China recently witnessed the celebration of the Monihei Carnival and it is incredibly messy.
The Monihei Carnival is celebrated mainly by the Chinese ethnic group known as the Wa, one of the 56 ethnic minorities in China, and is rooted in their creation story. The Wa are an age-old and mysterious minority with strong people who have worked hard for more than 3000 years, creating their own unique and glorious culture. The Wa people believe that humans came from caves, a phrase that’s known as Sigangli in their language. Today, Sigangli has been set up as a place for the Wa people to pay homage to their creation myths and for tourists to enjoy the traditions of another culture.
The activities of the Monihei Carnival of the Wa ethnic group in Cangyuan County mainly involve a grand opening ceremony with a song and dance performance. It is said the festival takes its meaning from the custom in which people smear pot ash, ox blood and mud on a persons’ face to frighten the evils and attract peace. The players can use natural paints to smear each other and pray for each other. Applying the mud to different people is also believed to grant a different wish. The more mud on a person, the greater the prosperity they will receive. After getting muddy, festival goers are usually treated to a local feast as well as other traditional performances. The Monihei Carnival attracts a lot of tourists both locally and internationally resulting in an income of millions for the tourism industry.
Check out some images of the muddy festivities here :
(All Images Courtesy : news.cn)