What festival is the smear festival?

Which country's festival is smear festival?

Moxiang Festival is a traditional festival of Xibo, Yi, Daur and Oroqen nationalities, which is held on the 16th day of the first lunar month every year. On this day of the festival, people will eat "Leto Lebeda" in the morning, and then young people will flock to take the prepared cloth or oil and soak the felt with the smell of smoke on the bottom of the pot. Everyone will chase after each other to discredit their faces, some will go door to door in droves, and some will be discredited before getting up in the morning.

What festival is the smear festival?

Moxiang Festival is a festival of Xibo nationality in Xinjiang. This interesting festival begins on the morning of the 16th day of the first lunar month every year. According to legend, on this day, the "God of Grains" will come to the world, and people will smear each other's faces to pray that the God of Grains will not spread smut to the world, thus ensuring a bumper wheat harvest and protecting people's safety.

The origin of smear festival

Moxiang Festival is a traditional festival of Xibo nationality in Xinjiang, which is held on the 16th day of the first month every year. On the morning of 1, every morning on this day, young people get up early, stick black pots with onions, blankets or rags, and go door-to-door or into the street in groups of three or five, whether they know each other or not. For middle-aged and elderly people, either don't paint, or symbolically gently paint a black spot on the face. When applicable, they must also show their respect first, and then kneel on one leg to show their respect for the elderly. In the evening, people want to eat "Tohorbuda" (a kind of noodles), hoping to eliminate the wheat disaster through the daubing ceremony and the power of the gods, in order to have a beautiful long-cherished wish of eating white flour. Nowadays, the "smear festival" has gradually evolved from an ancient traditional festival to an entertainment festival for young people.

There is a saying among Xibe people about the origin of smear festival. Legend has it that after Xibo people changed from nomadic people to farming people, the wheat and rice they planted were often frozen to produce black Dan (rye) because of the cold weather. At that time, people's cognition was very limited, and they didn't know the cause of the disaster, thinking that God was punishing them. So someone came up with a way to wipe his face with black ash, apologize to the gods and eliminate the disaster. People think that the sixteenth day of the first month is the day when the gods came to earth, so the gods came down to earth and confessed their sins in ink. Therefore, this custom has been inherited.

Another legend about the origin of the smear festival is also widely circulated. It is said that Xibe people could not grow wheat in the past. One day, an old couple found a swallow with a broken leg. The old couple lifted the swallow's leg and let it go. A few days later, the swallow brought them a golden and full grain of wheat. After sowing, they actually harvested a bucket of wheat. The kind old couple distributed the seeds to the whole village for planting. Since then, Xibo people began to grow wheat. The swallow gave the old couple the grains of wheat sent by the God of Heaven Patrol. The dog who visited God once warned people that people eat flour and dogs eat bran. But one year, a careless daughter-in-law burned the bread and fed it to the dog because she was afraid of being scolded by her in-laws. The god of patrol was furious when he knew it, and used magic to make all the wheat in the world infected with smut.

Therefore, the ears of wheat harvested that year were all black. After consulting with the people in the village, the old couple decided to accept the punishment of the gods and wipe their faces. The gods were moved by this move and cast spells to restore the wheat to its original state. As a result, Xibe people painted their faces black when they worshipped God and visited the world on the 16th day of the first month, which has been passed down to this day.

What happens if you don't wipe your face on the smear festival?

It will be a bad year.

On the morning of the 16th day of the first month, the old man who gets up early will put a little pot ash on his children and grandchildren who haven't got up yet. It's unlucky for him not to wipe his face this day.

The origin of the smear festival is:

A long time ago, a hardworking couple saved an injured swallow by the river. Swallows were released into nature after they recovered. After a long time, the swallow brought a full and bright wheat to the old couple, and the old couple buried the seed in the backyard. In autumn, this seed grew into a seedling, and every node was covered with heavy ears of wheat, and a grain of wheat was harvested. The next year, the wheat was harvested tenfold, and the good news spread like wildfire, and neighbors came to borrow seeds one after another. Since then, Xibo people began to grow wheat.

Knowing this, the God Patrol sent his divine dog to inform everyone. Later, people will eat flour and dogs will feed bran. One spring, a young daughter-in-law gave the burnt cake to the dog. The seeker of God was furious when he found out, and turned all the wheat into black Dan. The whole village collectively prayed to God for forgiveness. They would rather ruin their reputation than blacken the wheat.

Moved by the sincerity of Xibe people, the prayer for God took back the magic. When he left, he floated up from the wheat root with his hand and squeezed out all the spikes on the internodes, leaving only the top spikes. This is why there is only one ear of wheat today.

Every year, the 16th day of the first month is the day for visiting God to inspect, so on this day, Xibe people will go out to smear each other before dawn, so that visiting God can see their sincerity and avoid head smut of wheat.