What are the customs of Dai traditional festivals?

The Dai nationality is actually a nation with a long history and characteristic culture. In China, it mainly lives in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and other areas. There are also many festivals of the Dai nationality, and people are most concerned about the three most important traditional festivals of the Dai nationality.

Bath Buddha Festival

The Buddha Bath Festival, also known as the Water Splashing Festival, originated from a ceremony of Brahmanism in ancient India and was later absorbed by Buddhism. It was introduced into Dai areas with Buddhism from the end of12nd century to the beginning of13rd century. With the increasing influence of Buddhism in Dai areas, the Buddha Bathing Festival has become a custom of Dai people and has been circulating for hundreds of years.

Bath Buddha Festival is generally held in June of Dai calendar, which is equivalent to the middle of April of Gregorian calendar. At the Buddha Bath Festival, we should wash away the dust for the Buddha with clear water, and then splash water on each other to wish each other peace. Later, it gradually developed into a pot and barrel, and it became more and more fierce, with drums, gongs, splashing water and cheers.

In Xishuangbanna, traditional entertainment activities such as dragon boat racing, flying high and flying lanterns and various song and dance parties will be held during the Bath Buddha Festival. After repeated promotion by Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture Government, the Bathing Buddha Festival was promoted as the "Water Splashing Festival" and became the biggest festival of Dai people in Xishuangbanna.

Summer festival

The Dai language is called "Haowa", which means entering summer. It started in September of the Dai calendar 15 (mid-July of the lunar calendar) and lasted for 3 months. According to legend, every year in the Dai calendar in September, the Buddha went to the Western Heaven to lecture with his mother, and then returned to the world three months later. Once, just as the Buddha was going to the west to talk about his menstrual period, thousands of Buddhists went to the countryside to preach, trampling on the crops of the people and delaying their production. People complained bitterly and were very dissatisfied with Buddhists. When the Buddha learned about this, he felt uneasy. From then on, whenever the Buddha went to the Western Heaven to give a lecture, all Buddhists were called together and it was stipulated that they were not allowed to go anywhere during these three months, and they could only repent to atone for their sins. Therefore, people call it "closing day".

Summer festival

The Dai language is called "Angwa", which means to come out in summer and originated from the habit of living in the rainy season in ancient Buddhism. The time is 65438 in the Dai calendar+65438 in February+May (around the middle of September in the lunar calendar). It symbolizes that the rainy season in the past three months has ended, and the marriage taboo between men and women has been lifted since the "closed day", so people call it "open day". After the taboo is lifted, young men and women can begin to fall in love freely or hold a wedding. On this day, young men and women dressed in costumes went to the Buddhist temple to worship Buddha, offering food, flowers, wax strips and coins. After the service, a grand cultural rally was held to celebrate the end of fasting since the closing day. The main contents include setting off sparks and rising, lighting lanterns, singing and dancing. Young people will also jump lanterns in the shape of birds, animals, fish and insects around the village. At this time, when the rice harvest is finished, it is also a festival to celebrate the harvest.

There are also some special festivals:

Dam patrol festival

The traditional Dai folk festival in Lvchun area of Yunnan Province 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, people's celebrations began. When singing, singers dance traditional dances. At noon, it reached its climax. After everyone enjoyed themselves, a venerable old man announced the start of "dam patrol", so the celebration team formed an orderly team, led by eight flag-waving players, followed by a large group of people playing suona, knocking gongs and drums, setting off firecrackers and firing muskets. People left the village and headed for the dam.

Egg festival

This is a traditional festival for Dai children, which is held every year on the 10th 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.

Sand piling festival

Traditional Dai festivals 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 household should go to the river to dig a basket of clean sand that has not been trampled by people or cattle and horses. 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 whole village followed the guests and sang and danced like drums.

Bopa

Dai language has been upgraded to monk language, and Dai religious festivals are held in April or August of the 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.

Daoda therapy

Yunnan Dai religious festivals. It is usually held in September of the Dai calendar.

At that time, every household had to weave "aniseed" (a kind of fine-eye basket woven with bamboo) and 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.

Ganmo

Dai language means "Dragon Boat Festival". Yunnan Dai folk religious festival 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 village will raise funds to slaughter a cow, a pig and some chickens, and after arranging the sacrifices, a sacrificial ceremony will be held. 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.

Huangluhui

Also known as Danglu Festival, it is a traditional festival of Dai people in Yunnan Province. 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, there will be a grand dance elephant 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.