| The Origin and Customs of Gongbo New Year
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Among the traditional festivals in the Nyingchi area,
the most representative is the Gongbo New Year.
It is said that the people in Gongbo used to observe the
Tibetan New Year, as the people in other Tibetan areas
do. In 7th century AD, confronted with the attack of the
Hor people from the north, the Gongbo King Ngagyi Gyaibo
decided to lead the Gongbo men to the frontier. It was
late autumn, and the men regretted leaving since the New
Year was imminent. Being a reasonable leader, the king
said, "We have to fight the battle but should not
miss the New Year. I have decided to move the New Year
up to the first day of the tenth month, for you'll have
no heart to fight the enemy without spending the New Year,
and when defeated we'll see no more New Year. So let's
eat and drink to our hearts' content before going out
to battle." So the Gongbo people spent the New Year
in advance. With high morale, the Gongbo people were able
to defeat the enemy. From then on, they started to observe
the New Year on the first day of the tenth month of the
Tibetan calendar.
Joyful dancing
According to the distinctive customs of the Gongbo New
Year, on the eve of the New Year, every household will
put festival foods _ co, a sacrificial offering made of
zanba, deep-fried dumplings, beef, mutton, butter, milk
dregs, brown sugar, dried peaches, apples, etc. _ on wooden
plates, set them in the courtyard and feed their dogs.
The Gongbo people believe that what the dogs eat will
forecast the harvest in the New Year: eating co or pancakes
means a good harvest, eating milk dregs and butter means
a thriving animal husbandry, and eating dried peaches
means that all family members will be happy and healthy...
Then the family will sit together and eat gyida, a string
of toasted dumplings made of flour, butter and milk dregs.
Everyone will eat more than his or her fill, so that the
ghost cannot carry them away.
On New Year's Day, people will take sacrificial offerings
and wine, made of qingke, to the fields and present them
to the Goddess of Harvest. A tall post will be erected
in the field, with a flag hanging from its upper end and
hay tied to its lower part. An altar will be set up in
front of the post. The people will burn aromatic plants
for auspicious smoke, sing and dance to pray for blessings
from the Goddess of Harvest and a good harvest in the
New Year.
There are many typical entertainment activities during
the New Year. On the second day of the New Year, the men
compete in shooting arrows while on horses. The wooden,
cone-shaped arrowhead bears many holes so that the arrow
makes a sharp sound when piercing the air, so the arrow
is called a "whistling arrow." There are also
wrestling, stone-carrying and tree-felling competitions.
The women also have many games to play besides cheering
the riders and archers. In the evening, a bonfire is lit
on the square, and a big, wooden barrel is set beside
it. Everyone who has come to dance will pour a pot of
wine into it, and then dance and drink around the bonfire
till dawn.
Shooting an arrow
Another famous festival is the Bear-Fighting Festival
in the Shiba Village of the Bomi area in Nyingchi. Every
year, on the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the Tibetan
calendar, every villager will dress in festival costume
and go to the Tara Mountain to burn aromatic plants for
auspicious smoke, praying for favorable weather and happy
life from the God of Mountains and the Heaven. Then young
women will gather and dance. Suddenly, seven "bears"
will dash from behind the trees, waving barbed twigs while
roaring. At the same time, three hunters will rush forward,
and the interesting bear fighting starts. This custom
originated from a religious activity in the 17th century,
which was thought to be auspicious because bears had visited
the event. Today, this religious ritual has become a folklore
game that also popularizes wild life protection.
By comparison, the Eagle-worshipping Festival in the Benri
Mountain holds more religious flavor. The Benri Mountain
is worshipped by the Bon believers. The 1,200 year old
Sagya Genqen Monastery in the mountain is the oldest temple
of the Bon Sect, and has many worshippers. Every year,
in the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, many eagles
can be seen hovering over the monastery. It is said that
a famous monk claimed just before he died that he would
reincarnate into 100 eagles and visit the monastery. To
commemorate him, on the thirtieth day of the fourth month,
all people will dress themselves in festival costumes
and attend various religious rituals. They will dance
the lively Gongbo Dance and pray for a good harvest and
thriving life.
Being mountainous, Nyingchi has mountain people's customs.
Gongbo hunters are good archers, and every traditional
festival would not be complete without archery competitions.
While the archers compete, singers and spectators sing
and dance to boost their morale. This is a splendid scene
of folklore in the Gongbo area. The Gongbo people use
a special kind of arrow. Its head is made of iron and
its tail made of eagle feathers. The bows that they use
are all made of bamboo from Medog, which is hardy. The
arrows are the "whistling arrows." Singing is
mandatory in arrow-shooting competitions. The singers
are the best from all the villages. They wear festival
costumes and line both sides of the range, with men on
the right and women on the left. When the archers from
their own village start to shoot, they will sing the "Song
of Arrows" in chorus, and at the same time dance
vigorously to cheer the competitors on, pushing the festival
and competitive atmosphere to a climax.
There are other main festivals in Nyingchi:
. The Mountain-Circling Festival in
Kongpo
. The Mountain-Circling
Festival in Menba
. The Niangpu
Lhasa Festival
. The Lake-Circling
Festival in Pasongtso |
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