The Miao Festival of Sacrificing to You is an ancient traditional festival, which is said to be held to commemorate the spirit of Chi You, an ancient hero of the Miao ethnic group. The Festival of Sacrificing to You is mainly held in Layao and Yangsong in Changqing Township, Danzhai County; Gangai and Ganhe in Yangwu Township; Kongqing and Shuangyao in Paidiao Town; Xintang, Wuyao and Yehao in Longquan Town; Yanying, Wuli and Wuzuo in Xingren Town, Zhouxi Town in Kaili City; Xuanwei Town in Majiang County and other Long surname Miao villages. Danzhai is a multi-ethnic county with the Miao ethnic group as the main body. The Miao ethnic group accounts for 76% of the total population. It is located in the southwest of Qiandongnan Prefecture, bordering Leishan County in the east, Sandu Shui Autonomous County in the south, Duyun in the west, Kaili City in the north, and Majiang County across the Qingshui River in the northwest. The Festival of Sacrificing to You is called "Nongyou" in Miao language. "Nong" means to eat or sacrifice, and "You" is a person's name and a clan name. It means to sacrifice to an ancestor named You. According to the ancestral word of mouth of Layao Village: A long time ago, an ancestor of the Layao people was born strange and extremely brave. He once dominated the wars between tribes. But later, he was lured and killed by other tribes. The surviving people of the Layao tribe had to flee for their lives, migrating all the way to the current Danzhai. When the Miao Jiyou Festival is coming, every family brews a jar of sweet wine in advance. The day before the festival, they have to steam glutinous rice to make baba. The first baba must be more than 4 jin of rice, and it must be pressed flat and round with a diameter of about 50 cm. It is called "Zhuanbaning" in Miao language, which means Guzi baba. Then it is made into a baba as big as a bowl. On the morning of the festival, the male host carries a fish cage to the field, catches the carp in the field, and cooks it at home for use. He also picks wolfberry leaves and other necessary items in the wild. At noon, the sacrifice begins. A table is placed next to the ancestral shrine, with a piece of Guziba on the table. Nine earthen bowls are placed on the ground, each filled with wine. Nine wolfberry leaves, nine green vegetable leaves, and nine carps are placed in nine piles of equal amounts. The three kinds of food are placed in the following order: leaves first, then vegetable leaves, and carps on top. After the food is placed, the priest is asked to recite the sacrificial words. The recitation takes about half an hour, during which eight servings of wine are offered. Before each serving, the receiver of the bowl first scoops a few drops on the ground before drinking. Every time the wine is poured and changed, the priest recites a corresponding sacrificial word and uses a bamboo hexagram on the ground. The bamboo hexagram must be turned left and right to be a wish. After the sacrificial words are recited, the assistant picks up a big knife and "cuts" the Guziba on the table into small pieces, and distributes them to the people present together with the offerings of leaves, vegetable leaves, and carps. The sacrificial ceremony ends. After the children got their share of baba, they happily ran out of the house and went to other houses to "ask for" more. After the sacrifice, the guests, invited by the host, gathered around the table to drink and eat meat. While eating, the host enthusiastically urged them to drink. At this time, the topic was opened, and everyone talked about the past and the present and expressed their own opinions. After three rounds of drinking, the host also invited the guests to play guessing games and sing for fun. After the host and the guests had enough wine and food, the men held suona competitions and bird fighting activities, and the women picked up benches by the table and danced bench dances happily. On this day, no matter the host or the guest, everyone celebrated in a happy atmosphere. The Miao Festival of Sacrificing You, both in the past and now, has a profound impact on the historical and social development of the Miao people. The Festival of Sacrificing You is mainly held in Layao, Yangsong Village, Changqing Township, and Yanying Village, Xingren Town. This area is collectively called "Fangyou", which means the place where the You people live, that is, the place where the direct descendants of the Chiyou tribe live, with obvious regional characteristics. The food offerings for the sacrificial ceremony of Jiyou Festival are mainly vegetarian food such as leaves, vegetable leaves, and fish. Nine bowls, nine pieces of cakes, and nine piles of dishes are placed on the sacrificial table for the nine ancestors, which corresponds to the historical records that "Jiuli has nine tribes, and its chief is Chiyou, who has 81 brothers, that is, 81 clan chiefs." When reciting the sacrificial words, the priests of Jiyou Festival read eight corresponding sections, and nine bowls of wine are offered for each section. These phenomena make Jiyou Festival have important historical research value. On the day of Jiyou Festival, everyone wears different costumes and comes together from all directions, forming a large-scale and colorful national costume beauty exhibition. At the same time, in addition to entertaining guests, making friends and talking to strengthen feelings, Jiyou Festival also manifests a series of colorful cultural and entertainment activities such as singing folk songs, bench dancing, suona competition, bird fighting, etc., which has the function of promoting community cultural exchanges. As an ancient traditional festival of the Miao nationality, the Jiyou Festival has a profound impact on social history, but it is currently facing extinction. The main reasons are: various new festival activities are frequently held, and the content of the new festival activities is modernized, which is easy for young people to accept. They are not very interested in national traditional festivals and do not actively participate; there are many young people working outside, the festival atmosphere is not strong, and the content is relatively monotonous. The Jiyou Festival was more common before the founding of the People's Republic of China. After liberation, especially after entering the 1970s and 1980s, many villages no longer celebrate the Jiyou Festival. Now only Layao, Yangsong, Yanying and other villages continue to maintain festival activities. Although the festival is very lively, the scope and scale are smaller than before. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)