The most interesting folklore

Chapter 20 The Most Interesting Funeral Culture (3)
For the Yi nationality in Yunnan, when their parents are critically ill, if they live upstairs, if they want to move them downstairs, they must die in the main bedroom of the main house.It is said that there are two purposes for doing this: one is to fear that the dead will die upstairs, and it will be difficult for the dead to go downstairs; the other is to fear that there will be ghost activities upstairs in the future, which will disturb future generations.After the death of the old man of the Yi nationality, he still has to "show the way" for him.According to the religion of the Yi nationality, there are three souls after death, one soul guards the grave, one soul reincarnates, one soul goes to the underworld, and the soul that goes to the underworld is the ancestor.If the ancestors want to reach their destination smoothly, they have to show him the way. Otherwise, because of the long distance and crossing mountains and rivers, the ancestors will lose their way, suffer everywhere and blame their descendants. When they are angry, they will cause disasters and punish their descendants.

25. What are the taboos about the time of death
Taiwanese folks have the custom of avoiding sick people dying after dinner.It is commonly believed that it is best for people to die before breakfast in the morning, saying that three meals are left for their descendants, which is commonly known as "for future generations, people will have meals for three meals a day. If you die after breakfast, it means that future generations will have food." There is bad luck to stop cooking. The most taboo is to stop breathing after dinner, as if the deceased took away all three meals a day, which indicates that future generations will become beggars, so it must be well understood. This custom The production of food reflects the low level of productivity in ancient times, people's self-sufficient low living standards and the ancient Chinese ideology of "food is paramount to the people".

In the Anhui area, for those who lost their children early, it is very unlucky to meet the Spring Geng Shen Day and Xia Jia Zi Day, and they will be in danger of zombies.For teenagers who die on such a day, when they go out for funerals, they must ask the artisan to draw amulets on the coffin, and use various superstitious methods to "decipher" it.In the Zhejiang area, it is taboo to die at the age of 81, because 81, this means that the money will be exhausted, and it indicates that the future generations will be poor. In this case, you should ask someone to break up a complete abacus When the deceased is about to die, he will spill the abacus through the window, and it can be cracked, so as to avoid evil and seek good fortune.

25. What is Evil Death?

Generally, the death of a foreigner, the death of an abnormal end of life, the death of a pregnant woman in childbirth, the incomplete body at the time of death, the head in a different place, being killed, drowned, burned to death, crushed to death, etc. are regarded as evil deaths, which are very taboo.

26. What are the taboos in wearing shrouds?
When wearing the shroud, the filial son usually puts it on himself one by one, and then takes it off at one time, and let the deceased put it on and put it on at one time.At this time, it is forbidden for pregnant women to approach.The custom of the Han nationality is that the shrouds of the deceased should be in odd numbers, usually ranging from five, seven, or nine, and even numbers are taboo, lest the catastrophe of death will come again.Don't use satin when making shrouds, because "satin" and "duanzi" are homophonic, lest you will suffer the karma of cutting off children and grandchildren.In some places, after putting on the shroud for the deceased, a few small flour cakes and small sticks made of white flour are placed in the sleeves or hands of the deceased. After passing through the Evil Dog Village, prepare dog-beating cakes and dog-beating sticks for the deceased so that he can walk through the Evil Dog Village smoothly.

27. What are the taboos for encoffining the dead?

When burialing people, it is customary in Kaifeng, Henan to have people who are in conflict with the zodiac of the deceased present, lest they be affected and offended by bad luck.It is generally taboo for outsiders to get close to the coffin, especially when the coffin is being built. Except for the closest relatives of the deceased, everyone else must back away, because it is believed that if the shadow of a person is locked in the coffin, the health of the person will be endangered, and his soul will be destroyed. There will be a risk of being sealed in the coffin together.In the Henan area, a copper coin (commonly known as "mouth money") that was put in the mouth of the deceased to prevent the deceased from becoming dumb when reincarnated should be taken out during the burial, otherwise, it is thought that the deceased will take away the family wealth.Before the burial, the feet of the deceased should be tied with hemp paper (or wrapped in white paper), in order to prevent the dead from wandering around, breaking into the mansion, and endangering the living.But when entering the coffin, the feet of the deceased must be released, otherwise the deceased will not be able to walk in the underworld and will become a cripple among ghosts.

