Yunnan/Sichuan Torch Festival

This is a story from when my informant, who is Chinese-American, went back to the rural town in Yunnan, China that her father’s family hails from when she was around 10 years old.

Text

“So in Yunnan, China (and Sichuan, which I’ve learned from outside research) there’s this festival that happens at the end of summer called the torch festival, with a lot of stuff like people dancing around bonfires, lighting paper lanterns, lighting torches, etc. When I was younger and in China during that time, I participated in the festival at the rural town that my grandparents live in called Xiangyun. One of the activities I remember most about it is people gathering in a circle around the fire and jumping over it. I accidentally ran towards it as the same time as another person and burned a hole in my shoe haha.”

Context

“When I asked my parents about it, they said it was to ward off insects as the harvest season started. When I did more research on it, I found out it was based around a specific legend of how a hero warded off a swarm of locusts with fire (I believe this story comes from the Yi people, but double check me on that). As far as I know, I think the custom is endemic to that specific area of Yunnan, cause I couldn’t find it in the resources on the torch festival online. Although I was only looking at sources in English, so that might’ve affected it.”

Interpretation

This festival shares a lot of similarities with many holidays that occur at the end of summer and usher in autumn and winter. It focuses on the presence of light and warmth (lighting torches and lanterns) to ward off the increased darkness of the following days and emphasizes creating a bountiful harvest by warding off harmful insects. The ritual of people jumping over a fire is interesting because it seems like people want to take the risk of being burned to heighten their spirits and get ready for the gloominess of winter.

Mawssim (season) Fantasia Festival

Text:

“One of my best childhood memories was the Mawssim (season) Fantasia Festival. I used to go with my dad to the country side of Larache in the spring to attend one of the most fascinating cultural festival where men would ride Arabian horses very fast at the same speed and shout in synchrony old traditional riffles in the air at the same time and in the same line while professional females dancers performed cultural dances and sing at the same time in two straight lines dancing in front of each others back and forth. After the show finished, they would bring and serve a festive meals in each tent where guests sat around tables on the floor on top of colorful hand made carpets and beautiful pillows.”

Analysis:

This festival has two lines of, I assume, male individuals and two lines of female individuals. The spring time represents rebirth, fertility, and new beginnings. The dances with the race represent this concept, along with a subtle hint of courtship. In addition, this event brings numerous crowds of people from different places. Viewing dance and this festive horse display could facilitate connections with others that otherwise wouldn’t have much in common. After some research, the Fantasia festival represents the connection between masculinity, horses and warfare. It has Amazigh origins of men fighting on the backs of horses. The Amazigh are the indigenous people of Morocco, and they are more largely nomads of North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia etc). My grandpa (Amal’s father) was very proud of his Amazigh heritage, and being a part of the Mesmouda tribe – one of the largest and last tribes in Morocco. They do not have a nation-state but they still do have a sense of collective identity that is more fluid. My family had to convert their last names from Mesmoudi to Abdelkhalek because the government was scared of them overthrowing the Arab ruled government again that is largely Islamic (they do not have a set religion). On numerous occasions they demanded him to say that he is an Arab but he refused. He then said to my mom that even if the King has a sword to your throat and tells you to say that you are someone you are not (Arab), never succumb and be proud of who you are (Amazigh). My mom told me a variation of this without the Arab-Amazigh connotation where it is more like “even if the King has a sword to your throat, always stand up for what is right and what you believe in”. Even though I haven’t participated in any Moroccan festivals, the Amazigh warrior mentality has been passed down to me.

Moroccan Mint Tea Ritual

Text:

“In Morocco, mint tea ritual is one of the most special ceremony that occurs every day in households. My mom and aunts used to tell me funny stories about babajudu [ grandpa], a sit down mint tea gathering. Every day, not only babajudu prepared the tea in very elaborate manner but also, he had a special way how he drank his tea. The tea is prepared in a traditional crafted teapot with beautiful engravings and served in small glass cups with colorful decorations served on top of a silver artisanal tray.  He would sat in front of lowered legs table with the ingredients to make the most tasty tea with fresh rinsed mint leaves, gunpowder (dried green tea leaves), broken sugar loaf and hot water. First, he would put in the pot a table spoon of the gunpowder and rise it quickly with boiling hot water to remove its bitterness. He would pour it  in empty cup that would be disregarded. He would add a large handful of fresh mint leaves, sugar loaf, than he would pour hot water on top of all the ingredients. After a few minutes, he would stir the mixture and taste it to see if more sugar or fresh mint leaves needed to make sure it had just the perfect flavor . He would serve the tea from very high point, which allows it to be aerate and unveil all its aromas. It took almost an hour for making the tea and savouring it.  He loved to press the glass of tea on his forehead to feel it warmth treating it as if it was a sacred object.”

