Xinjiang New Year customs worship trees

Praying for New Year Trees and Worship of Trees

There is an extremely huge elm in Aisinsheli Town, Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County. The Xibe people call it "Wenche Rehalin", which translates into Chinese as "Praying for New Year Tree."

The trunk of the Praying for New Year tree is about 9 meters around, and there are traces of fire on the dry, proving that it has withstood the disaster. It is independent of the fields, vigorous and straight, luxuriant and lush. If you climb a tree branch, you will feel the rustling wind and feel the whole body cool, making you feel relaxed and relaxed.

More than 200 years ago, when the Xibe people moved from the northeast, this tree had only a bowl. An ancient Xibo proverb: "A tree alone cannot be cut down." Thinking that the gods are protecting it, the masses specially protected it and prohibited children from climbing trees and cutting branches.

Every year on the Dragon Boat Festival, Niulu Zuoling invites Saqda (an old man who is deeply admired) and nearby farmers to come to a party under the tree, one to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, and the other to pray for a bumper harvest.

Praying for New Year trees is a tree worship of the Xibo people, but it is actually a legacy of nature worship. Many ethnic groups in Ili have always retained this custom of worshipping trees. They believe that ancient trees are spiritual or a kind of feng shui tree, and indiscriminate logging is strictly prohibited. Anyone who felled a feng shui tree will be punished by nature. A tree alone is more effective. If a single tree is felled, the grassland will suffer disaster. People often tie various strips of cloth on individual trees on the grazing road to show their worship for the trees.

It is a custom for the grassland people to tie tree banners. Tree banners must be tied wherever gods are believed to exist. For example, hot springs, caves, single trees, or sacred places. Generally, cloth is formed into flags on nearby branches or bushes, and wooden poles or tree forks are inserted in places where there are no trees. Whenever this kind of situation is seen on the grassland, it is regarded as a closed place and must not be trampled on or cut down at will. Moreover, men have to get off their horses when passing through the ground, and women have to tie cloth strips when passing by. Over the years, tree flags have been formed more, which makes it particularly mysterious and spiritual.