"June Festival"-Regong's "Witch Style Dance Ceremony"
June of the lunar calendar every year is the slack season in the Longwu River Basin. It is the season when the crops in the agricultural area are about to mature and the pasture in the pastoral area is the most lush. Large-scale folk nesting activities called "Zhou Balerou" by local ethnic groups will be held in vast Tibetan and Tu villages. "Zhou Balesan" is Tibetan, meaning June Song and Dance Zhou Ba, translated into June, Lerou, meaning song and dance). It is called "Nadun" in the Turkish language, and it is called "June Song and Dance" or "June Meeting" in Chinese. This is a humanistic phenomenon with a strong primitive religious atmosphere and complex and rich cultural forms and cultural connotations. During the sacrificial process, many special customs and rituals were the same as those in the Kangba and Weizang Tibetan areas, while some were completely different; some even disappeared in other Tibetan areas, but only the Tibetan and Tu people in the Regong area were completely preserved.
On the 17th day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, the "June Festival" sacrificial activities in the Regong area kicked off in a Tibetan village named Siheji. Later, dozens of Tibetan and Tu villages in the Longwu River Basin were launched one after another. The number of days of sacrificial activities in each village varies, with the longest being five days and the shortest being two days. Every village where the "June Party" ceremony is held has a temple in which the patron saint of the village and the region is enshrined. Among these gods, in addition to the local mountain gods, there are also mountain gods from other Tibetan areas, such as the Nianqing Tanggula Mountain God, the Animaqing Mountain God, and the Gangdise Mountain God. In addition, there are also the Han God Ichirang God and the Tibetan epic King Gesar and other gods. In the original Tibetan belief, any mountain peak is believed to have gods living on it. In the entire Tibetan spiritual world, they belong to the god system that protects the world. This polytheistic worship phenomenon in the June sacrificial activities is also a product of the blending and mutual penetration of different ethnic groups, different religions, and different types of cultures in the Regong area over the long-term historical development.
The villages where sacrificial activities are held all have 1 - 2 "rawa" rawa, which is Tibetan, meaning god of god, and is called mage or wizard in Chinese). He was a special person and played a special role in the sacrificial activities. "Rawa" is considered to be the communicator between man and God, allowing God to come and possess him and speak on behalf of God. "Lawa" must be male, selected from among the many men in the village who can exercise power to "devil", and then recognized by the living Buddha of the temple. "Rawa" is not a cleric of Tibetan Buddhism, so his life is completely secular. However, a few days before the sacrificial activities begin,"Rawa" must keep his body clean and must not come into contact with women. He must go to the temple to be baptized by the living buddha and hold a prayer ceremony. This is an important ceremony before the start of the "June Festival" sacrificial activity, and it is also an important feature of the Regong June sacrificial activity. With him, the entire event has "aura".
During the "June Meeting", the villagers 'costumes were very particular, and dancers had to wear full costumes. Tibetan robes are mostly sewn with high-grade silk or silk materials. Border it with otter skin or other animal skin at the leader's place. The man wears a white or red high-cylinder felt hat and wears Tibetan knives and other objects. Women's costumes are the most beautiful. Tibetan women's Tibetan robes often use contrasting belts to express strong color beauty. For example, green or blue brocade robes are worn with fiery red or bright yellow belts, giving people a bright and eye-catching feeling. Shirts pay attention to long sleeves, which are rolled up at ordinary times and put down during dancing, so that they can "dance well with long sleeves". In addition, Tibetan people like to wear original and authentic natural gems to decorate themselves, such as gold, silver, coral, manau, amber, turquoise, etc. Girls like to braid their long hair into rectangular plaits, with red brocade as the base, and two rows of small dragon bowls "silver shields" engraved with auspicious hoarding tables and inlaid with various jewelry are arranged on them, which fully reflects the Tibetan people's aesthetic values of beauty and beauty. The entire costume looks colorful, dazzling, solemn and elegant.
The most prominent feature of the "June Festival" sacrificial activities is "entertaining the gods with dance." Through this ancient dance, the vast number of Tibetan and Turkish people pray for the gods to bless this land with abundant grain yields, prosperous livestock, and smooth weather. This is the ultimate goal of this ancient folk sacrificial activity. The entire sacrificial activity showed traces of a primitive witchcraft style everywhere. Here,"the witchcraft style is the dance style" and "the altar is the dance stage". The scale, number of people, duration, and system of their dances are relatively rare among today's existing folk dance cultural forms. This is a folk dance cultural phenomenon with great research value and exploration potential.
