Maonan Festival Culture

of the

began in the Song Dynasty. It is recorded in the Han Dynasty literature and history manuscripts that there are place names such as "Maotan","Maotan" and "Maonan" in Huanjiang County, Guangxi today. The residents of this area are known as the "Mao Man People". In the 1980s, the "Maonan" was changed to the "Maonan". The Maonan people mainly live in Huanjiang County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and a few are scattered in Hechi, Nandan and other counties. The language belongs to the Zhuang and Dong language family of the Sino-Tibetan family, and has no writing. Most of them are proficient in Chinese and Zhuang, and most of them are proficient in Chinese.

The Maonan people developed from the ancient ethnic group in Lingnan. According to records, the area where the Maonan people lived today was Sien County during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, which was under the jurisdiction of Huanzhou, Lingnan Road; in the Song Dynasty, it was once the territory of Fushui Prefecture; and in the Yuan Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Qingyuan Road. In the first year of Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty, Meihe County belonged to Chizhou River in Sien County. In the Qing Dynasty, Sien County belonged to Qingyuan Prefecture. During the Guangxu period,"Maonan Jia" was set up in areas inhabited by the Maonan ethnic group. Below "A", there are three "amounts" and "amounts" below "," amounts "and" amounts "to form a" general group ". Below the "amount" is a "card" and a "card head" is set up, which generally governs 10 households. In order to resist the oppression and exploitation of the feudal ruling class, the Maonan people constantly fought. He made important contributions to cracking down on the Japanese invaders during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and resisting the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang during the War of Liberation.

Maonan literature is mainly oral literature, including folk songs, myths, legends, stories, fairy tales, etc. Folk songs are divided into five genres: Bi, Huan, Paijian, Jiao and Lang, and 28 tunes. Sing in Maonan and Zhuang languages. Among the five folk song genres, Bi and Huan are the main ones. They are all two-part folk songs sung by two people simultaneously, and most of them are short songs. "Bi" has the backing sound of "Luo Hai", also known as "Luo Hai Ge". There are four types of "Bi Tiao"(seven-character Bi),"Bi Dan"(five-character Bi),"Bi Zao"(urgent singing Bi), and "Bi San Niu"(three and seven characters), most of which are love songs and bitter songs;"Huan" has the backing sound of "Luo Wei", also known as "Luo Wei Ge", and there are two types of "Huan Tiao"(five Yan Huan) and "Huan Zao"(urgent singing Huan Huan), which are mostly ceremonial songs. "Pai Jian"(seven-character Pai Sentence) is a long narrative song, but the long narrative song is also useful and humorous. "Shuan" is a relaxed and lively tune with five characters or seven characters. It is called "Bishuan" if it is close to singing, and "Huanshuan" if it is close to singing joy. It is mostly a congratulatory song and also used to sing children's songs. "Lang" is also a kind of minor, five-character. It wears a mask when singing. It is often sung by a singer during weddings and birthday ceremonies for the main family. The content is often obscene and is generally no longer sung today.

The meter of folk songs is represented by "seven-character comparison"(i.e."comparison bar"). There are four sentences in each chapter. The words at the end of the second and third sentences are rhymed, and the words at the end of the upper sentence (single sentence) and the middle word in the lower sentence (double sentence) are rhymed or alliteration. Each chapter has three chapters, the first chapter is the "mother", and the second and third chapters are the "son". The four sentences of the first chapter are repeated two sentences in the second and third chapters respectively. The eight sentences are sung into three chapters and twelve sentences (i.e., one, two, three, four; five, six, one, two; seven, eight, three, four). This kind of repetitive singing method is called "foot-tightening".

The oral literature of the Maonan ethnic prose includes works that reflect the historical life and real life of the nation, such as stories of struggles against stone mountains, floods, droughts, chieftains, bandits, wealthy people, etc.; the myth of the distant ancestors "The Legend of Pangu"; the legend of the scenery "The Legend of the Bamboo Hat" and "The Legend of the Vegetable Ox"; the landscape legends "Ganquan" and "Seven Nv Peak"; the story of the warrior "Pulling a Tree on Lu Road to Drive the Enemy"; the fairy tale "Centipede and Slug", etc. There are also some stories, such as "Meng Jiangnu Delivers Clothes","Dragon Girl and Han Peng"(i.e. Girl Luosi), and "Dong Yong"(i.e. Fairy Match), although originated from the Han nationality, they have been spread in the Maonan area. The strong national color of the Maonan people is a re-creation of the Maonan people and the result of cultural exchanges among various ethnic groups.

