Before Yuan Dynasty, Bai ancestors were called "Bai Man". After the Yuan Dynasty, due to the deep influence of cultural attributes and living habits closer to the Han nationality, it was recognized as a nation and called "Bai", which is also the earliest unified name of Bai ancestors today. Bai people also called themselves "Bai Zi", "Bai Ni" and "Bai Gang".
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was called "the home of the people". After the founding of New China, 1956, 1 1 June, according to the wishes of the majority of Bai people, "Bai" was officially confirmed as a unified national name.
Speaking of Bai festivals, there are mainly: torch festival, March street, wandering around the three souls, playing in the sea, watching the sun and offering sacrifices to the Lord. Like the Han people, they also celebrate traditional festivals such as Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year's Eve. Only Torch Festival and March Street, as unique historical and cultural activities of the nation, have been passed down to this day and are widely known.
Torch Festival
It has a great influence on the southwest nationalities, and its origin is an important content of the study of the history of southwest nationalities. The popular folk origin is the story of "burning the Song and Ming Pagoda". There is also a saying that originated from people's worship of fire to pray for a bumper harvest.
Nowadays, Torch Festival is an ancient traditional festival of Bai, Naxi, Jinuo, Lahu and other ethnic groups, which has profound folk culture connotation and is also called "Oriental Carnival".
The difference is that the Bai Torch Festival is not only the only * * * festival within the Bai nationality, but also the most formal and grand local festival of the Bai nationality except the Han and Yuan festivals throughout the year. It is more important than the "March Street" activity that is only popular in the Pan-Erhai Lake area. It is mainly to commemorate the lofty spirit and unyielding spirit of Bai festivals, and it plays a very important role in the cultural life of Bai people.
On June 25th of the lunar calendar, people of all ethnic groups in Dali, Jianchuan, Eryuan and other areas inhabited by Bai people will put on festive costumes and slaughter pigs and sheep to celebrate the festival.
March street
Known as Guanyin City or Guanyin Club in ancient times, it has a history of 1000 years and is now one of Dali's traditional folk customs and national intangible cultural heritages. It is held in March every year, starting from March 15 and ending on March 2 1 day of the lunar calendar for 7 days.
Located at the foot of Zhonghe Peak in Cangshan, west of Dali City, the main activity place is Dali Ancient City, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It began in the Yonghui period of the Tang Dynasty and evolved from temple fairs. The content of the festival was originally a Buddhist temple fair, with a grand lecture and worship activities.
Its appearance is closely related to the spread of Buddhism in Dali. In recent years, it has gradually evolved into a material exchange meeting. Every year, people of all ethnic groups gather here for trade, horse racing, archery, singing and dancing and other activities.
"Around the Three Spirits"
Popular in Bai village around Cangshan Erhai Lake in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, it is a grand traditional festival, a spring song and dance festival full of life for local Bai people before busy farming, and one of the national intangible cultural heritages.
Bai people's roaming in the Three Tombs originated in Nanzhao period of Tang Dynasty, which is a traditional folk cultural activity with historical, religious, folk-custom, artistic, commercial and other cultural contents, formed by the Bai people in their long-term farming life and rice cultivation customs.
"Around the Three Souls" is also written as "around the mountain forest", "around the mulberry forest" and "around the mountain forest". The so-called "three spirits" refer to the symbols of three gods on the west bank of Paihai Lake. They are several important gods in the worship of gods peculiar to Bai people and Buddhism introduced into Dali area. The temple figures dedicated to them are called "Buddha Capital", "God Capital" and "Fairy Capital" respectively.
Because "Around the Three Spirits" is a traditional folk custom activity, it has not been paid attention to by officials and social professionals in history, so there are few relevant historical documents. Playing in the sea, also known as the "corpse fishing party", is popular in the villages along the lake on the west bank of Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan.
"playing with the sea"
The folk, also known as the "corpse fishing club", is popular in the villages along the lake on the west bank of Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan. Due to the different legends of origin, the time of playing sea games in different parts of Yunnan is different, generally ranging from three to five days, and the content of playing sea is similar.
Deng Chuan, Shangguan and Xizhou started to play in the sea on July 23rd of the lunar calendar. The sea play time in Dali and Shimonoseki began on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, and it was also the most lively.
In the days of playing in the sea, the Erhai Lake is dotted with white sails and the shore is crowded with people. People play suona, sing Big Ben, dance overlord whip and crane dance in tune, and enjoy themselves in the "dragon boat race", wishing good weather and abundant crops.
"worship the sun"
It is a grand gathering of the Lemo people of Bai nationality, which is held from February 13th to 19th of the lunar calendar every year, meaning "Worship February". This is a festival to commemorate the martyrs and ancestors who died in the war. Popular in Nujiang Prefecture and Weixi County of Diqing Prefecture, Yunnan Province, it is the settlement of Lemo people.
On February 13 of the lunar calendar every year, the Lemo people living on the banks of the Lancang River gather in Gaoshanjing Street, Hexi Township, Lanping County, and erect a "lucky stick" at the venue, next to a woodcut portrait.
/kloc-on 0/4, three young people who are good at singing and dancing were selected, dressed as different identities, and performed in the form of jumping pots and pans to recreate the war scene to show their memory and respect for the martyrs. From 15 to 18, he hurried to the street for a rally, and on the afternoon of 19, the "Geely Stick" fell down and closed the door.
"Sacrifice to the Lord"
It can also be called Lord worship, which is a polytheistic worship and a unique religious and cultural phenomenon of the Bai nationality. The worship of social gods and farming sacrifices originated from primitive society. It was formed in Nanzhao period and was an important religious belief of Bai people in Nanzhao Dali period.
Later, after hundreds of years of development, the number of gods increased and the cultural content became richer and richer. Because the object of worship has the characteristics of both gods and people, it is deeply rooted in the minds of Bai people and lasts for a long time, forming the current pattern of worship of gods.
Since the formation of the worship of Jehovah, the Bai people have always followed the example of Jehovah and taken him as the criterion in ideology, ethics, behavior and value orientation.
The worship of this unique cultural carrier by the Bai people, with the help of unique national worship and the maintenance and support of religious beliefs, regulates people's behavior with strong moral norms and public opinion, and shapes the Bai people's national character of kindness, diligence, courage, honesty, enthusiasm and wisdom. Form a good humanistic ecological environment that promotes benevolence, understands fraternity, respects etiquette, respects loyalty and filial piety, and values elegance.
However, almost all villages inhabited by Bai people have their own temples. "Lord", which means "bless the Lord in one's own land", is the supreme protector enshrined in every Bai village. Every Lord has his own special festival, Lord's Day, which is a grand ritual activity held by the Bai people for the Lord every year. Every Chinese New Year, the local people will go to the main temple to worship the gods and recite the scriptures, hoping that the weather will be good and the crops will be bumper.
As a minority with its own unique belief, language, writing and culture, the Bai nationality not only retains many precious cultural heritages such as religious belief, language, writing, architecture, sculpture, costumes and art, but also forms the unique folk customs of life, diet, marriage and etiquette of 56 ethnic groups in China.
In the life of Bai people today, we can not only feel the diligence and simplicity of ancient times, but also lose the integration and prosperity of today.