De’ang people express their best wishes on Jiaohua Festival

Held seven days after the Qingming Festival, the Jiaohua Festival is the annually grandest event for the De’ang people who mainly reside in Dehong of China’s southwestern Yunnan Province. 

“Jiaohua” in Chinese literally means “watering the flowers”, and the Jiaohua Festival is indeed an occasion about water and flowers. 

By tradition, when it comes, the De’ang men and women will go into mountains to pick flowers for festival decorations. After coming back, they’ll put on their most beautiful clothes and prepare for the ceremony of Bathing the Buddha, during which they spray water on a statue of the Buddha. 

Water is a symbol of holiness for the De’ang people, conveying their reverence for the source of life. At the end of the ceremony, a respected elder will dip a bunch of flowers into water and gently sprinkle the water to the crowd as blessings. 

People then form a line and head to springs and riverside, accompanied by the rhythms of the elephant-foot drums. They sing, dance, and chase each other while splashing water to each other. In addition to public celebrations, young people will help wash their parents’ hands and feet at home, wishing each other peace and good luck in the coming year. 

Editor: Wang Shixue