October 1st (Nov. 30th, 2016) is the Nyingchi Gongbu New Year in Tibetan calendar, and it is also the earliest Losar in Tibet. Tibet has the most New Year festivals in China. Except the traditional Tibetan New Year-Losar, there are Nyingchi Gongbu Losar, Purang, Ngari Losar (Nov. 1st in Tibetan calendar) and Shigatse Losar on Dec. 1st. With the Nyingchi Gongbu Losar as a starting point, Tibet has opened the curtain of the New Year celebration.
Celebration Rituals of Nyingchi Gongbu Losar
The Nyingchi Gongbu Losar begins from Sep. 29th to Oct. 7th, that is to say, the New Year lasts 9 days. During the nine days, people in Gongbu region will host a series of interesting folk activities. On the Sep.29th, local people will set up butter, milk dregs, meat and barely wine and some other food as the sacrifice in the yard to treat their dogs.
People here think that what dogs eat and don’t eat is the call of God. So, the whole family will stair at the dog nervously. If the dog eats butter or Tsampa, it indicates farmers will thriving in next year. However, if the dog eats meat, it is a bad sign. Therefore, people call this behavior as ‘Dog Dinner’. After the Dog Dinner, people will carry out an Exorcism Ceremony. Afterward, people hold high pine torches, run into every room, take out stones with black and white colors, and throw into the corners while their mouth is shouting ‘Teng xiu’, means get out.
In fact, Gongbu Losar is a grand carnival ritual for Gongbu people. And every one in Gongbu area can find their own way to celebrate this festival. What’s more, the end of the Nyingchi Gongbu Losar also predicts the winter tour of Nyingchi area.
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