of the festival. It can be roughly divided into "water grabbing", "flower picking" and "blessing" three parts, of which "flower picking" and "blessing" are both "water grabbing", "flower picking" and "blessing". "Blessing" are combined with national songs and dances. The festival is kicked off by the activity of "grabbing water". On the first day of the festival, people go to the nearby mountains to grab spring water. After grabbing the water, some of them drank the water, while some carried it home to wash their hair and purify themselves. Then, the parents of each family will be their children deliberately dressed up, accompanied by their own brothers, and other girls to meet, in the villagers send off, to dozens of miles away from the "flowers" to go, singing all the way. Came to pick flowers after the point of prickly can, while supporting pots and pans for cooking, while the new wooden knife, wooden arrows, wooden axes, etc. inserted, which is expressed to protect their revered God of the flowers, so that the God of the flowers will always bless the hometown of the wind and rain, the peace of man and animal. After the flower picking began, the girls and boys traveled in pairs, singing mountain songs to see the beautiful mountain scenery, while picking all kinds of colorful flowers, until the girls had flowers all over their heads. In the evening, everyone sang and danced all night long around the bonfire.
At dawn the next day, the flower-picking girls and boys tidied up the garlands on their heads, sang the Parting Song, and left Caihua Ping to return to their village. When they arrived not far from the walled village of Boyu bridge, the villagers have long been waiting there will sound bamboo to welcome. Walled by the people elected by the three middle-aged women singers holding a small dragon bowl filled with wine, singing and honoring the flower-collecting people. Caihua girl took the wine, singing wine song. According to custom, the three toast women to sing at the bridge to the girls in the form of some of the questions about the mountain flower picking, flower picking girls one by one to answer before releasing the flower pickers across the bridge back to the village. People will pick flowers girls crowded to the wheat field, everyone hand in hand, formed a large circle, with the leader of the women shook up the horse bells, jumped up very rich ethnic style circle dance, which began to bless the activities. People dance and sing, hoping for good luck. In this festival, the flower-picking girls are regarded as the messengers of good luck and happiness. So people always like to invite them to their homes on this day, and the girls dance and sing in their homes, wishing their hosts good luck and happiness.
Legend
Edit
Nanping County Boyu Tibetan traditional festival. Held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, the festival lasts for two days. Legend has it that a long time ago Boyu was a deserted ravine, where people made a living by gathering and hunting, and made clothes from leaves and animal skins. One day, from afar came a girl called Lianzhi, she is beautiful and kind, dexterous, taught the local people to open up the land and planting and weaving sewing, but also pick the lily for people to cure. One year, on the fifth day of May, Lianzhi went up the mountain to pick flowers and was swept down the cliff by the nickel wind and died. People were so sad that they went up the mountain to pick flowers on that day to honor her. Over time, the Flower Picking Festival was formed.
Flower Picking Festival
Legend has it that a long time ago, Boyu cottage a poor family with six girls, one year during the Dragon Boat Festival, the youngest girl was injured when she went up the mountain to pick herbs, was a girl called Dama saved, but also carried her home, Dama girl can sing and dance well, the heart of the hand, the quality of the noble, she led the six sisters stepped on the Boyu mountains and rivers, picking medicines and curing the folk injuries and illnesses. After Dama's death, the six sisters followed her example and continued to heal the local people, and were buried together with Dama on a nearby mountain full of flowers. After their deaths, the six sisters were buried with Dharma on a nearby flower-filled hill. In honor of Dharma and the six sisters, the locals called the seven hills of Boyu "Seven Sisters Hills". In order to honor them, young people in the auspicious Dragon Boat Festival will go to the mountain in groups to sweep the graves of the seven sisters, pick auspicious flowers to take home, and slowly, "flower picking festival" has become a unique way of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival in the Boyu people.
