The origin of Lusheng Festival

There is a touching legend about the origin of Lusheng Festival.

In ancient times, there was a Miao girl in the village of southwest Zhou. Her name is Awang. Awang is smart and capable, ingenious and beautiful. Her embroidered flowers are colorful, bright and fragrant, attracting swarms of butterfly bees to explore flowers and collect honey. Awang's pigs grow fast and well, fat and strong, killing fat pigs all the year round. Awang's singing is even more golden. Her songs, like "Spring Breeze" and "The Bell Race", make the dolls clap their hands and laugh, make the old people happy and diligent, and make the young men and women dance. Awang respects the old and loves the young and is ready to help others. Awang's father regards her as the apple of his eye, and the villagers in the stockade are also proud of having such a good girl. However, the greedy and cruel pheasant essence has been coveting Awang for a long time and wants to take her as his own. There is no one who doesn't like to mention the pheasant essence in the back of Zhou Nan. A demon wind blew, and dozens of acres and hundreds of acres of good crops planted by people were swept away. It often becomes a tiger and kills cattle; It turned into a wolf and took the child away. Now, it has extended its claws to Awang. At first, it became a rich man from afar, visiting each other. Although he sent wealth with treasures and words, he was rejected by Awang's father. Then, he became a handsome young man to woo Awang. Despite the affectation, the clever Awang saw through its hypocrisy at a glance and resolutely refused. Pheasant essence becomes angry from embarrassment, and if it can't be cheated, it will be robbed. One night, a demon wind blew again, making the sky dark. While people were in a hurry, it opened its claws and took Miss Awang away. The atrocities of pheasant essence aroused the indignation of the villagers. Everyone lit a fire and surrounded the back hill. Young hunters organized a "chicken team", determined to kill pheasant essence and rescue Awang. The fierce struggle began. Pheasant essence makes strange noises and threatens; People blew big horns and sounded gongs, drowning out the strange call of pheasant essence. Pheasant essence spreads its huge wings and pounces on people; The hunter shot a sharp arrow, scaring the pheasant essence to flee back to the back hill. However, pheasant essence is a monster for thousands of years and has practiced kung fu. Except for the throat, it is invulnerable, and the hunter will not be killed for a while. In this way, people and pheasant essence embraced for a day. At this time, a young Miao hunter named Maosha came from a distance. Mao Sha is a strong man, and his hands can lift 10,000 Jin. Mao Sha is an archer, and he can penetrate Yang with a hundred paces. Maosha is brave and upright, specializing in catching monsters and killing pests for the people. When he heard the atrocities of pheasant essence, he immediately rode on a fine horse, climbed mountains and mountains, and hurried to join the "chicken team" Besides, the pheasant essence is surrounded by the back hill, and the king is helpless. It used its unique skills to blow a demon wind and pounce on the "chicken team." This demon wind blew away sand and stones, leaving the sun and the moon without light. People can't open their eyes and hands, so pheasant essence pecks people's eyes with its sharp mouth. Just then, Mao Sha just arrived. He was so angry that he hit with a sword and rushed to meet him. Maosha fought a life-and-death struggle with pheasant essence. Wings come, swords go, from the back mountain to the front mountain, from the front mountain to the back mountain. The villagers shouted in unison to cheer for Mao Sha. The pheasant fought round and round, so that it could not beat Maosha with all its strength. Pheasants are like mushrooms after rain, hoping to fly away and escape. The arrow shot by the man was shaken off by the pheasant essence. Mao Sha is quick-sighted and quick-handed, sheathing the sword, taking out the bow and arrow, holding her breath, and whoosh hit the pheasant's throat. The pheasant essence let out a few screams, fell from the sky and died in the back hill. People save Wang, come together to thank Mao Sha. Mao Sha plucked three pheasant hairs from pheasant essence and gave them to the king. He told her to take good care of herself, then got on the horse, bid farewell to the king, and went to his hunting life. Maosha's bravery and tenacity have been unanimously praised by the villagers. Mao Sha's generosity and integrity deeply touched Awang's heart, and his love came into being. Awang told his father what he thought, and his father agreed with him very much. However, Mao Sha wandered in the countryside. At that time, he came to shoot pheasant essence, took pheasant essence, and left without even drinking a bowl of water or wine. Where to find him now? Awang misses Maosha, tea is gone, rice is gone, and she is getting thinner every day. The old father was very anxious. He thought about it and finally came up with a good way to find Mao Sha. At that time, it was the Spring Festival. My father cut bamboo from the back hill and made it into reeds. He asked the villagers to pass the news on: On the first day of the first month of the ancient calendar, he came to Zhou Xi to jump reeds. As dad expected, the news spread like wildfire, and Mao Sha also knew. On that day, thousands of Miao compatriots came to Zhou Xi to participate in the Lusheng Festival, playing Lusheng, singing and dancing. Mao Sha also came to the meeting. Awang soon found him, and his father gave him the best Lusheng. Awang personally inserted three pheasant hairs on Lusheng and tied his own flower ribbon on Arundo donax to show his love generously. Mao Sha also loves Wang very much, so she immediately took off her silver bracelet, happily gave it to Wang and put it on her hand. The two lovers got engaged amid the cheers of the villagers.

Mao Sha is a brave hunter and a good young man who respects the old and loves the young. He respectfully asked his old father blowing sheng to lead the dance. The old man accepted the request happily and put forward three purposes of Lusheng Club:

First, welcome the Spring Festival;

Second, I wish good weather and good harvest in agriculture;

Third, let Miao young men and women find their lifelong partners.

Everyone is unanimously in favor. In this way, blowing sheng, the old father, led the dance, and people danced heartily, and the cheerful Lusheng sounded in the fragrant fields. People have been dancing for three days. On the third day, that is, the evening of the twentieth day of the first month of the ancient calendar. Mao Sha suggested that spring ploughing is about to begin, and the season waits for no one. For the time being, I will stop dancing lusheng and devote myself to spring ploughing production. Everyone thought that Mao Sha was right. He pushed his old father as the representative and inserted a draft in the middle of the Lusheng field. Lusheng suddenly stopped.

In this way, year after year, the Lusheng Festival in Zhou Xi has become a fixed traditional festival for the Miao people. Small-scale Lusheng conferences have been held in Kaili, Majiang, Danzhai, Leishan and other counties, and finally the general meeting was held in Zhou Xi, ending in a centralized way. Young people who come to Zhou Xi to dance Lusheng always like to put a few pheasant feathers on their own reeds, which symbolizes the triumph of justice over evil and the pursuit of beautiful love. Girls like to dress up. When they dance Lusheng, they tie the woven ribbon on the Lusheng of their beloved boys. Now, the Lusheng Festival in Kaili County still maintains the custom of blowing sheng as the head, and the Lusheng Festival ends with a highly respected old man inserting a draft.