At the foot of Ailao Mountain, there is no Water-Splashing Festival, but the Dai people go to the flower street to pick beautiful women

Photo : Bangqi

Format: A Cong’er

Drawing: A Cong’er

On March 17th, the Huayao Dais who sprinkled flowers went to the Flower Street. In order to catch up with this festival, on March 16, after visiting the Tiger Culture Festival in Chuxiong Shuangbai, I followed the famous Dai documentary director Tan Leshui and others along the Lvzhi River to the Kasa River (Yuan River). Dai Village.

There are two “Jasa” in Yunnan. Although the characters are different, the pronunciation is the same. The other Gasa is in Xishuangbanna (hence the name of Gasa Airport), and the Gasa that is going to drive Flower Street is in Xinping County, Yuxi City.

Unlike the Gasa in Xishuangbanna, the Gasa in Xinping is also populated by Dai people, but the Dai people here have a different culture. The Dai people who are sprinkled are called “Hua Yao Dai”. In comparison, the biggest difference between them is that they do not believe in Buddhism and there is no Water-Splashing Festival.

Dai people, the most talked about is the branch of Theravada Buddhism, but in Yunnan, besides this branch, and the Huayao Dai branch I will introduce, there is another branch in the Jinsha River Basin in the north of Chuxiong (not long ago, The post-80s “white-haired” cadres of Chuxiong who became popular on the Internet, Wanbi Township, the place where they worked so hard before, is the gathering place of this Dai nationality). Although they are all Dai people, their costumes and customs are different. Those who know Yunnan should pay special attention.

I also add some new information on the road from Shuangbai to Jiasa. Now this road is an old road. It is said that there are very rare green peacocks in the river valley it passes through, and because of the green peacocks, a dam built at the junction of Shuangbai and Xinping was forced to stop construction, and there are still traces of construction.

In addition, a highway is being built from Yongren (which can be connected to Panzhihua, Sichuan) through Dayao, Shuangbai, to Jiasa, and finally arrives at Jinshuihe Town, Jinping County (Vietnam border port). It is already under construction and is expected to be open to traffic in a few years. Yunnan Expressway, the only vertical line is Kunming Expressway at present, and among the series of new vertical lines under construction, this “Yongjin Expressway” can be called a big deal. At that time, it will be convenient to go directly from Chengdu to Jinping Port to see Vietnamese girls too much.

▲In the future, you can turn the steering wheel to the south from 318, and you can drive on the fast lane to see Vietnamese girls

Speaking of the traffic in Jiasa, another expressway that is equally awesome is also under construction. This road runs from the Dakaimen on the Kunmo Line in the east of Xinping to the Mengding Port in Lincang City via Jiasa. It is said that the Cansa section of this road can be repaired next year, and it will only take more than two hours from Kunming to Cansa. After the completion of the whole process, there will be another expressway directly reaching the (China-Myanmar) border on the Yunnan Horizontal Line. By then, there will be more choices for road trips to Jiasa.

Xinping is considered to be the “center” of Yunnan’s geography. After the two cross-shaped expressways pass through Jiasa, this center point will be more convincing. In recent years, highways have been built, holding back big moves, and when they are repaired one by one, many places like Jiasa will experience new changes in tourism.

There are two times to choose when you go to Cansa “Flower Street” .

One is that during the Spring Festival holiday, the Cansa government organized a large-scale “Flower Street Festival”. The time is from the third day to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year . can come .

▲Flower Street, “Oriental Valentine’s Day”, probably like this, a group of Huaichun girls dressed up beautifully show themselves in the market, waiting for the appearance of a suitable man

Another “Flower Street” is what I saw this time. It is held in the village in March every year. It has nothing to do with national holidays. There are not many tourists, and the government has basically no funding. Everyone in the village entertains themselves. If you want to see the “original ecological” flower street, you can come here.

The village I went to Ganhua Street is called Daha, which is on the left half of the hillside of Jiasa Town. Jiasa is a north-south longitudinal valley with mountains on both sides. The mountain on the left (to the west) is the famous Ailao Mountain. There are Dai people living in the gentle slope area, and Yi people living on the top of the mountain. It is a tourist destination. There are many choices along the mountain top to the river valley.

