The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a sacred place that people yearn for. In the arms of the Jiuqu Yellow River, there is a place called Saishang Jiangnan, which is the Longwu River Valley in Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The name of the Longwu River Valley is "Regong" in Tibetan, literally translated as the golden valley where "dreams come true". The unique and lively traditional sacrificial activities in Tongren area of Qinghai: the June Festival, every year in the sixth month of the lunar calendar, the vast Tibetan and Tu villages in the Regong area hold local folk sacrificial activities. This is a humanistic phenomenon with a strong primitive religious atmosphere and complex and rich cultural forms and cultural connotations. It includes offering sacrifices to gods, inviting gods, welcoming gods, dancing gods, worshiping gods, praying, sending off gods, military dance performances, god dance performances, dragon dance performances, etc. festival. Dance activities play a supporting role throughout this grand religious festival. The unique rhythm of the dragon drum, rough and graceful dancing postures, colorful and luxurious costumes, and mysterious and devout prayers brought joy and romance to the festive and bumper harvest of Regong Tibet.
The Regong June Festival is a unique traditional cultural festival in Tibetan and Tu villages in Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, which has been around for more than 1,400 years. This national festival, which is not familiar to us Han and other nationalities, has its unusual and rich national cultural connotations including religious history, folk customs, etc., and is full of magic and joy. The main activities of the June Festival include: offering sacrifices to gods, opening the mouth, carrying the back, dancing, climbing the dragon pole, playing the dragon drum, and finally, the mage opened the mountain. Among them, the most distinctive ones are "Shangkou skewer", "Shangbei skewer" and "Kaishan". "Shangkou skewer" is a voluntary young man pierced by the master with steel needles in the left and right cheeks, also known as "lock mouth". It is said that this can prevent diseases from entering through the mouth. "Upper back skewer" is to pierce 10-20 steel needles on the back. The dancer is bare-chested, holds a drum in his right hand, beats the drum with his left hand, and dances while beating.
The steel needle pierced the cheeks and pierced the back. It seemed to be frightening, but it had nothing to do with blood, it was about faith. Tibetans danced with the gods in the smog of burning talismans, dancing the sonorous and powerful Rashze god dance. Amidst the long sound of the conch horn, Pegasus flies all over the sky, everything looks so solemn and mysterious...
Regong June Festival has strong traditional cultural characteristics. It integrates ceremonies, celebrations, singing and dancing, and folk drama performances. It has research value in art, religion, anthropology, folklore, and culture.
The June Festival contains the rich and simple cultural content of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau’s thousands of years of religious history and folk customs. The magical and joyful manifestations of the June Festival have a strong Bon religion legacy. It is only held among the people. God entertains people, reflecting the simple, pious and enthusiastic character of the local people.
The rich and colorful folk dances of the Regong June Festival are an important carrier of the joy of offering sacrifices to gods. It is the original form of polytheistic worship maintained by folk religions in the Regong area, and it is also the foundation for the survival and prosperity of folk art.
Through the June Meeting, people in Tongren Tibetan Village look forward to a peaceful and prosperous age with abundant grains, prosperous livestock, safe villages and healthy lives. For those who have never been there, if you have the opportunity to see it, you will be able to feast your eyes and be worthwhile. The Regong June Festival is still a folk festival that needs to be studied in depth, and more research is needed to truly unveil its mysterious veil.