Customs of the Qiang Calendar Year

Customs of the Qiang Calendar Year

Customs

1. Festivals

The Qiang people attach great importance to the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival, also known as the "New Year", is an important day for the Qiang people to celebrate the New Year. From the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, every family has to sweep the dust, honor the stove, and prepare abundant New Year's goods. On the night of New Year's Eve, pork is burned to honor the ancestors and gods. The family sits together to eat the New Year's dinner, and then sit around the fire to observe the New Year. Generally on the first day of the year, there is no labor and no walking. After the second day of the first month, relatives and friends start to visit each other. New Year's Eve Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, the 30th day of the first month to send the New Year. Every house is decorated with lanterns and various entertainments are held.

In addition, the Qiang people have to celebrate the festivals of Ching Ming, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Chung Yeung Festival, but the most distinctive ones are the Qiang Calendar Year, the Mountain Sacrifice Festival and the Collar Song Festival.

The Qiang calendar year, the Qiang language, called "Rimeji", that is, "auspicious and happy days". It is also known as the "Small Year". Originally in the fall after harvesting grain, sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, to the gods wishing for a major festival. Held on the first day of October in the lunar calendar every year, the time of celebration varies from place to place, generally three to five days, some villages to the tenth. The main activities are returning wishes to the gods and eating feasts. Qiang calendar year in the 1980s had stopped. 1988 resumed, became the Qiang people **** with the festival. In all parts of the Qiang area, various celebrations are held every year.

The Mountain Festival is one of the grandest traditional festivals of the Qiang people. It is also known as the mountain meeting, the tower meeting, the heavenly meeting, the mountain king meeting, the mountain god meeting, or the towers meeting. It is the Qiang people on behalf of the sky god, mountain god and many other deities of the white stone god sacrificial activities, but also people pray for the blessing of the next year, animal prosperity, grain harvest, local peace, forests flourish the ceremony. Due to differences in climate, the time and number of times held is not uniform, there is the first month, April, May, and also held once a year or two or three times.

Leading Song Festival, the Qiang language called "Val O foot". Mainly popular in Mao County, Qu Valley area. Held every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is in honor of the goddess of song and dance in the sky, Sister Sharon. The whole festival lasts for three days. Women show their ability, forget to dance Shalang, agricultural and household chores are handled by men.

2. Marriage

Before the founding of New China, Qiang men and women followed the "order of parents and words of matchmakers" in marriage, and there existed the "finger marriage", "bosom marriage", "child marriage" and "child marriage". Before the establishment of the Qiang nationality, men and women's marriages followed their parents' orders and the words of matchmakers. Marriages were characterized by the importance of matching the family, and there were the customs of transferring houses, entering the family, and robbing marriages. After the founding of New China, independent marriages gradually became more common. However, the traditional ceremonial procedures have been preserved until now. With the economic development of the Qiang village, people's lives have been improved, and new contents have been added to the marriage ceremonies in the past. The combination of tradition and modernity brings the traditional culture of the Qiang people into full play and adds to the festive atmosphere.

Marriage ceremonies mainly include betrothal and marriage. In the Qiang village, the matchmaker is called "red master". If a man is interested in a woman, the man's family will prepare a gift and ask the red master to propose marriage to the woman's family. The woman's family will ask her mother's uncle for permission to marry her. Afterwards, the red master will bring gifts such as pig fat and wine to the woman's home to eat "Xu Kou Wine". A few months or years later, the man's family will ask the red master to bring gifts to the woman's home, to "small booking wine" to entertain close relatives, and ask the interpretation of the two sides of the birth date than the measurement, to set an auspicious date for the wedding. Immediately, the man's family to prepare heavy gifts to the woman's home to report the date, and in the woman's home to host a banquet, that is, "big booking wine", as the official engagement wedding, feast on the woman's entire family.

Then, the two families begin to prepare for the wedding, looking forward to the arrival of the "night of flowers at the woman's house, and the feast at the man's house". The "Flower Night" is a festive party for the newlyweds and is one of the most solemn procedures of the marriage. Generally held the night before the marriage, the male party called "male flower night", the female party called "female flower night", the male celebration of his wife, the female send off the wedding. On this day, the woman's home is full of friends, the table with smack wine and 12 plates of "dry plate".

