The Spring Festival Celebration of the Nianzhe Family Clan

ZHAO Peixi　ZHANG Bo　YANG Lifen　ZHANG Yongyi

Abstract： The Nianzhe （family name） family is a Mosuo family in Dapo village， Yongning Township， Ninglang Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan Province. The Nianzhe family is a big Mosuo family full of harmony and warmth. The Spring Festival in 2011 was the happiest festival for the matriarch of the family， Nianzhe·Cierlamu （“Old Mom”） who was 72 years， and for the patriarch， Laya·Danducier （“Old Daddy”） who was 73 years old. This was because， except for Nianzhe·Yongzhenduma， their third daughter who married to a Naxi man， their other five children， two son-in-laws and five grandchildren came back to celebrate the spring festival with them.

The Nianzhe family has a very strong sense of family， and the Spring Festival is the most important time for them to express their feelings to the family. All the family members place their joy and hope on the New Years celebration （Spring Festival）. Actually， upon entering the twelfth month of the lunar year， the family began to busy themselves with preparing food， new clothes and other things. They collected fire wood， made salted pork， prepared special wine， milled flour， made “huahuatang”（a kind of handmade candy）， and also prepared a special kind of bean curd， pieces of dried rice， butter， oil， Tsampa， and vegetables. They also prepared other things such as“couplets”， prayer flags， and butter lamps.

In accordance with the custom of the Mosuo， the Nianzhe family chose the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month of the year to clean the house. This is because the animal zodiac sign of that day was not the same as any of the family members birth animal zodiac signs. If it were， it would be inauspicious for those family members whose birth signs were the same as that day. After they cleaned the house， a lama was invited to chant； some dough figures were made and the “zananiao muqi” （the purifying scripture） was recited.

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month， the Nianzhe clan family started to slaughter the animals； they killed the pig， goat and chicken， and fried the meat balls， so that most of the food for the New Year celebration would be prepared in advance. On the 29th day， the Nianzhe family started to prepare various materials for the New Years Eve dinner. This included washing the pig head， preparing the ham and salted pork， frying the fish， and so forth. On the actual day， “Old Mom” and “Old Daddy” went to the hot spring to bathe； and “Old Daddy” also shaved his hair. Some members of the family gathered a lot of camellia flower branches and Primula flower branches to decorate the sacred shrine of the house. Other young people and kids played and made barbeque in the courtyard.

In the morning of 30th day of the twelfth lunar month， Songnaduma， the young hostess， got up early and prepared a simple breakfast for the family. After breakfast， all the family members started to prepare for the New Year celebration. The women prepared various dishes for the New Years Eve dinner； the children and old people put up the couplets，prepared fire crackers and decorated the house. The old people taught the children how to decorate the sacred shrine and put various offerings on the shrine.

Some members of the family cut a lot of cypress， box-wood and pine tree branches from the mountain， and placed the branches on the posts， doors， windows and walls so as to decorate every corner of the house. After that， they cut up a bamboo stick， tied new prayer flags on it， and then placed it on the center roof of the main house. The ridge of the house was also decorated with new prayer flags. Handmade candy， various fruits， pure water and so forth were offered on the shrine in the family chapel； and the oil lamps were lit， too. The shrine was decorated with fresh pine branches， cypress branches， clean plastic flowers， and camellia and primula flowers. Fruit， candies， and cakes were offered， and the butter lamps were lit.Incense was burnt in the burner； and new mats were put on the sitting places （also for sleeping in the night） around the fire place.

Luruo Jiace was very skilled in paper cutting， and he made a lot of paper cuttings， including the “ba”（totem）， deity figures， sacred vases， the Chinese traditional design “si fu nao shou”（meaning “four bats celebrate for long life”）， and Chinese characters such as “chun” （“Spring”）， “xi” （“double-happiness”） and “fu” （“l(fā)uckiness”）， etc. The children discussed the best places for sticking these paper cuttings， and then stuck them on windows， vases， grain cabinets， water vats and different types of jars in the house. After that， Luruo Jiace and Zhaxi Duzhi guided their nephews and nieces to paste couplets on the post， doors and gates. Finally， they hung colorful prayer flags on every door and eave of the house. Red lanterns were hung up on each eave of the house， and all furniture， and red paper slips were even pasted on the farm tools， and cars. The Mosuo yard of the Nianzhe family was filled with a happy atmosphere.

