The year of Qiang

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: year of Qiang

Applicant: Mao County, Sichuan Province

Item No.: 989

Project No.: Ⅹ - 82

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Mao County, Sichuan Province

Protection unit: Maoxian Cultural Center

A brief introduction to the year of Qiang

Applicant: Mao County, Sichuan Province

Rimai Festival (Qiang calendar year), also known as "Qiang New Year", "Celebrating the new year", "Harvest Festival", is a grand festival of the Qiang nationality. Its activities are mainly to celebrate the harvest, send blessings and pray for peace. It is mainly popular in the majority of Qiang inhabited areas in 23 towns of Maoxian County, Sichuan Province. It is also popular in Wenchuan County, Lixian County, Songpan County, Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County and other Qiang distribution areas. Rimai Festival is named after the Pingyang calendar of the Qiang nationality. It usually takes the first day of October of the lunar calendar as a festival and lasts for three to five days. In terms of content, this activity mainly reflects the early farming culture of the Qiang nationality, but in terms of expression, there are still many remains of nomadic, hunting culture and animism.

Whenever the year of Qiang comes, each village will hold a grand celebration under the auspices of the respected old people. Men, women, young and old form a circle on the lawn. First, they sing and dance, commonly known as "dancing festive Salang". Then they drink Za wine, give each other delicious food, wish each other a happy new year, indulge in revelry, and go home late into the night.

The year of Qiang is a precious cultural heritage of Qiang people. It integrates belief, history, singing and dancing, and diet. It reflects the Qiang people's national personality of worshiping nature and ancestors from the festival activities. It has the research value of ethnology, folklore, sociology, history, culture and so on.