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Festival-Related Wine Customs of Ethnic Minorities

Participants in the pageant must carry a long knife and a bamboo canister containing wine, which is the grand feature on this occasion. The Jingpo people believe that wine is a gift loved by both gods and ghosts, not just humans. During the festival, which centers on offering sacrifices to ghosts, much wine is needed to treat the gods and ghosts; the wine is usually supplied by the participants. On the eve of the pageant, each household brews wine with washed rice as simple wine songs resound across the region's bamboo forests; the strong fragrance of wine also permeates almost every corner.

The deification of wine is first displayed in the management of wine usage and the selection of emcees at the ceremony. According to a Jingpo epic tale, wine comes from the latex of the creator, who is the breeder of everything. Therefore, the Jingpo people are convinced of the divine power of wine and hold it in very high esteem. Whenever there is an important activity, someone is assigned to preside over wine-associated practices.

During the Munao Singing Party, the deification of wine is mainly expressed via the numerous sacrificial activities made to ghosts. In the 1980s, Jingpo society still believed in primitive religion and had not formed the concept of "god" in a strict sense; they only accepted the concept of the ghost, who either protects or destroys human beings. The festival banquet is actually set up to treat ghosts and, in essence, the event is actually a festival for ghosts.

Besides the Munao Singing Party many peculiar customs of wine use are also featured, such as "Looking for the 'Niu'". The so-called "niu" is actually a Chinese watermelon, which is placed on an altar as a sacrifice to the ancestors and later hidden by one of the participants. Designated by the koradji (an aboriginal medicine man), two people pretend to look for the melon, carrying bamboo canisters on their backs. Whoever crosses their path, they ask: "Have you seen the 'niu'?" After locating the "niu", the men must carry it around as they eat and drink without disturbing the other guests. When they come across a person they ask whether he or she would like a drink; if the answer is "yes", they pour lees into his or her mouth; if the answer is "no", they must drink it themselves. The activity is over after a round trip is complete.
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