The men's family sends an articulate welcoming party to be warmly received. The two sides will compete in a song contest according to custom. Pan song that song interrogation meaning, the way for a question and answer, sung by a wide range of content, the form of casual and fun. Early the next morning, uncle to the bride wearing a wedding dress draped in red silk, the bride crying marriage, say goodbye to parents, brothers and clansmen. To the man's home, Shibi to do rituals to the gods, to drive away the bride attached to the body of the "bad luck", and then to the new blessing. The crowd holds a "hanging red" ceremony for the newlyweds. Newlyweds in front of the shrine salute, a worship ancestors start-up grace, two worship parents to raise grace, three worship couple together with the white head, four worship children and grandchildren all strong, and then worship relatives and guests, and finally couples worship.

After the ceremony, the bride officially becomes a member of the man's family. Afterwards, the crowd feasted. That night, the parents of the male family light incense to honor the gods and bless the new couple. All the guests danced a cheerful Sharon dance around the bonfire in the courtyard dam. The next day is the day to thank the guests, the host and then prepare two tables of banquets "thank you". The newlyweds should bring a pig's head and a pig's tail to thank the red master, indicating that there is a head and a tail, full circle. On the third day after the wedding, the newlyweds go back to the door. The bridegroom and his brothers carry the meat and wine to send the bride home. The groom only live in the woman's home for a few days, while the bride can live a few days, months, or even longer, before the husband to take back, the beginning of family life.

3. Funerals

The Qiang burials include cremation, earth burial and rock burial.

The history of cremation is the longest, "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals - Yi Reward", "The captives of the Qiang people are also not worried about their lineage, but about their death without burning." "Taiping Yuban" cited "Zhuangzi" anonymous: "Qiang people died, burned and raised its ash." Until the middle of the Qing Dynasty, cremation was still preserved in Shaba, Chibusu and Biechang in Mao County. Each family had its own fire cemetery.

Most areas, due to the influence of the Han Chinese and the promotion by the feudal dynasty, used earth burial as the main burial style and have kept it until now. In all villages and hamlets, there is a custom of arriving uninvited in case of mourning and assisting in the funeral arrangements. Mourners need to inform their relatives in time, report to the maternal uncle's family about the situation before and after the death of the deceased, and ask the Shibi to kill goats for sacrifices and calculate the date of burial. Usually three days later, the people bury the deceased in a feng shui treasure ground. His family members should light bonfires, burn cypress branches, and offer incense, wax, tobacco, alcohol, and meat in front of the new grave as a token of respect. Three days after the burial, offerings are then prepared and the grave is repaired. It is only at this point that the funeral rituals come to an end.

Cliff burials are mainly found in some places in Beichuan. If a child dies before the age of three, it is buried in a beehive or a simple wooden box and placed in a cave on a mountain rock.

Extended information:

History

Since the 1950s, people have been burying children in cliffs. Since the 1950s, Neolithic cultural sites have been discovered in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River and along the Zaogu brain River in Wenchuan County, Weizhou Jiangwei City, Arashanzhai in Lixian County, and Yingpan Mountain in Mao County. More sarcophagus burial tombs of the Spring and Autumn, Warring States and Western Han periods have also been discovered, such as the sarcophagus burial tombs on Xiquishan Mountain in Mao County, the sarcophagus burials and accompanying pits in Moutou and the sarcophagus burials on Jiashan Mountain in Lixian County.

The artifacts unearthed include pottery, stoneware, woodenware and bronzeware. These archaeological discoveries not only indicate that the area where the Qiang people are distributed today was inhabited by human beings a long time ago, but also provide new information and clues for exploring the origins of the ancient culture in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River.

The Qiang people originated from the ancient Qiang. The Ancient Qiang people, famous for their sheep herding, are not only an important part of the Huaxia ethnic group, but also have a broad and far-reaching influence on the development of Chinese history and the formation of the Chinese nation.

