Yao Zhuzhu Festival
01 · Historical Records
The formation of the Yao Zhuzhu Festival stems from ancestor worship and nature worship, embodying filial ethics and the pursuit of a better life. Moved by his filial devotion, the Yao people held feasts to give thanks to nature and prayed for blessings and safety, which gradually evolved into the Zhuzhu Festival. After the public memorial ceremony, people strike bronze drums while the “buji” ritual masters chant the Miluotuo epic, recounting her story of creating the world and giving birth to humanity; they exhort the people not to forget the grace of their ancestors, to practice the way of filial piety, and to remember the Yao migration history and the hardworking, unremitting spirit of struggle.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yao Zhuzhu Festival, also known as the “Danu Festival,” the “Yao New Year,” or the “Twenty-Ninth Day Festival,” is one of the traditional festivals of the Yao people living along the banks of the Hongshui (Red Water) River. Held to give thanks to Miluotuo, the ancestress who created the world, to celebrate the harvest, and for socializing and entertainment, it has a history of more than a thousand years. Its core area of distribution covers the Yao autonomous counties of Bama, Dahua, and Du'an in Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as Yao settlements in Donglan and Fengshan counties of Hechi City, Mashan and Long'an counties of Nanning City, and Pingguo City of Baise City; the festival's activities involve more than 700,000 people. Among them, the Zhuzhu Festival in the Yao villages of Longshan, Changdong, Jiangtuan, and Qiaqiao on Fanling Mountain in Dongshan Township, Bama Yao Autonomous County, is the most grand. In recent decades, Yao compatriots from various places often travel to Bama Yao Autonomous County to celebrate the Zhuzhu Festival together, and this folk custom has a broad and deep mass base. The third son beat bronze drums to drive away birds and beasts and let the cat loose to eat field mice; after finally reaping a good harvest, he held a birthday celebration for his mother and repaid her kindness. Records of Zhuzhu Festival activities appear in historical works such as the Guihai Yuheng Zhi, the Lingwai Daida, the Song Shi (History of Song), and the Baishan Si Zhi. The Yao Zhuzhu Festival is formally held on the 29th day of the fifth lunar month each year. On the occasion, the Yao people commemorate the birthday of Miluotuo, with ritual offerings and prayers, bronze drumming, top-spinning, crossbow shooting, and the singing of xihua songs as the main contents, gathering in celebration for three days; people of the Zhuang, Han, Mulao, Maonan, and other ethnic groups from neighboring villages also take part together. Among these, the ritual offerings and prayers are held on Fanling Mountain: men and women, young and old, dress in festive attire, carry bronze drums on their backs, and bring offerings, while the “buji” — respected local elders — lead the crowd in worshipping heaven and earth and commemorating the ancestress. The “buji” who preside over the Zhuzhu Festival master the ritual protocols as well as the knowledge and performance skills related to ancient songs and bronze drum dances; they are responsible for organizing and carrying out the entire sacrificial activity and are an important inheriting group of the Yao Zhuzhu Festival. The “buji” are selected from among the respected local elders and village elders (zhailao), reflecting the character of the “village elder system,” a traditional Yao social organization, and giving full play to the social function of ethnic community self-governance. The Yao Zhuzhu Festival combines ritual offerings and prayers with the celebration of the harvest, expressing gratitude to nature and advocating an ecological-civilization view of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature; it is rich in content and distinctly characterized.
The public offering and prayer
On the twenty-ninth day of the fifth lunar month the people, in their best dress and carrying drums and offerings, follow the revered elder called the buji to honour the sky, the earth and the first ancestors.
The buji reciting the epic
When the offering ends the buji beats the drum and recites the epic of creation, telling the people to remember their ancestors, their duty and the hardship of migration.
Drums, spinning tops and the new year
Drumming, spinning tops, crossbows and ritual song fill three days of celebration; the drum recalls the third brother who was given a drum and a cat and so tilled successfully.
Choosing the buji
The buji must know the ritual order, the ancient songs and the drum dance, and is chosen from respected elders, reflecting the village council system of Yao self-government.
Neighbouring peoples join the festival
Zhuang, Han, Mulao and Maonan neighbours take part alongside Yao from across the river basin, and pilgrims travel to Bama from ever wider areas.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Yao are one of the indigenous ethnic groups of Guangxi; Guangxi's Yao population ranks first in China, mainly distributed across six Yao autonomous counties including Bama. In the Hongshui River basin, the long epic Miluotuo, widely circulated in Yao areas, tells a story: the creation ancestress Miluotuo gave bronze drums and a cat to her third son, encouraging him to farm diligently.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Yao Zhuzhu Festival is transmitted by the Yao people; with a wide audience, broad dissemination, and a solid foundation, most Yao people in the areas where it circulates can play drums, dance, and sing. The Yao Zhuzhu Festival integrates cultural elements such as bronze drums, costume, folk songs, and athletic competition; it is a concentrated expression of Yao social and historical culture, and at the same time a manifestation of Yao life values such as remembering ancestors, emphasizing filial piety and repaying kindness, revering nature, loving life, and fearing no hardship. Transmitted collectively through oral instruction and internalized learning, it embodies group memory, ethnic spirit, cultural identity, and social cohesion; it has high historical and cultural value and has played a positive role in promoting social harmony and ethnic unity.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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