Wuren rice 乌米饭

钟子烟

The grand celebration of this year's March Third Festival started today. In addition to the performances， what impressed me most was the various traditional ethnic foods on display， among which the Wuren rice is my favorite. What drew my eyes first is its shiny inked outside. How can the normal- ly snow-white rice be transformed into obsidian-colored one？ From talking， I learned it was the ancestors of She Minority who came up with such a crea- tiveand also green idea-they picked the freshest leaves of a local tree and soaked them in water to make a natural dye， thus coloring the rice black and making it with impressive health benefits.

Further communication made me realize that the rice， as one of the three traditional treasures of She， contains this people's countless memories. When the annual traditional feast approaches， it is always a necessity in every She family. While the youth sing and dance with joy， every single grain of rice bears witness to the priceless moment.

Time flies. The event came to an end. But I am sure hard-working She people will always keep up those old traditions and push them towards the future.