Traditional festivals of Yao nationality

Traditional festivals of Yao nationality

Yao is one of the ethnic minorities in China, mainly engaged in mountain agriculture. Mainly distributed in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and other provinces. The distribution of Yao nationality is characterized by large dispersion and small settlements, mainly living in mountainous areas. Yao nationality has its own language, but its branches are complex and vary greatly from place to place, and some of them can't even communicate with each other. Common Chinese or Zhuang language. There is no national language, and Chinese is generally used. Yao language belongs to the branch of Miao Yao language family of Sino-Tibetan language family. Due to long-term contact with Han, Zhuang and Miao nationalities, Yao people all over the country are generally fluent in Chinese, and some of them are fluent in Zhuang and Miao languages.

What are the traditional festivals of Yao nationality? I collect relevant information for your reference!

Bird festival

Traditional Yao festivals in Fuchuan and other places. Also known as bird worship festival, bird catching meeting and bird recruiting festival. On the first day of the second lunar month, every household makes dumplings and glutinous rice cakes, hangs them on trees to feed birds, burns incense and prays, hoping that there will be no insect pests in the fields, good weather and good harvests. The Bird Festival also added activities such as bird trading and singing by young men and women.

Important festival

Free translation is a festival celebrated in half a month, which is held every year from March 15 to 17 of the lunar calendar. In these three days, Yao's cabin was full of joy. Those girls who grew up in the clear spring and green stream are originally jade, slim and colorful. These days, they are all wearing exquisite clothes, embroidered shirts, embroidered skirts with various patterns around their waists, silver necklaces and gold-plated earrings, and smiling under flowered silk umbrellas. Boys, wrapped in checkered towels on their heads, wearing trousers with national characteristics, big eyes, strong and lovely. Even the old people and the old lady put on their holiday costumes, and from all directions, people gathered in Shuidongping market to celebrate traditional festivals.

Speaking of mourning, there is a tragic and touching historical story.

According to legend, during the reign of Kangxi, the troops of feudal rulers advanced on Yaoshan. Robbery and murder, do whatever it takes. Yao's hut is dark, facing the tragic despair of genocide.

At this time of crisis, a Yao girl named Xifeng was smart, capable, full of blood and extremely sad. She organized the young and middle-aged brothers and sisters in the mountain village, built castles with stones, cut down trees and built villages to resist invading enemies. After chasing the invaders to their official residence, they set a fire and turned the official residence into ashes.

At this time, even the former police department played the Qing court and sent his troops. Because of the rugged and complicated terrain, the loyalists were at a loss because of the command of Xifeng and the unity of the masses. Finally, a trick was set up to let a young man disguise himself as a peddler and carry a load of salt, cloth and other daily necessities of the Yao family to the village to sell. When Xifeng met someone, it was not enough for her, so she filmed indoors. So when this peddler approached Xifeng, did you pull it out? A sword was used to assassinate Xifeng. Outside, drums are ringing and there are ambushes everywhere. The injured Xifeng rushed out in a panic. In today's Shuidongping area, he led the crowd and killed the loyalist for three days and three nights. More than 600 Yao compatriots were killed by government troops because they were outnumbered.

The heroic Fengjie girl died, but she will live in the hearts of the Yao people forever. People commemorate her, but they are afraid of causing suspicion and jealousy of feudal rulers, so every year from May 15 to 17, the Yao family comes to Shuidongping for a rally. Young men and women, talking about love, singing and dancing, express their condolences to the heroes and heroes in special forms. In the end, it became a traditional grand event where everyone rushed to the market to shop? Please remember and worship.

The festival of conversion is to escape from the vicious bodhisattva. This festival is divided into two parts. The first time was the second day of the seventh lunar month in Mao Le. Yao people in this area don't eat cucumbers and white melons until after this festival. According to legend, at the end of the Song Dynasty, the ancestors of the local Yao nationality were suppressed by the local princes of Zhao and Lu in Tianlu, Ji 'an, Jiangxi. On the second day of July, some pregnant women escaped to beg for mercy among cucumbers and white melons in Goose Neck Mountain, only to survive death. Therefore, I swear: I will pass it on to future generations forever, and I won't eat cucumbers and white melons before the second day of July. Otherwise, my descendants will not prosper. The second time was held in Xiaoshajiang from the eighth day to the tenth day of the seventh lunar month. According to legend, in the first year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1723), a local gentry chased and beat the four surnames and six sisters of the Yao nationality in Madong, causing resistance, but the gentry lied that the Yao nationality rebelled and demanded that the Qing army suppress it. The Yao people fought in Dashajiang and Xiaoshajiang, and retreated to Matang Mountain. It was at stake, so the Qing soldiers had to make peace. At that time, the Yao people called the battlefield a big killing and a small killing. Later, for national unity, it was renamed Dashajiang and Xiaoshajiang. Nowadays, in festivals, Yao people all dress up and go to the meeting place to play. The surrounding Han people also joined in the fun. People get together in the market, young men and women compete to sing and dance and love each other, and the festive atmosphere is everywhere.

