The western region is where my country’s ethnic minorities gather. There are 44 of the 55 ethnic minorities in the country. They are: Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uyghur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Hani, Kazakh, Dai, Lisu, Va, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Qiang, Brown, Salar, Gelao, Xibe, Yugu, Baoan, Russia, Tatar, Uzbek, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Benglong, Dulong, Jinuo, Deang, Memba and Luoba ethnic groups.
1. Tibetan people
(1) Etiquette and taboos
1. Dietary aspects
(1) Tibetans avoid eating donkeys , mule, horse and dog meat, and generally do not eat fish and shrimp (fish is eaten in some Tibetan areas), chicken, duck, goose and their eggs, and seafood, so do not force them to eat it. Because according to Tibetan tradition, animals with cloven hooves should be eaten and other animals are regarded as evil. Chickens, ducks, and geese have five claws, which is an odd number, so they are not eaten.
Older women do not eat meat slaughtered on the same day.
(2) When toasting, the guest must first dip a little wine into the air with his ring finger and flick it into the air three times in a row to show his sacrifice to heaven, earth and ancestors. Then he takes a sip and the host will refill it in time. Take one sip and then refill, drink three sips in a row, and when the fourth time is refilled, you must drink it all in one gulp.
(3) When eating, be sure to keep your mouth full, bite or drink without making any sound. When eating milk residue and yogurt, avoid using chopsticks, and avoid burning the milk residue.
(4) When drinking butter tea, the host pours the tea, and the guests can only take it and drink it when the host holds it in front of them with both hands. Avoid using one hand to receive or deliver items. When the host pours tea, the guest must tip the tea bowl forward with both hands to show respect.
2. Life aspects
(1) When receiving guests, whether walking or talking, always put the guests or elders first, and use honorifics, such as after the name Add the word "La" to show respect and cordiality, and it is taboo to call someone by their first name. When greeting guests, you should bow down and smile. When sitting indoors, do not look around, sit cross-legged, do not straighten your legs, with the soles of your feet facing people. When accepting a gift, use both hands to receive it. When giving gifts, bow down and raise your hands above your head. When offering tea, wine, or cigarettes, you should offer them with both hands, and do not put your fingers into the mouth of the bowl.
(2) It is taboo to spit in front of others, and you are not allowed to spit on other people’s backs or clap your hands.
(3) When entering a Tibetan tent or house, do not step on the threshold with your feet. After entering a Tibetan tent, men should sit on the left and women on the right. No mixing is allowed. Whistling and singing love songs are not allowed in the house; others are not allowed to touch the Buddhist altar in the home, nor are they allowed to ask questions; women are not allowed to stand or squat on the stove; the host and guests sit at the top of the fire pit and can only sit cross-legged or kneel Sitting; not allowed to cross the fire pit casually; not allowed to put debris on the shrine.
(4) When a Tibetan family has a patient or a woman is giving birth, it is taboo for others to enter the house. The doors were marked. Some lit a fire outside the door, some inserted branches or inverted wooden poles at the door, and some posted a red cloth strip. If outsiders see this mark, please do not enter. If there is a critically ill patient at home or the family is in trouble, green branches and cypress leaves are placed outdoors, red threads are placed on stones, or thorns are pressed with stones to express rejection of guests.
(5) Among Tibetan people, sky burial is a relatively common form of funeral. There are many taboos regarding sky burials, including taboos for strangers to watch.
(6) Avoid throwing bones into the fire. Do not hunt or kill cranes, geese, eagles, eagles, crows, domestic dogs, domestic cats, etc. Avoid urinating and defecating in areas where cattle, horses, and sheep are tied. Avoid using paper with Tibetan writing as toilet paper or for wiping things.
2. Yi Nationality
(1) Etiquette and Taboos
1. Life
The Yi people hate others calling them "old people" "Yi compatriot" and "barbarian", they consider this title to be the greatest insult to them.
When visiting the homes of Yi people, you should sit above or to the right of the Guozhuang (i.e. the fire pit), and not below or to the left where things are piled and people sleep. It is forbidden to step on the pot with your feet, and you are not allowed to jump over the pot or the piled firewood.
When a Yi family has a patient, avoid talking about death or injury; avoid saying "kill the New Year pig" instead of "catching the New Year pig" or "get the New Year pig"; avoid using the words "fat", "beautiful" and "heavy" to babies. and so on; avoid blowing whistles at night; avoid crossing the fire pond, regardless of men and women; avoid slaughtering goats on weddings and funerals; avoid burning buckwheat cakes from the guest side; avoid flipping the fire-burned buckwheat cakes immediately when they are taken out of the fire pond. And use sticks to penetrate; avoid putting hoes and axes together; avoid carrying hoes or axes on your shoulders in the house; avoid combing the bride’s hair or sewing wedding dresses for the bride. It is taboo to touch a man's "Heavenly Bodhisattva*". Those who violate the taboo must sacrifice animals and drink wine to apologize for their sins.
