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Qiang give their thanks to heaven
By UNESCO website |
February 24, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Qiang New Year Festival, held on the first day of the 10th lunar month, is an occasion for the Qiang people of China's Sichuan Province to offer thanks and worship to heaven for prosperity, reaffirm their relationship with nature, and promote harmony.
The solemn ritual sacrifice of a goat to the mountain is performed by villagers clad in their finest ceremonial dress, under the careful direction of a shibi (priest). This is followed by the communal sheepskin-drum and salang dances, led by the shibi.
The ensuing festivities combine merrymaking with the chanting of traditional Qiang epics by the shibi, singing and the drinking of wine.
At the end, the heads of families preside over family worship during which sacrifices and offerings are made.
Through the festival, Qiang traditions distilling history and cultural information are renewed and diffused, and social behavior reinforced, the community expressing respect and worship toward all creatures, the motherland and their ancestors.
Participation has declined in recent years due to migration, declining interest in Qiang heritage among the young and the impact of outside cultures. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake that destroyed many of the Qiang villages put the New Year festival at grave risk.
The Qiang New Year Festival was inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO in 2009.
The solemn ritual sacrifice of a goat to the mountain is performed by villagers clad in their finest ceremonial dress, under the careful direction of a shibi (priest). This is followed by the communal sheepskin-drum and salang dances, led by the shibi.
The ensuing festivities combine merrymaking with the chanting of traditional Qiang epics by the shibi, singing and the drinking of wine.
At the end, the heads of families preside over family worship during which sacrifices and offerings are made.
Through the festival, Qiang traditions distilling history and cultural information are renewed and diffused, and social behavior reinforced, the community expressing respect and worship toward all creatures, the motherland and their ancestors.
Participation has declined in recent years due to migration, declining interest in Qiang heritage among the young and the impact of outside cultures. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake that destroyed many of the Qiang villages put the New Year festival at grave risk.
The Qiang New Year Festival was inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO in 2009.
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