After the burial, the folks avoid raining on the coffin, otherwise they think that future generations will be poor. There is a saying: "When the rain hits the coffin cover, the descendants have no bedding cover." At this time, it is most taboo for cats to approach corpses and coffins.Legend has it that cats are considered tiger-like animals. It is said that if a cat jumps over or touches a dead body, the cat will die immediately, but the dead body will revive and become a zombie. The zombie will stand upright and face forward. Go, hold on to whatever you meet.Of course, in case of accidents, the best way is to keep the cat away from the corpse or coffin.Therefore, in order to avoid the haunting of the undead, the Shui people strictly prevent the black cat from jumping over the dead when guarding the corpse.This kind of legend is purely superstitious, but its intention is to remind relatives to take care of the corpse carefully, guard the spirit carefully, and show filial piety.During the condolence process of the Qiang people, the filial sons have to go outside the village to meet their relatives and friends, toast their uncles, and make another salute when they arrive at the door of the house. It can prevent infection and play a role in warding off evil spirits.

28. What are the taboos on the funeral date?

The folks have certain customs on the time of funeral and burial, which not only form many taboos, but also in many cases, the choice and avoidance of time contain deep evil meanings.

In some areas in the south, it is customary to avoid burials in July. According to folklore, July is the ghost month. During the burial period and a longer period after that, social activities should be minimized as much as possible. Omen of misfortune, low luck by three points, communicating with others, I am afraid it will bring bad luck and misfortune to others.Therefore, the general mourners are forbidden to participate in all entertainment activities during the mourning period. It is taboo to fight, scold and quarrel with others, and it is forbidden to visit other houses, especially the sick.The folks especially taboo those who obey filial piety to watch the construction of wells, temples, cooking, marriages, mothers and babies, lest the "violent spirit" on their bodies offend sacred and festive things, and cause disasters to the families and individuals they watch. thing.Moreover, for certain prohibitions on bereaved relatives, if the bereaved relatives do not consciously implement them, outsiders will intervene to enforce their execution.It can be seen that certain taboos and customary beliefs about the bereaved are not only related to the bereaved themselves, but more importantly, they are related to the good and bad fortune of their neighbors and their own clan or clan.Among the ethnic groups such as Han and Bai, even if they come to report a funeral, they must not be allowed to enter their own door, otherwise, they think that something unfortunate will happen to their family.

29. What are the requirements for sacrificial sweeping activities?

When going to the grave to worship and sweep, there are certain restrictions on the participants. Generally, pregnant women cannot participate in the funeral, nor can they go to sacrifice and sweep the grave.Otherwise, the undead of the deceased may "pounce" on the fetus, making it difficult for the pregnant woman to give birth.Not only that, according to the customs in many areas, even ordinary women are not allowed to go to the grave to pay respects.This kind of prohibition reflects the concept of descendants in ancient China, because a woman going to a grave means that there is no man in the family, and the deceased has no descendants.In ancient times, criminals were forbidden to participate in sacrifices and sweeps, because at that time people believed that the tomb was the yin house of the ancestors, where the souls resided, and those who had been punished would damage the virtue of their ancestors if they went to sacrifice to the tomb.

Avoid encountering Buddhist monks and Taoist priests during the sacrifice.If you happen to meet Buddhist monks or Taoist priests, you must offer fasting meals to them.Only in this way can the sins of the deceased be alleviated, and it will be convenient for the souls of the deceased to be rescued as soon as possible, so that they can ascend to heaven.Otherwise, it is not good for the undead and will make others suffer in hell.

