Torch Festival of Bai Ethnic Group

(Image source: www.travelzjj.com)

Event time: June25thinthe Chinese lunar calendar

Event introduction: the Bai ethnic group of Zhangjiajie has lived in Wuling mountain area since Yuan Dynasty. They not only preserve their unique culture and customs, but also absorb advanced production technology and social culture from the Han people. The Torch Festival has gained the most popularity among the Bai ethnic group. At dusk on the 25th day of the 6th lunar month, the Bai people put many torches together and jump over them repeatedly. They pray in this way to the god of Fire to eliminate all the pests hazardous to the farmland and to chase away all evil. The Bai people reside in Zhangjiajie celebrate their Torch Festival in lunar June 25. As evening came, the Bai people light many torches at home and take them to a same outdoor space. They make a big bonfire with the torches there and step over the fire again and again. The activities in torch festival are rich and colorful, including worshiping ancestors, worshiping fire, lighting torch, playing torch, and jumping the torch.

A few days before the festival, people are busy preparing. The young men go to the mountain to cut torchwood, and then the families prepare firewood, straw to make the torch. The torches have different sizes, specifications, and are of many uses. The small torch is for people to walk around; the medium size is for erected in front of the door or in the courtyard; the big one is for erected in the village. The big torch is tall and majestic, about 10 to 20 meters high, made with pine tree and straw. Generally there will a flag on the top of the torch, with three paper strips beneath it, known as "the rise of three levels ".

Paper flags are attached to four corners of each paper strip, meaning fortune, good weather, health and good harvest. Beneath them are the torch pears, crabapples, fireworks, lanterns and small colorful flags.

At the noon of the torch festival, people bring small torches, joss paper, incense, and offerings to pay homage to ancestors’ graves. First light a small torch, and then scatter some rosin on the tomb. People can go home after torches are completely burnt. If the graves are far away from home, they can also worship in the house.

Families will eat dinner in advance before sunset, and then watch torches and horse race. Adults and children riding a horse have to go three laps around a torch. The others will go door-to-door enjoying all the torches, and decide whose torch is exquisite and beauty. Before lighting all big torches in the village, young daughter-in-laws carrying newborn babies under an umbrella will run around the torch for three circles, which is said to bring good fortune and luck. At nightfall, old men in the village take the lead to make the sacrifice. Several brave and vigorous men will climb up the big torch one after another, and light the big torch at the top with a small torch.

Suddenly, the sky is filled with flames and smoke, and the festival is overwhelmed with drumbeats, firecrackers and cheers, what a spectacular scene! When the flame burns down the paper strips, people scramble to pick them up. The person who obtains them is considered to be blessed by god. People surround him and go home, and house owner uses tobacco, wine and tea to treat guests. For next year’s the torch festival, that person is responsible for preparing the paper strips.

The climax of the torch festival is playing a torch. The young men and women of Bai ethnic group are holding a small torch, and then pull out a handful of rosin and scatter on the torch to make a big sound, called "a toast". This is considered to shake off the bad luck from people, and offer them good fortune and luck. After "the toast", young men will carry the torches to the country area, which is known as a way of eliminating pests and blessing good harvests.

At the end of the torch festival is jumping the torch. Around midnight, there is not much firewood left after burning, and people will heap them into a bonfire. Then, people will jump across the bonfire one by one for three times to eliminate evil and bad luck. The youth will also set up competitions to see who jumps the highest and farthest from the fire. This marks a successful end of the annual torch festival of Bai ethnic group.

The Torch Festival of Bai ethnic group is not only a belief representing prosperity and happiness, but also an incentive to life, encouraging them to continue striving for a better future.