Miao compatriots living in the mountains, almost every family has a sour altar, a pig slaughtered. In addition to a small amount of fresh food and gifts to friends and relatives, the rest to take part of the production of bacon, most of the cured into sour meat.
Second, the Miao "stolen marriage"
The Miao people due to the dispersed residence, more mixed with other ethnic groups, in the marriage will inevitably be affected by some. In social life, there are two kinds of common marriages: autonomous marriage and arranged marriage, among which autonomous marriage is more common. Among autonomous marriages, there are various forms, such as stolen marriages and robbed marriages. Stolen marriage is when young men and women fall in love through flower picking or other social activities, and then, because the woman's family is poor and can't afford to hold a banquet, she lets the man quietly take the girl away. To the outside world, it is said that the girl was stolen, the female uncles and brothers pretending to find the girl, the man apologized to the seeker, and pay the appropriate fee to the person looking for the girl (i.e., straw shoe money).
The other kind is a girl who fell in love with the young man, the young man is also satisfied with the girl, in the case of both sides, the girl with the young man to live in his home. When the female parents found the girl "missing", they asked the uncle to find. Uncle to the door of the male, pretending to wander in front of the house, everyone will say, he came to look for the lost "cattle", the male owner knows, it will be courteous to welcome it into the house, kill the chicken hospitality. The first thing you need to do is to get your hands dirty.
Third, the Hmong "marriage"
People's Republic of China **** and before the establishment of the State of the Hmong region of the "marriage" exists in the nature of the two cases, one is the local power elite outlaws because of the female does not agree to marry and hard to rob into marriage; The other is a voluntary marriage between a man and a woman, but because the woman's parents hold different views, or because of the man's economic difficulties, etc., the two sides will agree on a time and place, the man about a few good partners to the specified location to "snatch" the girl home, three days later and then ask the matchmaker to the woman's home to talk about the marriage, according to the matchmaker and the woman's parents to negotiate, the man should give the woman's parents a certain amount of money to the woman's parents. According to the negotiation between the matchmaker and the woman's parents, the man should give the woman's parents a certain amount of money, as a reward for the parents of the grace of parenthood.
Fourth, the Miao marriage customs
The Miao people practiced the custom of not marrying people with the same surname, and they believe that people with the same surname are descended from the same ancestor, so it is forbidden to marry people with the same surname. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Hmong did not intermarry with other races, or else it was considered to be an act that violated customs and traditions. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the development of society and the frequent interactions between the various ethnic brigades, the traditional forbidden zone of intermarriage was broken. They not only intermarry with different clans in their own ethnic group, but also with other ethnic groups outside their own.
On the day when a Miao girl gets married, in addition to the relatives accompanying her, there are female companions accompanying her. At this time, the man's house burning a pile of fire, indicating auspicious prosperity. Sometimes a gabion sieve is placed at the bride's entrance, and the bride steps on the sieve and the guests pass around the sieve to show the difference. Into the room, do not worship heaven and earth, just the master first to accompany the bride of a leading female companion toast, and then a bowl of wine by the bride and groom all drink. After the bridegroom to speak some auspicious words, the wedding ceremony is completed. Nightfall, the bride and groom will each invite their own singer night. The male side of the song, the female side to answer the song, you sing me and.... Singing endlessly. Singers through vivid metaphors, rich associations, express their true feelings, often the song of men and women to the end of the family.
The bride and groom in the wedding night can not sleep, must be accompanied as an audience until dawn. To the middle of the night, the host to cook glutinous rice wine to entertain the guests, those present have to drink. At dawn, the song is over, the guests dispersed, the wedding is over.
Fifth, the Hmong share chicken heart and "smart card"
The Hmong family to chicken and duck as a delicacy to entertain guests, and the chicken heart or duck heart is regarded as the most valuable part. As long as you do good things for the people of the first ethnic group, on New Year's holidays, or meet the wedding house, they will invite you to their homes, kill chickens and ducks, hospitality. When you eat, the most prestigious person in the clan will use chopsticks to give you the heart of the chicken or duck. However, you can't eat it right away, you must share it with the old people present according to the custom of the Miao family. Otherwise, you will lose the trust of the Miao people.
In the Miao village, sometimes you will see a pair of young men and women gathered at the entrance to the village, woods and streams, or next to the depression, open throat singing "Pan song". So, no trip rope, do not set up a roadblock, you will be "stuck" there, which is the famous Miao "smart card".
You were "stuck" after the song to song, this question and answer, in fact, is to test your intelligence, responsiveness.
Six, the Miao funeral
In general, the elderly will die. There are children and other relatives guarding the body. Once the old man died, one of these guardians will blow the horn. Blowing the horn must stand on one foot in the doorway of the house, a foot standing outside the doorway to the front of the strong even blow three times, so that the low sound as far as possible, intended to inform the village. The old man passed away, please come to the villagers to help take care of the aftermath.
