In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, when the new grains are ripe, the Gelao people in Dagouchang Village, Gaofeng Town, Pingba County, pick the new grains to offer to their ancestors, forming a unique traditional ethnic festival called "New Grain Festival". Dagouchang Village, Gaofeng Town, belongs to Pingba County, Guizhou Province, located in the hinterland of Qianzhong, with an average altitude of more than 1,300 meters. The mountains are mainly limestone, belonging to the karst peak valley. The village is surrounded by mountains and there are large fields in front of the village. The Maxian River, which originates in Changshun County, enters the country near Huolong Bridge in Pingba, flows from west to north through Dagouchang to Qingzhen Dairy Farm and flows into Hongfeng Lake. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, there was an ancient ethnic group called "Pu" in southern my country. Because of its vast distribution and large population, it was called "Bai Pu". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, some Yue people in Guangxi went north and west along the river, entered the southwest, lived together with the Pu people, and gradually developed into a new ethnic group, Liao. In the early Tang Dynasty, a part of the Liao people developed into a single ethnic group, the Gelao. It is difficult to find out when the Pingba Gelao people first opened up this land, but it is inferred from word-of-mouth materials, tombs, ethnic customs and related materials that among all ethnic groups in Guizhou, the Gelao people are one of the earliest pioneers in Guizhou. Also because the Gelao people have no written language, it is impossible to find out when the Gelao people in Dagouchang began to eat the new festival. The Gelao people in Pingba County live in more than ten villages in the county, but the eating new festival is only held in Dagouchang Village, which is mainly a sacrificial activity. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year (a "dragon" or "dog" day), the Gelao people gather under the ancient trees in the village and perform the eating new festival ceremony under the arrangement of the village elders. It is divided into the following steps: 1. Welcoming guests, the Gelao people dressed up and waited at the entrance of the village. When the guests arrived, they fired earth cannons, offered wine and sang songs; 2. Reclamation and clearing of grass is an important part of the New Year's Day. Under the arrangement of the village elder, the Gelao men and women came to a barren slope and used hoes, sickles, tree branches and other tools to open up wasteland. 3. Picking new things, the Gelao people sent several groups of people to the fields to pick newly ripened grains and fruits during the New Year's Day. No matter whose family or what ethnic group's crops, as long as the grains are newly ripe, they can be picked. Picking new things to worship ancestors is a good harvest in the coming year. 4. Making glutinous rice cakes; 5. Ancestor worship, after preparing the newly ripened grains, sacrificial pigs, chickens, incense, candles, paper money, and glutinous rice cakes, they are placed under the ancient trees in the village. The ancestor worship is performed under the auspices of the ghost master, including asking ancestors to taste the new things, thanking ancestors, and praying for blessings. 6. Sending off the ancestors. After the sacrifice, a bamboo pole is inserted at the entrance of the village, and red peppers, green garlic, cowpeas, newly ripe fruits and other things are tied to it. The ghost master still recites the words of sending off the ancestors. 7. Sharing glutinous rice cakes; 8. Dinner and entertainment activities. The Gelao people express their respect for their ancestors and pray for blessings for a good harvest in the coming year through eating new food and worshiping their ancestors. The Gelao people's New Food Festival in Dagouchang includes literature and art, religious beliefs, poems, songs, dances, cultural and sports entertainment projects, etc. It uses colorful sacrificial activities to commemorate the ancestors of the Gelao people, "Dao Xilou" and "Yue Xilou" (Dao Xilou's wife), so that young people can understand the hardships of their ancestors and use this to motivate them to work harder, reflecting the nature of this nation's diligence, bravery, independence, respect for labor, and love of nature. In an environment where multiple ethnic groups gather, holding the New Food Festival plays a direct role in preserving the ethnic characteristics of the Gelao people, protecting the integrity of the Gelao culture, and reflecting the independence of the Gelao people. The New Year's Festival of the Gelao people in Dagouchang expresses respect for the heroes who dare to fight against the gods and seek welfare for the people, as well as the "good friends" of mankind, dragons and dogs. It embodies the character of self-confidence, fearlessness, bravery and the humanistic concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Similarly, the holding of the festival also plays a very important role in the inheritance of the costumes, language and folk culture of the Gelao people, and becomes an emotional bond between the Gelao people and between the Gelao people and other ethnic groups. The New Year's Festival of the Gelao people in Dagouchang has a long history, and it is impossible to verify when it started. The sacrificial ceremonies are all presided over by the old Mogong of the previous generation. Due to economic constraints in recent years and the impact of foreign cultures, young people who go out to study, work and work every year, accounting for nearly one-sixth of the village population, have gradually forgotten their own national customs. Almost no young people know the origin and significance of this festival. In Gelao villages, no one wears their own ethnic costumes. People still speak Gelao language, but young people are proud to speak Chinese. Only some elderly people can sing Gelao ancient songs. In addition, due to intermarriage with the Miao, Buyi and Han people in the surrounding villages, the Gelao people, who have a small population, have gradually assimilated into other ethnic groups in customs such as eating new festivals. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)