Ang-Ma-Tu Festival
The “Ang-Ma-Tu” festival is the biggest traditional festival of the Hani ethnic group in a year, usually held before the start of spring plowing, around the middle of January every year. During the festival, the Hani people express their reverence for nature and their hope for a better life by worshipping the god of the village and praying for good weather and a good harvest.
Customs & Celebration
During the festival, the Hani people hold a sacrificial ceremony in the forest of the Zhai Shen, in which the priest presides over the whole village and the adult males participate together, offering sacrifices such as pigs and chickens to pray for the peace of the village.
Each family places carefully prepared traditional dishes on the streets of the village, forming a banquet that is hundreds of meters long, known as the “Long Dragon Banquet” or “Jiexin” Wine. Men, women and children from all over the village come together to share the food and enhance the friendship between neighbors. The Hani people are also good at dancing - everyone sings and dances in a circle to celebrate the harvest and unity.
“Ga-Tang-Pa” Festival
The “Ga-Tang-Pa” festival is an important annual festival of the Hani ethnic group, which symbolizes the renewal of all things and the beginning of the New Year. In the Hani language, “Ga-Tang” refers to the chronological year, “Pa” means replacement, which together can be interpreted as “changing the year”, signifying the old and welcoming the new [4].
“Yang-a-na Festival” Festival (Girls' Day)
The “Yang-a-na” festival, also known as “Catching Girls‘ festival” or “Girls’ day”, is a traditional folk festival of one of the Hani tribes - the Yiche people (who are mainly located in Danyangjie Township, Langdi Township and Che (they are mainly located in Danyangjie Township, Langti Township, and Chehuo Township, Honghe County) - is a traditional folk festival [5]. It is celebrated on the first monkey day after planting rice seedlings in the third month of the lunar calendar every year. Every time the festival, people will get together to swim in the mountains, entertainment, rest (rest), sing songs and make music, adjust the body and mind, relieve fatigue, and invigorate the spirit; there is also another layer of significance, that is, to commemorate the hero of Yiche people - Yang A [5].
Legend of the Girl's Day
It is said that the Girl's Day originated from an ancient legend. A long time ago, there was a beautiful girl named Yuma in Bicangzhai, which is surrounded by mountains, springs and lush forests. She fell in love with a handsome and brave young hunter, Jar Zhi. However, at that time, the Hani tribe's marriage was decided by the headman and parents. Yuma's parents betrothed her to the one-eyed son of the White Tusi. Yuma was so distressed that she resolved to die in order to express her pursuit of love. On the fourth day of the second month, Yuma went alone to Goule Mountain to cut firewood and met three girls from the same and neighboring villages. She told them about her misfortune, causing them to cry. It turned out that they too had suffered marital misfortune. The four girls forgot to chop wood and go home, and told each other their misery on the mountaintop, the more they talked, the more sad they became, and finally jumped off the cliff together to kill themselves [5].