"Qiang" was originally a general term for the nomadic tribes living in the western part of the motherland in ancient times. Today's Gansu, Qinghai's Yellow River, Huangshui, Taohe River, Datong River and the upper reaches of the Minjiang River in Sichuan Province is the center of the activities of the ancient Qiang people. Historical records, Yin and Shang period, Qiang as one of its "square country", there are leaders as the official position in the dynasty. Some of them lived a nomadic life with no fixed place of residence, while others were engaged in agricultural production.

Shi Jing - Ode to Shang recorded: "In the past, there was Cheng Tang, since their Qiang, do not dare not come to enjoy, do not dare not come to the king?" The many records of "Qiang" in the oracle bone inscriptions show that the Qiang people were very active in the historical arena at that time.

During the Zhou Dynasty, Qiang's other species "Jiang" had a close relationship with Zhou, and a large number of Qiang people were integrated into China. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, the Qiang people built the Yiqu State, the area including present-day eastern Gansu, northern Shaanxi, Ningxia and the Hetao south of the region, is the Central Plains of the important force of the States, and the Qin State for more than 170 years of war. The Rongs, of which the Qiangs were the main component, were gradually integrated by the Qin.

The Qiang people living in Gansu, Qinghai, the upper reaches of the Yellow River and Huangshui Valley are still in the state of "less grains, more livestock, to shoot and hunt for the matter". In the "after han book - west qiang biography", there are qiang people no yi zhuanyuan sword in qin li gong was captured, escaped back to his hometown to teach qiang people "field animal", since then qiang began to have a primitive agricultural production, so that the population increase, the economic development of the account.

Since then, the Qiang people have further developed and differentiated themselves. The Houhan Book - Western Qiang biography: "To the time of Zuanjian great-grandson patience, Qin Xian Gong was first established, and the Qiang people were attached to the south. The descendants of the Qiangs were each divided into their own species of Qiangs, which were then further developed and divided. The descendants of the Qiangs were then divided into two groups, each with its own species, or banner bulls, as in the case of the Yue_Qiang; or white horses, as in the case of the Guanghan Qiang; or wolves, as in the case of the Wudu Qiang." During this period, the Qiang people in the northwest were forced by the pressure of the Qin to migrate on a large scale and over long distances.

The Qiang people in the Han Dynasty were widely distributed and had many tribes. In order to isolate the Xiongnu from the Qiang, the Han Dynasty established four counties in the Hexi Corridor, namely Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye and Wuwei, and set up a local administrative system, with important official positions such as the Qiang protection lieutenants to manage the affairs of the Qiang. At the same time, a large number of subservient Qiang people moved inward, geographically dividing them into Eastern Qiang and Western Qiang.

The Eastern Qiang who entered the Central Plains resided in the Seychelles and mixed with the Han Chinese, intermarried, integrated, engaged in agricultural production, and the private economy developed to a certain extent, and gradually entered the feudal society. Most of the Western Qiang who did not enter the Central Plains were scattered in the Northwest and Southwest regions, including the _Qiang_ along the southern edge of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, the Fat Qiang and Tang Yak in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin, the Yak Qiang, the White Horse Qiang, the Qiang of the Qingyi, the Qiang of the Sangwol, and the Qiang of Ran_Qiang, and many other Qiang tribes in the Southwest region. Among them, the Yak Qiang, initially distributed in Shenli County, continued southward to Yue_County.

The White Horse Qiang were mainly located in the northwest of present-day Mianyang City in Sichuan Province and the south of Wudu City in Gansu Province. Qingyi Qiang, living in the area of Ya'an City in present-day western Sichuan. Senwang Qiang, mainly in present-day Gansu Wudu City, especially around the Bailong River. Ran_Qiang, on the other hand, was distributed in the upper Minjiang River and the vast area of northwest Sichuan, "Hou Han Shu - South Barbarians and Southwest Barbarians Liezhuan", "Ran_Yi, opened by Emperor Wudi, Yuanding six years as the county of Wenshan? Its mountains have six barbarians, seven Qiang, nine 氐, each with their own tribes," indicating that the Qiang people in which a large proportion of the level of development of the various ministries is very uneven, most of them are still in the clan tribal stage.

