Kaijing Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Dayao County, Chuxiong
Basic Introduction
- Chinese Name: 大姚县石羊镇开井节
- English Name: Kaijing Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Dayao County, Chuxiong
- Location:大姚县石羊镇/Dayao County, Shiyang Town
The Yi Ethnic Group’s Opening Well Festival is a folk festival of the Yi people, originating from Shiyang Town in Dayao County, Chuxiong Prefecture. It is established to thank the legendary Dragon Maiden of Dongting Lake, who, under the pressure of the Dragon King of Erhai Lake, discovered the Shiyang salt well while tending to white sheep. During this festival, the entire Shiyang Town is bustling with prosperity, as people gather at the Shiyang market to shop, purchase goods, and taste various local delicacies.
Overview
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yi and Han people gather in Shiyang Town, Dayao County, Chuxiong Prefecture, to hold a market and celebrate in gratitude for the achievements of the legendary Dragon Maiden of Dongting Lake, who discovered the Shiyang salt well while tending to white sheep. At this time, the entire Shiyang Town is bustling and lively, filled with the sounds of opera, market vendors, and laughter. People are busy selecting the items they love, and famous local snacks like cold noodles, pickled chili, pickled vegetables, and savory pancakes are plentiful. As you walk into the crowd, you’ll be enveloped by the atmosphere of happiness radiating from the people.
Legend of the Opening Well Festival
I cannot recall which year or dynasty it was, but the Dragon King of Dongting Lake had a beautiful daughter, gentle and virtuous, resembling a red camellia blossom. One day, under the sunny skies of Dongting Lake, with waves sparkling in the sunlight, the Dragon Maiden was captivated by the wonders of the human world. She secretly brought a maid with her to the lakeside to play, but unexpectedly, the Dragon King of Erhai Lake passed by, saw the Dragon Maiden’s exquisite beauty and graceful demeanor, and was filled with an inappropriate desire. He took the Dragon Maiden to Erhai, forcing her to marry him.
The Dragon Maiden was a determined girl; even under the Dragon King of Erhai’s pressures, she refused to yield and would rather die than comply. Furious and embarrassed, Erhai’s Dragon King had no choice but to send the Dragon Maiden to the deep mountains, ordering her to tend three hundred sheep until she changed her mind, forbidding her from returning to the water. Thus, the Dragon Maiden herded the sheep in the mountain; when thirsty, she drank mountain spring water, and when hungry, she ate wild fruits. During the day, she walked barefoot across the mountains, and at night, she slept in the grass.
The Dragon Maiden traveled far and wide, across ninety-nine mountains and cliffs, her feet pricked by thorns until blood dripped into the mountain creek, where camellias bloomed. Sweat fell onto the rocks, causing the Ganoderma lucidum to grow. After enduring countless hardships, the Dragon Maiden’s sweat mixed with the spring water in the deep mountain, and she broke open a stone lock, allowing the salty spring to flow down to Yi Mountain. The Yi Mountain was saved, everything revived, and the buckwheat in the fields turned green again.
The Dragon Maiden twisted fine vines into a basket, sweeping sheep dung into it on her way, which she carried to the buckwheat field, causing the Yi’s buckwheat to bloom on the spot.
The people of the Yi village adored this shepherd girl, affectionately calling her “Shepherd Maiden.” The girls wove beautiful linen skirts to give her, while the young men played the lusheng (a type of reed pipe) and bamboo flutes, singing “Meige” and “Dajia.” The little sisters all vied to help the Shepherd Maiden with her flock. Although the drought in Yi Mountain was resolved, the Yi people still had no salt to eat. The Dragon Maiden declined their heartfelt invitations to stay, instead driving her sheep to search for a salt well so the Yi villagers could have salt.
Once again, the Dragon Maiden climbed over ninety-nine cliffs. Her sheepskin coat wore thin, and her linen skirt ripped. She climbed mountains and cliffs, continuing her search in the deep mountains, tasting pieces of sand and stone with her mouth. Thirty-three of her sheep died from exhaustion, and wolves in the deep mountains snatched away another thirty-three. Only one white sheep remained by her side. The Dragon Maiden, battered and hungry, could barely move and fell asleep at the base of a cliff.
A gentle breeze awakened the Dragon Maiden, and when she looked around, she found that the remaining white sheep was also missing. She quickly searched everywhere until she suddenly heard a bleating sound from afar. Ignoring her pain, she ran up the slope, only to see that the white sheep was burrowing its head into the ground. Half of its body was already buried. The Dragon Maiden hurriedly pulled on its tail to free it; the tail broke, yet the sheep continued to dig. What to do? Suddenly, the Dragon Maiden had an idea: sheep love salt! Maybe there was salt here. She quickly grabbed a handful of earth and put it in her mouth, and indeed, it was salty! She had found the salt! Overjoyed, she fell to the ground and began digging with her hands, and after a while, she unearthed a deep salt well.
After a long time, the people of Yi Mountain had yet to see the Shepherd Maiden return, so they sent out young men with knives and gunpowder to search for her. They found the salt well, but the Dragon Maiden had died, her hands still buried in the earth, and the white sheep had transformed into a stone sheep. From then on, the Yi people built a temple next to the stone sheep to commemorate the Shepherd Maiden, with a statue of her in the temple still dressed in a Yi girl’s linen skirt.
Year after year, people continued to celebrate the festival to express their gratitude for the Dragon Maiden’s contributions.