And legend has it that a long time ago, a manor in the valley of the Boyu lived an old family with six daughters, the family was poor, the days were hard. One day in early summer, according to the rules of the youngest six sisters went up the mountain to collect flowers and herbs to cure the family's illness. Due to carelessness when going down the mountain, fell and hurt her legs and feet, the sixth sister was in pain and cried sadly. At that moment, a fairy-like girl came down from the mountainside, took out the herbs from the basket, and put them on the wound of the sixth sister, and soon there was no more pain. In order to thank the girl, the old couple took the girl, who had no parents, and named her "Dama", and recognized her as their seventh daughter.
The Flower Picking Festival
The Dama girl was a good dancer, a good singer, a good worker, and a noble person. Every day to serve the two old, spinning and weaving, ploughing and sowing, diligent and nimble, she weaves the "tower nine" flower belt, colorful, unmatched. Dama led the six sisters, trekking all over the mountains and waters of the Boyu, picking flowers and herbs, preparation of remedies, cured people of many diseases, the people of the mountain townships infinitely love the Dama girl. One day, the seven sisters went up the mountain to collect medicine, suddenly a gale, black clouds rolled, thunderstorms, torrential rain, the earth a horror. The seven sisters were swept up by a gale and fell heavily into the abyss ......
The people of Boyu, in order to forever commemorate the Dama girl who braved the hardships and dangers, saved lives and relieved illnesses for the townspeople, climbed the cliffs and waded through the streams, picked flowers and grasses, and planted trees to collect medicines at the time when the mountain flowers were in full bloom every summer, and greeted the seven sisters with songs and dances for their good luck. Songs and dances to welcome the auspicious spirits of the seven sisters. Over time it has become a customary festival for the people of Boyu.
The legend is a legend after all, on the current flower picking festival, more reflecting the romantic feelings of the Tibetan people and the immense love of life. Caihua Festival is a very rich ethnic characteristics of the festival. It can be roughly divided into "grabbing water", "flower picking" and "blessing" three parts, of which "flower picking" and "blessing" are both "flower picking" and "blessing". "Blessing" are combined with national songs and dances. The festival is kicked off by the "Water Grabbing" activity.
Ethnic costumes
Editorial
Boyu is a township in Zhouqu County, Gannan, Gansu, located in the Qinling Mountains, with the Minshan Mountain system running southeast-northwest through the whole area. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. The Bailongjiang Valley is more than 1,200 meters above sea level, and the peaks on its north and south sides can reach more than 4,000 meters, among which Yangbuguo is 4,213 meters above sea level and Qingshanliang is 4,504 meters above sea level. The first impression is the overlapping mountains, high mountains and deep valleys. Here the terrain is complex, the height difference is huge, the climate is unpredictable, known as "a mountain has four seasons, ten miles of different days" said. More than 1300 kinds of wild plants, more than 50 kinds of rare trees, there are national-level protected animals such as giant pandas, golden monkeys, Sumen antelopes and more than 30 kinds of animals, which can be described as a feng shui treasure land. On the fifth day of the fifth month, a girl dressed in her own national costume, dressed as beautiful as a heavenly fairy, overnight scattered all over the streets and lanes of Boyu village, dazzling people, dazzling.
Flower Picking Festival
The terrain here is complicated, the height difference is huge, the climate is unpredictable, known as "a mountain has four seasons, ten miles of different days" said. More than 1300 kinds of wild plants, more than 50 kinds of rare species of trees, there are national level protection of pandas, golden monkeys, Sumen antelope and other more than 30 kinds of animals, can be described as a feng shui treasure land. On the fifth day of the fifth month, a girl dressed in this national costume, dressed as if the heavenly fairies beautiful girl, overnight scattered all over the streets and lanes of Boyu village, let a person dazzled, dazzled.
