New Year of the Dong Nationality: A Grand Ceremony in Ethnic Villages

Описание: 岁末，在中国黔东南的大山中，忙碌一年的侗家人换上盛装，举行盛大的欢庆活动，迎接一年中最为盛大的日子——侗年。
　　侗年，是侗族人民的侗历新年。如同我们熟知的春节一样热闹。这天，人们早早起床，无论男女老幼，都着盛装，结伴来到位于村寨中央的鼓楼。鼓楼是村寨中议事休闲、节庆集会的重要场所。
At the end of the year, in the mountains of southeastern Guizhou, the Dong family who had been busy for a year put on their costumes and held grand celebrations to welcome the most grand day of the year-the year of the Dong.
侗家的年，是从歌声中流淌出来的。凡是节庆，必少不了侗族大歌。这是一种无指挥、无伴奏、多声部且无固定曲谱的演唱方式。凭经验起音，模仿鸟叫虫鸣、高山流水等自然之音，婉转悠扬。几百名村民心心相印，虽无指挥却演唱得整齐和谐，犹如天籁。除此之外，吹芦笙、演侗戏，也是热闹非凡。
　　侗族喜欢斗牛，每个村寨都饲养有专供比赛用的“水牛王”。节日这天清晨，铁炮三响，两个村寨的“牛王”在锣鼓和芦笙的乐器声中进入斗牛场。如果一方输了，他们的彩旗就会被对方的姑娘们全部夺去，需要通过赎旗礼和对歌的方式才能赎回。得胜的“牛王”被披上红布，以示庆贺。
The year of the Dong family flows from the singing. In all festivals, the big songs of the Dong nationality are indispensable. This is a way of singing without a conductor, no accompaniment, multiple voices and no fixed score. It starts with experience and mimics the natural sounds of birds, insects, mountains and running water. Hundreds of villagers have a heart-to-heart sympathy, although there is no conductor, they sing neatly and harmoniously, just like the sound of nature. In addition, playing lusheng and acting in Dong opera are also very lively.
过侗年不仅是娱乐欢庆，更是一次美食盛宴。腌鱼、糍粑、油茶是节日餐桌上必不可少的美食。
　　腌渍是侗家防止鱼类腐败的传统方法，却也因此发展出风味独特的侗家腌鱼。经过数月腌渍的酸鱼，鲜香酸辣中带有丝丝回甜，生吃、油煎、碳烤皆宜。
　　象征着五谷丰登的糍粑，由糯稻米捶打而成，混入片糖、芝麻，软糯中带着香甜，大概是最有年味的食物了。
The Dong New Year is not only an entertainment and celebration, but also a feast of food. Marinated fish, glutinous rice cakes, and oil tea are essential delicacies on the festive table.
　　 Pickling is a traditional method used by the Dong family to prevent fish from spoiling, but it has also developed a unique flavor of the Dong family’s pickled fish. The sour fish that has been pickled for several months is fresh and spicy with a hint of sweetness. It can be eaten raw, fried, or grilled.
　　 The glutinous rice cake, which symbolizes the abundance of grains, is made by beating glutinous rice, mixed with sugar and sesame, and the soft glutinous is sweet and delicious. It is probably the most delicious food.
与家家户户各自团圆的春节相比，侗年是一个更加开放的节日。天色渐渐暗了，人们抱着酒坛，挑着担子，自备拿手酒菜，在鼓楼坪摆开侗乡独特的“长桌宴”，村寨的人们聚在一起，吃百家菜、喝百家酒、享百家福气。“长桌宴”上，你来我往，觥筹交错，大伙拉着家常、唱着酒歌，享受着欢聚的时光。
　　很多地区，村寨间的侗年还会特意相差几天，以便每家都能相互走访。过节当天，热情好客的侗家人把能邀请的客人全都邀请到。有的客人当天不到，第二天自觉再去“补吃”。
　　夜幕降临，旧年的往事随着悠扬的侗族大歌飘然远去，人们点燃篝火，踏歌舞蹈，为欢聚而庆贺，憧憬着新一年的光景。
　　油茶是以茶叶、大米花、酥黄豆、炒花生为原料，以油茶水浸泡，再佐以猪下水、葱花等食材，碰撞出奇特的口感，是侗家人独特的待客茶饮。
Compared with the Spring Festival when every family reunite, Dong New Year is a more open festival. The sky is getting darker, people holding wine jars, carrying burdens, bringing their own good wine and vegetables, and setting up a unique "long table banquet" in Dong Township at Gulouping. People in the village gather together to eat and drink. Wine, enjoy the blessings of hundreds of families. At the "long table banquet", you came and went, arguing about each other, everyone was pulling homework, singing wine songs, and enjoying the time together.
　　In many areas, the Dong Years between villages are deliberately different by a few days so that each family can visit each other. On the day of the festival, the hospitable Dong family invited all the guests they could invite. Some guests are not there on the same day, so they will consciously go to "supplement" the next day.
　　 As night falls, the past years have drifted away with the melodious Dong folk songs. People lit bonfires, sang songs and danced, and celebrated for the gathering, looking forward to the new year.
　　 Camellia oleifera is made with tea leaves, rice flowers, crispy soybeans, and fried peanuts as raw materials. It is soaked in oil tea water, and then combined with pork offal, green onion and other ingredients to create a peculiar taste. It is a unique hospitality tea for the Dong family.