The Great Exorcism Festival was a yearly festival held in T'u Lung to drive away the demons and afflictions that had plagued the year prior.[1][note 1]
Description[]
The Great Exorcism Festival had a central shamanistic rite that involved the consecration of ceremonial robes that were then placed on the city walls and a mystical ceremonial battle in which at least one of the participants wore a bearskin adorned with four golden eyes.[1] In addition, morality plays, in which one of the characters was a bear god, were performed during the festival.[2]
History[]
At some point before Shou Year 2607 (1357 DR), during his arcane training under the wu jen To Nanchi, Tan Hikao Nong learned how to conduct the Great Exorcism Festival's central shamanic ritual so he could become more involved with his community.[1]
As of the mid–14th century DR, the bushi Tan Mikao Tso was often invited to play the bear god in the morality plays performed during the Grand Exorcism Festival.[2]
Appendix[]
Behind the Scenes[]
The Great Exorcism Festival is most likely derived from the yearly Nuo ceremonies performed in central and southern China; the word nuó, 傩, refers to the exorcism of evil spirits in Chinese (though it is otherwise uncommon in Standard Chinese), and the name of the ceremony itself was thusly translated as "Great Exorcism" by Lothar von Falkenhausen. In addition, the activities of the Great Exorcism Festival are a dead ringer to those of real-world Nuo ceremonies, such as the wearing of a four-eyed bearskin by the fangxiangshi and the performance of religious plays.
Notes[]
- ↑ Even though the wording would initially seem to imply a singular city and community, no specific city is mentioned here. While it is tempting to assume that the festival was specific to Hachoni, where To Nanchi and Tan Hikao Nong (the narrator of the T'u Lung chapter) met, To Nanchi is stated to be a wanderer. Combined with the fact that the festival is based on real ceremonies across China, it thus appears more likely that the Great Exorcism Festival took place in cities across T'u Lung.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mike Pondsmith, Jay Batista, Rick Swan, John Nephew, Deborah Christian (1988). Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms (Volume I). (TSR, Inc), p. 53. ISBN 0-88038-608-8.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mike Pondsmith, Jay Batista, Rick Swan, John Nephew, Deborah Christian (1988). Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms (Volume I). (TSR, Inc), p. 60. ISBN 0-88038-608-8.