Sanduo Festival held to honor Naxi god

Stumbling across a misshaped white bolder on the high slopes of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, was enough to pique the curiosity of a young Naxi hunter for him to attempt to pick it up and try to carry it home. Surprisingly, the hunter was able to bear the massive rock down the mountain side, it weighing no more than a feather.

After stopping to take a break and rest his legs, when the hunter returned, to his amazement he was no longer able to lift the rock, it becoming rooted like a great oak in the ground beneath it.

The white bolder became a legend among the Naxi people in the years that followed, symbolizing a god, clad in brilliant white, on horseback, with a great spear held aloft. This was Sanduo, the guardian and protector of the Naxi people in their times of need.

In the modern era, Sanduo is still revered and celebrated by the Naxi, and no more so than at the time of the Sanduo Festival held on the 8th day of the second lunar month each year.

At Yunnan Ethnic Village in Kunming on March 4, a two-day Sanduo Festival was held in honor of the great god. The festival itself dates back more than 1,200 years and is one of the grandest events of its kind held in Lijiang, Yunnan province.

Naxi, wrapped in sheep skin and adorned with seven round embroidered discs symbolizing seven stars, gather together to celebrate their folk tradition. Together they sing in harmony of mythical tales of love and heroism, swaying to the rhythm of drums and handcrafted musical instruments.

The merriment is then followed by a solemn ritual – the sacrifice. Sanduo is believed to have been born in the Year of the Goat, and so a selection of the symbolic animals is slaughtered to their god.

Sanduo festivals across Yunnan attracted visitors from all over the country wishing to experience the different beliefs, traditions and histories of China’s many ethnic groups.

“It’s an honor to take part in such a special ethnic festival like this,” said a visitor who’d travelled all the way from Jiangsu province in East China.

It is the first time that Sanduo Festival has been held at Yunnan Ethnic Village, a park established in 1992 to showcase the culture and customs of 25 of China’s ethnic groups, including the Naxi.

“Well-known festivals like Water-Sprinkling Festival, and the New Year Festival of the Dai people are celebrated here each year,” said a senior official of the village. “We’ve added the Sanduo Festival to make it more diversified.”

As an added treat, performances by members of the Naxi Ancient Music Orchestra were also held during the festival.

Naxi people dress in traditional costume, wrapped in sheep skin ornamented with seven round embroidered discs representing seven stars. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Sanduo Festival is held in Yunnan Ethnic Village in Kunming, Yunnan province on March 4. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]