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Jingmai Mountain Culture Brings the Spirit to Chinese Tea
If you’re like me, you’ll find Jingmai Mountain heritage both fascinating and unbelievable. In China, there exists a unique culture where an entire community devotes their lives to celebrating and honoring a tea spirit. This ancient tradition has been passed down for thousands of years, reflecting a pure and enduring connection to its sacred origins. Here’s how Jingmai Mountain Culture brings the spirit to the world with their Jingmai Mountain tea.
The Tea Spirit Altar and Location Facts:
The Tea Spirit Altar is situated at the peak of Aileng Mountain, also known as Mangjing Mountain, a place revered by the Blang People as the center of their tea worship. To get there one must trudge through a demanding and steep climb which feels like being humbled before reaching the altar. Once you pass through some ancient arbor trees and the tea spirit garden, you’ll arrive at an intersection of pathways and immediately you feel this cultural relic pulsing with energy. The eeriness and the isolation of the place will leave you stunned and awed. It is truly awesome to stand in this sacred heritage place.
Covering an area of 36 square meters, the altar was reconstructed in the 1990s to preserve its cultural and spiritual significance. This site stands as a symbol of the Blang’s heritage and their deep connection to cultivating tea.
At the heart of the altar is a large pillar, representing communication between heaven and Pa Aileng, the tea ancestor. Surrounding this central pillar are four groups of smaller pillars placed at the altar’s corners, symbolizing people from all directions coming together to honor the tea spirit. Each group consists of five pillars, which represent the five native ethnic minorities: the Blang, the Dai, the Hani, the Lahu, and the Wa. This sacred arrangement underscores the unity and shared reverence for sharing a passion for tea and life among these communities.
Jingmai Mountain and Blang Rituals of Pure Devotion to the Tea Spirit
Every year, during the Songkran Festival, the Blang People climb the sacred Aileng Mountain to gather at the Tea Spirit Altar. Having already lived in Thailand for 4 years and attending every fun filled Songkran in April, you’ll find this celebration totally different. Here, they perform pure and heartfelt rituals, calling upon Pa Aileng, worshiping their ancestors, and honoring the tea mountain that has sustained their lives for generations. These ceremonies exemplify the Blang culture’s deep respect for nature and their spiritual bond with the ancient tea arbor trees.
Historically, the altar was located in a primeval forest northeast of the Blang tribe, surrounded by lush tea arbors. Historically Jinmai Mountain Blang people, and other neighboring minority ethnic groups knelt before the altar, lit beeswax candles, pressed their palms together, and called upon the tea spirit three times. They then bowed in worship to the ancient tea grove that granted them survival and hope. These practices reflect the Blang People’s enduring reverence for their heritage, the natural world, and the pure essence of their love for Chinese tea.
A Timeless Celebration of Tea and Heritage on Jingmai Mountain
The Tea Spirit Altar and its rituals capture the Blang People’s culture pure devotion to Chinese and Jingmai Mountain tea, their veneration of ancient tea arbors, and their respect for the mountain that has shaped their way of life. This sacred site embodies a timeless harmony between humanity and nature, in China called the Human God Dance, rooted in a profound cultural heritage that celebrates the spirit of Chinese tea.
Take a journey into the rich heritage of the Blang People and their sacred traditions surrounding the Tea Spirit. Let their story deepen your appreciation for the cultural and spiritual significance of tea. Explore this mountain legacy and connect with the ancient arbors that continue to inspire hope and harmony today. Give their special high altitude Orchid aroma Jingmai Mountain tea a try for yourself!
To know more about the tea systern in Jingmai Moutian Blang Ethnic group, read out page Sacred Dance of Man and God.