The June sacrificial dances in the Regong area can be roughly divided into three categories: the first category is "Lasze" in Tibetan, meaning divine dance); the second category is "Moheze" in Tibetan, meaning military dance); the third category is "Lesze" in Tibetan, meaning dragon dance). Each type of dance consists of several sub-dances.
"Rashi" is a dance dedicated to God and consists of l3 programs. There are 27 Tibetan and Shang villages performing this dance in the Longwu River Basin. The performance times vary, some are on the 17th to 25th day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, and some are on the first day to the ninth day of the first month.
"Leshze" is a dance that sacrifices to the dragon god. There are 20 Tibetan and Tu villages in the area performing the dance. The time is generally between June 17th and 25th of the lunar calendar. The dance consists of 13 programs. Dance originated from the theory of praying for dragons for precipitation. The dancing methods and legends about the dance in each village are different, but this dance is consistent in its function of praying for god and rain.
"Mo Heze", also known as military dance, is a dance that reflects ancient war scenes. It is said that in ancient times, the Tibetan army and the Tang army fought in the Regong area. Later, peace was mediated by eminent monks from both sides. The Tibetan army danced this dance to celebrate victory. Because it is a dance that represents ancient wars, the dancers are all male. There are 4 townships and 10 Tibetan and Tu villages in the Longwu River Basin performing this dance.
Each village also conducts ceremonial guest performances with each other during the sacrificial activities. The guest dance teams generally range in size from 10 to 20 people. The dance team must be led by Rawa. When the guest dance team arrived in a different village, the owner organized the whole village to go out of the village to hold a grand welcoming ceremony and entertain them with tea and rice. Afterwards, the dance teams of both sides performed the "Rashi" and "Lashi" dances under the leadership of their respective Rawa to entertain the gods together. At the same time, they show everyone the unique style of their respective dances.
The origin and cultural connotation of the "June Conference"
The "June Festival" is the largest folk traditional religious festival for the Tibetan and Tu people in the Longwu River Basin of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is also the longest national festival with the widest participation in the region. The special customs and rituals it displays are filled with the relics of primitive religions such as Ben and Shamanism, and contain extremely rich cultural connotations such as folk dances, operas, and sacrificial rituals. Moreover, these folk religions are intertwined with Tibetan Buddhism.
The cultural framework of the "June Conference"
The June Festival in Regong area includes offering sacrifices to gods, inviting gods, and welcoming gods. In addition, there are various activities such as dancing gods, worshiping gods, praying, sending gods, military dance performances such as Mo Taizze), god dance performances such as Lasizze), dragon dance performances such as wedding, reproductive worship, Rai, and Min Wen Tibetan opera performances. This is a grand religious festival attended by both Tibetans and Tu people in Regong area. Folklore scientists compare its grand folk activities to Shehuo in the Han nationality and Wangguo Festival in Xizang. In fact, from a historical and anthropological perspective, various activities such as Regong folk sacrifices and folk dances are a kind of primitive culture, namely rituals and celebrations. Therefore, historians regard rituals as living fossils of ancient human culture, because the origin, nature, and types of religious rituals, especially witchcraft and taboos, retain the historical features of early nations.
We believe that using the term "June Celebration" to describe the "June Festival" in the Regong area of Huangnan, Qinghai can more accurately reveal its historical evolution and cultural connotation. As far as this chapter discusses inner guests, it is more appropriate to call the "Wu Feng Dance Sacrifice" the theme of the sacrificial activities in the "June Gathering".
1. The origin of the "June Conference"
The "June Conference" recreated the legendary past in the form of folk religious rituals. According to our on-site investigation, the "June Festival" originated from totem worship. Its earliest form was a grand celebration. It was a primitive witchcraft in which wizards led people to dance.