2. In terms of food,
The Yi people are sincere to people and enthusiastic about hospitality. Whenever a guest arrives, they will entertain them with wine. "Three courses of wine" is the Yi people's etiquette for receiving distinguished guests.
The first wine is Lanmen wine, that is, guests are greeted at the door. The Yi people play the trombone and suona, play the Yueqin, sing and dance, and sing the "Welcome Tune". When the guests get off their horses, they A dressed-up Yi girl will hold a glass of fine wine. If there are wooden leaves in the wine glass, it means that the guests are asked to sing back a drinking song on the spot.
The second wine is the blessing wine, that is, two glasses of wine are served to the noble guests from afar at the banquet, and a toast song is also performed at the same time. Drinking songs have ready-made tunes with warm and high-pitched voices. The lyrics include traditional lyrics and improvised creations. Some words of praise and auspiciousness are sung according to the identity of the guests. The toasting song can be sung by one person alone, or it can be sung by several people in a group.
The third course of wine is guest wine, that is, when the guest is leaving the host's house, the host invites the guest to drink the last glass of wine when seeing him off. During the toast, the trombone and suona played the "Liu Ke Tune" at the same time. Young men and women sang and danced happily. The host held the wine glass and sang a gift song. The content was to wish the guests happiness and good luck, and to express the host's concern and retention. The guest must drink the glass of wine before he can start his journey. To offer three courses of wine is the highest etiquette for the Yi people to receive distinguished guests.
The Yi people pay attention to the distinction between men and women when dining, and the elders sit on the table, the guests sit on the table or above, and the younger ones can only sit on the seats below. When entertaining guests, good wine and food should be presented to the guests or elders first. In some places, there is a dietary custom that women cannot dine at the same table as guests. The Yi people in Liangshan, Sichuan, attach great importance to wine in social activities. There is a folk saying that "Han people value tea, Yi people value wine" and the tradition that "it is disrespectful to have guests at home without wine". If a guest comes to your home, you should pour him a glass of wine first. Even if you don't have time to cook for him afterwards, the guest won't be surprised. The Yi people cannot do without wine when visiting relatives and friends. They must bring wine when visiting relatives and friends. They must give wine and livestock to weddings. They must also give wine and sheep to attend funerals. They cannot do without wine and wine when participating in religious activities. livestock.
When the Yi people entertain guests, the male host often accompanies the guests, or lets the guests eat first, while the hostess waits until the guests have finished eating. Therefore, when visiting the Yi family, you must not eat all the food and wine. When leaving after the meal, the guests should give some gifts or leave some money to express their gratitude. When entertaining guests, if a piglet is killed, half of the piglet's head, some lumps of meat, and buckwheat cakes will be given to the guests to take away after the meal; if a sheep is killed, the mutton fan bones and meat will be given to the guests after the meal; if a cow is killed, After the meal, a large piece of beef weighing about 5 kilograms from the hind leg is given to the guests to take away. The guest will transfer it to a female compatriot with the same surname as the guest.
The Yi people are taboo on eating horse, mule, dog, monkey, crow, snake, and frog meat.
3. Qiang people
(1) Etiquette and taboos
1. Life aspects
When visiting a Qiang family, you must Enter from the side of the shrine, not from the side where daily utensils are placed, otherwise it will be considered impolite. Don't step over clothing, hats, and pillows, and be careful not to sit on them. When sitting around the fire pit, you are not allowed to step across the fire pit or step on the tripod, nor are you allowed to bake shoes, socks, or clothing on the tripod. You are not allowed to knock the tripod on the fire pit with tongs, match heads, or other utensils, and you are not allowed to pour water. Into the fire pit. Do not touch the idols with your fingers in Qiang people's homes, as they think it will offend the gods. They are not allowed to touch the utensils on the shrine without washing their hands. They must wash their hands before worshiping the gods. The statues of Bodhisattva enshrined on the roof and the vessels used are not allowed to be moved. When sleeping on the floor, you cannot put your feet toward the shrine in the corner of the room, and you are not allowed to hang clothes or other working tools in front of the Bodhisattva.
The Qiang people do not allow guests to enter their onion gardens because they think the onions will dry out.
