广西壮族风俗英文.pptVIP

Population and Distribution With a population of about 17,000,000, the Zhuang ethnic minority is the largest minority group in China with a long history and glorious culture. Festivals Besides sharing similar festivals with the Han, the Zhuang minority has its unique ones including: the Singing Festival, the Ox Soul Festival, the Devil Festival and so on. Singing Festival Held on March 3rd of the lunar calendar . The Zhuang people will sing to each other to challenge each other not only the song itself but also wit . Lyrics（歌词） are usually improvisational and humorous that makes every one burst into laughter. It is also a perfect day for the young men to express their love to the girls by singing, so it is also reputed（普遍认为） as the Valentines Day of the Zhuang ethnic minority . Ox Soul Festival牛魂节 The Ox Soul Festival held on April 8th of the lunar month is to celebrate the birthday of the king of oxen and to show their love and respect to the ox, therefore, each ox is relieved from their yokes and free from plowing（耕种）. People give the ox a bath accompanied with beating drums（打鼓）. Parents of a family feed the ox with five-colored glutinous rice, while singing folksongs. It is a festival that represents their great hope for a good harvest. Devil Festival The Devil Festival, held on July 14th of the lunar month, is regarded as an occasion second to the Spring Festival The day before the Devil Festival, every family does a thorough house cleaning and makes special preparations of outfits used in the sacrifice. On that day, duck, pork and good wines along with some candies and fruits must be offered in order to show great respect to their ancestors. Marriage Customs Belief Since the ancient times, the Zhuang people have had numerous kinds of beliefs. They believe in the totem（图腾）, and their ancestors. Now, most of them are polytheists, believing the power of many inanimate things in nature, such as giant trees, high mountains, cavity, the earth