Kuzhazha Festival
01 · Historical Records
The origin of the Kuzhazha Festival is tied to the terraced fields. The Hani make their living cutting terraced fields and farming paddies, and terrace cultivation must follow the seasons, so the festival is not set by the calendar but by the time when the rice comes into flower: in the sixth lunar month, when the rice ears all fill with milky grain, each village selects an auspicious day according to the zodiac and invites relatives and friends of the surrounding ethnic groups to celebrate together. The farming rituals formed around terraced rice cultivation over a thousand years gradually gave birth to this festival through long accumulation; with the village as the unit, a set of standard behavioral norms maintains the cohesion of the whole village, and the way people bless one another without distinction of self and other during the festival is even more intimate than in ordinary times.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Kuzhazha Festival is a grand Hani festival that prays for abundant harvests and pursues harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Yuanyang County in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, is a main area of Hani settlement, with a Hani population of more than 240,000 and over 440 Hani villages; every Hani village here has the custom of celebrating the Kuzhazha Festival. Because the growth cycles of terraced rice differ from area to area, the timing of the festival varies accordingly, but the contents and cultural meaning of the Kuzhazha Festival are basically the same. Every year in the sixth lunar month, when the rice in the terraced fields flowers and puts forth ears, each village chooses an auspicious day according to the zodiac and invites relatives and friends of the surrounding ethnic groups to celebrate the Kuzhazha Festival together. The festival lasts three days. On the first day, the village sends skilled craftsmen to the moqiu ground to set up the moqiu (a tall rotating pole swing) and swings, while all the villagers together renovate the offering house and invite the gods of heaven to come to the Hani mountain village for the festival. On the second day, the villagers lead a bull purchased with pooled funds to the moqiu ground for sacrifice, then divide the offerings equally among households to take home and offer to ancestral spirits. On the third day, every household carries bountiful dishes to the moqiu ground for the thanksgiving feast to the gods, praying for abundant crops, thriving livestock, and a flourishing population; amid the feast people sing and dance, inviting one another to ride the swings and the moqiu, enjoying themselves endlessly. The festival ritual team is mainly composed of the migu, the mobi, and the luotu: the migu presides over the rites, the mobi prays for blessings, and the luotu handles logistics. The migu is elected from among elders of high moral prestige who have living spouses, both sons and daughters, harmonious families, and no record of disciplinary violations; the migu is therefore the highest moral and behavioral standard among the Hani and plays a typical role in education and guidance, ritual purpose, and specific norms. The Kuzhazha Festival takes the village as its unit and maintains the cohesion of the whole village through a set of standard behavioral norms; during the festival everyone blesses one another without distinction of self and other, which has a good promoting effect on frontier stability and social harmony.
Erecting the see-saw and swings
On the first day skilled villagers erect the see-saw and swings at the play field, all together renewing the ritual house and inviting the sky god to the village.
Renewing the ritual house
The ritual house is renewed by all the villagers together, so that rebuilding it yearly also gathers a year of shared labour into one day.
Sacrificing the ox and sharing
On the second day the ox bought by subscription is brought to the field for sacrifice, and the offerings are shared evenly among households to take home for their own ancestors.
The third day’s thanksgiving feast
On the third day households bring their best dishes to the field for the thanksgiving feast, praying for grain, livestock and children while singing, swinging and playing.
The officiant, the chanter and the steward
The ritual team is made up of three offices: one presiding over the ceremony, one reciting the prayers, and one in charge of provisions and work.
Choosing the presiding elder
The presiding elder must be respected, live with a spouse, have children, keep a harmonious household and hold no record of violation, so the office sets a moral standard.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Kuzhazha Festival is found in all Hani-settled areas of China. According to differences in geographical location, language, and dress, the Kuzhazha Festival is roughly divided into three areas within Yuanyang County. The first is Xinjie Town, Niujiaozhai Town, and Panzhihua Township in the central part of the county, where the Hani mainly call themselves “Ailuo.” The second is Majie, Salato, Ezha, and Huangcaoling townships on both banks of the Tengtiao River in the southwest and south of the county, where the Hani mainly call themselves “Gehe.” The third is Ganiang, Xiaoxinjie, Fengchunling, and Daping townships in the east of the county, where the Hani mainly call themselves “Nuobi.”
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
For a thousand years, the Hani, whose main mode of production has been terrace farming, developed a set of farming rituals centered on terraced rice cultivation, out of which the Kuzhazha Festival was born; through long development and accumulation, it now has rich connotations including off-season recreation and socializing, athletic activities, and ritual offerings and prayers, with marked characteristics of collective transmission. The Kuzhazha Festival contains rich cultural symbols of Hani literature, song and dance, cuisine, and belief; it plays a positive role in improving people's living standards, cultivating ethnic spirit, strengthening ethnic confidence and cohesion, and promoting the protection of the Hani terraced fields as a World Cultural Heritage site. The Hani believe that their ancestors, in cutting the terraced fields, affected animals to a certain extent, so at the Kuzhazha Festival they seek reconciliation with animals in particular ways, praying through the festival for the understanding and care of all things in heaven and earth; this expresses the Hani ecological conservation concept of respecting and revering nature and has a scientific guiding role for the orderly conduct of Hani terrace farming.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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