Context:

“Preparing and serving cup of tea is not just boiling water and adding green tea, fresh mint and sugar, but it it is ceremonial art that is passed from generation to generation. Not only, it is  an old tradition of hospitality but it is deeply rooted in every day’s family life. The tea can be sipped at any time of the day to finish a meal. It is also served in special events like wedding ceremonies, a birth or even other predicaments like funerals.  This ritual is a cultural phenomenon that brings families and people together not only in happy times, but also in  sad times  to show respect and honored guests.”

Analysis:

This is an example of ICH (intangible cultural heritage), meaning that it is traditions that are passed to the next generation. This ritual was passed down to me in a passive way when my mom and my family took me to Moroccan restaurants to have the tea prepared for us. Occasionally though, my family would cook some dishes at home, and I would make the tea myself. It is a ritual which is a form of greeting in a lot of Moroccan households, which didn’t happen as much in America since we didn’t have guests often. That is what differentiates Moroccan and American culture – people would be able to more freely stay at anyone’s house in Morocco compared to America, exemplified through this ritual. Since rituals symbolize a right of passage for individuals, mint tea represents this as it is always served at events such as weddings. Its sweet and energizing quality are always fit for greetings and celebrations.

Aïcha Kandicha Jinia

Text

“Every summer, we used to visit grandma house in Morocco. At night, my cousins and I loved all the mystical stories that she used to tells us. One in particular was the mystical legend of Aïcha Kandicha Jinia. She appeared to her victims as a beautiful woman with very long hair that flowed behind. She had an enchanting voice that give her magical power to lures who ever come cross her to their doom. One day, in Atlas mountain a group of men was walking at night when she appeared to them. They were lured by her beauty. When they approached her, they realized her feet were not human but animal feet.  They were so petrified, looking at her goat feet that some went mad to death and others run away and survived. My grandma told us only the  men with a pure Heart survived and their soul were free from being possessed and haunted by her. As much we were fascinated by the story, we were all scared by the name of Aïcha Kandicha. 😂”

Analysis:

The tale of Aicha Kandicha Jinia is similar to the tale of La Llorona. This is because La Llorona is usually also an otherworldly woman luring men to their demise because of her beauty. I believe this story is fit to be a tale in order to be suitable for kids but scary enough to have them not trust a stranger for their safety. I also read in other sources that sometimes they depict her having a snake tail for legs. Goats are the most common animals in the Atlas mountains though, which is probably why that is the chosen variation of her depiction. This is a case of polygenesis, meaning that the folklore has independent origins. This is because the supposed origin point of La Llorona was the aftermath of Spanish colonization, which happened in North America. However, there could be a possibility of a similar archetype story from Spain to Morocco, since they are neighboring countries. My mom is an example of a passive bearer as she didn’t tell me this story. It is a story very much related to the Atlas mountains for her, and that’s not where I grew up (a city in the states). I believe it is also a tale of the countryside or rural areas. Perhaps it is even demonizing the women there, or more specifically the Amazigh women, as they (the indigenous people of Morocco) have been alienated from urban and Islamic life for the most part. After further research though, apparently she was a person who resisted Portuguese occupation in the 16th century by luring the soldiers and having her accomplices kill them. She was thus given the name “La Contessa”, which sounds the same as Kandicha. She was heartbroken after the death of her fiancé in the hands of the Portuguese, so she vowed to kill any soldier she saw. Thus, the tale has evolved to killing any man she sees, in which her spirit lingers there for eternity to haunt people.

Altar

Name: Georgia

Text

I created an altar and painted all of the matriarchs in my family line. In the middle I painted myself wearing a Bulgarian head covering. The women are painted as the different waxing and waning moons. I added some nature ~ leaves, sticks, whatever wonders I find on the ground. There are some other objects that hold an ancestral significance to me. I pray at this altar. By praying at this altar, I commune with my ancestors. I sometimes leave food offerings, I create paintings of them and I talk to them when I pray. Sometimes I cry a lot at the altar and I feel comforted, it’s like crying in your grandmother’s lap. It’s always warm. This is a space where my ancestors can land & where I can share things with them. My brother is awaiting his first child & so I blessed the baby’s gift by leaving it a few weeks on the altar. 

Context

Altars have been used in all sorts of cultures. Praying or praying at an altar wasn’t practiced much in my family and it’s something I’ve rekindled on my own. 

Analysis

This friend is a very spiritual person. I believe she is taking on a traditional practice of altars and re-contextualizing it into her own ritual. They both have a different perspective, or rather have started a new trend in their life because of their spirituality. The idea of altars could reach her through diffusion since it wasn’t taught from her family. This knowledge could be from online, books, or others as I know she is active in spiritual communities online. I believe this is a form of the law of similarity. She altered the tangible world to connect to a bigger thing in the intangible world by depicting something of similarity to that bigger thing. In this case, she has painted her matriarchs in each cycle of the moon to facilitate this. In addition, Georgia is using fetish objects (spiritually loaded or magically significant) to place on her altar to increase the connection to the divine/her ancestors. This is an example of a mashup resulting from the exposure of new cultures from around the world and taking what resonates to create one’s own charged ritual.