When going to the grave to sacrifice and sweep, it is generally necessary to burn the paper money, but it is forbidden to stir the paper money with sticks, for fear that the paper money will be broken and the ancestors will not be able to use it.If half of the paper money is burned and the remaining half is not burned, it cannot be thrown into the fire again to burn.The remaining half will be turned into money, which is specially reserved by the dead for the living, which means that the ancestors think about their children and grandchildren.It is also said that this half is called "children's board", which can only be kept and cannot be burned again, otherwise, the descendants will be cut off.In the areas of Shandong and Henan, there is a common saying of "violating the soil", which means that the day of the seventh festival coincides with the seventh, seventeenth, and 27th day of the lunar calendar or the dark day of the fourteenth, 21st, and 28th. The day is unlucky.On these days, when the grave is sacrificed, a small white flag must be planted on the grave (or a tile plate filled with soil or sand) to drive away evil and avoid taboos.

30. Is cremation the use of people to incinerate the corpse?

Cremation, also known as "cremation", is a relatively ancient burial custom, that is, the body is cremated with fire.There are roughly two forms of cremation, either placing the deceased directly on the fire, or placing the deceased in a coffin and cremating them.In the crematorium, the Naxi people use flammable pine wood to build a "well"-shaped wooden frame about 1.5 meters high and about one meter long and wide, with built-in pine branches. After lighting the fire, the lama poured ghee on the firewood continuously, and the cremation was completed in a short while.The Tujia people put the deceased facing west, put them in the stove, set fire with cypress branches, and put the smashed coffins into the stove together for burning.The Yi people usually pile a pile of pine firewood on the hillside or beside the woods, put the dead on it, and set fire to it under the firewood pile.

The Yugu people tied up the corpses, dug a furnace according to the wind direction, set up firewood, put the corpses on the firewood and burned them with fire.In Dayaoshan Chayao, Guangxi, the relatives of the family members each prepare a small bundle of dry firewood to the crematorium in advance, and then transport the deceased to the cremation site. A bundle of dry bamboo chips was lit and inserted into the coffin, which was filled with inflammable materials in advance, and the filial son continued to add dry firewood to the coffin until it was completely incinerated.The Yao ethnic group in Mengla County, Yunnan cremated their coffins in a "Kuang"-shaped pyre. Cremation has different funeral concepts in different historical periods, different regions, and different ethnic groups.

31. Is tree burial a dead body placed on a tree?

Tree burial, also known as wind burial, forest burial, hanging burial, air burial, or hanging burial, is to bury the dead on a tree. It is an ancient burial custom in my country. It is mainly popular among some ethnic minorities in northern China. The Ewenki and Oroqen are the most popular.The burial method is to place the deceased in a remote mountain or in the wild, put a crossbar on the top of the tree, and then place the deceased on it and let it weather, or hang the deceased on a branch or put it on a specially made wooden frame, and put some more wood next to it. The articles of the deceased are used as funeral objects.Judging from the burial style and structure of the tree burial, it can be roughly divided into bird's nest style, tree frame type, tree house type and ground frame type. Place the dead in a natural tree hole, or dig a hole in a big tree with a knife or an axe, and bury the dead in the tree hole.Among the Daur people, tree burials are only used for those who died of smallpox, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases and dystocia.The Yao people in Dayao Mountain in Guangxi and the Jingpo people in Yunnan use trees to bury children who died young.The custom of tree burial is not a unique phenomenon of a certain region, a certain nation, or a certain period, but has a certain universality.Even for the same ethnic group, tree burial methods vary with time and place, which is clearly reflected in the tree burial customs of the Oroqen people.

As for the reason for tree burial, some people think that it adapts to the hunting life of ancient forest tribes.There is a concept that the spirits of the dead wander in the forest, just like living beside the living, thus forming the custom of tree burial.

32. Is water burial a dead body thrown into water?
Water burial means throwing the dead body into the river to wash it away or let the fish eat it.Most of the Moinba and some Tibetans have this burial method; the Qiang in Northwest Sichuan, the Dulong and Dai in Yunnan, and the Daur in Heilongjiang also practiced water burial in the past.

