May everyone have a Happy, Peaceful, and Demon-free New Year...Nuoxi – Driving out demons
In China, at least since the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BCE), and in Korea much later and to a lesser extent, there has been an end of year Nuoxi (儺戱) exorcism of the palace (and sometimes of private homes even today). This is a religious ceremony to drive out evil spirts and epidemics while praying for peace in the coming year.
Nuoxi can be divided into to parts. One part is to honor the gods and to drive away evil. The other part is to entertain people and invite blessings upon them.
The earliest records of Nuoxi are in the Rites of the Zhou (Zhouli - 周禮). By the time of the early Han Dynasty, many of the elements of the ritual in the imperial palace were fixed. The central performers were to be one hundred boys between the ages of ten and twelve, chosen from among the palace eunuchs. They were to wear black clothing and red headscarves and carry large drums. They were to chant in unison while beating the drums. Their purpose was to drive out evil spirits from each section of the palace, including of course, the women’s quarters.
Over time, the number of participants and their various roles increased. All of them, though, were to be eunuchs. By the Sui Dynasty, there were to be 240 young eunuchs, including the sons of musicians. Ten of the participants were to be horn players. Twelve participants wielded leather whips to drive away evil.
In the Tang Dynasty the ages and number of the particpants was changed to 144 eunuchs between the ages of 12 and 16. They also, in groups of 24, chased evil beyond the palace gates to the gates of the city. It was during this period that modified forms of the ritual were taken up by people outside the palace to drive out evil and epidemics in preparation for the new year.
While there is no longer an imperial palace in which to perform the Nuoxi, it is still performed in its folk version in some areas of China. The version in Guizhou Province has even been designated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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