Eryu is the landlord's precious daughter, 18 years old, looks as beautiful as Dama flowers, today she is also going to pick flowers with the sisters in the lining. Her mother had prepared the clothes she would wear on this day very early in the morning, which had been kept in the cupboard for many years, and she was dressed for the day by her mother and her friends and relatives when she got up. I was lucky enough to witness and record the whole process: first of all, to the girl Eryu head with a colorful belt tied layers of folded square black cloth, called "Qinsi", which is 3 meters long, 70 centimeters wide, folded into about 35 x 36 centimeters the size of the nine-layer square piece of cloth, with a white weaving flowers silk ribbon from the head of the neck pressure, like a piece of plate tile, a distinctive style. Headdress for the "broken braid" hairstyle, long hair into dozens of fine broken braids, continued with pure black cowhair braided into more than 300 braids, up to 4 meters long, and then the end of the braid twisted into shape such as the "yak tail shape", with the tip of the waistband inserted into the back, so that the waistline is high, but very beautiful. It is very beautiful. Dress is unique and beautiful, she was wearing a white shirt, chest tie a 60-centimeter-long side of the square pocket, the upper corner of the neck is black cloth, decorated with 22-centimeter-wide red rows of beads. Outside a collarless, lapel wide-sleeved blue robe, cuffs wider, about 30 centimeters, the edge of the inlaid serge, printed with peonies, peonies and other floral designs. The robe is covered with a red or blue lace damask satin shoulder, the waist is tied with a red belt and white cloth lined with lattice webbing, and the two crotches each have a bunch of 30 centimeters of red with jade beads hanging from the spikes. Chest wearing a 26-centimeter diameter silver plate called "Ou Douzi", on the eight treasures auspicious designs. Lower body wearing red or purple pants, feet wearing red shoes. Lastly, the white leggings are tied below the knee, even if all the festive clothes have been worn.
The most mesmerizing thing is the 300 braids in the Dai adorned by the braids, unfolding 4 meters long, black and thick, like a black waterfall, especially fascinating, according to the examination, I'm sure that this black waterfall hairstyle attire in the country and even the world is very rare.
Festival customs
Edit
The festival begins in the early morning of the fourth day of May. On this day, young men and women from fifteen villages in the whole township, in pairs carrying backpacks containing abundant food and barley wine, go into the depths of the dense forest to pick loquat flowers (Dujuanhua) in full bloom, and of course, it is also a time for young men and women to kiss and embrace and indulge in love. In the evening, loaded return flower pickers head inserted, hand holding, rattan basket carrying a variety of flowers, from the winding forest trails on the romantic song, joyfully back. At this time, the village walled village, crowded with people, scrambling to flower pickers received home to sing. It is said that whoever receives the flowers picked today will receive happiness and good fortune at home.
Flower Picking Festival
The real festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth month. On this day, the Tibetan girls from the four neighboring villages travel in full costume, they wear gorgeous and colorful hand-woven embroidered dresses, with shiny silver plates hanging on their chests, their heads full of flowers, dressed up more beautiful than flowers; young men also put on their festive costumes, and crowded in groups to the square by the Boyu River. Elderly people pay tribute to each other's khata and wine; young men sing and dance to their heart's content, and children happily chase and play with each other. The whole Boyu River a happy, a flower, until the sunset, and sometimes have to light a bonfire, enjoy the next morning.
In this festival, flower picking girls are regarded as the messenger of good luck and happiness. So people always like to invite them to their homes on this day, and the girls dance and sing in these people's homes, wishing their hosts good luck and happiness.
Flower Picking Festival every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, living in the Bailong River Basin in Gansu the southern end of the Boyu Tibetan area, will be held once a year a grand, cheerful flower picking festival. The custom of flower picking festival has a history of hundreds of years in Boyu Tibetan area. It is also a traditional folk festival to devote themselves to nature and worship the mountain gods.
Flower Picking Festival activities are kicked off by the "water grabbing". Before sunrise on the first day of the festival, people have to run to the nearby mountain springs to grab spring water, some hands cupped water to drink, some carry water home to wash their hair and body. Legend has it that drinking from the mountain springs before sunrise on this day can eliminate disasters and diseases, and bathing can bring good luck.
Flower Picking Festival
After the end of the "water grabbing", the parents of each family will dress up their daughters to the best of their ability. Boyu Tibetan area is known as Gansu's "Xishuangbanna", the mountains and beautiful water, Tibetan daughters mostly look beautiful, plus carefully dressed, each as beautiful as heaven. They are in the festival this day head stacked into several layers of green new bandana, and with colorful ornamental belt ramp; wide-sleeved flower skirt layer by layer set, layer by layer exposed, there are up to seven layers of; chest wear corset strung by red coral, wear to the soup box large onyx silver plate; ear with silver earrings, hair combed into dozens of fine braids, wearing red silk pants, calves wrapped in white "wrapped child "
When the wedding ceremony was held, the bride and groom were invited to attend the ceremony.
