What are the festivals and customs of the Dai people?

Traditional Festivals of the Dai People

The major festivals of the Dai people are the "Closed Door Festival", the "Open Door Festival" and the Water Festival. "Close the door festival" in mid-July, when it is the busy season, the Buddhist festival is also mostly concentrated in this period, in order to focus on good production, but also to hold a grand "fine Buddha" activities, food, flowers, silver coins, paper money and other offerings to the Buddha. The "Closed Door Festival" lasts for about three months until the "Open Door Festival" in mid-October. The biggest festival of the Dai people is the Water Splashing Festival. It takes place in April every year. According to the chronological calculation, the fourth month of the solar calendar is equivalent to the first month of the Dai calendar.

What are the festivals and customs of the Dai people

Gate Festival

The Dai language is called "into the puddle", meaning that the Lord of the Buddha into the temple. Yunnan Dai traditional religious festivals, held annually on the 15th day of the ninth year of the Dai calendar (the middle of the seventh month of the lunar calendar), which lasts for three months. According to legend, on the ninth day of the Dai calendar every year, Buddha went to the Western Heaven to preach with his mother and returned to the earth in March. Once, just as the Buddha to the West preaching period, thousands of Buddhists to the countryside to preach, step on the people's crops, delaying their production, the people's grievances, very dissatisfied with the Buddhists. When the Buddha learned of this, he felt uneasy in his heart. From then on, every time the Buddha to the West when the Sutra, will be the Buddha disciples are gathered together, the provisions of the three months are not allowed to go anywhere, but only repentance, in order to redeem the previous sins. Therefore, the people second for the "closed door festival".

Open Door Festival

The Dai language called "out of the puddle", meaning that the Lord Buddha out of the temple. Yunnan Dai traditional religious festival. It is held on December 15 of the Dai calendar every year. The content of its activities is the same as the door closing festival. December 15 of the Dai calendar, will be placed in the puddle of things behind the Buddha's seat to take out and burn, said Buddha has been out of the puddle, sixteen monks out of the puddle, the whole family of men, women and children to the Zang room to pay homage to the Buddha. The 17th held a grand "catch do" activities, because this day the Buddha to the West after three months of preaching to return to earth, so the villages and cottages are to sound the gongs and drums, held a grand event to meet the Buddha, but also in the Zang room to the Buddha to confess the sins of the year; monks take advantage of this time to the young men and women to publicize the teachings.

Opening the door to the festival, the agricultural work has been over, the weather is getting cold, Buddhist activities are not too much, young people will be able to talk about love or marriage, adults are going out to do business or visit friends and relatives. This is the time when the Dai people have the most cultural and recreational activities. People set off fireworks, light up fire lanterns, put on high altitude, and tour around villages and villages, which is very lively.

Longshi

Some places also call it "Longchu". The Dai language "Long" refers to a tree or a forest, "show" or "catch" is the meaning of sacrifice, so, "Long show Therefore, "Longshi" is to sacrifice the tree god. Ancient Dai set up a fortress, are to plant a tree to commemorate, so the Dai people to set up a fortress planted trees as the protection of the village.

"Long show" time in the summer calendar in February, the specific time of each village is not the same. Generally by the descendants of the people who set up the village led by the male village to a special tree under the sacrifice, "Longshi" during the period, each other to relatives, mutual congratulations on the holiday. Male and female youths strung across the mountains and villages, singing songs and looking for a partner. Dashun Zhai area in the "Long Show" the next day, young men and women invited to the river fishing fish and shrimp, until the evening and then the fish and shrimp will be caught to take a little, into the river, meaning that the next year, full of fish and shrimp river, catching endless, fishing endless, the evening in the river **** meal, young men and women eat with the same music. "Longshi" period, guests are allowed in and out, must be left behind hospitality, can be but the heart.

Call the soul of the valley

Also known as the "soul of the valley". Every year in October of the summer calendar, the five grains into the warehouse, the Dai people have to choose the end of the month, the last dragon day called the soul of the valley. On this day, each household should go to the field to kill a hen, lit a pile of straw or grain sacrifice. After the sacrifice, a small amount of grain is taken home and put into the storehouse. This is to show that the spirit of the grain has returned home, and the storehouse can be opened for use in the future.

Song Festival

Every year in May Danyang day, the Dai men and women on both sides of the Red River, are to be gathered in the Ma Jie Township, Wuwan village of the propylaeum large dragon pool over the "Song Festival". On the day of the Song Festival, young men and women from various villages come in full costume to carry out the Song Festival between men and women and between villages, from sunrise to sunset. Old people and children come with dried food to listen to the singing. The festival is an excellent opportunity for young men and women to make friends and find a partner.

