哈節是京族 — 一個住在廣西省東興市海邊的少數民族的最重要節日之一。

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最普遍關於京族哈節的傳說與鎮海大王有關，他亦是海神。在傳說中，有一條蜈蚣精佔據了白龍山的島上，他威脅路過的船隻把其中一人獻給蜈蚣精，否則他會在海上作亂。鎮海大王於是化為一乞丐並攜著一個滾燙的南瓜上船。到了那海島後，他被船長作為貢品而被推下海。但是，他吩附其他船員把滾燙的南瓜拿出並餵給蜈蚣精，滾燙的南瓜把蜈蚣精燙傷，它隨即被打敗，頭、身體及尾巴化成京族三島，鎮海大王亦成為英雄，在白龍島上建立了廟供奉。

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對於哈節的起源有另一個說法，它指出節慶是為了紀念一位歌仙，而他亦透過授人歌唱及舞蹈以反抗陳朝的統治。之後，京族亦建立哈亭以紀念歌仙。

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哈節歴時一星期。不同的村落有不同的慶祝日子。在第一天，人們會帶著彩旗及神位迎神，把神邀請到陸上然後到亭中。京族人會拜祭及祈求神明賜給他們豐收，並奉獻白酒及香燭給他們。京族女人會在節慶中的「唱哈」儀式中歌唱，「哈」在他們的文字中意指歌唱。高歌時，女主唱會站在草蓆中央，而樂手會撃鼓及奏樂。歌詞大意與其宗教、歴史、文化及生活有關。其他女孩亦會随歌起舞，包括燈舞、花舞及竹舞。在節日的第一天，女人會跳「進酒舞」迎神及對他們表示尊崇。之後，他們會跳「燈舞」以取悅神祇，而亭中亦會設宴，所有符合條件的男性可參與，該活動亦有食物及娛樂活動。

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節慶最後一天，人們會頌祠送別神明，並以女孩演出花燈舞及唱歌結束。

 

The Ha festival is the most important festival to the Jing (or Gin) Nationality, a small ethnic group who are descendants of ethnic Vietnamese, who mainly live on three small islands off the coast of Dongxing, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region.

 

Relating to the origins of the story are popular legends about a hero, King Zhenhai, or King of the Sea. As the legend goes, there was a hungry Centipede Spirit living in the Bailong island (literal meaning “White Dragon island” in Chinese), who threatened to wreak havoc at the ocean and capsize boats and ships every time they passed by, if they didn’t sacrifice a person to it. King Zhenhai disguised himself as a poor beggar and carried a scalding pumpkin to board a ship. Once they reached the islands, he was pushed into the sea by the captain as a sacrifice. But then, he summoned the other sailors to bring out the scalding pumpkin and proceeded to feed it to the centipede spirit. The scalding pumpkin burned the spirit when consumed and the spirit was soon defeated, and its head, body and tail formed the three islands of the Jing nationality, and Zhenhai was later regarded as the hero. The temple of King Zhenhai was situated at the island where the spirit was defeated.

 

There is also another explanation of the origins of the Ha Festival, that it began as a festival to commemorate a God of Music, and the Festival was an opportunity to teach the people singing and dancing as a way of rebellion against the ruling Chen Dynasty. Soon, a pavilion was constructed for remembrance towards the god of music.   

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The Ha Festival lasts for a week. Different villages in their respective areas have different celebration dates. On the first day, the people carry umbrellas, flags and a throne to greet the God, and to invite them to the land and to the Pavilion. The Jing people proceed to worship and pray for good harvests to the deities, while offering wine and incense to them. Women of the Jing nationality sing in the festival, in a ritual called “Cheung Ha”, and “Ha” meaning singing or song in their language. As they sing, the main singer will stand at the center of the grass carpet, while musicians play the drums and other instruments. The lyrics of the songs sung in the festival are related to their religion, their history and culture, as well as their life.   Other ladies also perform dance routines that are inspired by their daily lives, including a lantern dance, flower dances and bamboo dance. On the first day of the festival, women perform a “wine offering dance” to welcome the gods and show their appreciation for them. Later, the lantern dance is performed to entertain the gods, and a banquet set up in the pavilion, and all boys above a certain will be invited to attend, where food and entertainment activities are enjoyed.

 

On the final day, people will recite speech to escort the deities in their departure home, and the end of the festival is marked with the women performing the flower lantern dance and songs.