When the sun rises, the village folks come to the mouth of the village in full costume to see off the girls on the mountain. During the festival, young daughters-in-law married away from home have to go back to their mother's home, along with their mother's cottage girls accompanied by older brothers and younger brothers to pick flowers on the mountain, there is no blood brother of the girls can be accompanied by cousins. The girls on the mountain in the Walled City first in the "Ao Lao" (leader) under the leadership of the people who came to see off the "farewell song", to the effect that: "Flower God" in the call, we went to the flower mountain, pick back the flowers to offer loved ones. The crowd also sang, blowing suona, firecrackers, send them out of the village ...... on the way, across the bridge to the flower mountain, the girls also sing each other questions and answers about the knowledge of mountain flowers, sing the "song on the mountain". Flower picking place is generally chosen in the region's highest, most prestigious sacred mountain "Prickly Can" on. After crossing the mountain into the flowery mountain, the girls set up pots and pans for cooking, and the young men came to the peak of the mountain to worship the "Flower God", inserting new wooden knives, axes and arrows to symbolize the protection of the "Flower God", and praying for the "Flower God" to bless the wind and the weather. Flower God" to bless the wind and rain, people and animals, a good harvest. In the warm and humid climate of the Boyu Tibetan area, "flower god" acted as a village, tribal "protection god" role.
Flower Picking Festival
After the sacrifice, flower picking began. Girls, boys and girls in pairs, singing flower god while walking towards the mountains in the flowers, collect those white loquat flowers, red magpie flowers, pink Malan, red peony flowers ...... until these beautiful flowers inserted full of the girl's hair braid. At this time, the boys drink and sing, and climbed up the cliffs, folded down the cedar branches, wild vegetables, medicinal herbs, etc. filled with back pockets ...... to the evening, the people raised a bonfire, around the bonfire while eating and dancing and singing to their heart's content, often all night long.
When the next day, when the east is white, the young people who have had a night of fun, eat the last meal, finishing the head of the garland, back up the tent, herbs, cedar branches, etc. to the God of the mountains sing "parting song", people with the song down the mountain. When the procession passes through the bridgehead of the village, they will meet the villagers who have already waited for them. On the bridgehead, three middle-aged women with outstanding singing voices, selected by the village, sing and toast to the flower-picking girls at this time while holding dragon bowls, washing them down with the "Toast Song".
The Flower Picking Festival
The flower picking girls take the wine, drink it and return it with the "Song of Thanks", and have to answer all kinds of questions about the philosophy of life raised by the three women with their songs.
The village people flocked the flower girl to the threshing floor, everyone held hands, formed a circle, and danced the unique local "Luo Luo dance". Circle head, the girl leading the dance hand shaking string bells as a guide, the dance crowd according to her string bells issued by the different rhythms, changing the formation and dance steps ...... flower picking festival is the festival of the God of flowers, is the daughter of the event. People pray for happiness and good fortune in the sea of flowers and songs. [1]
Picking Flowers Festival
Tibetan "Picking Flowers Festival"
Every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Lunar Calendar, in the northwest plateau of Longnan mountainous area of the Tibetan people living in the cottage of Boyu, to live their own traditional festivals in the local has been passed down for more than 500 years! "Flower Picking Festival". According to the old man said: in a long time ago, Boyu place is very poor, people live very difficult. One day, there came a young man named Zahai, whose wisdom was as clear as spring water and whose character was as noble as snow-capped mountains. He enthusiastically taught the locals how to cultivate the land, and often gave people forecasts of the weather changes he observed. With his help, the people lived a happy life with plenty of food and clothing.