Wei-Jin and North-South Dynasties period, the daisies Fu Jian established the pre-Qin regime, Southampton Qiang Yao built the post-Qin regime. The power of the latter Qin regime was in the south of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the north of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, ruling the Qiang people and the Central Plains for 33 years. After that, there are several Qiang tribes rose one after another. Namely, Tangchang Qiang in Longnan, Dengzhi Qiang on the border of Sichuan and Gan and the upper reaches of Minjiang River, both of which existed for more than 140 years. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, most of the Qiang people in the north had been largely integrated into the Han Chinese.

Sui and Tang dynasties, activities in the Gan Qing and the southeastern Tibetan Plateau Qiang tribes have Dang Xiang, Dong female, Bailan, Xishan eight countries, white dog, attached to the country, etc., of which, the Xishan eight countries of the Chengdu Plain to the west, the Minjiang River upstream of the mountains of the ministries of the collective name. They are in the center of the dynasty and between the forces of the Tubo. Some assimilated in the Tibetan, some attached to the Central Plains dynasty, or assimilated in the Han, or in the cracks of survival, in the Tangfan long-term and the situation of war and uncertainty, to be saved and developed alone.

After the Song Dynasty, the southward migration of the Qiang people and the Qiang of the Western Mountains, part of the development of the Tibetan-Burmese-speaking peoples, part of the development of the present Qiang people. The widely circulated Qiang folk narrative poem "Qiang Go Battle" recounts that: in ancient times, the Qiang used to live in the northwestern prairie, and were forced to move west and south due to war and natural disasters, and one of the Qiang who migrated south encountered the strong and powerful "Gogi people",

the two sides fought, and the Qiang were defeated time and time again, and were ready to abandon their land and migrate far away, but they got God's revelation in their dreams. But in their dreams, they got the revelation from God, they tied woolen threads around their necks as a sign, used hard dolomite and wooden sticks as weapons, defeated the "Gogi people", and finally managed to live and work in peace and contentment, and were divided into nine branches scattered all over the world. This legend reflects the history of the migration of the Qiang people, and combined with historical documents and archaeological data, it confirms the origin of the Qiang people.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, a part of the Qiang people moved from Sichuan to the Tongren area in Guizhou, and the distribution pattern of the Qiang people was basically formed.

After 1840, China gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, and like other ethnic groups in the country, the Qiang people also faced imperialist aggression and the exploitation and oppression of the feudal ruling class. For this reason, the Qiang people, together with people of other nationalities, had fought valiantly and unyieldingly against imperialism, reactionary government and the feudal ruling class, and made their own contribution to the independence and liberation of the Chinese nation.

In 1841, during the Opium War, the Qiang people and Tibet, Yi and other ethnic groups, formed an army of 2,000 people, marched to the front line in Zhejiang, in the Battle of Zhenhai, Ningbo, hit the British invasion forces. 1894, the Qiang region, the remnants of the power of a kun surname of the Tusi, relying on the feudal privileges, exploitation of the people belonging to the people, stirring up the Heihuzhai and other places of the Qiang people's strong opposition to more than 170 households.

They unanimously to the Qing government cited the 23 crimes of Kun Tushi, and the remnants of the feudal Tushi launched a face-to-face struggle, and finally forced the Qing dynasty will Kun Tushi "remove the top, hand over to the state to see". 1905, the Qing dynasty set up in the state of Maoshan, the "official salt store", the salt to implement the "salt", the "official salt store", the "official salt store", the "official salt store".

In 1905, the Qing Dynasty set up in Maozhou "official salt shop", the implementation of monopoly monopoly on salt, from which the profits, provoking the Qiang people's armed resistance, forcing the Qing Government announced the abolition of "official salt store", allowing the free sale of salt.

