Dai traditional festivals

Dai Dai people call themselves "Dai", which means "freedom" or "human". According to the distribution area, there are "Dai Na", "Dai Ya" and "Dai Zhan". Dai people are mainly distributed in southwest Yunnan, living in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County and Menglian Dai and Lahu Autonomous County, and the rest are scattered in Lincang, Lancang, Xinping, Yuanjiang, Yuanyang, Jinping, Jingdong and Jinggu counties. In addition, a few Dai people live in Huaping, Dayao and Luquan along the Jinsha River, as well as Huili and Yanbian in Sichuan. Only a few Dai people live in the inland areas of Yunnan Province, and most of them live in the border areas, bordering Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam respectively.

Dai language belongs to Zhuang-Dai language branch of Zhuang-Dong language family of Sino-Tibetan language family. There are three dialects: Dehong, Xishuangbanna and Jinping. Dai language comes from the pinyin of Sanskrit letters. After improvement in 1950s, Xishuangbanna and Dehong Dai languages are very popular now.

The traditional festivals of the Dai nationality are rich and colorful, lasting for one year 12 months, and there are festivals every month, which can be described as a major landscape of Dai culture. In traditional national festivals, the Songkran Festival, Wadi Festival and Wadi Festival are grand and grand. Traditional festivals of the Dai nationality in Dehong are timed according to the Dai calendar, and the forms of festivals are mostly the same, but the details of festivals in different regions and times are slightly different. In Dehong Dai area, all activities related to festivals can be called "pendulum". Dai people's "pendulum" is different in time and content, scale and number of people. In the past, many "pendulum" activities were strongly religious, which were divided into "big pendulum" organized by monks or chiefs, "small pendulum" organized by the masses and "small pendulum" organized by non-governmental organizations. After the founding of New China, the Dai people changed their customs and changed the pendulum into a festival for material and cultural exchanges. Especially after the reform and opening up, the "pendulum" of the Dai people has become a major event to expand opening up, accelerate economic development and spiritual civilization construction in ethnic areas, and promote national prosperity. Large-scale "pendulum" usually takes place in late autumn. There are always thousands of large-scale Dai people flocking out. The "exhibition" of mangshi's peaceful asylum lasted for several days and nights. The exhibition site was crowded with people, and a "Ga Yang Competition" was held between villages. There are movies and wonderful cultural programs in the evening, and the whole exhibition is immersed in the joy of the festival. Dai venues are generally located in the squares of towns or villages, with many booths and commodities, which are dazzling and dizzying. There are all kinds of local handicrafts, ethnic food, Dai silver ornaments, tube handkerchief, tube skirt and various agricultural and sideline products, as well as countless colorful snacks and daily necessities made in Thailand and Myanmar. The most attractive thing in the program is all kinds of entertainment activities with strong local ethnic characteristics, especially Dai drama. As soon as the gongs and drums ring, people who rush to the stage will immediately enjoy their own national opera. In addition, local ethnic cultural and artistic activities such as "Twelve Horses" and "Gayang Dance" of the Dai people were held in the venue, and the scene was grand and wonderful. Young men and women of the Dai nationality also seek spouses by grabbing marriage, making it a place for them to find objects, and finding their sweetheart by grabbing love together. Dai crystal display (Dai calendar New Year Festival) Dai calendar New Year Festival is January Festival, which is called "crystal display" in Dai language and is a traditional festival of Dai people. In Buddhism, it is called "Baiga Pavilion", and the first day of the first month of the Dai calendar (the same as the first day of the tenth lunar month of the Han nationality) is the beginning of the Dai calendar. In ancient times, the first horse day of this month was regarded as New Year's Day. In this festival, the Dai people have the custom of observing the age. In the old days, they were mainly feudal lords, chiefs or castellans. Generally, adult Woodenhead is burned in the fireplace in the first room. It is best to burn the stump for three days and three nights. Dai people also do other "pendulum" activities to celebrate the New Year. Such as "Baijiating" (Robe Festival) and "Guang Guang Mother Family" (Shata Festival). This festival is mainly popular in Dehong Dai areas, and the Dai people in Longchuan, Ruili, mangshi and other places have kept the tradition of this festival. In the past, Dai local rulers usually presided over festival ceremonies. This festival began on the evening of1February 30th in the Dai calendar. On this night, young men and women of the Dai people gathered together, beating gongs and drums to welcome the New Year, and lit bonfires with dry wood. Everyone was talking and laughing. After beating drums and gongs for a while, I stopped beating drums and laughed. The audience was silent. Four or five minutes later, a respected Dai elder publicly announced: the old year has passed, the new year is coming, and the people are happy and auspicious; Let 96 diseases stay away from us like the wind; Let's have only the good, not the bad; Let our place be prosperous, rich and beautiful. Then beating gongs and drums, it was very lively. The next day is the first day of the new year. Martial arts, shooting, horse racing, running, drum music, playing with stones and other competitions and dance activities are held in various places. The winner will receive a reward and a new honorary title. At the same time, Dai villages visit each other in series, and people visit relatives and friends and entertain guests. It is said that these celebrations were forced to stop in the late Qing Dynasty, but they were restored and improved in modern times. With the prevalence of folk Buddhist beliefs, a kind of Buddhist sacrifice activity has been strengthened in many Dai areas, which is the above-mentioned "Baiga Pavilion". With the widespread spread of Buddhism in Dehong Dai area from south to north, the New Year Festival of Dai calendar 1 month not only celebrates the New Year, but also strengthens activities such as "Baiga Pavilion", that is, the cassock festival and the Shata festival. According to legend, after Sakyamuni became a Buddha, his aunt Guo Nami sewed a red and yellow cassock for Sakyamuni one day and one night in the Dai calendar 1 month 15. Influenced by Buddhism, she became the first female monk. Later, she got the position of Arhat grosvenor. Since then, people have held the "Baiga Pavilion" in January of the Dai calendar, that is, the Robe Festival. On this day, groups or individuals put the prepared cassock on the Buddha statue of the Buddhist temple and give it to the monk at the same time, in order to make it a positive result as soon as possible. In the "Gating" activity, we need to build 65,438 sand towers and 65,438 candles, so that we will have good luck all our lives, illuminate our hearts and realize the right path. This Buddhist ceremony is called Sand Pagoda Festival.