The Maonan people are smart and hard-working. In their long-term production and life practice, they have created glorious culture and art. The myths, legends and folk stories of the Maonan people are quite rich, which truly reflect the morality, values and artistic cultivation of the Maonan people. Examples such as "The Legend of Pangu","The Legend of Sanjiu","Taishi Six Officials","Dingka Flower","Seven Nv Peak" and "Love Stone" have been sung by the Maonan people from generation to generation.

Maonan folk songs also have a unique style and rich content. The love song sung by young men and women outdoors has seven words and eight sentences. It is called "Bi". Because there is an ending sound "Luo Hai" after the two sentences, it is also called "Luo Hai" song. The five-character and eight-sentence congratulatory song sung to each other during the festive wedding festival is called "Huan". A narrative song sung by one person and narrates the historical story and the origin of ancestors has seven characters as a sentence, four sentences as a song, and several songs are combined into a group. It is called "Paijian". At the same time,"Mao Nan Opera" is also popular, which is mostly traditional operas that reflect historical stories and folklore such as the struggling life of ancient working people and the joys and sorrows of love.

Maonan's weaving and carving have a unique national style. The bamboo ware woven is of superb craftsmanship. The famous flower bamboo hat, also known as the "top card flower", uses bamboo strips cut to be only half the thickness of a match to weave exquisite patterns, which are very beautiful. The carved wooden mask is vivid and realistic. The stone pillars, stone tablets, etc. carved have lifelike dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, cranes, longevity pines and geometric patterns, which are deeply appreciated by the people of all ethnic groups nearby.

Maonan festivals have two obvious characteristics: first, they must sacrifice sacrifices to their ancestors; second, they carry out more singing and singing activities. During festivals, pigs, chickens, ducks, beef, wine, glutinous rice, etc. are generally used as sacrifices. The Maonan people like to make tofu rounds during festivals and weddings. The method is to mix pork (or beef), dried shrimp, peanuts, garlic, coriander, and pepper, add salt, mix well to form a filling, and use the mashed water tofu to wrap the filling in your hand or a bowl repeatedly rolled to form a round shape, and then put it in an oil pan to fry until done. When eating, it is put in a pot to make soup. It tastes fresh, fragrant and delicious. It is not only a must-have dish for guests, but also can be used as a gift to each other. During festivals, the Maonan people like to use boiling water to wash beef to receive guests. That is, according to local custom, an iron pot is placed on the fire pond. During meals, everyone gathers around the iron pot and pours raw meat slices and lettuce into boiling water to wash them until cooked, and then dipped them in ingredients to add wine. This is the most common form of banquet among the Maonan people.

The largest folk festival of the Maonan ethnic group is the Dragon Festival after the summer solstice every year. The "Dragon Dividing Festival", also known as the "May Moon Temple Festival", is a festival unique to the Maonan people. It is held two days before the "Dragon Dividing" in the lunar calendar. It is mainly dedicated to sacrifices to gods and ancestors. Men and women in the village, as well as married women and relatives and friends from far away all came to participate, which was grand and enthusiastic. During the Dragon Festival, every household steamed five-color glutinous rice and steamed pork with rice flour, and roasted fragrant pigs. Turn back the willow branches and plant them in the middle hall, squeeze the five-color glutinous rice into small balls, and stick them densely on the willow branches to express a fruitful harvest and pray for a bumper harvest.

