Hani People's Mud Carnival

ChieDi, a subgroup of Hani, is also called "GaDu Hani"--Hani that had had been left behind. It is said that this part of Hani were once in the tribe migrating to south, but they became too tired to catch up with the main group that they settled down in forest covered remote mountains. Year after year, this small group has grown from a small village of several families to nowadays "ChieDi", a large subgroup of Hani. "ChieDi" are not widely distributed; but centralized in Lugong, Dadie, Malishu, Lixian, (of Jiangcheng, Pu'er) Longtan, Sinanjiang(of Mojiang), Baliu, Shalu, and Gahong(on the boundary of Jiangcheng, Mojiang and Lvchun).

You must be deeptly impressed by Hani people's Stone carnival if you had seen films sourced from that. Stone carnival is played in "YiChe"(a subgroup of Hani) by male adults in October, during the Hani New Years Festival. It happens like wars in the ancient age of cold steel, though no other weapons but stones are used. When the game begins, male adults from different villages come together to riversides and throw small stones at each other. People on each side seems like have been united as an army, and they are now exactly in a fight against their enemies on the other side--the atmosphere feels tense and dangerous, just like a real war. People at the first sight of such a "battle" must be confused, are they acting like their ancestors in real experience? However, according to old peoples' recount, this kind of "battle" is in fact in no means related to real wars or battles, but for corns--people can't get good harvest unless such a "battle" is held. Coincidentally, a similar carnival, held for corns' good, is also running on from generation to generation in ChieDi--Mud Carnival.

Among all the differences between these two kinds of carnival, the most outstanding one is that since mud is much softer than stone, the atmosphere must be also softer. That's true.

It feels a little cold on early May morning in mountainous areas, with heavy fog doesn't disperse until noon when begins the light rains; and the great mud carnival is exactly coming on its way. Since most women have finished their work of planting seedlings in fields, one of them would quietly walk close to a man who is busy plowing the land, and sprinkle a handful mud and water to his neck. Smilingly, the man shrinks his neck and continues with his plowing. Then several other women would get down into the field and begin attacking other men. At first, men would fight back with only one hand, the other one still handling the plow; but finding that women are not a little weaker than them, and they, men, have got wet all over that they know it's time for the real fight. Stopped plowing, men begin to fight back whole-heartedly with both hand. Needless to say, women are soon defeated. But the war is far from ending. Soon later, more people, including those who were standing on edges of fields watching and laughing moments ago, get down into the fields and join in the battle. With mud and water splashing here and there, a group of adult men and women are playing happily as if they were children; their laughing and shouting echo across the mountains.

At last, as all people are covered with mud, the carnival comes to its end. After all the lands are plowed by mud-men, people go back home.

Only the mud and water in this piece of land, to which its master devote his whole life, can bring so thoroughly joy and happiness to its master. Thanks for the good-fellowship between Hani people living on the same land; thanks for the intimate passion Hani people pay to the fertile land; where else can people get so much joy and happiness?

(Edit:Ruby)