Dai people taste the New Rice Festival (cold and sweet in Dai language) in February, and Dai people put the washed rice into the barn. Every Dai household chooses an auspicious day of the zodiac, offering sacrifices to cloth and teeth (grandpa and grandma Gu Shen) and tasting the cooked new rice. This is the New Rice Festival of the Dai people, which is a traditional festival of the Dai people. There is a folklore about the origin of the Dai people's tasting of the new rice festival. For a long time, the rice in the Dai people's place was from root to tip. Therefore, the Dai people have a lot of food, and they can't eat for ten years a year. When there is more food, the Dai people don't cherish it, spoil it and throw it around at will. There is also the mashing of grains into Baba, which is made into a drum pier and used as a bench for people to sit on. The gods were angry to see people wasting food like this. During the autumn harvest, the gods took all the seeds away. This year, people had no food to eat, so they had to go up the mountain to pick wild fruits and dig wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger. Dogs can't eat wild fruits and vegetables, so they look up to heaven and cry. The crying shook the gods, and the gods pitied the dogs, so they quietly dropped a few ears of millet for the dogs to eat, and the fallen ears were taken away by people. People don't want to eat it, so they use it as a grain seed and plant it year after year. People don't start eating until they eat a lot. As soon as Xingu came to power this year, people made rice balls to worship the world and feed the dogs. Then village by village, men, women and children sat around the table and tasted new rice. The old man warned young people to cherish food and feed the dog every meal. Because there is no dog crying to touch the gods, there will be no seeds on the earth. From then on, a simple ceremony will be held every year when eating new rice for the first time. In this way, the annual rice tasting festival has been passed down to this day. On the New Rice Festival, Dai's elders went to the fields with offerings on their backs to pay homage to Gu Shen and ask him to go home, begging him to bless the grain planted in the coming year not to be moldy and eaten by insects and rats, and to have a bumper harvest in the coming year. Every household prepares delicious food and invites relatives and friends to taste rich Dai dishes at home to celebrate the harvest. With the development of modern science and technology, the progress of agricultural production technology, the improvement of farmers' scientific quality and the influence of modern lifestyle, this festival gradually faded out of people's lives, and many Dai areas no longer have this festival.

The Dai people's dam patrol festival is a traditional festival of the Dai people in Lvchun, Yunnan Province, which is held on the 13th day of the first lunar month every year.

