8/3/08

Torch Festival in Xizhou

I just put together some photos from the 2008 Torch Festival out in Xizhou and posted them on my Facebook page.
A friend put it well when she said, "In the south they play with water. Up here, we play with fire!" The glimmer in her eyes, dreaming of towering infernos and firecrackers, reminded me of many a Fourth of July spent with my dad launching bottle rockets out of metal pipes to see how far they might fly.
The festival is weighed down with conflicting origin myths. I prefer the one about the ancient king who was trying to consolidate power. He allegedly gathered the rulers of the six surrounding kingdoms for a banquet, then burned them all to ash. There are others that involve princesses, swarming pests, raging bulls, suicides... I like the power play version myself. When I asked my Chinese mom what the festival was all about she looked at me quizzically. It is apparently a tradition not to be questioned, just to be followed. I also asked why she was not making a torch to bring. She (again) looked at me askance, "Well, we have no small kids in the house, so why would I?"
This is the first time I realized that the Torch Festival was kind of like modern Christmas. Details started to fall into place. The gathering of family members. The collection of special materials. The man's traditional job of preparing the tree. The women and children folk making paper decorations. Gender roles. Ritual worship of a conifer tree. There there is giant mesmerizing fire, but no presents which is the real twist! The first time I enjoyed the festival someone told me that the men !fight! to get the falling flag from the ceng dong because it is an omen for a son. This time there was a real fight. Two young men both had a stranglehold on the flag and the masses shifted away as the hyped up brawlers spilled to and fro across the littered courtyard. I saw laughter in people's eyes and I recognized that perhaps this festival is as important to the men of the village as it is to the kids.
I had fun taking the pictures and I hope you enjoy them, too! Check it out.
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Why Lotus? Why Pine?

The lotus signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

The pine signifies longevity and endurance because of its green foliage year round. In both good and bad weather, the pine thrives year after year thus it also represents pure life and constancy in the face of adversity.

Yunnan Province is a mountain landscape created when the Indian Sub-continent crashed into the tropical lowlands of Burma. It is a place with hundreds of unique species and dozens of amazing topographies. When I walk the mountains of Yunnan, I breathe fresh pine air and marvel at the indigenous wildflowers. Yunnan is also the conduit through which Buddhism came to China, along the caravan trails from India. The lotus is a Buddhist symbol of purity and perfection. When I photograph these flowers, I am always captivated by their geometry and peace-inspiring colors.

my motto

Look well to this day For it is life The very best of life.
In its brief course lie all The realities and truths of existence,
The joy of growth, the splendor of action, The glory of power.
For yesterday is but a memory. And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived Makes every yesterday a memory of happiness And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore to this day.

--from the Sanskrit