Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/166

 Ch‘i pao hui, the festival of the miners of gold, silver, brass, iron, pewter, coal and lime. This is a great feast; pigs are killed and crackers fired off in honour of the god of precious things.

Shan wang hui, the birthday of the god of the hills, worshipped by woodmen.

Ch‘ai wang hui, the wheelbarrowmens' festival. Ch‘ai was an ancient emperor who only ruled a few months. Barrowmen also worship Kuan ti who is said to have been a barrowman in youth. Lao lang hui, the actors' festival.

Shuang ling hui, the yamen runners' festival. At this time the chicken-footed god and the local deity come out for an airing. This falls on the 4th of the 4th moon, and the yamen runners worship the above two deities who assist them in sifting out difficult cases.

Niu wang hui, the birthday of the ox king. The general holiday for oxen; few if any do any work on this day, the 1st of the 10th moon.

Ma wang hui, the birthday of the king of horses. Yamen runners and horse-fanciers make a good deal of this festival.

Tu K‘ang (杜康), the festival of the god of wine, worshipped by the distillers of alcohol; I Ti (儀狄), who lived about the time of Hsia Yü wang is said to have been the first famous Chinese brewer, and he was executed lest his art should be propagated among the people.

Ma t‘ou niang, the silk-worm god, worshipped by all who rear silk-worms.

Chien tu shên, the god of the professional gamblers. He is set on the table, in worship incense, candles and crackers are used, a chicken is killed and a bow made toward the table and the image.

Wên shên (瘟神), the god of pestilence. It is believed that he saw a demon poison the well, and jumped in and drowned himself to keep the people from drinking the water.