The holiday of the torches between the Sani

This holiday is undoubtedly the most important for the Sani. In fact, it is one of the activities in rituals that relates them more straight to the Yi. That does not mean that there are the same people as the government of China assures, since there many other peoples of the province of Yunnan that also celebrate this festivity. Between many of them, in fact this festivity is of the most important. This is the case of the Sani.

When we try to describe the activities that are realized concerning a holiday, we must detain in account that many of them happen of synchronous form, as it would happen in a holiday in our own city, and although of any form there is an order of activities to be realized, this does not mean that in every moment only an activity is realized.

In case of the Sani, there is not doubt that his hearth having turned into a tourist center of the first magnitude has had important aftereffects on the way of celebrating his traditional festivity. Lunan feels the festive ambience everywhere, even in the capital of the district, already him numerous persons decked with the traditional suit. The most important celebrations are celebrated in a place near to the famous forest of stone. The place, logically it is opened for the whole world.

From the highway a human tide goes for two ways that go towards this raised area, where the most important events will be celebrated. Most of the people are walking, to the shore of the way they turn out to be already numerous put where some traditional aperitifs sell, common others to the rest of China like long lamb Czech, some misconducts that possibly it has not anything in common with the culture Sani, and mineral water, a lot of mineral water since it is one tremendously warm day. All the women take his umbrella opened to be protected from the beams of the sun, what makes appear along the way as if an enormous multicolored snake was moving in direction of the raised area of the celebrations.

Yesterday here the principal activity is the loss of bulls. Still that so much in but in English this activity is called likewise the bullfights that are practised in Spain, there is a good number of differences between both activities:

One. The struggle in China is between the bulls, and not between a person and a bull.

Two. In the sand, which in this case is covered of lawn, only one is not seen it fights of bulls, but there are usually several bulls couples fighting simultaneously, 4,5, six.

Three. The fight of the bulls does not finish with the death of any of them. But in the end every peasant takes his respective bulls. Like much, in some occasions some of the bulls is seen running scared by the propulsion of his opponent.

Four. When the bulls are not fighting they keep on resting, tied to a tree, in the middle of the public. That gives an idea of his scarce ferocity. In fact, in the square in addition to equal several of bulls that are fighting, there are the proprietary peasants of the same ones, which walk over there with distended air. Nobody has danger sensation, not even when an animal, terrified it runs of his opponent, the peasants are sorry that it could be a danger for them, and even if it goes straight where they are resting a hand gesture is enough to them to frighten.

Five. The impression gives me that the animals are competing in a species of qualifying round that finishes with giving winning only one.

Six. We have already said that the animals do not stand out for his bravery.

7. Along the day they inform several dozens of animals.

Otherwise, the square where these losses of bulls are celebrated is round, and the people are seated in a few small bleachers about the same one, and in the hillock that spreads further away. The observation of the fight seems that the only one is more activities to celebrate during this day. I came to the square about three o'clock in the afternoon and I believe that this activity developed at least until eight o'clock.

Many people are assembled, sat in grupitos relatives, with his traditional garments, in the hillsides of the hill that makes a detour to the square. For them the proper fight of the bulls does not seem to have any more than an incidental interest.

A little further on there an area where the restaurants are. It is not possible to say that they should have a meal typically Sani, but a miscellany between the local meals and more general others used by the Chinese sometimes similar. Some people are in his tables eating something, but there are a scarce minority.

His about six o'clock in the afternoon, in a dais prepared not far from the square, with well-known publicity of Coca-Cola, a young man who seems that it is going to present the spectacle of varieties of the night, announces with condescension that they are going to go out to operate some folk groups. They go out firstly one in which approximately 10 women and some other men dance a spear a bit tasteless. They are major persons therefore it is normal that his dance will not be very blurred. Where generosity gestures the presenter invites to some other folk groups to go out to the stage. Salt another group more, whose women take different garments, and that dance a few pieces a bit more cheered up to the sun to the sound the men frame with his musical instruments.

I think that it is quite scarce, but scarcely they have finished this program, I discover that between the people who is a little further on of the bullring, the young people of both sexes begins meeting or groups to dance his traditional dances. The men are dressed in a white vest, likewise it is the gray, which is the only type of style for saying of some form ethnically that I have seen between the masculine population. There take a few big musical instruments of wood, similar to guitars and mandolin they, which seem to touch animatedly. His movement is repetitive and tired since between the multitude there is created a small circle in which half a dozen of men is aside and another half a dozen of women faces. As the men have to touch his Arab instruments that dance, his dances coexist practically in a movement it was doing Dante and backwards taking the rhythm with the guitars and raising little legs. The women for his part move with more panache, since also they repeat this basic movement ahead backwards to be synchronized by the men and not to be shocked some with others but making use that have the free hands, raise them forward or over his head. Someone are realized by kidlings that it opened them before the jollification of the people. The dance looks of being still quite tired, since that I see that there is two or three grupitos that they are already dancing, and that at least on this part does not exist many other, scarcely they dance a minute or two minutes, and stop to rest. So much the positions of the young people like those of the girls, they are not permanent. Namely any young man can take a guitar, for saying some form, of that there are a few fences where they are dancing, and joining the line of the young people. Of the same form any woman can join the line where the women dance. That's why, although only there are three or four active groups in this part, possibly there take part in the dances hundred or two of women and men. At first most of the women dress the traditional clothes, someone are seen that only they do it for holidays like this one, and his cloths shine to the sun with this sheen typical of the new things. His.

About eight o'clock in the afternoon it finishes so much the fights of compound bulls spontaneous dances, possibly most of the young people are tired and rest during a little bit.

Then, in the middle of an impressive safety device there are prepared a few chairs and the dais of suitable form, so that the politicians could release a small speech. East lasts a half an hour. Later they start with a folk spectacle, this time on the stage placed in the proper bullring, in that scarcely a few thin tens of dance take part, while thousands of persons observe it. Simultaneously, in the stage of Coca-Cola, a simpler enough and modern spectacle is carried out at first. Moreover of the tradition Sani seems remote to you.

I go away when this spectacle is. He believes later he is interrupted for the fireworks. And that the people who has been coming increasingly and more as it was falling down the evening, they will keep on dancing and singing here until the dawn.

Meanwhile out of the dais and in the capital of the district, some persons light his torches, although there seems to be no type of collective activity, but rather individual.

One of the things that more attracts attention of me, is the entire alcoholic beverages absence in the positions of sale of drinks. What I suppose has a lot to do with this speech of the pacific one of this holiday.

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