The Torch Festival

The torch festival  is a traditional festival of the bai people. It's a very grand festival. On this day, people will worship ancestor, lit torches, dance, sing and so on. The meaning of the hope that the grain will be fruitful and prosperous. The women in the village will use impatiens balsamina to dye their nails. So women's finger will be red. It's in honor of lady white who rescued her husband in the ashes and she covered her hands with blood. It means a woman's firmness, unyielding and holiness.

Before the festival, the whole men of village set up a fire with a height of about 10m. Make a pole with pines, tie up straw and pine braches, install a flag at the top. Some people get a white crane. There be a bucket written on words. Under the bucket hung torches of pears, begonias, fireworks, lamps and flag. At noon during, the old people would burn incense and put it next to the torch.

Before the sun set, the family had supper in advance to watch torches and programs. There are mainly dances organized by the  women's association in the village. There are  also children singing and elderly people play erhu. The country will be more grand which will play the dragon, a few dozen people to play the suona. It is  large and magnificent.

When night fell, the venerable old man would light the torch. The blazing fire, firecrackers, sound cut the sky, fireworks, the scene is very spectacular. When the torch was almost burn out, people scramble for the flags flying under the sky. The person who grabbed the flag  was regarded as a blessed one. I remember one time when my brother burned his pants, but he was still happy to get flag. Around the people eating fried beans to watch and talk.(In our village, the family that gave birth to a son this year should be responsible for torch and the family gives birth to a daughter shouldbe responsible for stir-fried beans for people the eat.)

At the end of the torch festival, we will pick up charcoal from the burning torch and put it outside the house to ward off evil sprits.

The Torch Festival
The Torch Festival
The Torch Festival
The Torch Festival