In the kitchen， the women were chatting and preparing the dinner， and the pleasant aroma of stir-fry was flowing in the air. The eve of the New Year is a very important day for the Mosuo--that is totally true， and we can feel this importance in the Nianzhe house. In the past， it was said that the family must prepare 12 dishes for the New Years Eve diner， even during periods of poverty. This is because the 12 dishes represent good blessings for the 12 months of the year. Now， because peoples living conditions have improved， there are no special demands for the number of dishes. However， the Nianzhe family prepared 24 dishes for this years celebration.

Before starting the New Years Eve dinner， the Nianzhe family held a sacred ritual to worship the ancestors. It was said that， in the past， the Mosuo family would invite a Daba （the religious specialist of the Mosuos primitive religion） to conduct the ritual for worshiping the ancestors. But now， there are not too many Daba， so， this ritual was conducted by the “Old Mom” of the family. First， they burnt a pile of camilar branches in the center of the main room to drive away evil and demons with the smoke， and then， they took all the dishes beside the fire place. The “Old Mom” of the family knelt down and chanted a few sentences to worship the ancestors. Then， the family put two square tables together and arranged all the dishes on the two tables. All family members， more than 20 people， sat around the tables and shared the tuanyuan fan （reunion dinner）. Every member of the Nianzhe family is good at singing and dancing， so they did not forget to celebrate the New Years Eve by singing. Sometimes they sang a solo and sometimes they sang a duet or chorus. And， the songs sometimes were accompanied with dancing. All the members happily enjoyed the moment.

In the morning of the next day （the first day of the new lunar year）， the young people of the Nianzhe family got up early， set off fire crackers and came to the family chapel where they lit the oil lamps， changed the pure water， knelt down before the Buddha and ancestors to worship them. Then， they went to the fire place of main room to kneel down in front of the old people and wish them a healthy and long life. “Old Mom” and “Old Daddy” of the family said some auspicious words in Mosuo language to them. After that， all of the family members climbed up to the top of the village mountain and burnt incense in the “tawa”（heavenly incense burning place） for blessing. They hung lucky “songba daer”（prayer flags） in the trees. The whole mountain was decorated with colorful prayer flags which were full of peoples good wishes and hopes. During the time of the New Years celebration， the members of the Nianzhe family visited their relatives and villagers during the day， and， sometimes in the evening， they concentrated together to participate in “Jiacuo” parties. These were rituals specially organized for some of the children “becoming adults”. The Nianzhe family spent a happy and excited Spring Festival.

With the developments of the times， the Spring Festival custom of the Mosuo is changing. In the process of the Spring Festival， we noticed frequent and complex cultural interaction and identity between the Mosuo and other ethnic groups. Many traditions from central China， such as pasting couplets， hanging lanterns， eating fish， and lettuce， or giving New Years money， have become a new fashion and new custom of the Mosuo. Of course， the main theme of the New Year celebration—“coming back home” and “reunion” are still deep-rooted ethnic traditions of the Mosuo， or even the whole Chinese nation， and this has never changed. Spring Festival is a symbol which signifies reunion， happiness， and joy. From purchasing the New Year goods， worshipping the deities and ancestors to the moment when all the family members are sitting together， singing and dancing—the whole process is like a sacred ritual， and is a kind of “cultural spirit” insisted on by the Mosuo. The meaning of the Spring Festival is in the process， and the happiness of the Spring Festival is in the details. However， many traditional customs， such as singing， playing guessing games， swinging and kicking the shuttlecock have disappeared or are disappearing. Therefore， it is imperative to protect ethnic culture.

Key Words： Mosuo family； Spring Festival； culture change； culture protection

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