Dragon Worship (Jilong) Festival of Huayaoyi Ethnic People in Shiping County, Honghe
Overview
- Chinese Name:石屏县花腰彝人祭龙节
- English Name: Dragon Worship (Jilong) Festival of Huayaoyi Ethnic People in Shiping County, Honghe
- Location: Shiping County, Honghe
The Dragon Worship Festival of the Huayao Yi in Shiping
In the deep mountains of Shiping County lives a small population of the Yi ethnic group, known as the Nisu. For centuries, they have worn handmade embroidered clothing and brewed their own wheat wine, rising with the sun and resting at sunset. In addition to their joyful songs and dances, they possess many beautiful legends filled with adoration for heroes. The first horse day after the Spring Festival each year is when the Nisu people hold the Dragon Worship Festival to commemorate the hero A Long.
On the hillside stands the “Little Potala Palace.” In Shiping, Shaochong, and Shuiguachong, golden rapeseed flowers bloom vibrantly in the fields, while freshly cut pine trees stand at the village entrance, adorned with colorful flags fluttering in the breeze. The villagers are busy with their work in their festive attire, children happily play in the dirt, and young men strum the four-stringed instrument. The Huayao Yi girls, dressed in bright clothing, stand at the village entrance, raising bamboo tubes of wine and singing heartfelt toasts repeatedly: “Dear guests from afar, please have a cup of our homemade wheat wine.”
This is a typical settlement of the Huayao Yi. Most of the villagers living here are Huayao Yi. The residential houses of the Huayao Yi are unique earthen structures known as “tuzhangfang.” The houses in the village are built against the mountain, and from a distance, they resemble a miniature Potala Palace. Many visitors who come to explore Huayao Yi culture affectionately refer to it as the “Little Potala Palace.” The small village is surrounded by lush greenery, and it still retains the gate built during the Guangxu period. The villagers tell us that many years ago, the entire village of Shuiguachong was enclosed by a wall, with two gates at the front and back, which were closed at nightfall. All the paths in the village are paved with irregular stones, and the household pigs, chickens, and cattle leisurely roam around. The sunlight shines down on the uneven stones, creating an inviting and warm atmosphere.
Looking up at the earthen houses, the walls are built from earth, while the roofs are compacted earth as well, mixed with pine needles or dried ferns to increase the soil’s adhesion. The roofs of these earthen houses are quite sturdy, allowing for the drying of grains and other goods on top, and nearly every house’s roof connects to its neighbors. One can easily access a neighboring roof from any other rooftop, making it possible to traverse the entire village in this manner. Besides its dim lighting, the earthen house’s significant advantage is its ability to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
Dragon Worship Procession
On February 10, the first horse day after the Spring Festival, the Huayao Yi people, who had been preparing for a month, welcomed the first “Dragon Worship Day” (known as “Miga Hao” in Yi language). After lunch, the Huayao Yi, all ready, prepared to set off. As the firecrackers exploded, the worship teams from the villages of Shuiguachong, Mocedian, Shuiguachong Shangzhai, and the foot of Polong Mountain began their procession, departing from the entrance of Shuiguachong village along the dirt paths through the fields.
Leading their dragon worship procession was a colorful flag team, followed by a group of young boys holding wooden carvings of dragon heads, axes, and sickles. A few boys dressed in costumes and wearing masks impersonated characters like Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and various animals, playfully chasing and frolicking at the prompting of the village elders. There were also adults in costume, many of whom appeared to embody characters from Han culture, such as “Old Fisherman” and “Clam Fairy Dance.”
Elderly individuals carrying a dragon palanquin and incense altars, adorned with colorful paper, stood out prominently in the vibrant procession. Each dragon palanquin was carried by two individuals, known as “Longzi,” selected from among the adult men who had married before the beginning of spring that year. Following the palanquin were several elders dressed in long robes, walking solemnly. They were the chosen “elders” of the village, each carrying a basket filled with incense, tea, alcohol, and candies. A group of young men with their faces painted and wearing large red flowers in their hair, dressed in traditional Yi attire, also carried small flags adorned with the name “Guan Yu.” These spirited young men were referred to as warriors and generals, displaying their martial arts skills with sticks and weapons as they walked.
The women in extravagant outfits respectfully followed at the rear of the procession, singing ancient songs in the Yi language. Their melodies carried a more serious tone than usual, suggesting a deeper significance to the occasion.
Dragon Worship Ceremony
Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the procession of hundreds of people welcoming the dragon moved forward along the road into the village. After walking a short distance, they paused to perform. The hillside and fields were filled with spectators. The Dragon Tree stands at the end of Shuiguachong village, but the “Welcoming the Dragon” event must take place along the countryside road opposite the village, making a half-circle around it. The entire “Welcoming the Dragon” process took about two or three hours. During this journey, the “Longruo” who had gone out at dawn to “steal” spring water and wash the sacred stones in the dragon pond returned to the procession, bringing with them “Longfu” (the two large geode stones kept in the Dragon Palace year-round), which they held aloft into the dragon palanquin. About two or three hundred meters away from the Dragon Tree, the lively procession came to a stop. On a small bridge, the men formed a circle, with the women kept outside, and the Bimo (a spiritual leader) selected the first village to enter the dragon worship site.