Splashing Water Festival

Splashing Water Festival is the New Year's festival of the Dai people and the most important festival of the Dai people, which is held in the fourth month of the lunar calendar (equivalent to the fifth month of the Dai calendar) every year and usually lasts for three to four days. The first day is "Mai Day", similar to the lunar New Year's Eve, which is called "Wan Duoshanghan" in Dai language, meaning to send the old. At this time, people want to tidy up the house, clean up, prepare the annual meal and various activities during the festival. The next day is called "annoyed day", "annoyed" means "empty", according to the custom of this day is neither the previous year, also does not belong to the year after the year, so it is "empty day "; the third day called" MaiPaYa late horse ", it is said that this is the Paya late spirit with the new calendar return to earth day, people used to regard this day as the day of the king comes, is the new year's day of the Dai calendar.

The Water Splashing Festival originated in India, is an ancient Brahmin ritual, later absorbed by Buddhism, about the end of the twelfth century to the beginning of the thirteenth century in the twelfth century A.D. through the Myanmar with the Buddhism into the Dai area of Yunnan Province, China. With the deepening influence of Buddhism in the Dai area, the Water Splashing Festival has become a national custom that has been passed down for hundreds of years. In the process of passing down the festival, the Dai people gradually combined it with their own national myths and legends, which gave the festival a more magical meaning and national color.

To this day, there is a very interesting myth circulating among the Dai people: In ancient times, there was a devil in the Dai area who did a lot of evil and abused his power to make the crops fail, and the people had no peace of mind, and the people did not have enough to live on. People hated him, but they tried many ways to deal with him. Later, the devil took seven women as his wives. Seeing the miserable lives of their fellow countrymen, the girls were determined to find a way to destroy the demon. The clever seven girls discovered the devil's Achilles' heel in his words, that only the devil's own hair could kill him.

One night, when the demon fell into a deep sleep after getting drunk, the girls bravely pulled a hair from his head and tied it tightly around his neck. Sure enough, the demon's head immediately fell off. But as soon as the head hit the ground, the ground burst into flames. The girls immediately picked up the head, and the fire was extinguished, and the demon disappeared.

In order to prevent the fire from burning again, the sisters decided to take turns holding the demon's head, changing it every year. At the time of the annual change, people gave the girl who held the head a rinse in order to wash away the blood stains on her body and the exhaustion of the whole year. Later, the Dai people, in honor of these seven brave and resourceful women, splashed water on each other on this day every year, and since then the Dai people have formed a grand festival to celebrate the old and welcome the new - the Water Festival.

Tianba Festival

Tianba Festival is the annual festival of the Dai people to welcome the spring songs. Early in the morning of the 13th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the Dai men and women who are good at singing and dancing, dressed in festive costumes, gather under the big green tree in the village, beating gongs and drums in a joyful manner. Singers carry fragrant rice wine and sing songs of welcoming spring and the four seasons. People dance to the beat of the drums.

When the golden sun rises, an elder loudly announced "patrol Tianba" began, intoxicated in the song and dance of the people automatically formed a team, carrying colorful flags by the eight young people in the lead, we all the way blowing horns, gongs and drums, firecrackers, firecrackers, volleys of musketry to Tianba advancing? "Patrol dam" can be described as the Dai people on the agricultural production of spring "inspection", through this activity, combined with the actual production, villages and cottages have also formulated a number of township rules and regulations.

For example: the whole dam of early rice must be planted before the thirteenth day of the first month; water irrigation, no water theft, water grabbing; no one may not cut a tree in the forbidden zone, violators, the general public penalty of thirty bowls of wine, thirty pounds of meat; village cadres doubled the penalty. The "patrol dam" reflects the traditional virtues of the Dai people who attach importance to agricultural production.

Woba Festival

It is a festival for the Dai people to pray for a good harvest of fisheries and rice, and it is held on the seventh day of the third month of the lunar calendar every year in Dayaowanbi. Legend has it that in ancient times, when foreigners invaded the country and the Dai's ancestor, King Lubai, was killed in battle, the Dai family, led by Prince Qing and Princess Hongmei, continued to fight bravely, but eventually, because of being outnumbered, they retreated to the Jinsha River. Qing and Hongmei were also captured by the enemy and locked up in a cave by the river. The enemy, in order to kill all the Daijia people, colluded with a kind of demon called stone moth in the river cliff to brutalize the Daijia people.

The stone moths made waves, black clouds rolled over, the river water rose, waves, flash floods, mountain rocks collapsed, and the Daijia people were about to suffer from a catastrophe. At this time, the green brother, red sister rushed out of the cave, and the stone moth to start a fight to the death, and finally killed the stone moth, so that the river recedes, stabilized the mountain rock. The black clouds were dispersed, the river receded, the flash floods stopped, the Dai family was saved, the Dai family settled down on the banks of the Jinsha River, and lived a good life of rain and wind.

But in the fight with the stone moths, Qing and Hongmei were enchanted and turned into green fish and red fish. In order to commemorate the Qing brother, red sister to save the Dai people's achievements, every year on the seventh day of the third month of the lunar calendar, the Dai men, women and children have to wear brightly colored national costumes, carrying delicacies and wine, to the Jinsha River, singing and dancing, to hold commemorative celebrations to celebrate the Dai people's victory over the devil. Early in the morning on this day, people come to the Jinsha River early, and when the sun shines on the river, the grand festival ceremony begins.