Patrol the dam to welcome the spring. During the festival, Dai people all wear holiday costumes and gather under the lush Daqing tree to form a wreath. In the sound of gongs and drums, the celebration of the Dai people began. When singing, singers dance traditional dances. At noon, after everyone enjoyed themselves in * * *, a venerable old man announced the start of "Patrol the Sky", so the celebration team formed an orderly team, led by eight flag-bearers, followed by a large group of people who played suona, knocked gongs and drums, and set off firecrackers. People left the village and headed for Tianba.

The Dai Egg Festival is a traditional festival for Dai children, which is held every year on the tenth day of the second lunar month.

On the festival day, every child of the Dai nationality hangs a small pocket on his chest, which contains several hard-boiled eggs, which are dyed yellow, red, green and purple respectively. They go to play in the shade near the village or by the river in droves, and then have dinner together. protein, who brought his own eggs, left the yolk for his parents or brothers to eat, to show his respect for them.

The Dai Sand Festival is a traditional festival of the Dai people in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is held every year in the middle of April in the lunar calendar. This festival lasts for three days.

Before the festival, every Dai family must dig a basket of clean sand that has not been trampled by people or cattle and horses before they can go down the river. During the festival, people gather together and pour out the prepared sand in turn. The most prestigious elders in the village divided the sand into two piles and several small piles, and then made it into a cone. Small sand piles surround big sand piles. Then put the picked pine branches into the sand, symbolizing that the people in the village will never get old; We also collected Monan rock flowers, wrapped them around the fence surrounded by pine and bamboo, and planted a gratifying banana tree, in order to wish everyone a stable fate like the roots of banana, and hope that next year's harvest will pile up like a sand pile. After all, the old man poured water into the sand to show that the drought was driven away, the weather was good and the grain was abundant. In the evening, Yi, Hani and other brothers of all ethnic groups came to congratulate. Dai elders welcome the distinguished guests into the village and propose a toast and tea. After that, the Dai people and their guests in the whole village sang and danced in the beat like a foot drum.

Dai people broadcast Padai language to publicize monks, and Dai religious festivals are held in April or August of Dai calendar every year.

Ke Yong, who became a monk in the Buddhist temple at that time, invited his godfather Bowo, who prepared a yellow cassock, a small round hat and everything needed for becoming a monk. After a congratulatory ceremony was held at the godfather's house, he was sent to the Buddhist temple to recite scriptures and ordered to become a monk. Seeing Ke Yong into the temple is very particular about riding and back.

The Dai people's water-splashing festival is also called "Cold River Fever Festival". Dai language is June New Year or Dai calendar New Year, which is a traditional festival of Dai people in Yunnan Province. It is usually held in the middle of June in the Dai calendar.

There is a legend about the Water-splashing Festival: In ancient times, there was a demon king who did many evils. People hated him deeply and tried every means to kill him. Later, the devil took seven girls as his wives. The clever seven girls learned his fatal weakness from the devil, that is, tying the devil's hair around his neck can kill him. Seven girls pulled out the devil's hair while he was sleeping. Strangled, the devil's head rolled down. But as soon as the head landed, the ground caught fire, and as soon as the girl picked it up, the fire went out. In order to avoid being burned to death in the water-splashing festival, she and her six sisters took turns to hold the devil's head and change it once a year. When changing people every year, people throw water on the girl holding her head to wash away her blood stains and her fatigue for one year, so as to eliminate the disaster in the new year. Since then, the Songkran Festival has been formed.

The Dai people's water-splashing festival lasts for three or four days. On the first day, the Dai language was called "wrist mulberry publication", which means to send it to Japan. On this day, the Dai people went to the temple to worship Buddha, and piled up three or five pagoda-shaped sand piles in the temple with sand, about three or four feet high. Eight bamboo branches wrapped in colored paper are inserted on the spire, and people sit around and listen to chanting and historical legends. Some young Dai men and women went up the mountain to pick flowers for the greenhouse. At noon, women wash the Buddha statues with clean water. After the ceremony, the Dai people began to splash water and chase and play. Dai people think this kind of water is auspicious and can drive away disasters and diseases. So, even if I'm soaked, I'm happy. On the last day of the festival, the Dai language is called "wrist-beep wrist-horse", that is, New Year's Day. One or two days in the middle are empty days between two years. In addition to piling sand and splashing water, traditional entertainment items will be held during the festival, such as packet loss, dragon boat race, flying high and flying lanterns.

Yunnan Dai people treat guests is a traditional festival of Dai people, and it is also a religious festival. It is usually held in September of the Dai calendar.

At that time, every Dai family had to weave "aniseed" (a kind of fine-eye basket woven with bamboo), stick it on the corner of the field, or hang it around the barn or the main building with straw ropes to chant Buddhist scriptures. According to folklore, "therapy" can save people and animals from food and clothing.