First of all, we will look at the source of the folk dance of the "June Festival" from the rituals and myths and legends. The folk dances such as god dances, dragon dances, and military dances in Regong's "June Festival" are mainly distributed in dozens of villages in the area such as Longwu, Sitaiji, Niandu, Suhuri, Langjia, Guomari, and Gashari. Each village also has many legends about its origin. According to the memories of Minke and veteran artists in Tongren's townships and villages, the origins of the folk dances in the "June Festival" sacrificial activities include the following legends.
1)angels said
Mashidang Village and Yashidang Village in Tongren Zhamao Township are villages where Tibetans and Tu people live together, and they mainly dance the "Lasze" god dance). Legend has it that before humans appeared, a strong wind like a cross king Kong suddenly blew in the endless sky. After the strong wind, many oceans appeared. Among them, there is a large mountain exposed in the center of the largest ocean, surrounded by seven hills. There are four continents and eight small continents around the seven hills. There is an iron mountain between them. There is a Bodhi tree growing on the mountain. Its trunk is amazingly tall. Its roots are stuck in the city of Asura in the sky, and the tips of the trees penetrate into the thirty-three layers of heaven where the Jade Emperor lives. Bodhi trees can bear longevity fruits, and fruit eaters can live forever. When the tree blossomed and blossomed, there was a war between Asura and the divine soldiers and generals of the 33rd Heaven over the longevity fruit. In a war, the soldiers on the 33rd Layer of Heaven were beaten to a pulp by the Ashura soldiers. In a critical moment, the Jade Emperor asked the Vajra Hand Bodhisattva to assist in the battle and said,"Go quickly to the world and invite the 13 war gods. They will definitely be able to help you defeat the soldiers of Ashura." The soldiers of the 33rd Heaven quickly invited the I3 war gods. They were the gods of Buddha revival, the gods of heir reproduction, the gods of subjugating enemies, the gods of disaster control, the gods of longevity, the gods of beauty, the gods of accumulated virtue, the gods of heroism, and the gods of worship., the gods of beauty, achievement, large-scale efforts, and fame. They worked together and quickly defeated the Axiu soldiers. After the victory, the Jade Emperor held a victory celebration ceremony in heaven. Twelve earth mother fairies led by Majiamao, the Queen Mother of the West, also came to participate in the grand ceremony and performed various beautiful divine dances for the 13 war gods to watch and express their gratitude. Later, among the 13 war gods, the Fufei God, was reincarnated into the world and became a brave warrior named Razanmu Jiagao, which means the general of the brave god, also known as Razan, the god of severity. Later, when he was the Tibetan king Chisong Dezan, he was sent by Master Lian Hua Sheng to Ando to be the patron saint. He lived on the highest mountain in Tongren Zhamao Village, and became the mountain god of the place where he was dressed. He brought the divine dance danced by 12 fairies including the Queen Mother of the West for the war god to the place of Zamao. It was passed down to the hairy people, so it was called the divine dance. From then on, there was a "Rashze" here.
Another way to say the divine dance is that the performances of "Toshze","Leshze" and "Mo Heze" were all directed by a master. A master is the incarnation of God and the representative of God, and the words and deeds of a master are the words and deeds of God. It is said that once a god does not like something during a performance, the god will not truly possess him, the master will not be able to speak myths, and many eulogics will not be able to speak. Artists from Nianduping Village said: "Once God truly possesses him, he will say the tribute in Chinese." In short, it is a dance for God. Everything is decided by God and has the function of entertaining both God and others.
There is also a legend among the hairy people. Legend has it that more than 300 years ago, the court sent an official. Named Gaqigarni, he came to Zamao Village and called on the masses to open up land and cultivate land. He lived in Mashidang Village and built a castle on the ground. A few years ago, while leveling the land, he discovered the ruins and unearthed stone mortars, glazed tiles, bricks and other cultural relics), and performed the dances of "Lasze","Lesze" and "Moheze".
2)Dragon God said
According to old artists from the villages of Suhuri, Wutun, and Mabarizha, during the Tibetan kings of Songzan Gambo and Chisong Dezan, the two armies of Tang and Fan fought constantly and fought from time to time in Ganjia and other places on the border of Tongren and Xiahe County. Later, after reconciliation between the two sides, an armistice and peace was achieved. The Tibetan army danced here to celebrate the victory. While everyone was dancing happily, two dragons came out from the Dagayangcuo Dagaran Sea where the station was stationed, one with a head like a tiger and the other like a leopard, celebrating with the celebrating people. The current performance of Le Shi is the Dragon God Dance. The performer wears colorful pattern gaiters and wears tiger and leopard masks on his head. It imitates the appearance of the Daganetso sea dragon, and jumps in a long dragon-shaped queue in a undulating manner like a dragon snake.
