The Legend behind the Dragon Boat Festival embodies
the story of love and service for one's country. About 2300 years
ago, during the Warring States period, a well-respected poet and
statesmen named "Qu Yuan" lived in the Chinese Kingdom of Chu and
served the government with integrity as Minister of State. He was
disturbed by the corruption and by the court intrigues of many
courtiers who resented his talent, popularity and sense of
righteousness. One version said that other officials convinced the
Emperor that Qu Yuan was corrupt, that his plea for reforms be
ignored and had him banished from the Kingdom.
For years, he wandered the countryside composing poems expressing
his patriotism and love for the people. Either as an act of despair
or an ultimate protest against the corrupt government, Qu Yuan threw
himself into the Mei Lo river (in today's Hunan province) on the
fifth day of the fifth month in the year 278 B.C. Qu Yuan opted to
commit suicide rather than lose face and honour by serving a corrupt
government.
He composed two famous poems known as "Ai Ying" and "Huai Sha"
before jumping into the river with a large stone tied to himself.
Grief-stricken local fishermen who witnessed Qu Yuan's desperate
act, tried to save the patriotic poet. They sailed up and down the
river to look for him and desperately thrashed the water with their
oars and paddles to scare off the hungry fishes which might eat his
body. To commemorate the patriotic man, the fishermen and rural town
folks threw cooked rice dumplings wrapped in silk or banana leaves,
into the water in order to appease the spirits of the river on his
death anniversary. These rice dumplings are called "Tsung Tze" or
"Ma Chang".
The first Dragon Boat Races were recorded in the Tsin period. It
became popular in the Tang Dynasty ( 618-907 A.D.) spreading
throughout the Yangtze River Valley and to most of South China. One
paddler traditionally stands in the boat searching for Qu Yuan's
body while a drummer on board and the ferocious-looking dragon
designs were added to frighten away evil water spirits. This is
because Chinese people traditionally regarded the dragons as
presiding over the water and having dominion over rainfall. It is
also the supreme symbol of power and benevolence in the Far East.In
the present day, the Dragon Boat Festical is held annually in
different nations world wide. In China alone, 20 million people are
active in this sport which is organised in the various cities and
provinces.
TRADITIONAL RITES ASSOCIATED WITH DRAGON
BOAT RACING
The ritual aspect of dragon boat racing has a deep cultural heritage
and springs from religious beliefs. The colourful and traditional
rites are preformed on the dragon boats before and after the races.
They reflect deep reverence for the vessels despite certain degrees
of variation in the procedures followed by the believers.
There are basically two important ceremonies which have to be
performed for dragon boats. They have to be blessed and
"awakened" before the races and then properly induced to "repose"
afterwards. Four days before the festival, the dragon boats are
taken out of their storage yard and their dragon heads and dragon
tails are attached to them. A benediction ritual done with great
pomp and ceremony follows this and involves the burning of paper
bills in front of the dragon boats, the making of offerings and
chanting of prayers to heavenly gods. This ritual serves to ward off
evil and to sanctify and bless the dragon boats. In addition, this
action is supposed to make the dragon boats strong and fierce and
therefore fit to compete in the exciting races.
When this has been done, each dragon boat is rowed out to sea, on a
course perpendicular to the nearby temple and then back to the
temple with the drummer beating the drum. This procedure is repeated
three times. The performance of these rituals and the staging of
dragon boats races show a community's dedication to its gods. In
return, the members of the community will be protected from
unfriendly spirits of the sea and blessed with happiness and
prosperity.
"Life" is given to a newly-built dragon boat at a ceremony performed
by a Taoist priest a few days before the actual festival. Holding a
bell and a sword into the "Fu Zhou" (a paper bill with "magic"
words) while chanting some "magic" words, he then touches the dragon
head, tail and drum with the sword, following which paper money is
burnt and "magic" sand is sprinkled on the dragon head. A community
leader is invited to dot the eye of the dragon head and, afterwards,
the dragon's eyes will be drawn in red with a brush.
When the races are over, the dragon head, tail and drum are removed
from each dragon boat and stored either in the temple or in another
place agreed upon by the community. Incense is burnt to thank the
heavenly gods. Meanwhile, the body of a dragon boat itself is
usually covered with sand along the shore near a temple or put on
appropriate racks and covered with roof-shape tin foil covers. By
performing these basic procedures, the dragon boats are considered
to be properly induced to "repose" until the next Dragon Boat
Festival when the whole cycle of ceremonial rites will be repeated.
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