Naxi festivals
Naxis count time on the basis of the lunar calendar. The main festivals include the Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Firebrand Festival, Temple Fair of Dragon King in March and Mule & Horse Fair in July, etc, many of which are quite similar to those of the Hans. The Spring Festival is the largest traditional festival with many worship activities.
Besides these festivals, there are many other worship activities for Naxis. The greatest one is the Worship of the Heaven. It usually takes place in the first twenty days of lunar January. On the occasion, the place of worship has to be selected and the ceremony is presided over by the priest of the Dongba church. Pigs that are raised to be sacrificed to the Heaven will be slaughtered one by one. Every family has to offer the barley and wheat to brew the wine. When the time comes, people use the whole livestock for the worship. All people present have to wash hands and stand with joss sticks in their hands. After the worship, pig blood will be used to make sausage and pig heads and the tripe will be used to cook soup and all those cooked food will be distributed among families. Three days after the worship, every family will worship by themselves.
There is the Worship to Sanduo (patron saint of Naxis). On February 8 and the Sheep day in August each year, a sheep will be sacrificed for the worship. Naxis in the Lijiang River Region will go picnic in the beautiful wildness with hot pot.
Editor: Feng Hui
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