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The festivals of the Nu ethnic minority include the Spring Festival, Fresh Flower Festival, Worship to the Valley God and Worship to the Forest, among which the Spring Festival is both ceremonious and of primitive simplicity. Apart from the Spring Festival, they celebrate the Fresh Flower Festival on March 15 on the lunar calendar, Worship to the Valley God on December 29 on the lunar calendar and so on. During these festivals, some appropriate foodstuff needs to be prepared, in addition to wine. In the Worship to the Valley God, people will put food and minced meat in bamboo basket and mix them up. Afterwards, they eat them using their hands.
Spring Festival
At the end of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, every family will tidy up the courtyard, clean ash in the stoves, decorate the door with pine twigs and cover the floor, cookers, dishware as well as other utensils with green pine twigs, meaning to send off the former year and welcome the new one.
On the evening of the eve, every family will have a family reunion dinner. Young men lead up to fetch lucky water from a well and pay respects to the elder. The elder will feast them with wine, oil tea, fried dough twist and so on. A portion of the pastry and meat soup from the first meal is to be given to cattle and dogs. As cattle do not eat meat, the host will open its mouth and force it to drink the soup.
During the festival, people slaughter pigs and sheep. They send gifts to each other and invite friends and relatives to a sumptuous dinner and enjoy themselves together.
Fairy Festival
The Fairy Festival is a traditional festival of the Nus in Gongshan Mountain of Yunnan Province. The local people call it Fresh Flower Festival. It takes place on March 15 of each lunar calendar year.
On the occasion, every village will choose a cave where there is stalactite as the fairy cave. People will worship in the fairy cave with offerings. The festival coincides with the blooming season of the azalea, so bundles of azalea will be offered to the fairy, too.
While worshipping, people light up pine twigs. The emcee addresses the greeting and chants the scripture while beating drum. Afterward, all people will kowtow to pray to the fairy for safety. After the worship, every family will set a family feast. Young men and girls are dressed up and go to an open ground to hold an arrow-shooting contest. At the same time, various activities will be organized, attracting people from different places.
It is said that the fairy was a pretty girl called Ah Rong in Jiemu village. She invented the bamboo trip cable to link both sides of the Nu River and channeled a spring from Gongshan Mountain of Gaoli. To escape from a forced marriage of the village chief, she hid herself in the cave and became a stone statue.
It is said that the day she became the stone statue happened to be March 15 of the lunar calendar. Hence, people worship her on the date to memorize this clever and tough girl. |
