Festival to Celebrate a Bumper Crop

Practical Significance

With distinct characteristics, the Nadun Festival is a folk activity centered around an exorcism dance. The celebration of this folk religion creates links between villages. The traditional festival lasts a long time and sees extensive participation from many villages. Strict in its organization and order of events, the festival is closely integrated with village management and production, and has an obvious social function. The colorful activities are rich in local detail. The exorcism dance not only maintains the Shamanic culture of northern ethnic groups, but also absorbs features of Han culture, such as the god Er-Lang and the worship of Guan Yu. Expressing the Tu’s cultural individuality as well as promoting cultural symbiosis and national harmony, the festival possesses abundant cultural and artistic connotations as well as local music, dance, costumes, and customs.

Meanwhile, the festival is an oral history of the Tu people, which vividly narrates the Tu’s journey from nomadic life to agricultural production. It is of great significance to the study of the Tu’s history, religion, culture, art, farming, and folk customs.

As a typical mask dance to reflect the Tu’s agricultural concept, Zhuangjiaqi presents the transformation of the ethnic group from nomadic life to permanent settlements. As farming techniques improved and the communication between different cultures increased, the Tu’s ancestors constantly absorbed various cultures, and changed their lifestyle to engage in agricultural production. This transition has been interpreted as a common conflict between father and son.

During the performance, some older villagers would be invited onto the stage, persuading their sons to engage in agriculture. This shows that if family problems and neighborhood disputes cannot be settled satisfactorily, the village elders will be invited to mediate. This method has proved to be effective in mediating neighborhood disagreements, reducing friction, and maintaining social stability. It also reflects the Tu’s respect for the older generations and their emphasis on maintaining good relationships with neighboring villages. The invited elders on stage are usually from other villages; they are toasted with wine to show respect, symbolizing the two villages jointly celebrate a good harvest. The guests are all older males, indicating the deep-rooted patriarchal culture of the Tu people.

The Nadun Festival is a long-standing cultural event. As a traditional cultural gem, the living and historical festival is a jewel in the crown of traditional Chinese culture.