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[wenzili]

Part One: MAZI Processing

There was a locally characterized celebration for baby�s first birthday in our hometown.

Maybe for the reason of low percentage of babies� survival in the past, parents could only get some confidence from the born babies and consider their lifelines had been firmed after babies� first birthday celebration. In this way, the celebration party must be very ceremonious.

As early as about 3 o�clock a.m. in the birthday morning, mum and her older daughters had got up already and started their breakfast preparation. They were constantly pulling and pushing the bellows to steam a bucket* of sticky rice.

After the steaming completion, it was father or older brothers� turn to process rice cakes, locally known as MAZI.

The MAZI making was a sort of physically heavy-duty work.

One strong person raised a wooden hammer (pestle) with about15-20 kg weight, continuously stroke out a stone mortar where the steamed rice was located in.

In the mean time, another man bowing beside the mortar was swiftly stirring the rice, at the interval before the pestle dropping down.

Their cooperation must be very harmonic; otherwise, body injury or product defect must happen inevitably, either which was considered as an unlucky omen to the baby�s future.

The striking process may last one and half hours. Then, they came to a MAZI-Ball making process.

The well-done rice must be evenly melted together and become a soft and elastic solid with the steam wreathed upward.

In spite of the hots, the MAZI maker took some of it on his left palm, then held and squeezed it quickly. The rice paste came out between his thumb and point finger.

His right hand quickly twisted and broke it away and rolled in the mixture of sesame powder and sugar. It became a small rice ball (as small as a pin pang) with attractive fragrance.

Thanks to father�s and brothers� strength and swift skill, the MAZI balls were quickly piled up.

The completed MAZI balls would be held on dishes and presented on dinning tables for guests� enjoyment. Besides, there would be some extra amount of MAZI neatly placed on a large bamboo pan, which, together with a type of spicy pasted noodles (LUZI), will be sent to relatives and neighbors nearby.

As a sort of breakfast snacks, the machine made MAZI is still very popular in the low-and-middle reach of Yangtze River even today.

* A wooden bucket with lots of holes on its bottom is a container used for rice steaming, which was widely used in China about 30 years ago.

(To be continued by P2: LUZI Preparation)
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