The Kuoshi Festival was held in the Yunnan Nationalities
Village from 30 September
– 7 October 2011. The Kuoshi Festival is the grandest festival of the Lisu ethnic
minority and is equivalent to the Chinese New Year.
The Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration and Nujiang
Prefectural Government jointly sponsored
the week-long Kuoshi Festival, which included a Kuoshi Festival themed evening
party, Lisu ethnic banquet, traditional games of Lisu minority, and exhibition
of pictures on Nujiang etc.
The "Kuoshi Festival" is also called the "
Heshi Festival". "Kuoshi" is transliteration of Lisu language,
which means "the beginning of new year" or "the new year".
It is the grandest traditional festival for the Lisus. People used to decide
the day of its celebration by observing natural phenomenon, so they didn't have
the same fixed New Year's Day in different places. Usually it's between the
last ten-day period of December and January of the next year in accordance to
the Gregorian calendar. In December 1993, the government of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous
Prefecture decided that
the "Kuoshi Festival" would be celebrated from 20th to 22nd in
December, so that Lisu people can welcome the New Year and celebrate the
festival at the same time.
During the festival, people generally make wine, butcher
chicken and pigs and pound cakes. All kinds of foods are prepared. They break
pine boughs and insert them on the door, the number of which is the same as
that of men in the house. This implies to get rid of diseases and bring
happiness and good luck. The same as custom of the Hans, they have family
reunion dinner at New Year's Eve. If someone were in other place far from home,
the family members would leave a seat for him and put a bowl and a pair of
chopsticks for him. In some places, people are not allowed to go to others'
homes, even if they are separated-living father and son or brothers. And this
is relieved until the third day of the New Year. In most places, people gather
on sunny ground or open areas since the first day of the New Year. They launch
various kinds of recreational activities, such as singing in antiphonal style,
dancing, swinging and crossbow-shooting, etc.
It's interesting that the Lisus feed dogs the first piece of
pounded cake in "Kuoshi Festival". It's said that this is to thank
dogs for "bringing grain seeds to the human world". There are many
legends about dogs and grain seeds among the Lisus. For example: in ancient
time, human beings wasted too much grain. The God knew it and was very angry,
so he ordered to take all the grain back to the Heaven. Human beings faced the
disaster of getting drowned. At that disastrous moment, a dog dashed ahead
regardless of its safety. It climbed up a pole to the Heaven, stole grain seeds
back and saved human beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment