Family
Buyi families are patriarchal. The head of the family has the power to dominate the family's economy and command its members; if the head of the family dies, the eldest son inherits. All male elders are respected, and those who are upright have more prestige. Disputes within the family can be mediated without appealing to the authorities. The status of women is lower than that of men, and widows can inherit property, but not if they remarry.
The family structure includes small families and large families with three or four generations. In the case of large populations, the family is divided into separate households after the son's marriage. Before the founding of the country in some areas, the family's property must first leave the parents of the "old age field" and unmarried sisters of the "girl field", the rest of the land, property according to the son of equal shares. In the case of heirless families, the property was inherited by the house family. After the family was divided, most parents followed their youngest son in order to help take care of the household, and some were happy to live with their favorite son. It is a traditional custom of the Buyi that parents have the duty to raise and educate their children, and sons have the duty to support and bury their parents.
Marriage
Buyi marriage is basically monogamous. Before the founding of the PRC, marriages were almost entirely arranged by parents, and there was little freedom of marriage. As a result of arranged marriages lead to the practice of early marriage, often betrothed earlier, some of the young children in the marriage contract, commonly known as the "back with pro". Most of them are between 13 or 14 and 17 or 18 years old, and some are 11 or 12 years old when the marriage ceremony is held. Because the age is too young, generally accompanied by the clan bridesmaids to the male family to pay homage to the ancestors, live two or three days that is to return to the mother's home. The bridesmaids accompany them to eat and live with them during the drinking period. After marriage back to the door a few years, until the age of 17 or 18 years old, in the busy season or wedding and funeral into, only by the husband's sisters to help, couples began to live together, so back and forth, living longer and longer, and finally live in the husband's home for a long time.
The conclusion of marriage is generally divided into four processes: "opening the mouth of the bride", "killing the chicken ceremony", "betrothal" and "marriage". First by the male side to ask the matchmaker to the female side of the marriage, if agreed, they will bring some gifts to the "eight characters", known as the "open mouth pro"; the second time by the male side with chickens, wine, sugar and other gifts sent to the female home, the female side to invite friends and relatives to congratulate. The second time, the man brought chickens, wine, sugar and other gifts to the woman's home, and the woman invited her friends and relatives to congratulate her. Because the gifts were mainly chickens, and the even-numbered ones were lucky, it was called "killing chickens. The third time by the man with a number of pots of wine, a number of chickens, a pig hind leg, several pounds of pork, or a whole pig, firecrackers, two pairs of red candles, a number of bride price to the woman's home, through the "gift money", "for eight" and other ceremonies, friends and relatives to come to congratulate, called "Engagement". Marriage, the male family selected two young people to go to the woman's home to meet the bride. Their task is to snatch back the male family prepared two large glutinous rice poi, brought back to the male family for ancestors, so that the proclamation of the marriage is complete. The children of the woman's family gather outside the village and throw neem seeds, thin mud, water pistols, etc. at the bridegroom, called "hitting the report of the ancient". The name "Bugu" is a Buyei term for the male bridegroom. This simple and ancient style, generally prevalent in Zhenning, Guanling, Liuzhi and Puding and other places. Means to inform the walled village, so-and-so girl has been formally married to so-and-so walled family. The rest of the wedding customs around the world, there are Xing riding a sedan chair, there are Xing by the brother back bride out of the door. Regardless of the form, generally have sisters in the family to accompany, called "bridesmaids". Walking on the road under an umbrella, the bride is not directly into the male family, first in the neighborhood of friends and relatives to stay, the next morning to choose an auspicious time to pay homage to their ancestors.
Buyi people with the same family name can not be intermarried, different relatives in different generations can not be intermarried. Some areas there are several surnames can not be intermarried, such as Zhenning Biantanshan Lu, Ma two surnames; Anlong fish gully township of Yu, He, Wei, Lu four surnames. It is said that a long time ago was the same clan and the same surname, so can not be married.
The Buyei people have a unique way of falling in love, usually after the climax of the festival, the young people stay behind, dressed in colorful dresses of the girls and boys standing on one side of each side, and each other to find the man of their dreams. The medium is called a "silver bird" and is mostly a sister of the man. If the young man likes a girl, the "silver finch" will "fly" to the woman with a gift, and sing a song first: "I'll pass on my love for my brother, this piece of indigo is for you, he hopes that this indigo will be dyed brilliantly, and he looks forward to the light of this indigo! ......" and so on. If the girl does not agree, she will sing back and refuse; if she agrees, she will smile back, and both men and women will go out of the crowd and sing to each other on the mountain. The Buyei language is called "Hammer Tip".
"Hammer tip" is the meaning of friends. This social activity is not limited to unmarried men and women, and those who have been married can also participate. This is related to the Buyei's ancient marriage system, because early marriage and "not fall husband's home", in fact, only engaged. So to participate in the "hammer tip" activities, for the unmarried is the first love, for the "six marriage" young people, if he (she) on the parents of the arranged marriage is satisfied, it is just to show off the talent of the singing, on the contrary, it is expressed on the arranged marriage of the resistance. In addition to love songs, the "hammertop" also sings songs of bitterness, complaints and running away from marriage. In the past, there were young men and women who sang songs for many years and were so in love that they fled their hometowns to settle down in faraway places; some could not escape from the net of the feudal system, so they both died for their love.
