Maige Township, Guiyang City: Miao compatriots in Siyin celebrate the "New Year Festival"
The "New Year Festival" is a traditional activity for the Miao people in Siyin in Maige Township to commemorate their ancestors, mourn the dead elderly, and pray for a bumper harvest. On the fifth day of the first month of every year, Miao compatriots dressed in costumes spontaneously gather here to hold a grand event.
Early in the morning, people paying homage to their loved ones, young men and women talking about love, and people watching the excitement crowded the mountains. The four-print "history books" woven with five-color silk threads were even more vivid and exquisite under the protection of the green forest. Those who wear white-headed handkerchiefs represent the deceased elderly who come here to celebrate the Spring Festival. They also carry the old man's clothes and shoes on their backs to express new clothes to the deceased elderly; those who do not wear white-headed handkerchiefs come to watch the fun, and some come to blind dates. Everyone is excited and looks forward to the start of the jumping event.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the clansmen carried the clothes of a deceased person over the age of 15 and "took him to the next year." They entered the big field blowing the Lusheng. At that time, the sound of firecrackers would be loud and the sound would shake the valley. The owner of the big field blowing the Lusheng first clockwise and then counterclockwise. After nine times around the field, the people in the small field blowing the Lusheng entered the field. They still danced nine times in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. The women surrounded the fire and howled loudly, and then used rice wine and charred rice cakes to entertain relatives and friends from all walks of life. Relatives and relatives greeted the bereaved family and wished them peace of mind to return to heaven.
The ceremony was grand and lively. The hillsides, roads and soil were filled with onlookers, attracting more than 10000 people to watch, including many friends from foreign countries.