The Qiang people are forbidden to sit on the threshold or chop things with knives and axes on the threshold. They are generally not allowed to cut, comb their hair or shave their beards in the afternoon, especially those wearing filial piety. Also avoid hanging clothes out to dry at night.
The Qiang people hang shackles or backpacks outside the door of women when they give birth to prevent outsiders from entering; when there are patients at home, they hang red notes on the door to prevent outsiders from visiting.
2. In terms of diet
The Qiang people are prohibited from throwing away rice grains when eating or leaving rice residue at the bottom of the bowl after eating. Avoid tapping the bowl with chopsticks while eating. Avoid inserting chopsticks in the center of the rice bowl, because a pair of chopsticks is only inserted in the rice during funeral customs to "worship the chicken feet god". Do not place the bowl on the table after eating, because the bowl will be placed on the table only after the patient takes the medicine to show that he will not take medicine again when he is sick in the future. It is forbidden for children to eat chicken feet because they are afraid that they will not be able to write well when they go to school. When eating, avoid eating with your back to the center of the table, because only dead people eat like this. When eating, avoid placing chopsticks horizontally on the bowl, and avoid tipping wine glasses upside down, because this is a ghost-respecting ritual, and doing so will bring disadvantages.
When the Qiang people entertain guests, they will serve a plate full of chicken. At this time, only the elders present will eat the chicken head, and then the wealth of the host will be divined from the chicken head bones. Young people are not allowed to eat the chicken head. They avoid eating vegetables on New Year's Eve for fear that they will not have meat to eat in the coming year, so there cannot be vegetables on the New Year's Eve meal.
4. Bai people
(1) Etiquette and taboos
The Bai people are warm and hospitable. It is the etiquette of the Bai people to treat guests first. When guests come to the house, they are treated to wine and tea. The famous "Three Courses of Tea" is the Bai people's hospitality gift. However, the Bai people believe that "a full cup of wine is respectful, but a full cup of tea is deceiving." Therefore, they usually pour a full cup of wine and only half a cup of tea, and then refill after drinking. The Bai people pay attention to etiquette when dining. During the meal, the elders should sit at the top of the table, and the younger generations should sit on either side or opposite. The younger generations should add vegetables and soup to the elders at any time.
When visiting Bai people’s homes to visit friends or patients, do not visit them in the morning, but in the afternoon and evening. But on the New Year's Day or the first day of the first lunar month, you are not allowed to visit other houses. The fire pit of the Bai people is a sacred place. It is taboo to spit into the fire pit and to step over it. It is taboo for Bai people to have people standing or sitting on the threshold of their homes. In the main hall, it is forbidden to step on or sit on the table where ancestors' tablets are placed, and it is not allowed to chop objects with a knife on the threshold. It is forbidden for women to step over tools used by men. The Bai people are taboo about people wearing Xiaopa entering, believing that doing so will bring uncleanness to the family.
The Bai people in Dali are not allowed to use knives, carry water, or sweep the floor on New Year's Day; on New Year's Eve, they must get back the things they have lent to others, otherwise they will not be able to make money in the coming year and have insufficient food. If you borrow something from others, you must return it to them before New Year's Eve. The seventh day of the Lunar New Year is Women's Day. Women do not cook, carry water, or do other labor, but play as much as they want. The ninth day of the Lunar New Year is Men's Day, when men take a break. The Bai people of Nujiang avoid the presence of outsiders when worshiping their ancestors before dinner on New Year's Eve. The Bai people in Yunlong County do not allow people to walk around on July half.
The Bai people believe that pregnant women are not allowed to enter Buddhist halls, temples, monasteries, newlyweds' houses, watch the bride, or enter the home of a newborn baby. After the Bai people give birth to a child (or the offspring of a horse, cow, sheep, or pig), those whose birth date is tiger, cow, sheep, or pig are not allowed to enter their home. After giving birth to a child, stove ashes must be scattered at the gate, and no one is allowed to enter casually. Infants are also not allowed to enter Buddhist halls, temples, monasteries, or places where gods and ghosts are worshipped.
5. Miao Nationality
(1) Etiquette and Taboos
The Miao people value true feelings and are very enthusiastic, and most avoid glitz and hypocrisy. When a host encounters a guest on the road, he or she will not take the first step or go in front; he or she will use honorifics in conversation; guests should not call the host "Miaozi"; they prefer to call themselves "Meng". The Miao people must wear festive clothes to welcome guests; they must serve wine outside the village to greet distinguished guests; when guests arrive at the door, the male host must call the door and inform the hostess at home, and the hostess must sing to open the door to welcome the guests; in front of the guests, the hostess does not climb up high building. At banquets, chickens and ducks are served as delicacies to guests, and the heart and liver are the most precious. They should be given to the guests or the elders first, and the guests should share them with everyone. The order is from the oldest to the youngest.