There is also a saying in Suhuri Village. There is a village called Lecang in the village. After the ancestors arrived here, they borrowed a place called Dragon Palace from the original resident Darmacuowa, a former resident, to live in it. Therefore, Lecang is the meaning of Longjia Cuowa. In order to pray for the dragon to protect their safety, the people here painted a dragon girl portrait and presented it to them. On every memorial day, the whole village would respect the dragon and perform the dragon.) This custom is still maintained today. Because the dragon dance is performed differently in each village, its legends are not the same, but there is agreement on the theory that "Lesze" contains dragon prayers for precipitation.
It is said that about 500 years ago, there was a high lama named Tang Chunba in Ganzi, Sichuan Province, who sent his disciple Qing Zhizhi Ge to the Langjia tribe to spread Buddhism. Before leaving, he left the mountain god Amira, whom he had brought, in Langjia, asking him to serve as a protective god for the people of Langjia. He also drew a circle at the Longwa Spring Water Area in Langjia and asked the Langjia people to build a temple for dragons there and dance for them. He said that after doing so, there would be no more drought and water shortage. Therefore, later generations built a dragon temple on the north side of the ditch. In June every summer, the people of Quanli still dance around the spring for the dragon and pray for the dragon to rain.
Another legend is that a long time ago, there was a man named Aniarago in Langjia who found a glimpse of spring water in the Saigongwa Gully behind the beach in order to divert water to irrigate the cultivated land on the north Totolo beach of the village. However, due to the thick sand accumulation in the ditch, the water flow underflows underground before far. Especially in the event of drought, the water cannot be used. Tibetans believe that dragons are specialized in controlling water, and that springs sneak into the ground are caused by dragons. So, Aniarago led some young men and girls to dance and sing for the dragon in front of Longquan every June. There are several poplar trees near Longquan called dragon trees. Children also climb on the dragon trees to play to please the dragon and bless the spring water. Later, in order to facilitate the performance and facilitate the public to watch, the performance was moved to the village. After historical tempering, it finally became an entertaining and mass folk dance activity for the whole village or all the people to jointly worship the gods and dragons.
3)The legend of "Zhou Gang Le Rou" in June Song and Dance
Legend has it that when Tsongkhapa went to Xizang, he took two famous butlers, one named Animaqing and the other named Chejia. The former later became the patron saint of the Amdo area, while the latter became the chief patron saint. When Animaqing arrived in Xizang, he said to the Sixth Division of Tsongkhapa: "I miss Zhou Gang Lerou from our Ando area. I can't eat or sleep. Let me go back and have a look!" Because Tsongkhapa needed him very much, he refused to let him go back. He said,"You really miss him. We will ask the Akans to perform June songs and dances for you in the temple." Therefore, on the 11th and 15th days of December of the Tibetan calendar every year, koji and rai are sung in the temple, and various local dances of Ando are performed to make Ma Qing happy.It is said that there is a portrait of Animaqing appreciating June songs and dances above the second floor of the Grand Sutra Hall of Gadan Temple. It was painted by La Rewa, the famous painter of Gashari, a colleague. The Animaqing in the painting looks fascinated and completely intoxicated in the joy of singing and dancing in his hometown. It can be seen that the June song and dance in Tongren area. Not only has it been passed down for a long time, but it has long been popular, and retains the elements of original worship, that is, the kind of celebration activities that originated from the totem worship of dragons, tigers, leopards, etc., and emerged in the original form of sacrifice,"recreating the legendary past". It is still full of vitality today.
