Expecting the unexpected – torch festival期待意料之外的乐趣–火把节

Arriving in Dali, my friends and I never expected to come across an annual torch festival. We were told upon arrival by our cab driver that the Torch Festival is a tradition that is celebrated by both the Bai and Yi people of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan province. It is done to bless the people with both health and good harvest. On the evening of the festival the countryside is decorated with banners for the celebration. Villagers place torches in front of the gates to their homes and walk around their fields waving other torches in order to scare away pests.

It just so happened that the hostel where we were staying had an ethnic meal for all guests and had their own pyre erected just outside in honor of the festival. The pyre was fairly large and had apples and flags hanging off of the sides. Just as the sun was setting, a ladder was stationed next to the pyre and a young staff member climbed up and began to throw powder at the fire. This created a massive fire ball that rolled down the pyre leaving embers at the bottom in its wake. If interest from the hostel guests had been half-hearted before, it was now fully engaged. Tourists and locals alike gathered around.

Tentatively making our way out the gate and to the old town, we watched as people ran past with small torches and fistfuls of powder. We quickly realized this “festival” involved people throwing the powder at the torches right around our feet; making it seem as though our feet would be set on fire.

As we walked down the driveway we noticed an old man carrying a small torch with the powder. He approached us with a smile, and then, all of the sudden, threw the powder down at our feet along with the flame. Shrieking, we all tried leaping away but not before being terrified of the massive flame that had just reached our ankles. Laughing, the old man began to chase us. I hid my feet behind a bush and watched in utter amazement as the locals began throwing fire at one another. An old lady, not the least bit perturbed by this turn in events, let a younger man throw fire at her feet. She laughed and, I assume, wished good health and harvest to him. It was something to see. We watched with a mixture of horror and awe as people ran around throwing the dust through the flame at their friends and neighbors’ feet.

In the city, peering over the heads of the other spectators, my eyes widened in astonishment at what I was seeing. Several groups of people were in a larger intersection, creating massive fireballs. Sections of the crowd expanded and contracted, depending on where the latest “fire battle” was taking place. I backed up to the nearest store and watched from as far away as I could. This festival seemed more like an excuse to play with fire than anything, but I had to admit, it was kind of cool. The crowd packed together, simultaneously trying to watch what has happening while also trying to maintain a distance.

After deciding we needed to distance ourselves from this massive fire throwing, my friends and I walked along some of the smaller roads. Down the alleyways we came across smaller torches lit outside of shops with families quietly eating a celebratory meal. The calm atmosphere provided a contrast to the chaos that was ensuing just minutes away. Nonetheless, the smell of smoke and ash permeated throughout all of the places we walked. Just as quickly as the festival had escalated, it died down. We watched as shop owners swept the ash away and embers slowly died from the torches. Covered with soot and amazed at what we had just witnessed, we turned to each other and laughed. This festival certainly was unexpected and we knew that we would be talking about it for days to come.

Arriving in my hostel, and reflecting on the evening’s activities, I couldn’t help but smile. If traveling in China has taught me one thing, it is to always expect the unexpected.

到大理的时候，我和朋友都没想到会遇上一年一度的火把节。我们到大理后，出租车司机告诉我们火把节是云南省白族自治区白族和彝族的传统节日。这个节日保佑人们身体健康、五谷丰登。夜幕降临时，整个村庄挂起大旗庆祝节日。家家户户把火把放在门前，以火驱虫。

刚巧我们住的旅社对所有游客提供了少数民族餐食，还在门口堆了柴堆以表节日气氛。柴堆很大，边上挂着大旗和苹果。正当夕阳西下时，人们在柴堆旁架起了梯子，一个年轻的员工爬了上去并向火堆中倒粉末。这迅速生起了火向柴堆下方滚去，使底部的余烬重新点亮。如果说游客们之前对这个旅社还没有什么好感的话，那现在他们可是全身心投入了。游客们同当地人一同聚集到了一起。

当我们走出大门前往古镇时，我们看到人们一手拿着小火把跑了出去，一手还攥着粉末。我们很快就意识到，在这个“节日”里，人们喜欢把火把扔到脚边，倒上粉末，显得好像是脚着了火一样。

当我们在穿马路时，我们注意到对面有一位老人拿着一个火把和一些粉末。他笑着向我们走来，突然连同火焰带粉末扔到我们的脚下。我们被脚踝边巨大的火焰吓坏了，都尖叫着想要逃跑。那个老人一边笑着一边追我们。我躲在灌木从后面，惊异地看着当地人拿着火把扔来扔去。一位老妇人让一位年轻男子朝她的脚上扔火把，丝毫不厌倦这样的活动。她笑得那么欢乐，我猜想她一定在祝福那位年轻人身体健康、五谷丰登。这是大家都愿意看到的。我们惊恐并敬畏地看着人们边跑边向他们的朋友和邻居的脚上扔火焰。

后来，我和朋友沿着一条窄些的路走了。在小巷上的商店外我们看到了一些比较小的火把，家人们正安静地吃节日大餐。这幽静的情调与我们几分钟前遇到的混乱场景产生了鲜明的对比。

这个节日来的快，去的也快。我们眼看着店主把灰烬扫走，火把中的余光熄灭。我们看着对方身上一身烟灰，想着刚才奇妙的场景，相视大笑。这个节日太出乎意料，我们今后几天一定会不断地提到它。

回到旅社，回想今晚的一切，我不禁笑了。如果要问我在中国旅行学到了什么，那就是永远期待着意料之外的乐趣。