New Rice Festival (新米节 Xinmi Jie)

Date: in the middle of the eighth lunar month

The Va people live mainly in southwestern Yunnan Province with a population around 396,600. The Va people call themselves "A Va," which literally means people are very good at singing and dancing. In some regions, the Va people are followers of Buddhism and Christianity.

The New Rice Festival is the Va people's favorite, and autumn, during which the festival is held, is their busiest season. Every morning, sounds of pounding corns can be heard on the mountains.

For the start of the festival, the Va people pick some corns that has just become ripe and bring them home. The corns are pounded into rice which was cooked and filled into seven bowls, each with a big piece of meat on it. The seven bowls of rice are served up with seven bowls of wine for the God of Heaven, Earth, Mountain, Corn, and their ancestors respectively. Seven incenses are also burned before an old respectable man begins praying. Then the new rice was sent to aged people and kids. The Va people consider the old and the kids as the "cleanest people" in the world. The ritual just symbolizes their worship for god and ancestors, and respect for the old and love for kids.

After the dusk falls, the Vas gathered surrounding a fire and started singing all over the night. If a visitor comes from afar, the host will offer him with his best wine, which was brewed by themselves, and best chicken rice.

The Va people are well known for their hospitality, and the etiquette with wine is most notable.

The host will have a sup first, brush the bamboo cup with his right hand and pass the cup with both his hands to the guest. The guest is supposed to take the wine with his right hand, with his palm upside, and express his gratitude. After having a sup just like the host did, the guest will pass the cup to others as the same way the host did. All people sup the wine in turn, using the same cup no matter how many guests are there.

For their rules, guests are not supposed to touch their head or ears in the process. They also should not give gifts and cigarettes to girls who might be family of the host, because the act suggests mate seeking in the Va's world.

On the second day of the festival, young men all go out to maintain the roads on which the new corns will be trucked into the villages. Women are busy cleaning houses. the third day and last day of the festival also features love seeking. After the three-day festival, the Va people formally begin their autumn harvest.