The Water Splashing Festival of the De'ang people

The De'ang people also celebrate the Water Splashing Festival, which takes place on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival. In addition, the most distinctive custom of the De'ang Water Splashing Festival is to wash the hands and feet of the elders. At that time, the younger generations of each family should prepare a basin of hot water and place it in the center of the hall. They will invite the parents and other elders to sit in the hall, kowtow to them and ask them to forgive the younger ones for their unfilial behavior in the past year. . The elders should also review their shortcomings in setting an example for the younger generation over the past year. Then, the younger generation washes their elders' hands and feet, and at the same time wishes each other a harmonious and diligent atmosphere in the coming year. If a parent dies, the brother, sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law will be the ones to wash their hands and feet.

This custom comes from an ancient legend: a rebellious son was working in the mountains on the seventh day after Qingming Festival. He saw the scene of the chicks feeding back, and he felt inspired and determined to serve his mother well. At this time, his mother was walking up the mountain to deliver food to her son, and accidentally slipped. Her son came to help her, but she thought he was coming to beat her, so she hit her head against a tree and died. The son was so remorseful that he cut down the tree and carved it into a statue of his mother. Every year on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival, the statue was dipped in warm water sprinkled with flower petals and washed. It later evolved into a custom.

Customs

Most of the Deang people believe in Theravada Buddhism, and most villages have their own Buddhist temples, worshiped Buddhas, and young monks. All the young monks' fasting meals are donated by the whole village in turn. Some De'ang people have always had the habit of refusing to eat when they see someone being killed or not eat when they hear someone's voice. It was not until after 1950 that these conditions changed. Every festival, it is customary to entertain each other. No matter how many dishes are served at the banquet, there must be a bowl of vegetarian dishes boiled with fresh vegetables. When eaten, they are dipped in chili pepper water. It has a unique flavor and is really unforgettable!

Marriage Customs

During the engagement ceremony of the young men and women of the De'ang people, the head of a chicken must be chopped off. If the head and body become two halves, neither party will regret it; if the woman does not agree with the marriage, , you are not allowed to kill chickens. The wedding usually lasts for three days. Within three days, all the men, women, and children in the village go to the bride and groom's homes to congratulate them. The parents of the bride and groom host a banquet, accompanied by antiphonal songs, and they stay up all night singing and laughing.

Food Customs

Most of the De'ang people eat rice as their staple food, with cereals and potatoes mixed in some areas. They are all eaten by steaming and stewing, and are good at making various grain products, such as pea flour, tofu, rice noodles, rice cakes, dada, glutinous rice balls, etc.

There are many kinds of vegetables. Bamboo shoots are one of the vegetables that are available all year round. In addition to being eaten fresh, they are often processed into sour bamboo shoots or dried bamboo shoots for consumption. When eating other vegetables, it is customary to add sour bamboo shoots when stewing. Sour bamboo shoots are very versatile and can be used as seasoning when stewing chicken, stir-frying meat or cooking fish. Influenced by the local Han people, many Han-style pickles and fermented bean curd are also common side dishes on the tables of the De'ang people.

The De'ang people have a long history of growing tea. Tea is not only a common beverage among the De'ang people, but also the best gift for relatives and friends. The De'ang people also drink sour tea, also known as wet tea, which was called valley tea or Gu tea in ancient times. It tastes sour and astringent, and can produce body fluids and quench thirst. It also has the functions of relieving summer heat, clearing away heat and digesting food. Drinking is mostly home-brewed bamboo tube rice wine.

Festivals

Most of the traditional folk festivals of the Deang people are related to Buddhist activities. For example: Water Splashing Festival, Close-Door Festival, Open-Door Festival, burning firewood and other festivals, all have to worship Buddha.

During the Open Door Festival, villages with temples will hold a "Geting Festival" (to celebrate the harvest and enjoy new rice). Preparations should start from December 13 of the Dai calendar, including pounding new rice and cooking new rice. , making rice cakes and other activities, and two pieces of rice cakes must be selected and sent to the public house of the village (a house specially used for the whole village to worship). The next day, the whole village will hold sacrifices, and the skilled craftsmen in the village will make small houses out of bamboo strips. (called Geting in Dai), it contains rice cakes and is carried by people to the temple to worship.

On the day of burning firewood, each family will kill chickens and prepare wine. The whole village will gather for a meal. Each family will also make various glutinous rice cakes, wrap them in banana leaves, steam them and take them with you. They bring gifts to each other and taste the flavors of each family. The newlyweds should bring rice cakes with sugar to the homes of the village leaders and elders to say goodbye.

The De'ang people also have sacrificial customs such as offering sacrifices to family halls, village gods, earth gods, dragons, and grain goddesses. Among them, dragon sacrifice is the most interesting. It is usually chosen in spring, when pigs and chickens are killed, the priest draws a paper dragon, and everyone bows down. Then they have a drinking picnic together, and they beat and scold each other drunkenly to vent their usual dissatisfaction with each other.

No one is allowed to dissuade them here until both parties are exhausted from fighting, and then apologize to each other the next day.