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The Bai celebrate the “Prince Festival”
  by Wang Li Sha (王丽莎)
I n the morning around 9:45am, I notice a large crowd gathering
near one corner of the market. I remember that today many local
people celebrate a festival. On the eighth day of the second month (according to the lunar calendar), the Bái (白) people of Jiànchuān county （剑川）celebrate the life of an ancient prince, locally called the “Tài zĭ Huì,” （太子会） or “Prince Festival.” No other place or people group in China celebrate this day, so people believe it is a special festival held only by the Bai.

I notice that a temporary temple is set up. There are flags and banners of various colors hanging along the entryway. At the front of the temple is an altar, where incense sticks burn in front of a small idol. Behind this small statue is a larger one, dressed in gold and wearing a crown. In the back is a large Buddha. I eventually learn that these are three images of the Prince—his childhood, his adult life, and his life after death. This prince had an interesting life because he did not want to

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The temporary temple set up in Jianchuan.


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Women in traditional Bai attire dancing.
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Selling incense at the “Prince Festival”

become a king; instead, he decided to become a monk. Locals believe that when he died, he achieved enlightenment and became a Buddha. The Buddha statue in the back is made of wood. There are many people selling sticks of incense. The incense sticks are purple and come in various sizes. Some have Chinese characters for “Spring” or “Happiness” written on them in silver lettering. Smaller sticks are used to burn incense at the temple, while larger ones line the streets or are posted outside of homes.

Next to the temple room, a stage area is set up for a dance competition. Dancing groups are composed of Bai women from various parts of the county, and each group wears their own distinct outfit. One group even wears traditional Tibetan dress. They dance to recorded music, and at one point a man and a woman perform a small comedy act. The crowd encircles the dancers. Nearby, vendors are selling small snacks, jewelry, colorful toys, or spinning wheels.

The dancing finishes just before lunch. In the early afternoon, the two images of the prince (as a child and an adult) are paraded around town. The parade route ends at a local park, where even more singing and dancing takes place throughout the rest of the day.

On a side street, there is a small idol positioned in a tree. The image represents the prince as a small boy. As I approach the scene, I can tell that the statue is “peeing,” and I notice many elderly men and women are washing their eyes in the water. They believe that washing one’s eyes in this water will help cure eye ailments. Also, young married couples that have not yet had children are encouraged to go and stand under the stream, with the hope that the water will help the woman become pregnant.

As I walk around town, I couldn’t help but notice the large, purple incense sticks lining the streets, the aroma filling the air. Even as I return to my home on the edge of town, I can smell the fragrance of the incense from in my living room!