Under the command of a respected Dai elder, two strong Dai men carried two wooden fish on their shoulders, a green fish and a red fish, and took the musket 3 as a signal, and whistling na to lead the way, blowing and beating the wooden fish to the riverside beach. The crowd trailed to the riverside, led by the elders, went to bring river water in pots, and threw it at the wooden fish in a flurry of joyful singing.

Then the elders in Dai language while chanting words of blessing and good luck, while the green pine branches dipped in the river water, gently sprinkled on the heads of the crowd, people splashing each other, send good wishes. Men, women and children in the suona, man gong, elephant foot drums, accompanied by jumping up the joy of the "Ga Yang dance", wishing the new year, good weather, fish baskets, rice harvest. Today, the Woba Festival gathering place has also become Chuxiong, Lijiang and neighboring areas of Sichuan and Yunnan ethnic groups for cultural and material exchanges, every year to participate in festivals and specialties traded in the masses of more than 10,000 people.

Flower Street Festival

Also known as the "Hot Water Pond Flower Street Festival". Yunnan Province, Yuanjiang Dai folk traditional festival, held every year on the seventh day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the festival period of one day. Dai Ya people also have flower street festival, activities and Dai tithe people basically the same, but the festival is in the sixth day of the fifth lunar month. The main purpose of the Flower Street Festival is to get rid of the old and welcome the new, the morning of the festival, when the sun rises, men, women and children dressed in festive costumes, have gathered to the east bank of the Yuanjiang hot water pond lawn, singing and laughing to celebrate the festival.

Old people talk about the past and present, young people sing and dance, children chasing games, have fun. People also have on the hot water pond of the hot springs bath, to remove the filth of the old year, clean, clean and fresh to meet the year. On this day, unmarried young men and women also held a song, looking for a partner.

Summer Festival

The Dai language called "Haowu", meaning summer. It is held on September 15 of the Dai calendar (mid-July of the lunar calendar) and lasts for three months. According to legend, every year in September of the Dai calendar, the Buddha went to the West to preach with his mother, 3 months to return to earth. Once, just as the Buddha went to the West to preach during the period, thousands of Buddhists went to the countryside to preach, stepping on the people's crops, delaying their production, the people complained a lot, very dissatisfied with the Buddhists. When the Buddha learned of this, he felt uneasy in his heart. Since then, every time the Buddha to the West when the Sutra, they will be the Buddhists are gathered together, the provisions of the three months are not allowed to go anywhere, but only repentance, in order to atone for the sins of the past. Therefore, it is called the "closed door festival".

Out of Summer Festival

The Dai language called "Angwa", meaning out of summer, from the ancient Buddhist habit of living in the rainy season. It is celebrated on December 15 of the Dai calendar (around the middle of the ninth month of the lunar calendar). Symbolizing the end of the rainy season for three months, it lifts the taboo on marriage between men and women since the "Closed Door Festival", so people call it the "Open Door Festival". After the taboo is lifted, young men and women can begin to fall in love freely or hold a wedding. On the day of the festival, young men and women dressed in full costume to go to the Buddhist temple to worship the Buddha, with food, flowers, wax bars, money offerings. After the worship, a grand cultural and recreational gathering is held to celebrate the end of the Anju fasting since the Closed Door Festival.

The main events include the lighting of sparklers and gaosung, the lighting of Kongming lanterns, singing and dancing. Youths also dance around the village with lanterns in the shapes of birds, animals, fish and insects. At this time, the rice harvest is completed, so it is also a festival to celebrate the harvest.

Introduction of the Dai People

The Dai people are a unique ethnic group in Yunnan, mainly living in the tropical, subtropical climate of the fertile, rich dams - Xishuangbanna, Dehong, Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, and Gengma, Menglian and other places. Dai ancestors for the ancient Baiyue in a, "Dai" means love freedom, peace. The ethnic characteristics of the Dai are distinctive and prominent, and the people are generally fond of songs and dances with vivid images and delicate feelings, and the movements are mostly simulations and beautifications of animal forms. Extremely popular "Peacock Dance", "Elephant Foot Drum Dance", especially the "Peacock Dance" on the hall of elegance, its beautiful dance, delicate emotions, the peacock such a beautiful animal simulation of the exquisite, well to anthropomorphic embellishment, bringing people into the realm of poetry in general, so that the audience of the metropolis for which they are overwhelmed. The Dai language belongs to the Han-Tibetan language family and the Dai language branch of the Zhuang-Dong language family. The Dai people have their own script, with which they have recorded rich historical legends, religious classics and literary poems. The Dai people are not only good at singing and dancing, but also have created a splendid culture, especially the Dai calendar, Dai medicine and narrative poems are the most famous.