The king knew that the king wanted him to serve the king in the palace, but was refused by the young man, the king was ready to kill him, in the emergency, there is a girl called Dama came up with a brilliant idea: let Zahai change into the girl's clothes, in the cover of the girls singing a song of joy on the mountain to pick flowers, hidden from inspection, escaped into the mountains. Later, Dama and Zahai became happy partners. However, the good times didn't last long and they were finally killed by the king. Because the day they were killed was the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. So every day, girls and boys come here to pick flowers, dance, sing songs and hold grand memorial activities, which have been passed down from generation to generation.
Flower Picking Festival
On this day, people have to use the spring water before sunrise to wash their faces, shampoo their hair, and dress up the girl in the young man accompanied by stepping on the goat's intestine trails, and ask each other to sing "on the mountain song". When they came to the various colors of the "sea of flowers", after sacrificing to the "God of flowers", they began to pick flowers everywhere, and sang the "flower picking song" cheerfully. The girls also wear the white loquat flowers all over their bodies. At dusk, they sat around the campfire, ate a delicious picnic, sang and danced to their hearts' content, and spent a joyous night under the moon.
At dawn the next day they began their journey home laden with flowers and cedar branches symbolizing happiness and joy. Several respected elders were waiting at the foot of the mountain. The elders prepared a bowl of barley wine for each member of the flower-picking team, wishing them a safe return. The happy crowd welcomed the flower-picking girls into the village. In the drums, firecrackers, the girls stepped on the crisp horse bells, and jumped up the rich ethnic characteristics of the "circle dance", began to bless the activities. Finally, flower picking girls will pick flowers to send to the family of the marriage, wishing the newlyweds a happy and fulfilling life; wish their children as hard-working and brave as Zahai, as smart and beautiful as the Dama girl.
Flower Picking Festival
Flower Picking Festival in the Cave Early on the morning of the first day of the new year, Dad announced to the whole family, "Today we are going to Pu'an's Flower Picking Cave for the Flower Picking Festival!" After driving for nearly 3 hours to the town of Qingshan in Pu'an County, one of Dad's acquaintances led us to a winding path next to the highway and drove in. Fellow people told us, this neighborhood of ethnic minorities over the Caihua Festival, generally in a place called Shiqiao River, where several holes are called Caihua Cave, Caihua Festival, also known as the Caihua slope, the original is Pu'an, Qinglong area of the Miao annual festival, every year on the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year to the fifteenth, the local young people, with lusheng, xiaojiao flute and other musical instruments, coming from all directions, the clouds gathered in Pu'an and the Panxian County border Caihua Pi, and the Caihua Pi, the first day of the first lunar month of the year. On the hillside, in the jungle, next to the caves, "You Fang" (Miao language, meaning talk about love).
After nearly half an hour of bumps, in the nearest mountainside, there is a very large cave, which is the largest one near the flower cave, so it is also the most lively hole every year flower festival, the most time there are nearly 1,000 people to the "tour party".
Waiting until about 1:00 p.m., Caihua Cave has gathered hundreds of people, the girls put on their best clothes, and around the partner quietly discussing in the distance peeping their own young man; the young man over there in the other with the encouragement of the same people, in the stalls where to buy snacks, red-faced, please eat the girl, as long as the girl took, the crowd is a cheer. There are also like to sing and dance, but also do not miss this opportunity to show, as long as someone started a head, whether it is a folk song or the current popular songs, there are people answering the song, answering the dance ...... to four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the girls and boys only to be reluctant to leave. The dreams of every young man who attended the rally must have been colorful and sweet.
Flower Picking Festival
Baima Tibetans Flower Picking Festival In Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Zhouqu County, Boyu Township, every year the fourth to fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, living here in the Baima Tibetans have to hold a "Flower Picking Festival" to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, a custom that has been handed down from ancient times to the present day from generation to generation, and so far retains its original style. Boyu Township is located at the junction of Gansu and Sichuan, just one mountain away from the famous tourist attraction Jiuzhaigou.
"Flower Picking Festival" is held for two days each time. Early in the morning on the fourth day of the lunar calendar, the young men of the seven cottages in Boyu Township wear beautiful belt knives and dress up, the girls are heavily made up and wear colorful clothes, carrying pots of syrup on their backs and gathering in a place to the north of the "Seven Sisters Mountain", and after praying, they start to carry the seven sisters. After praying to the "Seven Sisters Mountain" in the north, they began to sing and dance and headed for this mountain.