In 1921, after the birth of China's ****production party, the Qiang people's anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle has entered a new historical stage. Li County, Tonghua Township, Jia Shanzhai and other places of the Qiang masses, in order to resist the Kuomintang government's exorbitant taxes, the group rose up to kill the evil regiment general. 1924 to 1926, Li County, Tibet, Qiang and other ethnic groups of the people to resist the oppression of the feudal warlord exorbitant taxes, more than 2,000 people captured the Li County county town, but also attacked the Wenchuan, Maoxian, Songpan, etc., the struggle persisted in the three-year period, and fiercely cracked down on the reactionary faction of the Kuomintang The KMT's reactionary faction was dealt a severe blow to its arrogance.

In 1935, the Long March of the Chinese Red Army of Workers and Peasants passed through the Qiang area, and under the leadership of the Party, the Qiang people established the revolutionary power of workers and peasants and carried out a sensational land revolution. They loved the people's army and actively joined the army to support the front. In Mao County alone, more than 1,000 people joined the Red Army to fight against the Japanese, and tens of thousands of civilian laborers provided logistical support for the Red Army. After the Red Army went north to fight against the Japanese, the Kuomintang made a comeback and practiced white terror in the Qiang area. The Qiang people, who had undergone revolutionary training, continued to wage a heroic and unyielding struggle against the reactionaries.

In 1942, the "Mao North Incident" broke out in Mao County. Mao County Commissioner and the county governor in the name of "shoveling smoke", sent troops to ransack some villages and villages in the north of Mao County Road, Jialing Township, arousing the strong indignation of the local Qiang and Han peoples. They annihilated the security squadron that went to search and attacked the county seat of Mao County, defeated the Kuomintang troops defending the city, and surrounded the county seat. Although this struggle was finally defeated due to the KMT's bribing and polarization, the momentum of the struggle dealt a powerful blow to the enemy and demonstrated the indomitable spirit of revolutionary struggle of the Qiang people.

In 1947, the Qiang people of Longping and Sanqi townships in Mao County staged another armed uprising known as the "Longping Incident". The incident began as a conflict between the Kuomintang government and some of the upper ruling class of the Qiang people, and later developed into an armed uprising of the Qiang people against the Kuomintang rule. This struggle also failed in the end due to the betrayal of the Qiang ruling class, but once again showed the great power of the people.

References:

Qiang_Baidu Wikipedia

The origin of the Qiang calendar year and the Culture

1. The Qiang Lunar New Year is called "Rimai Festival" and "Rimeiji" in Qiang, meaning "Qiang New Year," "Small Year" and "Harvest Festival" in Qiang. "Harvest Festival" is the grandest festival of the year for the Qiang people to celebrate the harvest, send blessings and pray for peace.

2. Large-scale activities include thanksgiving, blessing and auspicious celebration programs.

3. The time is the first day of October in the lunar calendar every year, usually three to five days, some villages to the tenth day of October.

4. "Qiang calendar year" is mainly distributed in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County of Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Mao County, Songpan, Wenchuan, Li County, as well as other Qiang inhabited areas.

5. The Qiang calendar year was listed as the first batch of intangible cultural heritage by the People's Government of Sichuan Province in 2006.

6. In June 2008, the Year of the Qiang was inscribed on the Second Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

The Customs of the Qiang Year

Beichuan Qiang people worship gods. There are more than 30 kinds of gods*** believed in, which can be roughly divided into four categories; first, the gods of nature, namely, the sun god, the mountain god,

