Spring Equinox

---

Spring Equinox fall on March 20th or 21th each year, this is the date mark the beginning of a longer day-light each day in the northern hemisphere. and open up a new phrase of spiritual event everywhere in China. within this few months, people would prepare outing to pay respect to their ancestors. Here in Yuanyang, the Hani in Tuanjie area coincidently celebrated Jilong on this same day. at about 5pm villager would bring a table of foods gathered and dined outside the chiefman house, toast and drinks, praising their ancestor for protecting the village and livestocks. but the Jilong ceremony actually began 3 weeks ago on a "horse" day, Shaman together with couple of assitants, some boys dressed up as a woman(no woman are allowed in any event only until the banquet on the last day) they set a shrine under the holy tree and send a troop with the shaman out to each entrances of village, carry away with whatever evil along the way to the village's exit, chanting and loud hurray, kind of purified and expeled the evil. then the 2nd week would prepare holy thread that was weaved up with straw to erected the village gate, the thread ran across the entrance like a threshold tied with wooden knives and spears, and a skeleton of rooster would be hang to warn off any evil spirits. On the 3rd week there would be a 3 days event, 3 days ago a huge pig was slaughter under the holy tree, and split up into equal portion, each family would come to collected a part of blessed flesh(holy meat)in front of the chiefman house, and got a bowl of liquid that was immitating the holy blood. Yesterday each family would brought a tray of foods to where the holytree stand for offering, leaded chanting by the shaman and the chief, thundering fire crackers went off and banquet inside the shaded forest around the holytree. Anyways...Jilong is kind of ceremony to pay respect to ancestor, the Hani has their own system to determined the date each year.

---

Photos

skeleton of rooster
pic is provided by a friend