During the Fenlong Festival, men, women and children of Maonan put on their costumes, and young daughter-in-law returned to her mother's home to reunite with her parents during the festival. They collected golden flowers and maple leaves to cook five-color glutinous rice; sacrificed five-color glutinous rice and steamed rice flour in the fields to Shennong, praying for good weather and a bumper harvest of grains; killed cattle in Sanjie Temple at the head of the village to pay homage to the legendary founder of Maonan people raising beef cattle. Lord Sanjie, praying for the well-being of people and livestock; he also wrapped five-color rice and steamed rice flour with "Fado"(a kind of leaves as big as a fan) to visit relatives and friends to celebrate the festival. The Dragon Dividing Festival is also a day for young men and women of the Maonan ethnic group to gather. The activities include going to Aokou and singing at the foot of the slope.

The Maonan people also celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, but the meaning of the festival is different from that of the Han people. It is called the "Medicine Festival" among the people. Whenever the Medicine Festival is over, it is customary to pick medicinal herbs such as mugwort leaf, calamus, turmeric, and dog-shit rattan to boil them in water, or use these medicinal herbs to chop them up and make them into stuffing and wrap them in rice dumplings to detoxify and eliminate diseases. On this day, a man went up the mountain to find medicinal herbs. The woman makes glutinous rice cakes at home. This kind of glutinous cake is ground into paste from local shit rattan and rice and cooked in a pot. It tastes fragrant. The old man said that eating this kind of glutinous cake can prevent epidemic diseases. He also ground realgar into powder, and drank a cup of wine to drive away diseases. The old man said that the herbal medicine collected by a man up the mountain on this day was particularly effective. Whether it was a human or a livestock, it could prevent and expel diseases. Put the collected herbs in a pot and boil them. Bathing children with herbal water can prevent various skin diseases. Rich households also eat snake meals on this day. They buy poisonous snakes such as Biantoufeng and Shanfeng, and go outside to simmer them in a tripod pot and add herbal medicine. The old man said that if he ate snake meat snake soup that day, he would not develop sores, rheumatism and other tinea diseases. Each household also picked maple branches and planted them at the gate to drive away all kinds of evil winds and poisonous gases.

Pumpkin Festival The "Pumpkin Festival" of the Maonan ethnic group falls on the 9th day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, which is the Double Ninth Festival. Each family placed the harvested large, orange pumpkins of different shapes all over the floor and selected them one by one. Young people went from house to house to select the "Pumpkin King". Not only the appearance, but also the melon seeds must be seen through the surface. When everyone basically agreed, a strong man used a machete to split the "Pumpkin King". The owner took out the melon ladle and reserved the plump seeds for the next year. Then cut the melons into pieces and put them into the millet porridge pot. Simmer it on slow fire and cook it well. First, put a bowl into a bowl and serve it in front of the incense hall to honor the "Pumpkin King". Then everyone ate together and enjoy it.

Many ethnic groups in China regard Double Ninth Festival as the Elderly's Day and have the traditional custom of respecting the elderly. The Maonan people are no exception, but their styles are different. For the elderly who are over sixty years old but are frail and sick, Maonan people generally "add food to supplement their lives" during the Double Ninth Festival. On this day, the children held several banquets at home and invited relatives and friends to visit. Visitors had to bring a few kilograms of fine grains, rice, or fresh fruits. The "hundreds of rice" sent by relatives and friends must be stored separately. In the future, when cooking for the elderly, I will grab some and mix it into my own rice. After the "Hundred Rice" has been eaten, if the old man has not recovered, he will have to continue to hold the "Grain to Supplement Life" ceremony on a day.

Double Ninth Festival Many ethnic groups in China regard Double Ninth Festival as the Elderly's Day and have the traditional custom of respecting the elderly. The same is true for the Maonan people, but their styles are different. For the elderly who are over sixty years old but are frail and sick, Maonan people generally "add food to supplement their lives" during the Double Ninth Festival. On this day, the children held several banquets at home and invited relatives and friends to visit. Visitors had to bring a few kilograms of fine grains, rice, or fresh fruits. The "hundreds of rice" sent by relatives and friends must be stored separately. In the future, when cooking for the elderly, I will grab some and mix it into my own rice. After the "Hundred Rice" has been eaten, if the old man has not recovered, he will have to continue to hold the "Grain to Supplement Life" ceremony on a day. This custom is actually based on love for the elderly, is in line with the morality and traditional concepts of the masses, and is supported and valued by the local government.

the birds fly to the Maonan ethnic group to celebrate the Spring Festival. The most meaningful activities include "soul gathering", gun washing, morning reading, and bird flying. Among the many festivals and customs of the Maonan ethnic group,"Let the Birds Fly" on the 15th of the first lunar month is the most distinctive and interesting.