Dai people speak Dai Mo language, which means "Dragon Boat Festival". The traditional festival of Dai people in Yunnan Province is also a folk religious festival, which is held in June of the lunar calendar every year.

This festival is to drive away pests, welcome to plant seedlings and pray for a bumper harvest. During the festival, the whole Dai village will raise funds to kill a cow, a pig and some chickens. After arranging the sacrifices, a sacrificial ceremony will be held. Dai people who come to sacrifice should bring their own rice. During the festival, people stop working for one to three days. In the meantime, all intersections must be blocked, and people are not allowed to enter or leave, so as not to offend the gods and bring disaster.

The Dai people shake the dew, also known as the "shake the dew", is a traditional festival of the Dai people in Yunnan. Every year, the Dai calendar will be held on the day after September 15, and the festival will last for four to five days.

Before the festival, according to the regulations, it is necessary to arrange the order of each "pendulum" first, change a place every day, and which village is the host of the festival, which is responsible for entertaining guests from all villages in the region. During the festival, the Dai people will hold a grand dance parade. At that time, the honor guard of gongs and drums will be arranged in pictographs, as the leader of the parade, with bamboo sticks weaving and painted elephants as the center of the parade. The elephant dancer lay on his back in the curtain under the elephant's stomach and manipulated it to perform like an elephant. The base of the elephant is loaded by four to eight people, surrounded by gongs, and it performs in the exhibition hall.

Howasa's Dai language is closed day. The traditional festivals of Dai people in Yunnan belong to religious festivals. It starts on September 15 every year, lasts for three months, and ends on1February.

During the festival, all Dai villages will hold Buddha worship ceremonies. During the festival, people hold a small prayer meeting every seven days, with a large prayer meeting in the middle. The Buddha and the monk concentrated on chanting for three days and nights, and the believers in the village went to the Buddhist temple to listen to the confession. According to the custom of the Dai family, entering this period is a busy season for agriculture, so the Dai people, men, women and children, concentrate on production. Young people can fall in love, but they are not allowed to get married or go out, so as not to affect production.

After three months' efforts, on December 15th of the Dai calendar, rice was harvested and put into storage, and the harvest festival came to an end. This day is also the beginning of the school day.

From the opening day, all taboos came to an end. Dai people have left home to visit relatives and friends. The most interesting thing is "string girl", which the Dai people call "less string cloth". The girls gathered in the courtyard in front of the main building, spinning their wheels, with a small stool in front of each. In a short time, young people will come here to find their Mr. Right.

Dai Respect for the Elderly Festival, which is called "Bai Nuo Xie Bu Tao" in Dai language, is a traditional festival of Dai people in March of Dai calendar. March of Dai calendar is called "cold scattered" in Dai language, and it is a dry and cold season in Dehong Dai area. Dai's family thinks that March ploughing is to prepare for the next year's farming. March ploughing can loosen the soil, kill the pests in the soil for the winter and make the crops grow well in the coming year. Dai people feed cows at night, and step on the unfrozen frost in the morning to plow the board fields. Dai women prepare and pickle new year's goods and pickles at home. Once upon a time, this month was Dai's month to respect the elderly. Young people and newlyweds in the village brought cakes, fruits and other gifts to greet the elderly, and women also helped the elderly with some housework. When leaving, we should wish the old people happiness and well-being, and respected old people also pray for the young people with auspicious and beautiful words, such as filial piety to their parents, good children, husband and wife growing old together, family happiness and so on, so that young people feel happy and encouraged. This tradition has been passed down from generation to generation and influenced each other from generation to generation, forming a good atmosphere of respecting and loving the elderly in society. It is a good custom and social ethics in Dai family and social life, which plays a positive role in consolidating family harmony and maintaining social order and stability. Nowadays, this Dai traditional festival has been hard to trace, and the social customs it contains have gradually disappeared.

The Dai Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Zongzi Festival, is influenced by China culture, which is the same as Han nationality's time, and belongs to Dai nationality's festival. On the festival day, every Dai family will make zongzi. Zongzi is divided into white and black. The making method of white zongzi is: cleaning glutinous rice, adding proper amount of spices such as lard, star anise and tsaoko, and some even adding red beans, putting a piece of pork in the center of zongzi, wrapping it with zongzi leaves, soaking it in water, and then cooking it; The making method of black zongzi is: burning fresh thatch to ashes, putting the burnt grass ashes and glutinous rice into a wok, letting the grass ashes stain the glutinous rice black, dusting off the ashes with a dustpan, and then adding the same ingredients as making white zongzi. The soaking and cooking methods are the same as those of white zongzi. When jiaozi was finished, the Dai people first took them to the hall to worship their ancestors and pray for blessing.

