Suningxi Festival of Shui Ethnic Minority
Basic Introduction
- Chinese Name: 水族苏宁喜节
- English Name: Suningxi Festival of Shui Ethnic Minority
- Festival Timing: Chou Day in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar.
The festival takes place on the first Chou Day (the second day of the second lunar month) of the twelfth month in the lunar calendar (equivalent to April in the solar calendar). It is said to be the day when the Mother Goddess distributes offspring to the world, and it is widely celebrated and commemorated in the Shui regions.
Suningxi Festival, which is specific to Shui Ethnic Minority, is held in lunar December in Sandu Shuizu Autonomous County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province( 贵州省黔南布依族苗族自治州三都水族自治县). According to the legend, the Heavenly Queen Mother (王母娘娘) would send babies to the world on Suningxi Festival, so it is also known as Niangniang Festival(娘娘节).
During the festival, the Shui show great respect for women, which has been embodied in the action that all ceremonies are held by women. In order to celebrate the festival, each family kills pigs and gets some fish from the rice paddy field so that they can prepare a sumptuous meal to treat their guests. Besides, all children of the whole village, carrying special bamboo baskets, knock on door from house to house in order to get some glutinous rice, eggs as well as sliced meat that symbolize the longevity and happiness. The host and hostess of every family are happy to entertain children warmly in order to make them pleasantly.
Happy Festival
The Shui people of Sandu County and Yong Township also celebrate this as the New Year Festival. During the festival, the children from the village carry specially made bamboo baskets, forming teams to go door to door to ask for sticky rice, eggs, and slices of meat, which symbolize longevity and happiness. Every household warmly welcomes them, allowing them to enjoy themselves to the fullest. At the same time, every family cuts colorful paper figures and twists bamboo strips into paper mustaches, which are then pasted on the walls around the offering table. During the festival, there is also special respect for women, as the rituals are presided over by them. The custom of praying for the safety and health of women during the Suning Happy Festival is referred to by some as the Shui people’s Women and Children Festival.
Content
The Suning Happy Festival, in the Shui language, means “Chou Day of the Fourth Month” and is a folk festival of the Shui people, taking place on Chou Day of the Fourth Month in the Shui calendar, which corresponds to the Chou Day of the Twelfth Month in the lunar calendar. According to Shui legends, this day is when the “Mother Goddess” sends offspring to the world, so it is also called the “Goddess Festival.” The main activity of the festival is to worship the Mother Goddess. On the day of the festival, all the village children carry special little bamboo baskets, teaming up to go door to door asking for sticky rice, eggs, and slices of meat, which symbolize longevity and happiness. Each family warmly receives them, allowing them to be happy. At the same time, every household cuts colorful paper figures and twists bamboo strips into paper mustaches, which are then affixed to the walls around the offering table. The sacrificial rituals of the festival are presided over by the oldest woman in the household. On this day, women and children are the main guests at the dinner table, which is why some refer to the Suning Happy Festival as the Shui people’s Women and Children Festival. In Sandu County, particularly in the Zhouqin District and Yong Township, the Wu family of the Shui people regard this festival as New Year, while in other regions, the Shui people treat it as a regular festival.