Daha Flower Street is located by the Daha River. This is the residence of the Daha Village Committee. Between the village committee and the river ditch, there is a road into the mountain. Ganhua Street is on the road and a small piece of unused flat land beside the road. This annual “street” does not look like a street at all.

Ganhua Street has been mentioned in many travel notes. It is said to be the “Valentine’s Day” of the Dai people, and it is the provincial capital where the young Dai people used the market to choose a partner, get to know each other, and talk about love in the past. “Flower Street” is named after the girls rushing to the street all dressed up beautifully. (“Encyclopedia of Chinese National Festivals”)

There are different opinions about the traditional practice of flower rushing street. “The Encyclopedia of Chinese Ethnic Festivals” says: Girls in costumes should form a team of villages and “walk lightly and slowly through the streets ” . ”

This approach is similar to a certain TV dating show. I don’t know if it is an innovative approach of the Dai people in Xinping after the restoration of Flower Street in the 1990s. Talking about love is probably a very personal matter. The previous approach seems to be for tourists to see. If the tradition is like this, then the local Dai people are quite good at playing.

The “Dictionary of Chinese Minority Folk Customs” has a more concise explanation of Xinping Dai’s Flower Street. The general idea is that girls wear flowers and carry lard rice on their backs. Men also bring wine and drink with girls. Then sing, dance, and have fun.

The above two books, both published in 1995, mentioned that young men and women met here, and women brought food to share with men they liked, exchanged gifts, and even made a private appointment for life. In Daha, I asked the local Dai people and got similar answers. However, there is some information that the flower rush street of the Dai people in Xinping was restored in Dayuyu, Mosha Town, south of Cansa, in 1991. “Bath” means “to drive the flower street”.

▲ Kanhua Street used to bring their own meals, but now they have snacks and soup pots

Regarding Ganhua Street, today’s description has become more and more “internationalized”, and it is described as “Oriental Valentine’s Day”; and, because it is said that Huayao Dai is a descendant of the ancient Dian royal family who originally lived by the Dianchi Lake, this festival It was also endowed with a certain “royal fan”.

However, to be honest, the Ganhua Street I saw next to the Daha Village Committee is a very down-to-earth village street. The main products here are mutton and donkey meat soup pots. Because I came here admiringly in the morning, when we arrived, the soup pots, rice noodles, jelly and other stalls were all set up, and the meat in the pot was still cooking. It’s a strange thing, it is said that eating this can strengthen the yang. As for the legendary meeting of lovers, I haven’t seen it.

It is not difficult to understand that young people go out to work, or switch to mobile phones when they are in love, so naturally they either cannot see people, or they cannot see “dates”. Although the old people come here in dignified clothes, they are stepping into the late stage of their lives. There may be nostalgia for the past when they come here, but can outsiders understand this feeling?

For the locals, it is indeed a happy party festival. Some of the locals I met obviously came back from other places for the holidays. They were chopping mutton in front of their houses, as if they wanted to make a family soup pot. Others put family or friends’ gatherings at soup pot booths, where they sit around a square table and focus on the delicious food in front of them.

Jiasa’s most famous local delicacy is probably the soup pot. It is said that the taste is very unique, and the food is still “history” – it is said that the origin of the soup pot is related to the “Tea Horse Road”. Cansa is one of the ancient roads from Pu’er to Kunming. The caravan browsed through the traces left by Ailao Mountain. Today, there is a place that has been built as a tourist attraction in Cansa.

Although there is no traditional spontaneous song and dance event, the Daha Village Committee also arranged a song and dance show on the day of Ganhua Street. It was after three o’clock in the afternoon, and the Dai people in their 60s were sitting under the eaves of the village committee, singing traditional folk songs in the local language in turn. According to reports, these folk songs were sung in Huajie in the past, and the content is about the relationship between men and women.

These tunes are soft and low, like the type performed at close parties. Probably the Dai people living in the lowlands and river valleys have developed their culture in a soft and beautiful direction, so there are no waves in their songs. The singing throughout the afternoon was carried out in an extremely quiet and solemn atmosphere, and all the people sitting around were unsmiling, as if they were holding a religious ceremony.