, the god of the earth, the god of fire, the goat god, and other livestock gods, etc.; second, the household gods, namely, the god of the corner, and in some places, the god of the daughter-in-law; third, the gods of the labor crafts, such as the god of the pillar, the god of the stonemason, the god of the stonemason's wife, the god of the blacksmith, and the god of the carpenter, etc.; fourth, the local gods, and in some villages, there is its own village god, the dog. The fourth is the local gods, in some villages there are their own village gods, some of which are dogs and some of which are sheep. Among the gods, the sky god and the sun god are the most exalted, the god who dominates everything, protects people and animals, and gives light and warmth to human beings. In the old days, in the morning and near dusk, the Qiang people had to burn incense and cypress branches to offer sacrifices. The gods of mountains, trees and goats are also highly worshipped. Mountain God to protect the peace, every year must be held a grand ceremony of sacrifice; tree God can cover the body of God, to protect the safety of people into the forest, Qiang people on the sacred forest, the sacred tree is strictly protected, and to be sacrificed on a regular basis. The sacred forests in the upper five villages of Qingtian Township in my county, and the sacred trees in the townships of Taihong, Baini, Duba, Guanling, etc., are still standing tall and lush, and are honored by the Qiang people. Qiang people still white, "white for good", worship white stone. As a result, the gods of faith, except for the fire god to the pot as a symbol, the tree god to the god of forests, trees as a representative of the god, the sheep god to the two horns of the sheep as a symbol, the rest of the white stone as a symbol. White stone represented by the deity to the place of worship to distinguish, such as for the small tower and the roof of the white stone for the god of the sky, the sun god, for the white stone on the mountain for the mountain god, for the white stone in the main house corner of the house for the god of the family and so on. In the old days

When visiting friends and relatives, white stones were often given as the most precious gifts. The Qiang people to carry out human-god interaction is

, the Qiang language known as "Xu", "

", or honored as "Abashu", the Qiang people in the Dubai River Valley also called it "with". It is only for males, and is not detached from agricultural production. They are divided into the upper altar, the middle altar and the lower altar. The upper altar deals with God, does not kill animals, and presides over the rituals of God; the middle altar deals with people; the lower altar deals with ghosts and elves, eliminating harm, inviting souls, sending ghosts, and killing animals themselves. Use of the magic weapon has a monkey skin cap, monkey head, sheepskin drum, god stick, division knife, token, gong, copper mirror, copper seal, sheep horn trigram, animal tooth trigram, etc., are regarded as extremely sacred items, especially monkey skin cap, monkey head is the most valuable, do not allow people to touch and move. The witchcraft of Qiang Duangong, in addition to the scriptures and spells, there are prediction, sending ghosts, stepping on the red pot, licking the head of the share, spitting oil fire, charcoal face washing, etc. Most of the Qiang Duangongs have a certain degree of skill, and they have a lot of experience. Most of the Qiang Tuan Gongs have certain historical knowledge and social experience, are the inheritors of the Qiang culture, and have high prestige among the masses. They are highly respected among the people, and they are responsible for all the rituals of returning wishes to the mountains, invoking souls

, curing illnesses

, and divining funerals and sending off relatives. Qiang culture has a long history of ancient times, Beichuan Qiang people in the territory of the Gogi people, and from the northwestern prairie southward migration of the Danghang Qiang people, to achieve a great fusion of today's Qiang pioneers, the ancient Qiang people hard-working and intelligent, courageous and good at war, able to sing and dance, and became the Qiang in the history of human ethnicity a glorious page. Beichuan Ancient Qiang people's dwellings are mostly based on "all living on the mountain", "stone for the room", their housing on the ground, to the sheet of stone and green stone slabs, called "

", both residential and defense functions, recent, modern, gradually changed to a wooden structure is the main one, of which

the most rich in characteristics. The basic colors of the Qiang people

are azure, blue and white, and both men and women wear knee-length shirts, belts, collars, sleeves, and pants with floral embroidery patterns on the hems. Their diet to the local production of corn, buckwheat, barley, wheat, taro and other grains for food, drink

, folk meals and snacks, known as the best. Qiang people can sing and dance well, singing folk songs have love songs, bitter songs, celebration songs,

, wine songs and songs, etc., Qiang dance to "Shalang" is the most popular, Qiang people in the first day of October of the lunar calendar for the New Year, that is,

, the Qiang people's most important festivals, more than in the harvest season will be held in the mountain festival, in order to slaughter the goat sacrifices to the mountain, praying for blessings. The Qiang flute,

, sheepskin drums and suona are the common musical instruments used by the Qiang people for celebrations. The Qiang people believe in more than 30 kinds of deities, many of which are symbolized by the white stone, and they also respect Dayu as a god. Here is the material, you can write an argumentative essay after changing part of it.

