"June Gathering"-- the carnival of local people (Women of China )Intertwined with religion, myth and history, the June Gathering has been celebrated for 1,000 years by members of Tibetan and Tu minorities living in Tongren District, Qinghai Province. Various rituals, including sacrificial dances, are the most important part of the festival. Ancient times echo with the sounds of gongs and drums.
The June Gathering is an important festival for members of Tibetan and Tu minorities living in Tongren District, Qinghai Province. Celebrated in the villages of Suhuri, Siheji, Nianduhu and Langjia, the June gathering has been a fact of life for 1,000 years.
On the morning of the 16th day of the sixth lunar month, youngsters in the villages carry the sacred sedan enshrining Deity Xia Qiong out of the temple and decorate it with silk, hada (a piece of silk, usu. white in color, used as a greeting gift among the Tibetan and Mongol ethnic minorities) and twigs of pine, cypress and willow.
After the decoration is finished, the Master of the village leads the sedan procession and performs religious rituals in each household to ward off disasters and to bless the village and call for sound health and bumper harvests. 
Old villagers chant scriptures in Classic Sanskrit (Women of China )
From the morning of the 17th day of the sixth lunar month on, each household makes offerings with flowery ornaments and takes them to the temple to worship the Deity. A memorial ceremony will also be held in each village to commemorate war heroes who have died on the battlefield.
After the memorial ceremony, men attired in their best clothing follow the Master and line up to plant arrow shafts in the mountain. They hold up colorful flags and beat bronze gongs while calling the Deity along the way. Arrow shafts, which are of no practical use now, symbolize a permanent ceasefire.
When the men return from the mountain trip, the villagers begin dancing traditional sacrificial dances. The most common dances are the spirit dance, the dragon dance and the military dance, as well as the Hada dance.
The spirit dance, also termed “the dragon drum dance” is a folk dance created by the Tibetans to pray for happiness.
Props and instruments used in the dance range from masks, stilts and traditional costumes to gongs and sheepskin drums. The sheepskin drum, a unique local instrument, is also called dragon drum or spirit drum. (Cowhide is also used to make the instruments now). More than being a religious tool to worship deities and drive out evil spirits, the sheepskin drum serves as an instrument for entertainment.
The myth has it that the origin of the Dragon Dance relates to water and dragons.
In folklore, the dragon dance started a long, long time ago by people living in the district of Tongren who were suffering from a severe water shortage.
One day, a man named Alaguo, discovered a spring by chance and then drew water from it to irrigate the farmlands of the village. Displeased, Dragon King, the magical dragon who is in charge of wind and water, cast a spell to make all the water seep into the ground. Alaguo led all the villagers to offer sacrifices and dances to Dragon King.
One person just stood at the edge of the dancing crowd and sounded a gong. Some others held dragon drums and some held masks in their hands. Led by the Master, they danced to the rhythmic gong and formed in lineups; beating drums and shouting loudly.
The hada dance is a worship dance exclusively for young women.
All single women under the age of 25 partake in the dance, wearing their best clothes and precious jewelry given by their families. Hada in both hands, they dance piously to pray for favorable climate and safety forever.
Girls Dancing the Hada dance (Women of China )The most eye-catching aspect is their headgear.
With a felt lining, the triangle-shaped headgear has a silk cover with splendid embroidery and silver ornaments. From the top down hang two lines of small silver shields. Wearing the headgear, weighing more than five kilos and has to be tied to their hair with wooden bars, women dance in slow motion. In contrast to wild and passionate dances, this dance illustrates women’s elegance and gracefulness.
After the special ritual is over, the Master will be receive divinity from the Deity, accompanied with gongs and drums. Amidst the crowd’s shouting, the Master will dance the spirit dance and act as a spokesman for the Deity. He will recount the good and bad things that happened in the village during the past year, blame those troublemakers and violent people, mediate in family discord and instruct siblings who treat their parents badly.
As what he says is elusive to ordinary people, most times it is up to the older villagers standing near the master to listen carefully and then to convey the messages to the rest of the villagers.
At the end of the festival, all men, both young and old, line up and say their prayers, holding offerings like hada, sweets, crops, silk and flowers. Then they burn all the offerings in a special oven and the celebration comes to a close.
(Source: Women of China English Monthly September 2003)