Burial customs
When the old man died, the mourners that is to the closest relatives and friends to report the funeral, and asked the national "Pu Mo" Mr. lift the auspicious day to hold the funeral. Some places are more prominent uncle right, such as the deceased is a woman must be uncle family personnel to the scene of the pro-visit into the coffin, before being buried. Funeral rites every simple, depending on the family's economy. Poor family, only please "Pu Mo" to open the road, everything from simple; rich family to talk about ostentation, in addition to open the road, in addition to the Church Festival, but also held a "night king" ceremony, cut the cattle to do fasting. In ancient times, in the event of a funeral, we have to cut several cows and sheep offerings. Large banquet, feast guests. The mourning period lasted three to five days. During the bier, the funeral home is vegetarian, only after the funeral to open meat.
Two days before the burial, Zhai neighboring relatives and friends came with gifts to offer condolences. Depending on their affinity, they send streamers, wine, chickens, money and piglets. Son-in-law and uncle's family to send incense pavilion, paper horse, sacrificial streamers. The filial son wears a long mourning handkerchief, straw shoes, and hemp threads. When the uncle's family arrives, the filial sons kneel in front of the bier with filial sticks to welcome him, and the visitor will help him up. At night, the funeral ceremony was held by beating brass drums, playing suona and bamboo tubes. At that time the village men and women set in the funeral home outside the door, each holding more than a foot long bamboo tube brush handle, a group of two people cross to hit, a person holding a wooden stick high poi bad for the beat. There are singles, doubles, triples, five to twelve dozen, etc., the tone of voice, neat and harmonious, organized. In front of the casket, several copper drums are hung and rhythmically struck, while bamboo sticks are used to knock on the floor accordingly, which is said to be "playing copper drums". Suona are son-in-law invited, there are one to several pairs. The whole village was shrouded in sadness. The night before the burial, a hall festival was held. There are two kinds of sacrifices: family sacrifices and guest sacrifices. The family festival is the son and son-in-law and other offerings; the guest festival is the general family and friends of the offerings. The priest reads out the text of the ceremony, remembers the life of the deceased, and sends his condolences. Nine vegetarian dishes and meat dishes are used, and the son-in-law cooks the meat dishes. At the end of the dangsai, the casket is moved to a bench outside the door and parked.
Auspicious funeral, filial son kneeling in front of the bronze drums, suona, iron cannons, firecrackers, mournful cries into a piece, the coffin in the crowd slowly. Excavation of Xieng Khouang, first by the "Pu Mo" to kill a rooster dripping blood in the selected graveyard on the so-called "broadcast soil". Xieng Khouang dug well, with cinnabar in the well painted gossip, friends and houses, etc., sprinkle glutinous rice, and then kill a chicken blood in the well, so-called please "vein of the Dragon God". To be the arrival of the casket, the well burning line of money, filial piety kneeling, so-called "warm well", move the casket into the cave, sealing the grave. If you kill a cow and knock a horse, offer the cow's head or the horse's head to the grave. In Anshun, Zhenning, Puding and Liupanshui and other places, also retains the custom of stone chamber tomb. After digging a good tomb Xieng Khouang with thick stone slabs set into a well pit, put the coffin, covered with a large stone plate, lime slurry irrigation, and then seal the soil. Outside the perimeter of the grave with stone again.
The third day after the funeral, the filial family should go to the grave to clean. At that time with piglets, chickens, tofu and other offerings, burned incense pavilion, paper horse, called "back to the mountain". This is the end of the funeral. After that, every year at Ching Ming, the family prepares offerings to the tomb.
Religion
Buyi people believed in a variety of gods before the founding of the country. There were mountain gods, water gods, water gods, social gods, and every village had a land temple. Some old or strange trees, or boulders and cliffs, as well as caves, were believed to have deities. Even the cultivated paddy fields have gods. Some also offer the god of thunder, the god of the door, the god of the stove, the dragon king and so on. This may be a remnant of the primitive religious belief that everything has a spirit, but also reflects some of the consciousness characteristics of the ancient farming nation.
Sacrifices and divination
All by the national "Pu Mo" that is, the sorcerer presided over. Divination is divided into chicken bone trigrams, bamboo trigrams, egg trigrams, rice trigrams and so on. There are good and evil ghosts and gods, that the good god can bless people, blessing six animals prosperous, abundant harvest; evil ghosts on the contrary, can catch people sick, downfall disaster. In order to pray to the gods for blessings or to avoid disasters, sacrifices have to be offered. Each of the gods is a large group, and each group has a number of members. There was a hierarchy among the gods, each with its own name and rank, and the highest ranked was the "Emperor", i.e. the emperor. There are also generals in charge of armies, judges in charge of law enforcement and so on. This is actually a historical reflection of the ancient Buyei society.
Since the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, Buddhism, Taoism and Catholicism have been introduced to the Buyei area. Before the founding of the country, Fuquan, Guiding and Majiang and Damang, Le Ping and other places, are equipped with Buddhist halls, temples, nuns, monks, temple production of their own ethnicity. But most areas are not much influence.
Because of the multi-god beliefs and abide by many taboos. Such as the first to the third day of the first month can not move the soil, fifteen can not move the knife, work. On the eighth day of the fourth month, you can't let the oxen plow the field; and you can't plant within a few days after the first thunderstorm of the year. Biantanshan area in the first spring thunder, every family should be fried glutinous rice to eat, commonly known as "eat thunder liver". No outsiders are allowed to enter the village during the "village sweeping". "E day", "A Zi day" taboo production, taboo travel. Part of the region can not be casually moved and step on the tripod, the pot ear should be placed along the direction of the beam. Women can not go back to her mother's home to give birth to a child, the mother is not allowed to walk through the hall, and after giving birth to a full month can not go out; unmarried girls can not be lifted out of the front door after death; die outside, the body can not be lifted into the home and so on. After the founding of the country with the scientific and cultural and ideological awareness, these taboos have undergone great changes, and is gradually disappearing.