The Spirit Festival (精霊祭, Shōreisai) was a festival of ancestral worship held by the Winged Horde.
Information
Overview
In Winged Horde belief, the spirits of the deceased returned to the mountains of Tinto Principality. When burying the dead, it was customary to place a mask depicting the face of the sacred beast that protects the Winged Horde on the deceased's face.
During this three-day festival, the boundary between the living and the dead was said to become blurred and ancestral spirits would return to their communities to remember life for a brief moment.
The festival was organized by the Great Wing of the community. Celebratants would offer food to their ancestral spirits, and performed songs, dances, and music. During the festival, the adult men of the village wear masks of sacred animals, in imitation of the dead.
Festival events
A great fire that was made at the entrance to the settlement on the first night of the festival to guide the ancestors back to the community. Those who died during the past year were called "new souls", and a special altar was set up for flowers and other offerings to those spirits.
From the afternoon of the first day, men wearing cloaks sewn with leaves and masks of sacred animals paraded through the village in silence. They were the middle-aged to elderly men of the community. They didn't sing, but instead played flutes made from reeds that grow by the river while beating small drums attached to their belts with one hand.
The melody played was something that had been passed down among the tribe for ages, and was somehow sad and tranquil. Those who listened to it thought of their ancestors and felt solemn.
At night, men and women, young and old, circled the bonfires that burned without ceasing, dancing again and again to their heart's content. When they got tired, they rested before returning to dance again.
It was generally considered taboo to speak or fly during the festival. Chaco encountered the spirit of his deceased uncle, Phobo, during the SY 459 festival.
Test of courage
During the festival's second day, a ceremony was held for adolscents to prepare them for adulthood. It was a test of courage for those aged 16 years old or younger where they would travel through the forest at night, retrive a trinket from a tree, and return.
In the forest, a chosen adult would wear a scary mask, scaring the children who come to test their courage. The role of the masked figure can only be played by a man over twenty years old.
In SY 459, Sid would be chosen as he already enjoyed scaring the children.
References
- Genso Suikoden Short Story Collection 4 (ISBN 4-8402-2106-5), pages 265-296
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