At the same time. Some people give the deceased a bath, wear new clothes. New clothes can be more or less, depending on the family economic situation of the deceased, but must be wearing a single not double. Then, put a little gold or silver into the mouth of the deceased. It is said that one to avoid evil spirits, the second so that the deceased to the Yin asked good early "afterlife".
The villagers heard the sound of the bullhorn and rushed to the village one after another, and the people helped to carry the dead to the hall, and put them on a wooden board. All the filial son and relatives began to discuss the specific content of the aftermath, such as sending people to drive after the family, please go to buy things, digging graves on the mountain and so on. After agreeing on the matter, the prelude to taking care of the deceased's affairs was opened.
First cut two two-meter-long bamboo, bamboo pieces of bamboo will be two bamboo woven into a single frame, in the single frame on the horizontal put a small piece of board, with a very large piece of jute cloth flat on top of the bamboo fence, and then put the dead lifted in the single frame, the head resting on the board, the body wrapped up in burlap, with a piece of red cloth over the wall. On both sides of the head of the deceased, against the side of the wall. Put a big red rooster that is hard to suffocate without plucking the feathers. The other side put a gourd dipper. Chicken is the offspring of the previous generation of offerings, gourd ladle used to accept the offerings brought by friends and relatives.
After hanging the dead on a wall, one person sang the broken air tune at the place where the dead died, to the effect that: who can start to catch you, the king of hell start. Who can bring down a disease to harm you? The King of Hades sends a golden messenger. The King of Hell sends a golden messenger with an iron chain in his left hand and a hemp rope in his right hand to capture your soul, and you have suffered from this disease, and you have been captured.
After the song, a person from the same place blowing a reed-sheng, walked to the place where the dead man was hanging, filial sons and daughters and other relatives of the late generation followed closely behind, kneeling on both knees. Kneel down on both knees. Finished, and then a person sings pointing the way tune, to the effect that:
You go to the sky slot, *** there are three roads: one is the road of trading livestock, you can not go; the second is the road of selling cloth and paper you can not go; in the middle of a road is to find your ancestors, you go this one. Those who herd sheep are your male milk. They are the same. Who sent you. Thou sayest, He that hath eyes as big as wine cups, and feet as big as anvils, hath sent me. This man came from the tablets of stone, and went back through the water, and you could not find his footprints.
After singing, put straw shoes on the dead. The dead were hung up for three days before they were carried up the mountain for burial.
Over there.
Some people have been blowing the reed-sheng back to the place of the dead. The eight or nine people have already hung up a drum, the drum up, reed-sheng accompanied by song, drums low and pale, reed-sheng clear and excellent, creating a joy and sadness together. Reality and ancient **** dissolved atmosphere. Blowers with the music of the exciting and soothing and blowing and dancing, very happy. Just like that. Lusheng drums from the time of the dead carried to the mountain before, in addition to replacing the blowers. The first thing you need to do is to get the money to pay for it.
After the dead hang up, need to have a deceased immediate family members to guard around. This person is known as the "self-called Lang" in the Miao language, the task is to receive to come to pay homage to friends and relatives near and far.
The people came to pay tribute to, "since the call of Lang" rose to kowtow, three times in a row, and then poured a double cup of wine to each person, the people reported the same etiquette, and the offerings brought from home. The offerings are usually three pillars of incense, three pieces of paper money, and a small package of fried rice with eggs. The "self-caller" takes it and plays the trigrams. Gua for the thickness of a pencil bamboo broken in half. Thrown on the ground, the two halves of the bamboo with two skin up or the same two hearts facing up is called the reverse trigrams, and vice versa is known as the trend. Shun Gua said the dead agreed to accept the sacrifice. At this time, "since the call of Lang" can be incense money lit, will be small packets of fried rice with eggs loaded with the dead head next to the gourd ladle. Against the trigrams that the dead are not willing to accept the offerings. Still need to hit again. Until you hit the trend.
During the parking period, every morning, noon and night, respectively, to offer rice for the dead. Offer rice to be sung by three people in the morning and evening night rice tune. One person blowing the bullhorn, a person carrying a bow and arrow, a person sat on the arrow bag, around the room running four laps in the smooth, running three laps in the reverse. According to legend, a long time ago, the world is in chaos. The war was endless. Soldiers are hungry and tired everywhere to grab food. In order to prevent the sacrificial meal was snatched food, so blowing into the horn, with a bow and arrow to be issued, in order to repel the soldiers and horses to come to snatch food.
