The Drungs mostly reside in the Drung River
valley along Gongshan Mountain in Yunnan Province. The local people mainly live
on agriculture, hunting and collecting. They wear self-made flax; a few cover
their body with leaves and animal furs. Women uphold the custom of face
tattoo.
The word Kaquewa is a transliteration
of the Drung language, which means, to gather the clan people for the worship,
or the New Year Festival. This is the only traditional festival of the Drungs.
In the past, the date of celebration is in December of the lunar calendar. It
lasts three days. Each family is free to choose a fine day to hold the
celebration.
The ceremony of the Drungs' festival is
somewhat similar, and the programs of the festival are arranged in an apple-pie
order. The Drungs, whose productivity lags far behind, never forget to worship
the Mountain God in case of a happy event. They offer offerings such as various
animal figures made of buckwheat to pray the god for more games in the next
year. In the year of abundant foodstuff and clothing, they will double their
efforts to slaughter cows for the god worship, for in their minds it is only
with the god blessing that the Drungs can have a better life.
In their primitive faith, the Drungs comply
all the time with the teachings of the ancestor. It is said that since human
beings became friends with the god, it introduced animals to help people with
the cultivation. When the falling leaves announced the autumn' approach, the
seeds planted by human, god and animals brought about a bumper harvest. The
human and god became the couple who lived to old age in conjugal bliss. On their
wedding, the guests were animals and birds. The host and invitees enjoyed the
feast to their heart's content. The couple got the enlightenment from the dance
of animals and birds, so they became good at singing and dancing. At the
meantime, the date of the wedding of human-god marriage was appointed to be that
of their happy event, which was, following the customs by generations, and have
evolved to today's Kaquewa Festival.
Once the date of the festival is confirmed,
the host will notify the friends and relatives by invitations. The so-called
invitations are made of carved wood, knot or oral messages. The number of jags
and knots represents how many days it will take to celebrate the festival. The
notified family will prepare gifts and take part in the festival's
entertainments.
On the early morning of the first day of the
festival, women hang their well-woven flax fabric on the bamboo pole and plant
it on the cleaned slope of the roof to show the beginning of the celebration.
They invite their friends and relatives home, drinking wine, tasting delicious
food and greeting each other. Men throw the wood bowl over the suspended rice
cooker. If the upside of the bowl faces the air, it foresees good luck. They
will hold the celebration late in the night.
In the morrow, all villagers gather together
on a large lawn of the village to hold the grandest ceremony, which includes the
arrow shooting and stabbing cattle contests. In the ceremony of arrow shooting,
a symbol of the animal god in the shape of cylinder is made of cooked wheaten
food, with other wheaten animal figures setting around the animal god. The
worship master presides over the ritual. After the sacrifice, the master will
throw them over to people, and the archers will shoot them freely. The Drungs
believe that what they have hit means what they will get while hunting. With a
great din of gongs and drums, people dance and sing in a circle.
During the festival, what is the most
spectacular is the Cattle Sacrifice to Worship the Heaven. Only the villages
with the good conditions carry out this activity. The cattle are offered in
pair. Sometimes, one family supplies it, and sometimes it is purchased with
collective money. When the ceremony of the cattle stabbing begins, all villagers
assemble to grassland with food and beverage.
The clan head or ritual master who preside
over the ceremony leads the cattle to the center of the ground and ties it to a
post. Then, a woman hangs a string of pearls on the horn and puts a Drung-style
carpet over the cattle's back. When the offering is well set, the ritual master
lights the pine torch and pine tags. He kowtows facing the east and mumbles,
Mountain God, we offer you this year the cattle and pray you for blessing us
with abundant quarries, a bumper harvest and a safe life. When the recitation is
finished, he takes away the carpet and pearls. Two brave hunters, holding a long
bamboo lance and dancing, move to the center of the ground. People toast the
cattle. They stand in a circle, beating gongs and drums, singing while
performing the Cattle Stabbing Dance. Two hunters pierce the lance into cattle
oxter and hold it until the cattle lie down. People cheer for their warriors.
Afterward, people cook the beef, one portion for each participant. People dance
and sing to pray for a merry festival and safety for the coming year. The
Kaquewa Festival is the beginning with a lucky and festal atmosphere.
Now, the Drungs also celebrate the Spring
Festival, besides their traditional Kaquewa
Festival.