Rite of passage-abstinence

Yao's abstinence is a rite of passage for Yao men, a unique custom of Yao, and an indispensable sacred lesson in the process of Yao men's growth, which is more grand than marrying a newly married woman. Yao people don't think 18 is the age of adulthood. In their view, no matter how old they are, as long as they pass the customs, they are men, protected by the gods, recognized by the society, able to hold public office in the village and gain the social value of men's lives. A man who doesn't quit and take exams can't be regarded as a truly valuable man. He has no social status, can't get the love of girls, and can't even find a wife. If the old man doesn't have a ring, he must find an opportunity to reissue it, otherwise he won't admit that he is a Yao. Today, Du Jie still plays an important role in the social life of the Yao people in Jiangcheng.

Yao's abstinence is more complicated and takes longer to prepare. When the boy reached the age of 10, his parents asked Mr. Literacy to calculate the auspicious year and give him abstinence. After deciding the abstinence year, his parents made preparations for abstinence one or two years in advance, and determined the specific abstinence time within the abstinence year. Ask the master after the time is determined. The more experts, the better Before abstinence, the boy will be anesthetized for 5 days and can't go out until the abstinence ceremony. Before, Master read the Bible to the boy and set up a high table to practice his movements at the abstinence ceremony. At the same time, the boys are educated in the traditional ethics of their own nation, and under the guidance of Master, they consciously cultivate themselves.

The whole ceremony was complicated and lengthy, and it started before the sun came out. First, the master recited the scriptures for the boy.

Then the instructor wearing a red robe instructed the boy to put on the same robe, tie a red belt and put on Yao's? Shangyuan? Icon. Lead the teacher to tie one end of a red cloth strip around his waist and the other end around the boy's waist, symbolizing that the apprentice has not given birth and left his mother like a baby. The teacher took the boy to Du Jie yard with a magic sword and a spell. On the way, the teacher also gave the small money prepared in advance to the person in the way so as to buy a way to let him go. After arriving at the rooftop, the teacher led the boy to make three turns from left to right under the rooftop, then climbed onto the rooftop with a leaf curse from the ladder in front, muttering to himself, and led the boy down to the ring table on the rooftop to untie the tied red cloth strip, indicating that the baby was born from the mother's body. He swore to the boy that he would move the wooden ladder after kowtowing. The boy swore to heaven: No killing, no arson, no stealing, no rape, no maltreatment of parents, no framing of good people? After the oath, the master put a red mark on the boy's hand with a triangular seal, thus ending the abstinence ceremony.

Abstinence of Yao nationality in Jiangcheng has strong national characteristics, which runs through the traditional morality and discipline of this nationality. In this way, traditional morality is instilled in boys who are about to enter the society, so that the recipients can be educated and edified at the turning point of life. Abstinence has a positive role in promoting the learning, inheritance and development of national traditional culture.

Danu Festival

? Danu? It's Yao language, which means? Don't forget. . This festival is scheduled for May 29th of the lunar calendar. According to legend, this day is the ancestor of Yao nationality? Zunniang? Today is your birthday, so it's also called? Mother's day? .

Legend has it that the ancestral mother's name is Miroto, and she once sent her third daughter to open up wasteland in the mountains with Xiaomi. Miroto gave the treasured bronze drum to his third daughter, and helped her drive away the birds, so that the grain was harvested. Since then, Zuniang's three daughters have lived and worked in peace and contentment in the mountainous areas, and have produced offspring, becoming the present Yao nationality. In order to commemorate Miruotuo, the Yao people set her birthday as? Danu Festival? .