The evening program is dancing. These dances are newly created. The dancing young women of the Dai nationality are not as traditional as the singing old people. The change of culture can be seen at a glance on this flower street.

On the day of Flower Street, there was actually another big event in the village. The village we live in is called whirlpool, which is a tourist village with ethnic characteristics in Yunnan Province. When we got up early in the morning, we caught up with the dragon sacrifice in their village. Worshiping the dragon means offering sacrifices to the sacred tree (dragon tree) in the forest behind the village. Through this sacrifice, it is said that the whole village can be blessed with a bumper harvest of grain and a prosperous livestock. In Jiasa, the Dragon Festival and Flower Street are on the same day, which is the first day of the ox in the second month of the lunar calendar.

Unlike Ganhua Street, which is advancing with the times, Jilong still retains the traditions of the local Dai people. Dragon worship is a custom shared by the Dai and Yi ethnic groups in Yunnan. It is usually performed around the dragon tree, and it is also related to the god of agriculture. But the specific ceremonies vary widely from place to place.

Some scholars have written special articles on the ceremony of offering sacrifices to dragons. Generally speaking, the dragon sacrifice here is the “Buzhaoshe” that worships Guanzhaizi, and the sacrifice is performed by the male wizard or female wizard of the village. The female wizard is called “Yama” (“Ya” is grandma, “Mo” is witch), and the male wizard is called “Huose”. In Xuanwo Village, I didn’t notice that there was a female wizard presiding over the ceremony, but there was a male wizard and we had a simple exchange.

This male wizard was selected only last year, and he said that he also doesn’t know much about sacrifices. Judging by his expression, he was a bit reluctant to be chosen for this role. There is a very mysterious election method for choosing “huose” here: put clothes of the same weight together, weigh them the same weight the day before, and weigh them after a day, and the one whose clothes become heavier will be selected as “huose”. “.

Dragon sacrifice is a major event in the village, and preparations are made in various aspects every year. In terms of food, make “long rake” and yellow glutinous rice. The family that lives in whirlpool, we eat “long rake” for breakfast when we get up.

In addition to food, a set of magic utensils woven from bamboo is also made. There is a sieve made of bamboo strips, each with 7 eyes, called “Daliao”, which is said to ward off evil spirits during sacrifices. Another kind of pre-made, whose name is not known, is a string of bamboo circles, hung on the bamboo. When offering sacrifices to dragons, they must be inserted by the side of the dragon tree. It is said that it is to prevent outsiders from entering.

When sacrificing dragons, chickens must be killed. In some places, it is said that more than 10 chickens must be killed, and pigs must be killed. But here, I seem to see only one. Beside the dragon tree, there is a used pot, and the villagers carry the pot here to boil water and cook food.

We didn’t stop here because we wanted to see Flower Street. By the time we returned from Huajiechang, a few kilometers away, at one o’clock in the afternoon, the villagers were already eating lunch under a collective housing. It is said that in the past, we had to cook and eat at the place where the dragon tree was sacrificed, but looking at it now, the place to eat has changed. The whirlpool village is gentle, and the place for offering sacrifices to dragons is next to the back of the village. Therefore, it is easier to do the ceremony under the dragon tree and then change the dining environment.

When offering sacrifices to the dragon tree, teacher Tan Leshui, who instructed the students to make the film, explained to us that when women come here to worship dragons, they have to wear hats. And the reason, according to their own explanation, is that only in this way can the heavenly beings see it.

This explanation is very interesting. In this way, we should not only look at the hats in Huayao Dai clothing from the aesthetic point of view. Clothing plays a role in communicating with the gods, and by wearing a certain kind of clothing, one can get the protection of the gods. Under this belief, it seems easier for clothing to retain its tradition.

The costumes of ethnic minorities in Yunnan are generally “sinicized”, but there are some exceptions to the Huayao Dai in Jiasa. On the street, in their daily life, you can also see traditional costumes. At the farmer’s market, Wu noticed that the bucket hat was very popular. When he saw someone getting the goods, the women who sold things inside rushed to try them on.

