Gin festival pays homage to the sea
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E-mail China Today, July 28, 2017
The Gins, an ancient ethnic group in southwestern China, are kinsmen of the Kinhs, the largest ethnic group in Vietnam. They are believed to be descendants of the people of Nanyue, a kingdom from 204 to 112 BC that covered part of southern China and northern Vietnam. In about the 16th century some of them migrated from Do Son near the Vietnamese city of Haiphong to three islands – Wutou, Shanxin, and Wanwei – in China's Guangxi. There they joined local people of various ethnic groups, including the Han and Zhuang, to explore and develop these islands. In 1958 the central government officially named Gin an ethnic minority group, on the basis of its distinctive history, language, culture, and customs, and after soliciting the opinions of its people.
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The Gins carry a golden shrine to welcome the God of the Sea. |
The Ha (which means “singing” in the Gin language) Festival is one of the most celebrated events for the Gin people. Subsisting on marine fishing by tradition, the Gins worship the God of the Sea, and the festival is held to celebrate his birthday. It was confirmed a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
A People of the Sea
Ocean fishing and farming are the mainstay of the Gins' income, and the sea defines every aspect of the life of these islanders. The faith of Gins is polytheist, incorporating natural religion with Taoism and Buddhism. Awed and perplexed by the unpredictable and formidable weather on the sea, early Gins created a number of deities related to the deep blue, such as the Sea Pacifying Lord, Dragon King, Sea God and Sea Goddess, hoping that their blessings could bring the fishermen home safe with big catches.
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The sacrificial rite at the Ha Festival. |
The Gins love singing. Their folk songs are of 30 or more kinds of ballads, and many are about the sea. Their exclusive musical instrument is made of a bamboo frame with a single string, which is said to have been smuggled out of the Dragon King's palace.
The Gins have inherited volumes of myths from their ancestors that are mostly about the marine gods, creatures and plants in human form, or set in the backdrop of the ocean. They testify to the bond between the group and the sea, their love for it and their struggle to make a living out of it. Gin sports are also based in the briny deep. In one word, the sea is omnipresent in Gin life and culture.
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