Legend has it that there used to be an old monk in Maonan Mountain Township. He had an only daughter who was clever and handsome. She was good at weaving hundreds of birds out of bamboo strips and calamus leaves. She was called the "Little Bird Girl". She fell in love with a young man and was preparing to get married on New Year's Day. The old mage wanted to test the skills of his future son-in-law. On New Year's Eve, he asked him to sow seeds on the land on the mountain before dark. He should have planted grain seeds (millet), but when the young man was anxious, he mistakenly planted them into glutinous rice seeds. The old mage ordered him to pick up all the seeds to avoid being ruined. This time, the young man. When the little bird girl saw this situation, she asked her fiance to go home and pack all the birds they had made in the past in a wicker basket.

The girl blew on the bird she had made and whispered a few words to the young man. The young man took hundreds of birds to the mountain, and these birds quickly flew out and retrieved all the glutinous seeds. The young man re-planted the grain before dark. The old mage was happy when he saw this and said,"The New Year will allow us father and daughter to have a good reunion. On the 15th of the first lunar month, I will send Miss Little Bird to your house to get married." From then on, there was a custom of "letting the bird fly". When the Spring Festival is approaching, every household collects calamus leaves in advance. On New Year's Eve,"Hundred Birds" were woven with calamus leaves. The empty stomach of the "Hundred Birds" was filled with soaked fragrant glutinous rice, rice beans and sesame fillings, and then steamed or cooked in a pot. After taking out of the pot, tie the "Hundred Birds" to a long sugarcane with a string and hang it in front of the incense in the main room. The "hundred birds" include partridge, pheasant, swallows, cormorant, thrush, etc.

On this day, each child in the family is given a "bird" to satisfy their cravings; the daughter-in-law who has married and given birth will go back to her parents 'parents to collect the "bird", hoping that the children will be as lively and lovely as birds in the future. In front of the incense hall, offerings were also placed, including red rice and fruits, intended to pray that all birds would not eat crops, so as to ensure that blessings would be abundant in grain and fruits would be abundant. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, remove the "Hundred Birds", put them into the pot and cook them again. At night, eat the "Hundred Birds" as rice, which is called "letting the birds fly." When "letting the bird fly", Maonan people never forget to relive the legend of "letting the bird fly".

The location of the "Ancestral Wei" is in the south. Xialin at the junction of the two villages in Bochuan (called "Kalin" in Maonan dialect). There is a small hillside here, which looks like a chair. From the foothills to the mountainside, stone tombs are dotted. It is a larger cemetery. There is a mountain stream and water in front of it, and the scenery is very good. Every year in the early morning of Qingming Festival, Maonan people from Xiannan and Bochuan come to "drive weds" among the hillside cemeteries with torches or oil lamps.

The Maonan people of the Middle Yuan Festival are called "July 14th". The actual festival begins on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. On this day, when it was still dark, the main family took a pointed pole and inserted it into the mud on the stone steps of the gate. He placed a bamboo hat on it and tied a handful of grass (or leaves) in the middle. Then he burned three pillars of incense and murmured to himself: "How many are eight daughters? Somasuo is patient." That is: "Male milk! Tie the horse here." Said it was for our ancestors to come back and tie horses. From this day on, the ancestors came back.

On the morning of the 15th, the ancestors were to be sent home. After killing ducks and offering sacrifices, the money paper ash (the atomic nuclei were first burned in a rotten pot) burned from the seventh to the morning of the 15th lunar month was wrapped in two taro leaves or bamboo shells, and packed into a small burden with a small bamboo piece. In Maonan dialect, it is called "Dan Yi Nu Ba", that is, the money carrier for male milk, and sent to the village outside the border or beside the stream, indicating sending the ancestors "home"(that is, back to the underworld). The festival is over. On the 15th, it was forbidden for children to play by the creek, for fear of meeting their ancestors on the road and "taking" the children away.