Double Third Festival
01 · Historical Records
There are two legends about the origin of the Baojing Sanyuesan.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Baojing Sanyuesan is a traditional festival of the Dong people transmitted in Zhenyuan County, Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province; it is also called the "Sowing Festival" and commonly known as the "Courting of Onions and Garlic." The first legend concerns farming: the Dong people originally used the blossoming of the tung tree to determine the sowing season; in one year the tung trees did not blossom, so they missed the farming season and suffered a famine, after which the village elders set the third day of the third month as the sowing day. The second concerns love: a pair of Dong lovers died together to win the freedom to marry; in their memory, unmarried young men go to the onion-washing pond on the third day of the third month to receive baluo baskets (small baskets woven from bamboo strips) and onions and garlic from their sweethearts as tokens of betrothal, which is why the Sanyuesan is also called the "Courting of Onions and Garlic" among the Baojing Dong. The areas of distribution include Tunshang Village, Jinlong Village, Baoyou Village, Basuo Village, Songbai Village, and others. On the first day of the third month, the housewives of every family in the stockade carefully prepare new festival clothes for their children and husbands, grind tofu, lay in wine and dishes, cook glutinous rice, and brew oil tea. On the second day, girls and young men go in groups to the fish-and-shrimp fields to catch fish and shrimp, then cook and eat them in the open fields while singing love songs. On the third day, the whole stockade is immersed in the joy of the festival: the girls wash onions and garlic, the young men court them for onions and garlic, and lifelong affection is pledged. Mothers and sisters-in-law stay at home dressing and making up the girls. The old men wear long robes of silk and satin; the brothers prepare lusheng mouth organs, iron cannon, and rice wine for a solemn welcome ceremony, while the people of neighboring stockades come in groups, dressed in festive attire, as guests. On the fourth day, a grand lusheng dance gathering is held at the lusheng ground. Men and women of all ages from the Miao, Dong, and Han ethnic groups, dressed in festive attire, joyfully dance the lusheng dance and the drum-stomping dance. On the fifth day, a grand ceremony is held to see off the guests. The hosts fire the iron cannon, play the lusheng, and sing farewell songs. The men hang pig heads and pig tails around the guests' chests in return courtesy. The legend of the Baojing Sanyuesan is connected with ancient agricultural sowing and preserves the age-old memory of the Dong people's use of the blossoming of the tung-oil tree as the phenological calendar for spring plowing and planting. During the festival, young men and women put on new clothes and gather by the streams and in the paddy fields to catch fish, splashing and playing together — an ancient survival of the exorcistic purification rites of the Shangsi Festival. The fish caught may not be taken home; everyone lights a bonfire by the stream to roast them, sharing a communal feast and picnic. Young men and women play the mouth organ and dance to songs, associating freely and falling in love. Old people and children all take part, and nearby villages come as guests; the scene is festive and joyful — the annual carnival of Baojing. The Baojing Sanyuesan is passed down jointly by the Dong compatriots of the Baojing stockade, with activities organized and led mainly by the six prestigious clans of the Baojing stockade.
Preparations on the first day
Housewives prepare new clothes, tofu, dishes, sticky rice and oil tea the day before the festival opens.
Fishing at the shrimp fields
Young people catch fish and shrimp in the flooded fields and grill them on the bank while singing to each other.
Washing and asking for scallions and garlic
On the third day the girls wash scallions and garlic at the pond while the boys come with baskets to ask for them along with tokens.
Lusheng ground and drum dance
On the fourth day lusheng dancing and stomping drums fill the ground as crowds in festival dress gather from several villages.
The send-off rite
Hosts fire cannons, blow lusheng and sing the send-off song, hanging pig's head and tail on departing guests.
The six families in charge
Six respected families of the main village organize the festival, each providing musicians, firecrackers and wine.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The core area of the Baojing Sanyuesan is the Baojing Dong stockade, which is divided into the Upper, Middle, and Lower Stockades.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Li Sanyuesan Festival · Double Third Festival.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This heritage project preserves primitive information about the ancient farming and courtship customs of the northern Dong people; it is an important cultural space for the transmission of folk music, dance, and traditional handicraft practice, and has historical, artistic, and cultural value that cannot be underestimated.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Lu Chaoyuan 05-2974
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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