Along the way every other journey to hold songs and dances "rest field", this is a good opportunity for girls and boys to show their singing voice to relatives, friends, lovers sing songs of blessing. A road while singing, to the "Seven Sisters Mountain" when it is nearly evening, people will set up bonfires in the mountains, the girls and boys hand in hand dancing, dancing to their heart's content until dawn. The next day at noon, the girls picked flowers to dress up their heads, braids, arms, back all full of flowers, and then began to go down the mountain. On the way down the mountain, they held the usual song and dance "break". To the village entrance, waiting for the old man blocked the flower girls sing, toast, and then the whole village came to the open space in the village, the village with young and old dancing, singing, toast, mutual blessing, praying for the village of the harvest, people and animals flourish.
The Baima Tibetans, formerly known as the "Baima Fans", are the descendants of the ancient dizu tribe, and after the founding of New China were regarded as a branch of the Tibetan tribe and called the "Baima Tibetans", but their culture, religion and living customs are different from those of the Tibetans: they have their own language but use Chinese characters; both men and women, young and old, are able to sing and dance with each other. They have their own language, but use Chinese characters; men and women, young and old, are good at singing and dancing, and have been farming for generations; men and women wear braids, white dome felt hats with white rooster's tail plumes on them, and long robes with lapels, so their dresses are very different from those of other ethnic groups. Zhouqu County, Boyu Township is a white horse Tibetan an important settlement, the township of more than 4,000 people are all white horse Tibetan.
After Dama's death, the six sisters took her as an example and continued to relieve the local villagers of their illnesses, the six sisters passed away with Dama's "Flower Picking Festival" is an event for the Baima Tibetans in Boyu, the origin of this custom has a beautiful legend: a long time ago, there were six girls in a poor family in the Boyu cottage, and one year, they had to pick up flowers for the Dragon Boat Festival, which was held at the end of the year. Dragon Boat Festival, the little girl was injured when she went to the mountains to collect medicine, was a girl called Dama saved, but also carried her back home, Dama girl can sing and dance, dexterous, noble quality, she led the six sisters stepped all over the mountains and waters of Boyu, medicine to heal the folk injuries and illnesses.
Flower Picking Festival
After Dama's death, the six sisters took her as an example and continued to relieve the local villagers of their ailments, and the six sisters were buried together with Dama in a nearby mountain full of flowers after her death. In honor of Dama and the six sisters, the local people called the seven mountains in Boyu "Seven Sisters Mountains". In order to honor them, young people in the auspicious Dragon Boat Festival will go to the mountains in groups to sweep the graves of the seven sisters, pick auspicious flowers to take home, and slowly, the "Flower Picking Festival" has become a unique way of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival in Boyu. As a unique folk custom, "Flower Picking Festival" has slowly received attention from various aspects, and many scholars and tourists come to see it every year during the Dragon Boat Festival. The original "Flower Picking Festival" is organized by the villagers of each village on their own initiative, every three years the township government will be the village united to organize a large-scale "Flower Picking Festival". Today, the festival has become a folk event that integrates culture, economy, tourism, sports, religion and folklore.
Grabbing water: On the first day of the festival, people went to the nearby spring to drink water with both hands, or to take water home to wash their hair and bodies. Legend has it that on the day of the festival, the water in the spring has the power to eliminate disasters and diseases, and can bring good luck to people.
