New Year Festival (Wuxijie) of Pumi Ethnic Minority in Ninglang County, Lijiang
Basic Information
- Chinese Name:宁蒗县普米族吾昔节
- English Name: New Year Festival (Wuxijie) of Pumi Ethnic Minority in Ninglang County, Lijiang
- Location: Ninglang Couty in Lijiang
- Festival Activities: Singing contests, dancing, target shooting, horse racing, wrestling, etc.
- Festival Date: Sixth day of the twelfth lunar month
“Wuxi,” which means “New Year” in the Pumi language, is the most important festival for the Pumi people of Ninglang. It is celebrated on the sixth or seventh day of the twelfth lunar month as New Year’s Eve, with the first day of the new year falling on the eighth day. The duration of the festival varies by location, ranging from three days to half a month.
Historical Development
The Wuxi Festival is not an isolated event among the Pumi people. Its practices can be traced back through Chinese history to rituals performed during the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, specifically to the “Laji” (sacrifices in the twelfth month) and the “Lari” (twelfth month day) observed in the Jingchu region. The festival vividly represents the grand ceremonies associated with the end-of-year sacrifices, with the core theme of the Pumi people’s “New Year offering” centered around “sacrificing to the hundred gods.”
Festival Customs
On New Year’s Eve, families display evergreen pine branches at their doors, altars, and rooftops to symbolize prosperity and longevity. The family gathers around the fire pit to enjoy a reunion dinner, with some family members staying up to keep watch. Before the New Year’s Eve dinner, dogs are fed to commemorate their role in extending human life. According to legend, dogs and humans once had significantly different lifespans, and the exchange of lifespan eventually occurred for mutual survival.
At the dawn of the first day of the new year, as roosters crow, gunfire and horn blowing erupt from villages to announce the arrival of the New Year. Families conduct rituals to pray for peace and good harvests before young men and women rush to the creek for pure water, believing that obtaining water first brings good luck. Families then gather to drink butter tea and eat glutinous rice. If there are teenagers aged thirteen or older in the family, parents will hold elaborate “pants” or “skirt” ceremonies for them.
Traditionally, during the Wuxi Festival, friends and relatives exchange New Year greetings, and villages organize entertainment and sports activities, including singing contests, dancing, target shooting, horse racing, and wrestling. The final day of the festival features the “eating worms” ceremony, where young men and women bring fried snacks to the mountains, enjoying the food together. Each snack consumed symbolizes the elimination of a pest, and finishing the food signifies the eradication of all pests for the year, forecasting an abundant harvest. To ensure livestock prosperity, families also collectively send members to the mountains for grazing, sharing a hearty meal together.
Related Knowledge
The Wuxi Festival is typically celebrated over three uncertain days, falling on the sixth, seventh, and eighth days of the twelfth lunar month. This timing originates from the Pumi people’s interpretations of the movements of celestial bodies. In ancient times, the Pumi ancestors observed the stars to understand the dynamics of day and night, eventually using the 28 lunar mansions along the zodiac and celestial equator as a means to calculate the year’s calendar. The 28 lunar mansions serve as a traditional unit of time calculation for the Pumi, differing slightly regionally, usually determined by observing the “Chuzhi” (the name of a specific star). The day when “Chuzhi” coincides with the moon is considered auspicious, marking the countdown to a new year, with “Chuzhi” being the foremost of the 28 mansions, symbolizing new beginnings.
