The Mulam Accordance Rice Festival Ceremony Ancestors Worshiped

Yifan festival is a unique sacrificial rite of Guangxi's Mulam. On a case study of Yifan festival which is held by Yinxing Badong in Shangnan town. This thesis analyses the cultural connotations of Yifan festival through ancestor worship as well as the manifestations of their religious practice. This thesis consists of has six parts:The introduction includes the introduction of research method, objects of study, field which site, scale of population, literature review and the structure.Chapter One mainly demonstrates the cultural background of Yifan festival, including the social culture of the Mulams, particularly traditional belief and sacrificial rite of the field. Then I introduce their Dong organization. Finally I analyze the origin and the inheritance of Yifan festival from folk legends and historical sources.Chapter Two describes the whole process of Yifan festival including time, place and utensils. I will focus on the procedure of the ritual which contains five parts, and also explain some symbolic significance combining.Chapter Three analyses the form of the Mulams'ancestor worship according to the construction of Yifan festival and gods they offer sacrifices to, at the same time, further analyze the conception of ancestor cognitions in terms of the concept.Chapter Four places emphases on the expressions of religious practice that the ritual embodies. Yifan festival is not only the place to express religious belief, but also social activities of the Mulams,and the meaning of the ritual have expressed the locals' values and maintaining their sentiments.The conclusion shows the significance of ancestor worship in the ritual of the Mulams' Yifan festival:that is to intensify the identification among clansmen. The complicated sacrificial rite is also a way of religious practice expression, and to remind the Mulams to maintain and promote their ethnic identity consciously.