Huanjiang holds Fenglong Festival to celebrate Maonan ethnic culture

On July 2, the 2022 Maonan Fenglong Festival celebration was held in Maonan Cultural Park, Xianan township, Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county.

Huanjiang is the only Maonan autonomous county in China. Xianan township is the birthplace of the Maonan ethnic group and has the most authentic Maonan culture. The Fenglong Festival is a traditional festival for the Maonan people to pray for a bumper harvest. It usually takes place in May of the lunar calendar each year, and lasts for three to five days.

Maonans gather the finest tributes from the family for the sacrificial ceremony during the Fenglong Festival. Five-color glutinous rice, red eggs, chickens, fish, sheep, and pigs are primary tributes.

The Maonan blessing ceremony, a national intangible cultural heritage performance, served as the event's opening act, and included the five dragons supplying rain, which symbolizes wishing for favorable weather and abundant harvests.

Aside from folk song duet performances, there were exhibitions of Maonan intangible cultural heritage items such as flower bamboo hats and Nuo masks that allow visitors to experience traditional Maonan ancient culture and get a sense of the significant changes that have been made in Maonan communities.

Maonans pay tributes to their families during the Maonan Fenglong Festival. [Photo/Guangxi Daily]