What are the customs of the festival?

On this day, people will rest cows, bathe them and feed them glutinous rice. In some places, there are even songs to commemorate them. The festival of ox soul is a festival for people to worship the ox king. In fact, this is also to pray for good weather, the weather needed for agricultural development and Niu Geng. The activities of Niu Soul Festival are generally in Guizhou and Zhuang areas. There will be more cattle soul festival customs in these two areas. We will take care of cows more carefully during the festival. In some places, we built a temple to worship the king of cows.

Although this festival worships the ox king, it also embodies the characteristics of China people's Niu Geng culture. China has been a big agricultural country since ancient times. China people have always depended on farmland for their livelihood. They farm every day and rest at sunrise and sunset. It is this Niu Geng economy that has supported the Chinese people. The importance of cattle in Niu Geng culture is self-evident. In the era without Niu Geng, the efficiency is very low, it takes longer, and the harvest yield is not high.

When Niu Geng appeared, cows replaced people to plough the land, and farmers only needed to catch Niu Gengdi behind. The establishment of the festival shows that China people respect cows. On this day, farmers will worship the ox king, share the best food with the bulls, and pray for the calves to grow up quickly. It is also forbidden to hit cattle. They think that this practice will scare away the ox king and affect the future harvest. Some Zhuang areas even set up a ceremony to respect cows, singing songs to them and touching their backs.

In the history of China, some dynasties strictly prohibited eating beef. Even the ancient rulers were well aware of the importance of cattle to agriculture. If this festival is held in ancient China, it should be a very grand festival, and farmers everywhere will attach great importance to it. Niu Geng has been gradually eliminated in today's society. However, Niu Geng is still used in some remote mountainous areas, and farmers will pay more attention to the custom of the festival of cattle soul. Because good weather is still so important to them.