How to write the composition of traditional festivals of ethnic minorities?

Songkran Festival is the biggest festival of Dai people, and it is also the most influential festival with the largest number of participants in ethnic festivals. Songkran Festival is the Dai New Year, which is equivalent to the middle of April in Gregorian calendar. This festival usually lasts for 3 to 7 days. On the first day, the Dai language was called "Mairi", which was similar to the Chinese New Year's Eve. The next day, the Dai language is called "angry day" (empty day); The third day is the first day of the New Year, and it is called "Overlord Horse", which is actually the beginning of a year. People think this day is the most beautiful and auspicious day. In the early morning of the festival, Dai men, women and children put on festive costumes and carried clear water. They first went to the Buddhist temple to bathe the Buddha, and then began to splash water on each other to wish each other luck, happiness and health. People are dancing and shouting "water! Water! Water! " The sound of gongs and drums is soaring, and the water is splashed everywhere. The scene is spectacular.

During the Songkran Festival, Dai youth like to play the game of losing packets in the open space in the forest. The flower bag is made of beautiful flower cloth and contains cotton paper, cottonseed and so on. , and decorated with five spikes at four corners and center. It is the token of love, and young men and women get to know each other through losing and receiving packages. After the girl consciously let the young man lose, the young man gave the girl the prepared gift, and both of them left the crowd and went to a secluded place to fall in love.

The Songkran Festival was once a religious ceremony of Brahmanism in India, and was later absorbed by Buddhism. It was introduced to Dai areas in Yunnan through Myanmar, with a history of 700 years from the end of13rd century to the beginning of14th century. With the increasing influence of Buddhism spread to the south in Dai areas, the valley study of Water-splashing Festival has become more and more extensive.

Legend of the Water-splashing Festival

Songkran Festival is an annual traditional festival of the Dai people (April 13 to 15 in the solar calendar). The Dai language is called "cold combined with cold", which means "June New Year" or "Dai calendar New Year". In fact, the Songkran Festival is the New Year of the Dai calendar. Because of the Dai calendar, the New Year begins in June.

However, there are two legends about the origin of the Songkran Festival. A long time ago, an evil devil occupied the beautiful and rich Xishuangbanna and married seven beautiful girls. The girls are full of hatred and plot how to kill the devil. One night, the youngest girl drunk the devil with the best wine and meat, exposing his fatal weakness. It turns out that this demon king who is fearless can't even prick his neck with his own hair. The alert little girl carefully pulled out a red hair of the lich king and tied it around his neck. Sure enough, the devil's head fell off and turned into a ball of fire. Wherever it rolls, the fire of evil will spread. Bamboo houses were burned and crops were burned. In order to put out the evil fire, the little girl grabbed the devil's head, and the other six girls took turns splashing water on it, and finally put out the evil fire in June of the Dai calendar. The villagers began to live and work in peace and contentment. Since then, there has been the custom of splashing water every year. Now, the custom of splashing water has actually become a form of mutual blessing. In the eyes of Dai people, water is a symbol of holiness, beauty and light. With water in the world, everything can grow, and water is the god of life.

However, the story of Lijiang Huaping Dai Water-splashing Festival is unique. The Dai people here are the northernmost Dai tribe in China and even in Asia. Their story goes like this:

Legend has it that a long time ago, A Dai village near Jinsha River lived in the deep forest. Because the forest is on fire, the villagers are in danger of being swallowed up by the fire. In order to protect the village, a man named Li Liang from A Dai rushed out of the battlefield, carried several buckets of water from Jinsha River and doused the mountain fire. After a day and a night of hard work, the mountain fire was finally put out and the villagers were saved. Li Liang, sweating and thirsty, collapsed on the mountain. The villagers called Qingshui to quench Li Liang's thirst, but drinking 99 barrels of water could not quench his thirst. Later, Li Liang jumped into the river, became a dragon, and went along the river. Some people say that he has become a big tree. To commemorate Li Liang, every year on the third day of the third lunar month, Dai people clean every household, sprinkle pine leaves, and build a half-mile-long green shed along selected rivers or wells. The shed is covered with thick pine needles, and there are water tanks filled with water on both sides. At noon, when the sun is at the top, everyone goes under the shed and sprays pine branches on each other to express their memory of Li Liang and their wishes for the New Year. This activity has continued to this day and has become a festival for the Dai people to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year-the Water-splashing Festival.

The water-splashing festival is coming, and the Dai people are busy killing pigs, chickens and making wine. They also have to make many "rice cakes" and Baba made of various glutinous rice to eat during festivals.

Songkran Festival activities

The Songkran Festival lasts for three days. On the first day, rowing dragon boats, flying high and performing arts; Splash water the next day; On the third day, young men and women lost their bags together and exchanged materials.

The Songkran Festival is usually held on the banks of the beautiful Lancang River. When the dawn reflected the "City of Dawn", people of all ethnic groups dressed in costumes gathered here from all directions. At the command, one by one rose into the air and went straight through the sky, like an arrow of a dragon boat, heading straight for the other side. At this time, thousands of golden bamboos played together, gongs and drums sounded like feet and drums, and the Lancang River suddenly became a sea of joy.

At the beginning of water splashing, the polite Dai girl said a blessing, while soaking bamboo leaves and branches in the water in the basin and splashing each other. At the climax, people use copper bowls, washbasins and even buckets to hold water and play and chase in the streets. They only feel that the water in front of them and the water behind them are soaked from head to toe, but people are in high spirits and full of laughter everywhere. After a period of water baptism, people form a circle and dance with the accompaniment of gongs, drums and elephant feet drums, regardless of nationality, age and occupation. Excited, people also burst into cheers of "water, water, water". Some men jump and drink, staying up all night.

"Packet loss" is the most romantic, and it is often a special game for unmarried Dai youth. Treasure is a symbol of love. Made by Dai girls with cotton seeds, the four corners of the bag are decorated with colorful flowers. When the bag was lost, men and women stood in a row on the grassy lawn. First, the Dai girl threw the bag to the boy, and then the boy threw it to the girl to convey their feelings. In this way, flowers fly around, and finally the feelings communicate to a certain extent. The two sides quietly withdrew from the packet loss field and found a quiet place to whisper to each other.