Guests should remember not to eat chicken heads, and generally do not eat chicken livers, chicken offal and chicken legs. Chicken livers and chicken offal should be respected to elderly women, while chicken legs are reserved for children. When leaving the Miao host's home, be sure to say "Wow Zhou" politely, which means "thank you" to thank the Miao family for their hospitality.
In the Miao family, you cannot sit on the ancestral throne, and you cannot step on the tripod on the fire bed.
Do not enter the house if there are straw hats or tree branches hanging on the door or on weddings and funerals; do not pass through newlyweds on the road.
The Miao people are not allowed to see outsiders when they return from delivering manure to the fields for the first time every year. If they meet them, they are not allowed to say hello.
In some Miao areas, it is forbidden to wash drinking pots, rice bags, and rice bowls at any time. They can only wash them when eating new rice, as a sign of getting rid of the old rice and welcoming the new rice. Washing at any time will wash away household wealth. It is forbidden for women to sit on the same bench as their elders. Whistling is not allowed at home or at night; family members are not allowed to be tied up with belts when playing.
During the Miao family’s funeral, family members are not allowed to eat vegetables. Within one month after the burial, nothing in the home may be sold or borrowed.
6. Dai Nationality
(1) Etiquette and Taboos
When visiting any Buddhist temple in Dai Village, you must take off your shoes before entering. The Han people like to touch children's heads to show caressing, but when you meet a young monk in Xishuangbanna, you must not touch his head. After a young monk is touched on the head by an outsider, especially a woman, his merits will be invalidated, and he will regard you as his biggest enemy. And the shadow of the monk cannot be stepped on.
When you go to a Dai bamboo house, you have to take off your shoes when entering. You are not allowed to sit on or across the fire pit, and you are not allowed to move the tripod that holds the pot.
There are usually three or four pillars in the Dai bamboo house. The pillar in the middle near the fire pit is the "Tiantian Pillar" of the Dai family, which must not be relied on; the outer one is the "auspicious pillar". "Pillar" cannot be leaned on; the inner one is the "Ascension Pillar", which is used to bathe and change clothes when a family member dies, and cannot lean on it or hang anything.
You are not allowed to peek into the Dai family's bedroom at will. Before the liberation, the male guests were asked to be their son-in-law, and the female guests were required to work in his house for three years. Although it is now open to the public, some owners are afraid of it. It might get you a look, but it's always rude.
In Dai people’s homes, you are not allowed to whistle or cut your nails.
Be polite when eating, do not rush to eat, do not hold food under other people's chopsticks, do not hit cats or dogs with chopsticks, add food after the meal is finished, and do not lift the pot. Don't spit when eating. When killing a chicken, you cannot behead it first. When eating chicken legs, you cannot eat one but only a pair.
You cannot kick a stool to let others sit on it, or kick burning firewood with your feet. You cannot add firewood to the stove. When burning firewood, you must burn the larger end first.
You cannot sit on the threshold. No one can sit on the parent's bed (mostly next to the fire pit). The parents have a bottle of "holy water" placed next to the bed, and no one can touch it.
You cannot sleep on a bed with your head facing the door. This is considered unlucky, because people only turn their heads to the door when they are dead. 71
Handbook of Religions and Customs of Major Ethnic Minorities in the West
Don’t use pants to mend your torn clothes because you think you will be poor; you can’t use tops to make trousers; and you can’t use clothes as pillows. , the pillow cannot be sat on.
There is a temple in the Dai village, and there is a sacred tree next to the temple. You are not allowed to relieve yourself or tie your horse under the sacred tree. Do not move or touch the ghost plaques, ghost baskets, ghost platforms, bamboo poles and other sacrifices under the sacred tree.
In Dai villages, there is a platform made of bamboo or wood with wooden stakes erected, which is called "Zaiman", which means "the heart of the village". You cannot sit on it or tie a horse.
When there is a sacrifice in the village, outsiders are not allowed to enter the village, and people in the village must wait until the sacrifice is completed before they can come out.
After the Close-Door Festival (September 15 in the Dai calendar, Mangzhong Day in the lunar calendar), production is busy, and love and marriage are prohibited until the Open-Door Festival (December 15 in the Dai calendar, the Winter Solstice in the lunar calendar) ), the social interaction between young men and women became normal.