Gangyong Festival of Bulang Ethnic Minority

Chinese Name:布朗族冈永节
English Name:  Gangyong Festival of Bulang Ethnic Minority

Gangyong Festival of the Bulang Ethnic Minority

The Gangyong Festival, also known as the Festival of the Bamboo Rat, is a significant cultural event for the Bulang ethnic minority. The festival is sometimes celebrated in the fourth month and sometimes in the ninth month of the Dai calendar, with the specific timing decided by the villagers. It is primarily held in the areas of Old Man’e and New Man’e in Menghai County.

Festival Customs

During the Gangyong Festival, all villagers, young and old, dress in their finest attire and head to the mountains with hoes and bamboo baskets to dig for bamboo rats. Once a bamboo rat is caught, it is decorated with wildflowers and grass, adorned with a flower garland, and tied to a long bamboo pole. The villagers then carry the decorated bamboo rat around the village, accompanied by the sound of bamboo clappers.

The decorated bamboo rat is then taken to the home of the Daman (a village elder or leader), where the flowers and ornaments are removed, and the rat is beheaded. The head is left with the Daman, while the rest of the rat is cleaned. Each household takes a small piece of the meat home, where they touch it to the three legs of an iron tripod (or place it on the stone tripod above the hearth) as a sign of reverence to the spirits.

Origins of the Festival

The origins of the Gangyong Festival are rooted in a legend about a Bulang woman named Yakushan. She obtained a rice seed that was larger than a pumpkin and stored it in her granary. One day, the seed rolled out of the granary and grew so large that it nearly collapsed her bamboo house. Angered, Yakushan struck the seed with a stick, causing it to break into small pieces that fell through the bamboo floor and into the ground.

A spiritually endowed bamboo rat then dug into the earth, retrieving each seed and scattering them on the ground, allowing them to sprout, grow, and produce crops. Grateful for the bamboo rat’s help in recovering the rice seeds, the Bulang people established the Gangyong Festival. The act of placing bamboo rat meat on the immovable iron tripod signifies respect and gratitude. It is believed that by offering this tribute during the festival, the year’s crops will thrive and yield a good harvest.

Modern Observance

Historically, the Gangyong Festival was celebrated by only a few villages. However, with the spread of scientific knowledge and agricultural advancements after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, some of the villages that originally observed the festival have discontinued it. Despite this, the festival remains a vital part of the cultural heritage and traditional practices of the Bulang people.

The Gangyong Festival is a unique blend of myth, agrarian ritual, and community celebration, reflecting the Bulang people’s deep connection with nature and their agricultural roots. It is a vivid example of how folklore and traditional beliefs can shape and sustain cultural practices over generations.