4)The June Festival celebrations originated from the Mongolian Army in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties
Legend has it that in order to calm the people's hearts and oppose the continuous war, the Mongolian army resolutely destroyed all its weapons in the land of Regong. To celebrate this righteous act, Guangda held a god sacrifice and blessing activity, which continues to this day. The historical feast proves it. In May of the third year of Hongwu, Deng Yu went from Lintao to Hezhou, now Linxia, Gansu, where the "Marshal Office of Tuqiang and Others" is located. King Anatasili of Yu, King Bunaci of Zhenxi Wujing, and envoy He Suonanpu of Tibetan) defended the city. After fierce fighting, on May 23rd, Xinhai), the Ming army "invaded Hezhou"(Hongwu Record of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Volume 52). Deng Yu went into exile and pacified various tribes. He Suonan is now Suonan, Dongxiang Autonomous County, Gansu Province. That is, the garrison office) and others led some Nayam to surrender. King Yu fled west. On June 28, King Bunara of Wujing of Zhenxi surrendered in the current Huangnan Prefecture. According to surveys, the Tibetan and Turkish people on both sides of the Longwu River in Tongren County hold grand song and dance activities to worship the gods every year from June 19th to 25th of the summer calendar. Music and dance are all over the sky, which is held to celebrate this popular move of the Mongolian army in the Regong area.
2. The folk sacrificial nature of the "June Conference"
The sacrifices to gods by the Tibetans and Tu people in Regong area are mainly characterized by collective sacrifices on the festival dates. That is, during the folk religious festival celebrations in June. In order to please God, we danced various folk dances and dedicated them to God, hoping that God would bless the safety of the place, people and animals. Therefore, the sacrificial characteristics of this activity can be clearly seen from the June Conference.
1)Each village built temples and had its own mages. The temple is the place where offerings are placed during the June sacrifice and the mage directs the sacrificial activities. The venue in the temple is a place where people dance. Opposite the temple hall is the porter. On both sides of the door are fireplaces for simmering mulberry trees. A statue of the main god of the village is engraved on the inner wall of the gatehouse. The temple buildings in each village are different, and the main gods are different.
2)When each village holds the opening ceremony, it is necessary to sacrifice to the gods in front of each village's temples, that is, to sacrifice to the mountain god and Erlang god to kill the main god of each village. For example, the god worshipped in Longwu Village is God Nian Qin. God Xia Qiong and others, in Sitaiji Village are God Xia Qiong and Erlang, in Langjia Village are God Amira Sun God and Amimateba God, etc., and in Niandu Village are God Animaqing and God Xia Qiong, etc.
In short, Maqin is the largest local god, followed by Xiaqiong, who is a widely believed god in Regong area. When offering sacrifices to the gods, there are three main dance dances: Lashi Tze, Dragon Dance Leshi, and Military Dance Mohe Tze.
3)At the opening ceremony of the "June Festival" sacrifice in each village, there are masters who come to each village to practice practices to eliminate evil spirits and avoid disasters for each village. The forms of each village are different. For example, at the "June Meetings" in Niandu, Guomari and Gasha in the Tu villages, each family asked gods to lead the dancers to practice at their own homes to chase out evil spirits and conquer evil spirits for each family. Wish both people and livestock prosperity a year. The masters in Niandu Village bathe. After going to Longwu Temple to ask lamas to recite scriptures for three consecutive days, they washed their upper bodies with clean water to do a symbolic bath to show their piety towards the gods. Some village masters carry divine sedan chairs, or hold triangular flags and Thangka to exorcise evil spirits and eliminate disasters for each family and pray for good luck.
4)At the closing ceremony, the master gathered all the dancers in the venue. The master faced the tribe and sprinkled wine to pay homage to the gods. Then, he sat on a chair in front of the statue in the temple and practiced the practice, inviting the gods to come. All the staff chanted scriptures and constantly shouted the name of the god of each village. In the atmosphere filled with mulberry smoke and solemn atmosphere, the master shook his body, high-fived his chest, and jumped up and down. After the climax of the child's baptism, the master quieted down, indicating that the god possessed him. After that, the dancers accelerated their steps, and the mage also beat the drums and danced in situ, making a move to send the gods.
In fact, the "June Festival" in the Regong area began with the mage leading his divine team to ask for blessings from the gods for each family, began with the sacrifice of "Laze", and ended with the sacrifice of dances and sacrifices to the gods. All of them had the purpose of offering sacrifices to the gods. Therefore, the colorful dances at the June Conference are a carrier for offering sacrifices to and pleasing the gods. This not only shows that the folk religion in the region maintains its original form of polytheistic worship, but also reveals the legacy of the primitive religion.