1, the Qiang calendar year, the Qiang language called "Rimai Festival", "Rimeji", meaning "Qiang New Year," "over the small year", "harvest festival", "the Qiang calendar year", "the Qiang calendar year", "the Qiang calendar year", "the Qiang calendar year", "the Qiang calendar year", "the Qiang calendar year". "Harvest Festival" is the grandest festival of the year for the Qiang people to celebrate the harvest, send blessings and pray for peace. Large-scale activities include thanksgiving, blessing and auspicious celebration programs. It is held on the first day of October in the lunar calendar every year, usually for three to five days, and some villages have to hold it until the tenth day of October. The "Qiang Calendar Year" is mainly distributed in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County of Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, and Mao County, Songpan, Wenchuan, Li County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, as well as other Qiang inhabited areas.

2. The Qiang calendar year was listed as one of the first batch of intangible cultural heritages by the People's Government of Sichuan Province in 2006, and in June 2008, the "Year of the Qiang" was listed in the "Second Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Catalog".

Short Customs of the Year of the Qiang

The Qiang first used the solar calendar to calculate the year. During the Qin Dynasty, the solar calendar was changed to the lunar calendar. It is rumored that before the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Qiang already had this custom. The Qiang primitive religious wizard on the altar of the classic "wood sister beads" of the word of mouth inherited a

New Year's Day in the morning, the master to give the hard work for the capture of the harvest of the cattle and horses with the best fodder treats. In the past, from this day onward, cattle, horses, and sheep were open to the public, and even if they went to the ground and ate the unharvested crops of the lazy people, they were not required to pay compensation.

Sacrifice is the most important activity of the Qiang calendar year, the villagers on the walled villagers dressed to participate in this period of labor to stop. The rituals are similar to each other depending on the region and branch. By Xu slaughter cattle, sheep sacrificed to the sky god, each family is made of small animals and poultry as a sacrifice to the sky god and ancestors. Some villages offer sacrifices to the mountain gods. Each family sends someone to participate with offerings made of noodles. When the sound of leather drums beating in the forest of the god resounds and the colorful ribbons of the god's staff are waved fiercely, Duan Gong's jumping god brings the villagers into a solemn and solemn atmosphere full of piety and hope. When slaughtering the goat, Duan Gong sprinkles cold water on the goat's head, and the goat's head keeps swinging, which means that the mountain god has accepted it and can be killed; if it does not swing, then it does not dare to kill it. The blood of the goat is sprinkled in front of the altar, and the head of the goat is bowed to honor the mountain god. The meat will be distributed to each family to take back and enjoy. After jumping to the god, the representatives of each household sit around in the god's forest to eat boiled haggis and mutton, and drink smack wine.

Some villages, if no adult deaths that year, will also be painted on the wall of the white symbols to celebrate the prosperity of people and animals, crops. After the end of the ritual activities, the entire village of young and strong men together with the elderly to form a celebration of auspicious teams, singing and dancing to each house to congratulate, and by the old man sang, the crowd chorus celebratory song. Some are gathered in the village dam, dancing Shalang, potshuang, drink smack wine. There are also invited to their homes, dancing and singing around the potlatch fire, and enjoying themselves to the fullest. The celebration of the Qiang calendar year, as little as two or three days, as many as six or seven days. Due to historical reasons, the Qiang calendar year had been the extreme left of the dust and smoke erased. 1988 October, Aba State People's Government Office issued

New Year's period, no matter which home, the hosts will put on the fat and not greasy smooth and delicious pork and taro patties to entertain the guests and persuade to drink smack wine or white wine, the enthusiasm of the full can be appreciated, "there are friends from far away is not also pleased to! "In 1995, I saw the custom of sending big cakes to the elderly in the Qiang village in Heihu Township, Mao County in the Spring Festival; I was even more fortunate to meet the "Jumping A" in the Qiang village in Yangliu Village, Taiping on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, which is said to be an activity held only after three years of harvest and no death of adults. Jumping A is an ancient collective dance of the Qiang people. The Qiang villagers in full dress, with the exciting dance demonstrated the charm of the traditional culture of the ancient Qiang, people feel the rich and colorful traditional Qiang customs and festivals, more people immersed in the mellow and rich feelings of the people in the countryside.