Double Ninth Festival (Quinn Calhoun)

Title: Double Ninth Festival

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

KF, born in 2002 in Hong Kong, and grew up in the city. She is of Han Chinese descent, although her parents did not grow up in the same culture. She primarily learned of many of her cultural traditions through her classes and peers, although her mother, American education, did strive to teach her parts of Han Chinese culture.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: Long ago a plague struck China, and it is believed that the reason that the plague disappeared was that a man climbed a nearby mountain which drove out the evil spirits which caused the plague. It is believed that one should hike a mountain in this vain in order to prevent a plague like this to occur again, and when an outbreak occurs, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is believed, or at least joked, that it is partially a result of individuals not adhering to the tradition.
Social Context: QC learned it from KF when discussing some our the different holidays. KF learned it from her mother as a public holiday, and while her mother did not believe in the superstition herself, she still observed tradition by teaching her children about the holiday and taking them to hike a mountain.

Item:

Every year on August 8 on the Lunar calendar, one must climb a mountain to prevent the return of evil spirits (gui) from descending down and causing the renewal of the plague.

Associated file:

Informant’s Comments:

Highly would not recommend eating it if better options are available. Not a huge fan.

Collector’s Name: Quinn Calhoun

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive