Folkways and Customs of the Dai People

The Dai in China are an ethnic minority with a long cultural tradition and a population of nearly one million, mainly living in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Yunnan, Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in the west, as well as Gengma and Menglian Autonomous Prefectures, while the others are scattered all over Yunnan.

The Dai people have a long history, and the Dai language belongs to the Dai branch of the Zhuang Dai language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. All people believe in Buddhism, but primitive religious activities are also more common, such as sacrifices to the village God, village ghosts, agricultural sacrifices, hunting sacrifices, spirit worship.

The Dai Water Festival

A Origin of the Water Festival

The Water Festival is the Dai New Year's Day, 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, usually lasting 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 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 A.D. through Burma with Buddhism into the Dai region 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 seven clever girls discovered the devil's Achilles' heel in his words, that is, only the devil's own hair can kill him. One night, when the demon was drunk and fell into a deep sleep, 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. Seeing that it would become a disaster, the girls immediately picked up the head, and the fire was extinguished, and the demon disappeared with it. In order to prevent the fire from rekindling and plaguing the people, 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 and the exhaustion of adulthood. Later, the Dai people in honor of the seven resourceful and brave women, on this day every year to splash water on each other, since the formation of the Dai people resigned to the old and welcome the new grand festival - Water Festival.

B Water Festival Blessing

In the "Mai Day", early in the morning, people have to pick flowers and green leaves to the Buddhist temple offerings, and bring water to the "bath Buddha" - for the statue of Buddha! The Buddha's image is washed with fresh water. "Bathing Buddha" finished, collective mutual water splashing began. A group of young men and women with a variety of containers of water, out of the streets and alleys, chasing and playing, everyone will splash. "Water flower release, Daijia crazy", "splash wet all over, happiness for life"! Symbolizing good luck, happiness, health, a flower in the air bloom, people splash as much as they can sprinkle, laughter, happy exceptionally, soaking wet, interest in high ......

C Water Festival Love

The Water Festival is also a wonderful time for unmarried young men and women to seek love and cultivate happiness. During the Water Festival, unmarried young men and women of the Dai ethnic group like to do the "bag throwing" game. The flower bag crafted with flower cloth in the girl's hand is a token of love. Throw package day, the girls dress up to the best of things, and then hit the flower umbrella, carrying a small flower package to the "package field", and the young men on both sides of the separation, thirty to forty paces apart, began to each other to throw the flower package. If the young man can not catch the girl threw the flower bag, you have to prepare the flowers in the girl's hair on the fly, the girl if you can not catch the young man threw the bag, you have to put the flowers into the young man's chest ...... so gradually selected each other, a romantic love story began ... ...

D The Power of the Water Festival

Dragon boat rowing is one of the most exciting events of the festival and is often held on the third day of the festival, Mai Paya Evening Ma. On that day, people dressed in festive costumes gather on the banks of the Lancang River, Ruili River, to watch the dragon boat race. River moored in green colorful dragon boat, the boat sits dozens of strong sailors, the horn, ready to start the dragon boat like an arrow flying forward, suddenly the whole river, drums, gongs, trumpets, cheers, one after another, sound corresponding, the atmosphere of the festival here reached a climax ......

E Songkran Dance

The Dai people are good at singing and dancing, and the Water Splashing Festival is naturally characterized by dancing. Large-scale dances are mainly arranged on the third day of the Water Splashing Festival, such as the Elephant Foot Dance and Peacock Dance. From seven or eight years old dolls to seventy or eighty years old, all dressed in holiday costumes, gathered in the village square, to participate in the collective dance. The Elephant's Foot Dance is enthusiastic, steady and elegant. The dancers form a circle and dance with manganese gongs and elephant foot drums, cheering "my, my" or "water, water" while dancing! Peacock dance is beautiful, elegant, lyrical, is the soul of the Dai dance, dance to the peacock's posture as the basis for the recreation of the interest and beauty, focusing on the cohesion of the Dai sons and daughters of the aesthetic purpose. There are a lot of dancers to show off their own improvisation, some sing while dancing, some even dance while drinking, such as intoxicated, wild and unrestrained, jumping for days and nights without knowing fatigue.

F Water Festival "Gao Sheng"

"Put Gao Sheng" is another reserved program of the Water Festival. Gao Sheng is a kind of fireworks made by the Dai people, filling the bottom of the bamboo pole with gunpowder and other ingredients, placing it on the bamboo frame, connecting the fuse, and setting it off at night. Release high rise, ignite the fuse so that the gunpowder combustion will produce a strong thrust, will be pushed into the sky like a rocket bamboo. Bamboo spit with white smoke, emitting whooshing whistling sound, while in the air released brilliant pyrotechnics, as if the flowers, colorful, very wonderful. The ground is cheering, applauding one after another, the sound of discussion, praise, not lively.