The Huayao Dai, who are sprinkled with flowers, are actually not a single ethnic group. If subdivided, there are at least two kinds of Huayao Dai living here. One is Daisa, that is, the one with a bamboo hat on the head, and the other is Daika, which does not wear a bamboo hat, but wraps a headkerchief. In Mosha Town in the south of Cansa, there is also a Huayao Dai with unique costumes called Dai Ya. Their hat is also a kind of bamboo hat, but it is shaped like a chicken fir with the brim turned up, which is very special.

The Great Bath in Mosha Town is the most famous rural tourist attraction in Mosha. As soon as you enter the gate of the scenic spot, you will see a huge “chicken fir hat”. Obviously, this kind of hat is already a cultural symbol of Dai Ya.

When traveling to Cansa, there are many choices now. A more convenient way, the three major holidays of Chinese New Year, May Day, and National Day. During the holidays, the Cansa government will organize many cultural experience activities. Jiasa’s clothes are very beautiful, and there is no shortage of beauties, so the activities organized by the government are still worth watching.

The other one can come when you are free. For example, like me, even if you encounter the flower street in the village, you can almost see other tourists. But such an approach requires access to the countryside. We have a lot of road trips, and usually we can only reach the towns. What we see is the deserted scenic spots and squares in the off-season. And if you want to experience the local culture further – even if it’s just a quick glance – you have to build a channel to enter the countryside.

We went to Jiasa and basically didn’t stop in the town. In advance, teacher Tan Leshui called Tao Ming, who lived in the middle of the mountain and by the highway, and asked him to cook the chicken. He is Jiasa’s middle school teacher, and his wife, who is also a middle school teacher, opened a villa in Qingshuigou, Donggualin Village Committee. Here, it is only a few kilometers away from the Daha Village Committee on Ganhua Street and the vortex from our accommodation.

This farmhouse is now called “Shili Country Farm”, and at night the yard is filled with the smell of tuberose. It is 200 meters higher than Jiasa, and the temperature at night is very comfortable. Walking around this farmhouse, I found that it had another identity.

It can be seen that the yard has been carefully designed, and there are many objects of the traditional life of the Dai people, as well as some oil paintings that seem to have become objects. They are all Tao Ming’s works, showing Jiasa’s past rural life.

Tao Ming graduated from Yuxi Teachers College and studied art. After arriving in Jiasa in the late 1990s, in addition to teaching in middle school, he also participated in the tourism planning of Jiasa Town. This mountain villa is also his tourism planning work. Although it was built more than 10 years ago, it coincides with the current tourism development routine of the Cultural Tourism Creation Group.

Tao Ming is a Dai nationality in Jinggu, Puer. After graduating from school, he and his wife came to Jiasa, his wife’s hometown, and then taught and educated people, while exploring the modern expression of Jiasa culture and art in his own way.

Although he lived in seclusion at the foot of Ailao Mountain, he still had contacts with the art circle. Many painters and photographers from Beijing and Kunming have stopped here, and his local knowledge has also provided a lot of convenience for these foreign collectors.

When it comes to tourism, Tao Ming hopes for the future. The exit of the Jiasa Expressway that will be completed is at the gate of his villa. What will change in the future is not only his place, but also the Ailao Mountain behind his home, and there are many tourist projects that have never been set foot in.

For example, along the Daha River, hiking routes can be developed, and the rock and soil are virgin forests and waterfalls. This river, from the Shimen Gorge in Ailao Mountain, to the Jiasa River (Yuanjiang), has a drop of more than 1,300 meters. If combined with other tourist attractions that have been developed on Ailao Mountain, Jiasa tourism may have a new look.

Tao Ming is an artist, and he has a lot of research on Jiasa’s pottery and clothing, and these two may be the fulcrum of Jiasa’s tourism with the idea of ​​culture and creativity.

A few kilometers away from his home, there is an earthen pot village specializing in pottery. The pottery crafts of mud strip building, slow wheel, and stack firing are preserved here, which can be regarded as the ancestor of Chinese pottery.

Garments and embroidery are the cultural and creative industries that the government has always wanted to promote. “Love Songs of Huayao” filmed by Xinping a few years ago tells about the efforts made by the youths of Huayao Dai to explore the industrialization of clothing crafts.