Amidst the loud sounds of drums and firecrackers, reporters and all the women were stopped and directed to return to the village via a small path beside the fields. In surprise, the female reporters were informed that this was a tradition left by their ancestors: women cannot enter the dragon worship site, not even the women of the village can approach the “Dragon Tree” for their entire lives. Under the setting sun, the rapeseed flowers in the fields bloomed brilliantly, making the Huayao Yi women walking among them even more enchanting. Not far away, a grove of trees appeared extraordinarily mysterious in the smoke of cooking fires. Nestled within the dense trees was a cypress referred to as the “Dragon God Tree.” This dragon god tree was about the size of a basin, with a straight trunk and lush leaves. Elders told the story that the original dragon god tree worshipped by the ancestors was enormous, requiring two or three people holding hands to embrace it. Unfortunately, it was cut down in 1958. The current one was found later; aside from some mysterious divinations, its health and cleanliness were also assessed, including whether birds had built nests in it. In the woods, there was also a small pavilion dedicated to “Longfu,” about the size of a local land temple, adorned with a painting of a dragon and a tiger in vivid detail. The dragon worship ceremony took place in front of this pavilion, which had a small cleared area in front, covered with green pine needles.
When the ceremony began, the elders first took the two “Longfu” stones out of the dragon palanquin and placed them in the pavilion. Throughout this process, the elders showed great reverence for the stones. Next came the offerings; the elders took the food they brought from their baskets and laid it on the pine needles in front of the pavilion before lighting incense. The fragrance enveloped the forest. The elders approached the “Longfu,” offering liquor and then kneeling in respect. Before the “Longfu,” the elders appeared solemn, each displaying a deep sense of devotion. Later, the village chief informed us that before the dragon worship, a pig must be slaughtered as a sacrifice. After the ceremony, the pork was distributed evenly among the households in the village, with each portion accompanied by rice balls dyed red with pig’s blood and a wooden knife made from the revered “Mayinghua” tree of the Huayao Yi, symbolizing weapons to ward off evil. The “dragon meat” allocated to each household was saved for when seedlings were being sown, to be offered to the rice fields.
Mythical Legends
The myth of the hero A Long, known as “Miga Hao” in Yi language, is actually a memorial to a legendary Yi hero named A Long. According to the legend, A Long was an exceptionally skilled hero. He possessed six treasures: an iron hammer, a bronze mirror, an iron broom, an iron horsewhip, a flying horse, and Yi scriptures, which were quite remarkable. With his exceptional skills, he protected mountain villages and safeguarded the people. At that time, seven demons had turned into beautiful women and were wreaking havoc among the Yi people, disturbing the peace in the Yi mountain villages. A Long resolved to eliminate this scourge for the people; he took his six treasures, bid farewell to his fellow villagers, and went to the cave where the demons resided, fighting fiercely until he defeated the seven demons one by one.
However, the seven demons complained to the King of Hell, claiming A Long had harmed them without cause. Believing their one-sided account, the King of Hell stole A Long’s treasures, condemned him, and dispersed his head, hands, feet, waist, and heart in different directions. A Long’s hair transformed into a forest, his heart became a stone, his waist turned into land, and his feet and hands became flying birds and animals, thus endowing the Yi people with forests, stones, and land for cultivation. Gradually, the crops flourished and livestock prospered. In memory of A Long, who sacrificed himself for the people, the villagers hold annual ceremonies of worship as a customary practice.
The Huayao Yi, who worship the tiger, belong to an ancient and remarkable ethnic group with over a hundred branches. Among them, the Nisu branch, descendants of the ancient Qiang, has women’s attire predominantly in red and black, characterized by vibrant colors and exquisite patterns, especially the intricate embroidery on their belts, earning them the endearing title of “Huayao Yi.” There are only over 30,000 Huayao Yi people worldwide, with more than 20,000 living in the northern mountainous region of Shiping, where they maintain a traditional lifestyle. Their dwelling is 80 kilometers away from the county town, a journey through majestic peaks and deep valleys, where small villages dot the mountainsides. However, we were headed to Shuiguachong, which is located in a small valley deep within the mountains. Throughout the dragon worship process, we asked many questions within the procession about the various unusual sacrificial items and the unique face paints of the warriors, each of which carried profound meanings in the eyes of this ancient people. They earnestly worshiped their heroic figure, A Long, hopeful that this ancestor who embodies mountains and rivers would bring them a year of good fortune, plentiful crops, and healthy livestock.
I carefully observed the various appearances and face paints within the dragon worship procession; while participating in the ritual, the Huayao Yi did not forget their totem: the tiger. Although the warriors’ face paints appeared flamboyant, almost all of them had the character “Wang” drawn on their foreheads. In fact, the “Worshipping the Dragon” event serves as a moral benchmark for the Yi people; few men participate in the worship activities, and almost all of them are individuals with a long-standing reputation for virtue. Those who have committed offenses or divorced men are not allowed to watch. In that “Sacred Forest,” which is off-limits for females, what is consecrated there? It remains mysterious and sacred. Not only women, but even men in their forties in the village have never set foot in the “Sacred Forest.” Even young children do not venture to play near the village’s “Sacred Forest.” Throughout the entire interview, the villagers’ admiration for their ancestor A Long was evident, as was their deep respect for the sacred tree and stone. The village Bimo led a group from household to household to recite scriptures and sing lantern songs. Amid the sound of firecrackers, people sang songs that have been passed down for hundreds of years, repeating actions that have persisted for over a thousand years.
