Dong Sama Festival

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Dong Sama Festival

Applicant: Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province

Item No.: 473

Project No.: Ⅹ - 25

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Guizhou Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province

Protection unit: Rongjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Introduction to Dong Sama Festival:

Applicant: Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province

Dong Sama Festival is popular in Rongjiang County, Liping County, Congjiang County and the surrounding Dong areas, mainly represented by Chejiang Dong Sama Festival in Rongjiang county.

"SAMA" is a transliteration of Dong language, "Sa" is grandmother, "Ma" means big, and Samak is translated into Chinese as "big grandmother" (also known as sasui). She is the incarnation of the common ancestor spirit of the whole Dong nationality (especially in the southern dialect area). The Dong people believe that their ancestors are powerful and supreme. They can give people the power to defeat the enemy, nature and disasters, and win the happiness of the village, abundant grain and prosperity of human and animal. Therefore, they worship them devoutly and regard them as the God of the Dong people. At the same time, Sama is also a legendary ancient heroine, which plays an important role in the political, military and cultural aspects of the ancient Dong society.

Sama Festival (sacrifice to SAMA) is the oldest existing traditional festival of the Dong Nationality in the south. It is a legacy of the customs of the matriarchal clan society of the Dong nationality. In order to offer sacrifices to SAMA, most Dong villages have built SAMA altars - "ransa" (in Dong language, "ran" is a house, which is translated into Chinese as "grandmother's house", also known as SAMA ancestral temple and Notre Dame ancestral temple). Every year, a grand ceremony is held in "ransa" in the first month and February of the lunar calendar. The scene is huge and spectacular, which has been passed down from generation to generation, forming today's "Sama Festival".

Sama Festival is usually held in the first month and February of the lunar calendar, but sometimes it is held in other months according to production, life or other major activities. The scale of sacriquet is generally the sacriquet of each village (Group Village), and some invite neighboring villages, several villages or adjacent areas to join the sacriquet, which is spectacular. The people who participate in the ceremony vary from place to place. In many places, all the villagers, men, women, old and young, participate in the ceremony together. In the villages of Sanbao Dong Township in Rongjiang, married women are the main body (there are also a small number of highly respected male village elders). Therefore, the sacrificial activities of Sanbao Dong Township in Rongjiang have a long tradition of matriarchal society. After the ceremony, the participants walked around the village for one week and finally arrived at the fixed Yeping village. They formed a circle and danced hand in hand, singing the "YeGe" in praise of SAMA. This form of singing and dancing is called "Doye", and the atmosphere is simple and warm.

Sama Festival has a profound influence on the ideology of the Dong people, and the virtue of "supreme goodness" of the ancestors plays an important role in the prosperity of the Dong people. Therefore, respect for the elderly has become a fine tradition of the Dong people from generation to generation. Sama is the God of protection, unity and entertainment of Dong people. "SAMA" culture has a long history and strong connotation, which has a profound impact on the social life of the Dong people.