As the most important festival in Qiang's traditional culture, Qiang's New Year represents prosperity and happiness and is celebrated on the first day of the tenth lunar month. During the festival, sacrifices are made to the god of heaven, the god of the mountain, and the god of the village to show gratitude. Once the sacrifices are made, the villagers consume food, drink, and dance. This is an occasion for the Qiang people of China's Sichuan Province to praise and offer thanks to heaven for prosperity. They do so by reaffirming their harmonious and respectful relationship with nature and promoting social and family harmony.
Qiang New Year has roots in ancient folklore. In ancient times, the daughter of the Heavenly God married a young Qiang Man. This young woman brought seeds for trees and grains, as well as livestock. She planted the seeds in the field and brought them to the Qiang People in the autumn. When harvest came, trees grew into forests, grain was harvested, and domestic animals were well fed and plentiful. On Oct. 1st of the lunar calendar, she offered sacrifices to her heavenly father as a mark of gratitude. She prescribed this day as an important festival to be observed every year.
The Qiang people gather together with their family and relatives on Qiang New Year's Day to make small flour cows, sheep, and chickens and then sacrifice them to the gods. Shi Bi hosts the ceremony. It is said that the predecessor of Shi Bi, “A Ba Mu La”, is one who is sent from the heavenly god's home and can tell fortunes, expel evil spirits, cure diseases, and exorcise ghosts. He sent Shi Bi to the mundane world to avert calamity. As such, he is considered the first Shi Bi of Qiang culture.
As part of the sacred ritual sacrifice, villagers will dress in their finest ceremonial clothing, and sacrifice a goat to the mountain. This is followed by the sheepskin-drum and salang dances, which are led by the shibi (priest). The ensuing celebration will involve drinking wine, eating, and dancing. The shibi will chant Qiang epics by singing, and the communal celebration will include merrymaking. A family worship service is conducted at the end of the day by the heads of the family, during which sacrifices and offerings are made.
Qiang traditions distilling history and cultural information are renewed and disseminated in this festival, social behavior is reinforced, and the community honors and worships all living creatures, the motherland, and their ancestors. Since migration has declined, interest in Qiang heritage has decreased among young people, and outside cultures have had an impact on the festival. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, however, destroyed many Qiang villages and caused extensive damage throughout the region, making the New Year festival somewhat endangered.
References