Baigangwa Dai calendar 1 1 month (September in Gregorian calendar), which is called "Cold Creek Night" in Dai language, is a traditional festival of Dai people. This season is between the entrance and exit of the depression, and some new valleys of the Dai people appear. When holding the "Baigang 'ao", in addition to the offerings or scriptures prepared by good men and women, we should also use the new Mifo. Everyone dressed up, brought flowers, candles and incense sticks, and entered the Buddhist temple with joy in the sound of gongs and drums to offer offerings, mainly to pray that people would not go hungry. This is also called "Zhaga". At the same time, Dai people offer food to Daqingshu, tie cotton ropes around Daqingshu several times, and then support it on the trunk with reeds and bamboos, praying that Dai villages and villagers can prosper, prolong their lives and be evergreen all the year round like Daqingshu. Then people have dinner together at the Buddhist temple.

Dai costumes Dai women can spin and make their own clothes. Dai men in Xishuangbanna wear collarless double-breasted white jackets, white or black long-sleeved trousers and blankets in cold weather. Dark red, white or cyan cloth is often used to wrap the head, and some wear wool hats; When you go out on the swing, you play with an umbrella and take it with you. Dai women's dresses are famous for their beauty and generosity, with outstanding national characteristics and different localities; Women in Xishuangbanna often wear white, crimson or light green tight vests, white or crimson tops, narrow sleeves, wide hem and no buttons, tied together with cloth belts; The skirt I wear is long enough to cover my feet, mostly brown, and I like to use a silver belt. Women in other regions also have their own characteristics.

Dai architecture The bamboo architecture that Dai people live in is a kind of dry column architecture. The bamboo building is approximately square, supported by dozens of large bamboos, and the floor is suspended; The roof is covered with thatched rows, and the bamboo wall has a large gap, which is both ventilated and light-permeable. The slope on both sides of the roof is very large, showing an "A" shape. The bamboo building is divided into two floors, where people live upstairs, livestock are raised downstairs and sundries are piled up. It's also a place for rice and weaving.

The Dai people's dietary customs are mainly rice cultivation, with a relatively complete farming system and sophisticated farming techniques. The Dai area is famous for producing rice, so all localities mainly eat rice, and eat rice for three meals a day. Dai people in Dehong area take japonica rice as their staple food, while Dai people in Xishuangbanna, Menglian, Yuanjiang, Xinping and Gengma take glutinous rice as their staple food. Japonica rice and glutinous rice produced by Dai people are not only big, but also have high viscosity of oil and glutinous rice.

The Dai people's non-staple food mainly includes pork, beef, chicken, duck and other meats, and their unique way of eating is to like sour meat and "chop raw". The method of making sour meat is very simple. Slice fresh raw meat, add seasoning such as salt and pepper, and put it in a clay pot to seal. You can eat it in a few days. It tastes sour and tender, and there is sauerkraut in Dai cuisine. In addition, aquatic products such as fish, shrimp, crab, snail and eel, and vegetables such as melon, bean, cabbage, radish B, green vegetables and eggplant are also indispensable non-staple foods for the Dai people.

Chewing betel nut is the most common hobby of Dai people everywhere, and it is also used to entertain guests.

The "Pu 'er Tea" of the Dai nationality is well-known at home and abroad, with advanced tea-making equipment. In recent years, it has also successfully developed subtropical cash crops such as rubber.

Dai calendar Dai people have their own unique calendars. The difference between Dai calendar and Gregorian calendar is 638 years, that is, Gregorian calendar is 639 years as the first year of Dai calendar. The year of Dai calendar is solar year, but the month is lunar month. Dai calendar is divided into three seasons, from 1 month to April as the cold season, from May to August as the hot season, and from September to1February as the rainy season.

Dai Dance Dai dance is beautiful and quiet, with subtle feelings, rich hand movements and a sense of sculpture, which requires all joints of limbs and trunk to bend and form a unique "three-bend" shape.

Peacock dance Dai language is called "Luo Jiayong", "Jia" and "Fan Nuo", which are translated as "jumping peacock" or "jumping sparrow princess", collectively known as peacock dance.