Flower Picking Festival
The end of the water grabbing activities, people began to prepare for the next day on the mountain flower picking, the parents of the family will be their daughters carefully dressed up, the beauty of the beautiful Tibetan maidens as beautiful as the sky. When the sun rises the next day, people will send off the girls to the mountain, the girls sing the "farewell song" under the leadership of the leader to the mountain. The atmosphere on the road is lively, with people singing in the form of a question and answer session or singing the Upper Mountain Song. When they arrive at the Prickly Cane, the girls set up pots to cook, and the men put wooden knives, axes and arrows in the place where the flower god is worshipped, praying that the god blesses the wind and the rain, and that the grains are plentiful. Sacrifice is completed, picking flowers began. The girls and boys walked to the flowers in pairs, collecting the flowers and inserting them in the braids of the girls' hair. The next day, the people who went up the mountain sang the "Parting Song", and when they came down the mountain, the villagers were already waiting there, greeted by the women who sang the "Toast Song" as they toasted the girls who went up the mountain to pick flowers to wash their dust. The girls, in turn, sang the Song of Thanks for Wine. People danced the local Luo Luo dance together to celebrate the festival.
Engels said: the production of human society "is, on the one hand, the production of the means of subsistence, namely, food, clothing, housing, and the necessary tools for this purpose
; on the other hand, it is the production of human beings themselves, that is, the reproduction of the species". The reproduction of the human species is, on the one hand, the strengthening of the development of individual life, so that it can be protected and continued, and on the other hand, the reproduction of the group and the strengthening of the force. Ancient mankind not only worships a certain natural force to protect individual life, but also worships a certain natural force to seek the reproduction of the race. The Tibetans have been living in the plateau of lack of oxygen, snow-capped peaks and snow-capped mountains, the poor natural environment forced them to increase the reproductive population of the requirements are very strong, reflected in the ideological field is the emergence of a multitude of cultural phenomena of reproduction, such as the white stone, the sacred lakes, the sacred mountains, the sacred arrows of the worship of the reproductive culture of the example of none. Among them, the Tibetan festival culture in the flower festival, flower festival is to take the flower as a metaphor for the living history of reproductive culture beliefs.
"Flower" in literature, especially in folk literature, not only in Tibet, but also in all the peoples of the world, there are examples of flowers and women are closely linked. In some folk idioms, it is often used to refer to the female sexual organs, a phenomenon that was later absorbed by the literati and mostly found in popular literature.
Festivals focusing on "flowers"
Flower Picking Festival
The flower picking festival is a traditional festival of the Boyu Tibetans. The area where Boyu Tibetans live is the place where Deng to Qiang survived in ancient times. The Boyu, Jiegang, Tieba, Gongba, and Baileng were traditionally known as the five sections of Gongba, each with more than 1,000 people, and were typical forest tribes that formed their own system and did not intermarry with the outside world. These five in the Jin after the Rock Chang country, is the most basic members of the backbone of the party group, the Yuan Dynasty period of Minzhou Wei Xigu military and civilian thousand households, Qing Zhuoni Yang Tuji leading jurisdiction, the early liberation of the Tibetan people as one.
Boyu five Tibetans have preserved their traditional language, customs, the biggest festival is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar in honor of "Zhuma Totarodi" (monkeys picking flowers) of the flower picking festival.
The festival begins on April 14, and all women over 15 and under 30 are required to take part in singing and dancing. Early in the morning of May 4, each family sends at least one man and one woman to pay homage to the sacred mountain, and women of the right age who fail to show up must be heavily fined. Each woman must be accompanied by a man who is a close relative, such as a brother, a cousin, a mother's uncle, and so on. The men carry swords and rifles and gather on the mountain. On the mountain is forbidden to laugh, every place there is God's rock, spring, men kowtow to burn cypress incense, and fired in honor of God; young girls get together to dance and sing the words of praise to God Ji.
To the top of the sacred mountain, the women gather to sing and dance and enjoy the gods, while the men gather to burn incense and cypress. At this time, sacrifices are made to their two greatest deities, the Great Shepherd God and the Mountain God, who is both an ancestral god and a god of war and hunting. One of the most important songs sung at the festival celebrates how the tribe's ancestor, Juma (monkey), became a human being. The lyrics are to the effect that, at the time of the opening of the heavens and the earth, man was a monkey, similar to other wild animals. However, monkeys were smarter than wild animals and could wear tree bark and hit deer with stones before they became human beings. The earliest people lived by whoever hit the deer, and there was no food at that time. At first it was beaten with stones, then with sticks, then with arrows ...... Where did the grain come from? Grain was originally grass seed seeds, wild fruits, which were picked by the juma (monkey) to become grain .......
