"A cow in the Gelao family has life in it." In the minds of the Gelao people, cows are related to life and death.

In Gelao Mountain Township, there is a touching story about the Ox King.

Legend has it that the hillside where the Gelao people lived in the past was high and steep, with rugged rocks. No matter how diligent the people were, life would be difficult. Therefore, everyone unanimously recommended the resourceful young man A Wang to lead everyone to migrate to a land with abundant water and grass. Ah Wang did not shirk, he took a cow that accompanied him day and night, and led his people to the distance.

Many days of searching have passed. There is not much dry food left, the people are tired, the cattle are tired, and the Gelao people still have not found a suitable place for farming. One day, the sun went down and everyone found a cave to spend the night. Because of exhaustion, people fell asleep. Ah Wang woke up early and couldn't find any trace of the cow anywhere. Everyone searched and searched, but to no avail.

Ah Wang’s cry was heartbreaking, and even the gods were moved. In desperation, the call of the cow came. Achao ran away at the sound. At this moment, a miracle happened. The cow was standing under a leafy tree and looking at him with bright eyes.

A Wang smiled. The cow raised its head and mooed, as if calling the gods to help. Just at this moment, the people who followed saw an incredible scene - the rice, which was whiter than the clouds in the sky, merged into a silvery river of rice, falling from the trees with a rustling sound. In front of Ah Wang, rice flowers splashed everywhere, gradually piled up into a medium-sized mountain of rice.

The Gelao people laughed. They had a delicious meal of white rice and slept peacefully at night. But at dawn, the cow disappeared again. The attentive Ah Wang discovered that in the sunlight, there was a clearly identifiable line of cow hoof prints, stretching into the distance. Ah Wang led the crowd and found his sacred cow by following the cow's hoof prints. The place where the sacred cow is located is an uninhabited forest. There are mountains around it, trees on the mountains, a river at the foot of the mountain, and fields on the river bank.

"This is the best!" People cheered and surrounded the sacred cow, took out the remaining bits of cake from the bag, hung it on the horn of the cow, and thanked the cow for its hard work.

There, the Gelao people live and work in peace and contentment. The cow saved them, so the Gelao people respected the cow as a god. However, Niu has never been proud of taking credit and continues to work hard all year round. The cows still eat simply. If there is green grass, they eat green grass. If there is no grass, they eat hay. Anyway, as long as they are not hungry.

In order to express their respect and love for cattle, the Gelao people hold a special festival for cattle on the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar every year, which is called the "Ox King Festival", also known as the "Ox God Festival" and "Respect the Ox Festival". "Ox King Bodhisattva Festival" and "Ox King Festival". On this day, the cows have a holiday, no plowing, no farming, rest in peace, and have a happy holiday.

On the first day of the festival, the Gelao people clean the cattle stables inside and out. The women took the cows to bask in the sun and gnaw grass leaves on the slopes; the men emptied the cow dung, then brought a few bundles of hay from the thatched house and put a thick layer on it again, so that when the cows came back, they could lie down comfortably. Rested on it.

On the day of the festival, every household is busy with cattle. The village was filled with a busy and festive atmosphere early in the morning. The first thing a man does is to kill a chicken, the second thing is to prepare wine, and the third thing is to bring the chicken and wine to the cow stable as an offering, then burn incense, candles, and paper money to pray for the blessing of the cow god. The family's cattle are strong and healthy. The woman with a gentle look was carrying the best grass and feed, calling the cows to get up and eat slowly as if calling a relative.

Of course, exciting programs are yet to come. One after another, every household came out with their cows. The cows were all smiling, and on their moon-ship-like horns were hung glutinous rice cakes made of fine glutinous rice. Niu followed his master calmly out of the village and walked towards the water. When they got to the river, the owner took the cow and stood by the water, letting the cow admire his simple and honest face and his body as strong as a wall from the mirror-like water surface. The cow mooed a few times feeling good about itself, seeming to be praising each other with its companions: "Haha, they are all strong! They are not old, and they can still celebrate the Cow King's Festival of many family members!" The owner took it off. When the glutinous rice cake was brought to its mouth, the cow happily rolled the food into its mouth with its tongue and enjoyed it happily.

Households that do not raise cattle usually borrow other people’s cattle for use. On the festival day, they will also prepare wine, meat, incense and candles, and go to their fields to offer sacrifices and pray to the Cow King Bodhisattva to bless their families to buy cattle as soon as possible.