Around the
year the Mulao have a social and ritual cycle whose main moments are the
following festivals.
The Ox's
Birthday Festival
On the 8th of the fourth lunar month.
They pray to the God of the Oxen. The oxen are very important for the
economic life of the Mulao. This day the oxen are thanked for their work
during the year. This day the oxen allowed to rest, and are fed with glutinous
rice.
Huapo
Festival
On 3rd day of the third lunar month. Huapo (The Lady of the Flowers) is
for the Mulao the goddess that governs the births. They think that human
beings are the flowers of her garden. If a couple has children, they consider
they are flowers who Huapo gives to them. Before the temple of Huapo they
offer a pig to the goddess. Then, the head of the village tells Huapo
the situation of every family, and asks her to protect all the children.
In this day the couples that have had children during the last year, distribute
red eggs to the people.
Dragon
Boats Festival
On May 5th of the lunar year. While in many places dragon boat races are
celebrated this day, the Mulao make only a paper ship that is placed in
the fields. Then a shaman sings enchantments to expel the insects, and
ask the gods to help them to have a good crop.
Eating
Insects Festival
On June 2nd of the lunar year. This day all the people living in a village
meet before the Altar of Eating Insects. They sing and dance, and then
they celebrate a banquet in which all the dishes are the insects that
each family has cooked.
This festival commemorates a woman called Jia Nang, who, according to
their legends, wanted to visit her relatives but, having no money to buy
a gift, cooked some insects that her son had caught. All found them tasty,
and they rushed to the fields to catch insects to eat. That year the crop
was very good. From then on, every year Mulao people go to the fields
to catch insects for this festival.
Climb
Mountains Festival
It celebrates twice every year: Around Spring Festival the first time
and Middle Autumn Festival the second.
Girls and boys dressed with their best clothes climb mountains to sing
antiphonal songs. They sing love songs that serve to express their feelings.
Through the songs they try to arrange future appointments with the loved
ones. If she agrees or disagrees, must tell him also singing.
Yafan
Festival
It means peace and prosperity. It celebrates every three years, at the
beginning of the winter. Pigs and goats are sacrificed in the temples.
The old men tell again the ancient legends about the ancestors of the
Mulao. Some operas are played. There are also people performing the Lion
Dance and Dragon Dance.
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