On the day of the festival, all Yao villages should be cleaned up and presented with sweet rice wine and glutinous rice Baba. According to traditional customs, every family should kill chickens and sheep. Young men and women dressed in festive costumes gathered in the reserved place and knocked on the bronze drum symbolizing their mother's will to sincerely celebrate their mother's birthday and wish the Yao family prosperity every year. During the drumming performance, people also rushed to propose a toast to the best drummers. Drum king? Good name. Besides, you have to sing something handed down from generation to generation? Miloto? Ancient songs, cheerful dances, praising the achievements of ancestors.

Niujie

The Niu Festival of Yao nationality is also related to agricultural production. In the Yao area, cattle is an important animal power, which is used for plowing and harrowing fields. In the past, Yao people in some areas also used oxen to pull carts to transport things. This important role of cattle in production and labor makes people love and cherish cattle, thus forming a respect for cattle and forming a festival of cattle. According to Yao folklore, the eighth day of April in the summer calendar is the birthday of cattle, so people regard this day as the festival of cattle. On the festival of the ox, the festival of the ox is forbidden. You can't yell at cows, and you can't beat them with whips and sticks. Yao people in Lucheng, Tianlin, Guangxi, will slaughter chickens, ducks, snails and loaches to sacrifice to the bullpen in niujie on the same day. Take off the cow's nose ring, put it in a bamboo basket, which contains three stones, three peaches and 1 little scarecrow (symbolizing the shepherd boy), and hang it on the cowshed, commonly known as "protecting the cow's soul". In Fuchuan, Guangxi, people feed cows with wine and eggs, drive them to the best place with aquatic plants to eat grass, and others sit on the grass and taste the food brought from home. Wash the cows at night and drive home. After the cows returned to the cowshed, people lit incense, set off firecrackers, worshipped the cow god and wished the cows no disaster. In Guiping, Guangxi, every family of Yao nationality wrapped five-color glutinous rice with fresh awn leaves and brought it to the cowshed for sacrifice, burning incense and worshiping the cow god, praying for the cattle to avoid disaster, the six livestock to flourish and the grain to be abundant. Then feed the glutinous rice to the cows.

Wang Pan Festival

? Wang Pan Festival? It is the biggest festival of Yao nationality, and the festival time is October 16th of the lunar calendar.

However, according to the traditional customs, grain harvest and human and animal health of Yao people in various places, it is only once every three to five years, and some even once every two years. What time? Wang Pan Festival? The cottage should be cleaned, men, women and children should dress up, put on holiday costumes, sing and dance, and break up happily. In addition, Yao people also celebrate the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Manglian Festival (also known as Ancestor Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month every year). On New Year's Day, women don't visit relatives and friends or eat green vegetables. Some people even put a green branch or a wooden sign outside the door. On the third, fifth and sixth day of the first month, every household does not go out.

Wang Pan Festival can be held by a family, or by people in joint family or the same family. However, no matter what form it is held, sacrifices should be offered and banquets should be held to entertain relatives and friends. Festivals generally last for three days and two nights, and some last for seven days and seven nights.

During the festival, the Yao people slaughtered chickens and ducks, and men, women and children put on festive costumes and gathered together. First of all, they offered sacrifices to Pan Wang, sang Pan Wang's songs and danced with yellow mud, encouraged him for a long time, remembered the merits of their ancestors and praised their heroic struggle spirit. Secondly, celebrate the harvest and enjoy the king's pleasure. At the same time, young men and women carry out duet activities and seize the opportunity to choose the right person. Some places also need fireworks sticks, fireworks and theatrical troupes.

The ceremony of Wang Pan Festival was presided over by four teachers, who performed their respective duties. They also want to be teachers, soldiers-sacrifice teachers, soldiers-appreciation teachers and grain teachers, each with 1 assistant and ***8 people. In addition, 4 singers, 6 boys and girls, 65,438+0 drum artists and suona band participated in the Wang Pan Festival. Its inheritance mode is mainly based on teacher inheritance and family biography.

The ceremony is mainly divided into two parts. The first part is "please be holy, rank, polish, recruit food, and thank the saints". The suona band accompanied the whole course, and the teacher danced Wang Pan dance (chime dance, troop retreat dance, contract dance, sacrifice dance, turtle-catching dance, etc.). The second part is to invite the ancestors and all the people of Yao nationality to come? Music? Liu Le's Yao language means to have fun. This is the main part of the festival. All ancestors of the Yao nationality are invited to participate in various cultural and recreational activities of the festival, and the long historical poem "King Pange", which expresses Yao mythology, history, politics, economy, culture, art and social life, is sung. Music spreading ceremony usually lasts one day and one night.

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