How to Scare Your Ancestors
No, it’s not a statue; it’s a real bull, painted all over as part of a Chinese festival.
The “tradition” arose among the Hani people as a way of protecting their homes from tigers. Today it’s an annual festival in which 48 times from China, Laos and Vietnam compete for the best painted bull.
The Hani, a Chinese minority, worship nature spirits and their own ancestors. One would imagine that the sight of a cow covered in toxic paint would be enough to scare off not only any nearby tigers but all your ancestral spirits, too!
Posted December 27, 2011, by Michael Mountain
The Fringe
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