On the third day of dawn in the east, people kill pigs and slaughter sheep, to pay tribute to the dead, hospitality, this day, to help blow the mangsheng drums people to put on the flower clothes (flower farming with the unique style of the Miao people, is the wife before the wedding of the stitch embroidered and woven, which indicates the wife's sincere love for her husband). At noon, the relatives of the deceased gave these people a toast and kowtowed, saying, "We have no one at home to hand, such a big thing all rely on all of you to help." After drinking the wine, each of these people plays a reed-sheng and dances from inside to outside the house. The purpose is to create a festive atmosphere and add color to the old man's death.
This night there is a ceremony, that is, for the next day to kill the cattle sing a cow killing tune, to the effect that:
Birds in the world, afraid of eagles and harriers to peck, people in the world afraid of the disease demon. ××The first day of the year is the day of the year of the death of the man, and the second day of the year is the day of the death of the man. People cut down the tree is big, build the house bright and wide, you left behind the child, cut the wood is small, build the house is narrow. They can afford to build four-square tiled houses and have wine and meat to eat. Your sons and daughters can not afford to build a four-square tile house without wine and meat to entertain relatives and friends, please mother mother uncle heart again heart wide, tomorrow kill cattle to entertain relatives and friends. I'll send you to the mountain.
On the fourth day, after breakfast, a fierce sound of gongs and drums, they sent the dead on their way. Drums and gongs are struck． The reedsongs were blown to lead the way in front, followed by those who carried the dead, and then by the crowds of mourners. They leave the village and come to a wide flat area. On the flat ground, four circles around the reverse three circles around the dead in the middle. Folded palm leaves to cover the dead above to block the sun. In the near side of the dead planted a stake, the gongs and drums hung on it to knock, playing the reed-sheng still blowing and dancing.
At this time, someone brought a bull, tied to a corner of the square, with a long hemp rope, one end through the nostrils of the bull, one end of the hand held in the hands of the deceased. The meaning is that the dead person should take the ox to the netherworld to ask for help. With the cattle, not to be bullied by others, can be plowed and harrowed, only grain to eat.
People began to toast to the dead seven times, are raised above the head and splashed on the ground. Burn incense three times, burn paper money countless. After playing the trigrams, if there is a smooth trigrams, that the deceased would like to take the cattle away. "Since the call of Lang" hit a scoop of water sprinkled on the ground. Shouted "kill the cow".
So, from the crowd out of two people, a person with a big axe, to the head of the cow hit several times, so that the cow fell to the ground dead.
At this point, the two once again back up the bow and arrow, blowing the horn around the dead run four laps around the reverse run three laps, to show that the Yin asked to come to grab the cow ghosts, so that the dead hold the cow to go to the netherworld smoothly.
That side began to peel the cowhide, set up a large iron pot on the ground to cook beef. When you eat the noon meal, sing a noon meal tune, to this effect:
The sun is going to pass over the mountain, your filial son to give you the noon meal, the left hand holding seven bowls of meat, the right hand holding seven bowls of wine. After the midday meal, the left hand holds the ox rope, the right hand holds the ox-driving stick, drives up the ox to get up, you go to Hades, you turn back to look, your children's tears fall down.
After the song, dinner.
After the song is sung, the meal is finished. After the meal, the people who carry the dead to the mountains almost run, so that the dead will be buried before the sun sets to let the mountain.
The filial son is obliged to go. At the burial, he must put the dead man in the coffin himself and say, "Go in peace, and if other dead ghosts come to rob you of your things, say that all things are rotten." After saying this, the filial son himself covers the coffin slab and digs a few hoes of earth to cover the coffin, and only afterward does the congregation build up the earth into a mound. Before the burial, a person must also carry a bit of earth from the graveyard home on his back and place it at the foot of the bed where the deceased had slept.
On the third day after the burial, the filial son brought three bamboo tubes, one filled with water, put all the burning coals in the water, and one filled with rice. Then a load of vegetables, to the grave to pay tribute to the dead. After paying tribute, he folded a stick near the grave and said to the stick: -I've come to take you home." After taking him about one-half of the way home, he stuck the stick in the ground and said, "Wait here, and I will come to fetch you tomorrow." The next day he comes again, and in the same way he travels one-third of the way, and on the third day he returns home. When you enter the house, say to the stick once, "I have picked you up and brought you into the house!" Then the stick may be thrown away.
Since then. Since then, every day when you eat, are at home on the hall offering a bowl of rice, rice inserted a pair of chopsticks, said to invite the deceased to eat with them, this ritual until the deceased after the supernatural, can not be lifted.
In the Miao funeral customs, each ritual must be accompanied by wine, wine accompanied by the whole process of the Miao funeral customs. In addition, the days of the funeral, no matter how busy the agricultural work, the whole village people go to help do the funeral without labor, until the end of the funeral.