The main song of this ritual, nolen is in honor of God, feasts and drinks on the occasion of song and dance, are indispensable. Because of this, they are the most solemn ceremony to pay homage to the memory of "Zhuma Totarodi". In the Boyu five Tibetan inserted in the Gang, Iron dam two departments in the flower festival, but also selected people dressed as monkeys, wearing bark, to each cottage in every household string jumping blessing, people welcome and generous gift to pay.
People who went up to the mountain on May 4, after offering sacrifices to the Great Spirit, men and women with blood relatives in each family were separated. All of them stayed on the mountain that night, remembering their ancient lives and paying homage to their ancestors in a practical way. The next day is the fifth, people get up in the morning and go down the mountain, picking flowers along the way, singing and dancing, young men and girls picking couples, women have to decorate themselves with flowers, a time full of songs, love overflowing springs;
returning to the village, by the family of the childless "to receive the flowers". The family who received the flowers first closed the door and invited those who stayed in the village to sing across the door with the young boys and girls who returned from flower picking. First, the flower picker sang outside the door, "Thousands of flowers are given to your family, bless your family with many children." Those inside the door ask questions such as, "What's above the door and what's below the door?" "How is the door made?" and so on. After the door is opened, the person who receives the flowers has to thank the flower-picker with wine and food.
Then, all the people with flowers to the dam in the village, female dance and male song began to "flower". Such as asking which flowers bloom in what place, what look, what color and so on. At this time, men and women enjoy laughing, Boyu Tibetans to flower gift childless family begging for blessings, begging for children is to pray for reproductive prosperity. This is not only because the flower is the ancestor of the totem thing Zhuma pick, and flower is seed, the result of the symbol of fertility and reproduction.
The origin of the festival
Edit
About the origin of the festival, there is also a legend in the folklore.
Legend has it that a long time ago, Boyu was a remote and poor mountain village, where people used wild vegetables and hunts to feed their hunger, and leaves and animal skins to make clothes. One day, the village came to a smart and beautiful girl named Lianzhi, she taught people to open up the fields, spinning and weaving, and picking flowers for the townspeople to cure the disease. One year in May Danyang, she went to pick flowers, unfortunately met with a storm, died in the snowy mountains under the flower tree, people will be the day set as a flower picking festival to commemorate her. After the fourth of May every year this day, Tibetan girls accompanied by their own brothers, dressed in festive attire, with delicious food, to the mountains to pick flowers. When the girls set off, the village men and women, young and old, with the song to send them to the village entrance, wishing them a safe journey, a smooth return, flower picking girls also use the song to express their own to overcome the difficulties and dangers of picking flowers dedicated to the determination of their loved ones.
Picking flowers on the road, the girls use the form of song to interrogate each other, interesting, all the way walking all the way song, to the flower picking place, there is a mountain flower full of slopes of the moving scene. In the evening, people again around a roaring bonfire, began an all-night singing activities. At dawn the next day, the girls used the picked flowers to neatly put them on their heads and encircled them into a beautiful wreath, and on the way back, they bid farewell to the Lianzhi girl with nostalgic songs:
A hundred kinds of flowers have been picked, and the Lianzhi girl has been left behind. A hundred flowers have begun, and we will come again then. The green grass slopes are left for you, and the brightly colored flowers accompany you. With tears in our eyes, we will leave you and see you again today next year.
When the procession of flower pickers entered the village, the people waiting at the head of the village immediately fired a salute. Parents with novel headdresses and clothes, and children with dry food, went to meet them. Flower picking team, singing while walking, by the village men and women sent to a hall, people send barley wine, for them to wash the dust, the girls and hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, again singing and dancing, expressed the memory of the girl Lianzhi.
After the song and dance, the girls who went up the mountain to pick flowers began to give holiday gifts to all the village homes, and those who accepted the gifts took out the best food in their homes to entertain the girls. In the evening, the whole village invited the flower-picking girls and young men together to toast each other's wine and wish them health and good luck.