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Yunnan » Facts » Yunnan Festivals |
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| DESTINATION YUNNAN |
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THE AMATU FESTIVAL OF THE HANI NATIONALITY
The Hani nationality, with a population of 1,060,000, principally occupies the valleys surrounding the Honghe and Lancan Rivers (the upper reaches of the Mekong River). This nationality has over 20 subgroups. Although the Hani people have their own spoken language, they lack a written one.
Hani women wear silver necklaces and used silverware do adorn their ample bosoms. During Spring Festival, every family feasts on food and drink on an enormous table in the middle of the street, which forms a long chain.
The Amatu festival is observed to honor mountains, ancestry, and forests in the Jinping Yao and Dai Autonomous Counties on Dragon day during the second lunar month.
On the first day, a cock is sacrificed to the vagrant ghosts and a bamboo fence is erected to keep the ghosts from entering the village. The next morning, a village priest offers the sacrifice of a white cock to the river, to the mountains, and to the forests that shade it. At noon, they offer sacrifices to the pagoda at the village center. Then a feast is prepared. The first table is situated to represent the dragon's head growing out of the pagoda and the rest of the tables are arranged lineally along the main street. All the male villagers are present at the dinner.
Next, they offer sacrifices to the Dragon Forest, a sacred place where women are not admitted. Three pebbles, painted red with the first menstruation of a virgin in the village, then mingled with the blood of a pig and a dog, are placed in front of the dragon tree. The stone with the virgin's menstruation, offered to the dragon and the mountain, is placed on the right; the stone with the pig's blood, offered to the sacred forest, is laid in the center; the stone with the dog's blood, offered to the ghosts, is laid on the left. A pair of youngsters, dressed up as a virgin boy and a maiden, stand on both sides of the dragon tress symbolizing virginity. Three village elders chant sutras, praying for prosperity and immunity from disasters.
The celebration lasts for seven days, starting three days prior to Dragon's Day. All other activities are cancelled during the time of the ceremony. Any outsiders would be kept in the village until the celebration is over.
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