What do Achang people play spring lanterns for?

During the Spring Festival, Achang villages will not only take swings, but also play Spring Lantern. Achang people have played spring lanterns for hundreds of years, but because Achang people have no characters, no one can tell the exact time.

The origin of Achang people playing spring lanterns is mainly related to their religious beliefs. They believe that the lamp has a "lamp god" who is in charge of the life and death and the rise and fall of human beings and everything. Playing spring lanterns is actually a religious activity to pray for people's safety, the prosperity of six animals and the bumper harvest of grains. Where there is a "lamp god", there is a "lamp root", and if there is a "lamp root", you must play with lamps to eliminate disasters. The custom of playing lanterns in Achang area has a long history, which can be said to be deeply rooted. There is a saying that "if you don't play lanterns for three years, the dead horse will suffer from the plague." So playing with lanterns is a religious act in Achang area.

The main contents of Spring Lantern are: playing with two lions, making spring cattle, picking tea, Lu Ban and Feng Chun. In the meantime, some people say four sentences, interspersed with martial arts and acrobatic performances, which are humorous and make people never tire of watching them. "Spring Lantern" is mostly performed in local dialects, and its lines contain rich production knowledge and life experience, which is deeply loved by the masses. The characters in Spring Lantern are all dressed up by men, and there are some animal characters closely related to people's lives, such as monkeys, tigers, buffaloes and herons. The appearance of these animal images is a true portrayal of Achang's ancient living environment and labor scene, which is related to Achang's primitive totem worship.

Nowadays, Spring Lantern, as a valuable cultural heritage of Achang nationality, has been continuously carried forward, blended with many modern elements, and is closer to modern people's lives, and its religious influence is weakening day by day.

However, the elements of art and entertainment gradually strengthened, and spread widely in the Achang area of Lianghe in the form of folk literature and art, which greatly enriched and enriched the spiritual life and cultural life of Achang.