In Tibetan areas in northwestern Sichuan, children die young and are buried in water.Before the water burial, the lama recited scriptures first, and then carried the dead to the rapids of the river. Some threw the whole body into the water, and some cut the body into several pieces and threw it into the water.If the body immediately floats to the surface of the water, it means that the dead can be reborn; if the body immediately sinks into the water, it means that the dead has sinned and can never be reincarnated.As for the purpose of water burial, some people think that it may contain the meaning of isolating ghosts.

Judging from the situation in various parts of our country, most of the ethnic groups who practice water burial are in the inland and high mountain areas, and most of them are those who died of serious diseases or children who died in the sky. They believe that such dead are haunted by demons.Throw it into the river, let the devil be washed away with the dead, and never come back to harm others. It seems that this is the original intention of water burial.

33. What about hanging coffin burials and cliff cave burials?
Hanging coffin burial is to drill holes in parallel on the cliff, and then put a tree pole with a thick bowl mouth out of the cliff, place the coffin on the tree pole, and make it hang in the space.Cliff cave burial is to bury the dead in a natural cave on a cliff.It can be seen that the two are two different burial methods belonging to the same funeral type.These two burial methods are widely popular in southern China, covering Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangxi, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Taiwan and Shaanxi in the north.

The cemetery is generally chosen in a special geographical location, one is near the river and stream, and the other is the cliff; the burial utensils can be divided into two types: wood and pottery according to the material.There are also quite a lot of differences in the number of burials. Most areas implement one burial, and very few areas implement two burials.This kind of burial is a reflection of the idea of ​​ascension to heaven after death, and people worship high mountains and dangerous peaks as the residence of gods or the shortcut to heaven.Therefore, people living in mountainous areas regard these towering mountains as sacred places, and hope that one day they can live in them like gods and get closer to the "heavenly kingdom" of gods and men.In short, hanging coffin burials and cliff cave burials reflect people's unique ideology and religious beliefs.What are the unique funeral customs of the ancient Khitan people? The Khitan people once lived in the northeastern region of our country.During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Khitan people wrote a unique and brilliant page in the fields of politics, economy and military affairs in ancient my country during more than [-] years.The unique personality of the Khitan people has formed a charming funeral custom.

"Sui Shu·Khitan Biography": "Parents who died and mourned? They thought they were not strong, but put their corpses on a small tree. After three years, their bones were collected and burned. They celebrated the sun with wine. , During the winter moon, when I eclipse toward the sun, if I shoot and hunt, I will see more deer.” It can be seen that the Khitan custom is to use sky burial first, and then cremation.After burning the bones, drink wine to bless.This is probably the burial custom of most Khitan people.

In the book "The Facts of the Imperial Palace" written by Wei Jian, a humanist in the Song Dynasty, there is such a description of the funeral of the Khitan people: "If there is a deceased person in the family of a wealthy person, the abdomen is cut with a knife, and the intestines and stomach are taken to cleanse it. Alum, sewn in five colors, pierced the skin with sharp reeds, drained the ointment and blood, and drained it, used gold and silver as a mask, and bound the hands and feet with copper silk."

This account describes the burial customs of the Khitan nobles in detail, and we can see the whole process: First, the abdomen of the deceased is cut open with a knife, the internal organs are taken out and cleaned, and filled with fragrant medicine, salt, alum, etc. Suture it with multicolored thread, and then puncture the skin of the deceased with a hard instrument to drain the blood.Finally, gold and silver masks are put on, and the limbs are connected together with copper wire.

This burial custom of the Khitan nobles is mainly due to the embalming treatment of the remains, which is obviously another burial.In the unearthed Khitan tombs, most of the remains have long since decayed, and the only well-preserved corpse has neither taken out the internal organs to clean them, nor filled them with any spices, salt, or alum.

Some scholars believe that the Khitan people covered the body of the dead with a net like copper wire and put on a gold and silver mask, which was intended to protect the peace of the soul of the dead and expressed a kind of religious belief.However, archaeologists have hardly found any religious artifacts from the unearthed tombs.Therefore, this argument is also difficult to establish.

It is still unclear what the strange burial customs of the Khitan nobles indicate.

(End of this chapter)