In the ancient times, whenever it came to the Sebin Festival, the Ewenkis would get together to perform the ritual hosted by the tribe head. When the night fell, there would be a grand banquet where all the tribe members enjoyed the delicious bacon and bear meat soup, while dancing around the bonfires. They paid their respect to the God of Bayiannai. The ritual was sacred and full of mystery.
"Sebin" means happiness and harmony in Ewenki. The Sebin Festival, which falls on June 18, is one of the oldest traditional festivals of the Ewenki people. It was once lost because of the decreasing of population and scarce inhabitation. It was, however, resumed 20 years ago in 1993, after the Ewenki Society, a research center studying the Ewenki heritage in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, initiated the proposal of resuming the festival in the hope of maintaining the traditional culture.
A herdsman of the Ewenki ethnic group rides a horse at the annual Sebin (Happiness) Festival in Owenke Autonomous Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 18, 2013. The Ewenki ethnic group has the reputation of the "last hunting tribe in China". [Xinhua/Liu Yongzhen]