Hunan Xiangxi Tujia ethnic customs tour guide

Xiangxi Tujia Miao Village contains a rich folk culture and folk art, the Tujia pendulum hand dance, Qiqiu Festival, footstools, Silankappu, Miao Lusheng, wood drum dance is famous for a long time, renowned. Tujia embroidery, Miao batik is one of the best. Tujia and Miao villages are the ocean of songs. Everyone can sing, everywhere is not song, song mountain song sea, love overflowing cottage. There are songs, pan songs, mountain songs, mat grass gongs and so on, vivid image, rhyme and harmony, sincere, beautiful and pleasant to the ear. Smell as dry syrup, such as spring breeze. Then look at the unique Tujia-Miao footstools, footstools belonging to the wooden structure, all around the unique design of the building corner hanging, brush tung oil, labor-saving materials, beautiful and generous, become a scenic spot in western Hunan.

Hunan Xiangxi Tujia ethnic customs tour guide

Zhangjiajie City is a multi-ethnic settlement, mainly Tujia, Bai, Miao, Hui and other 19 ethnic minorities, *** counted 1,184,400 people, accounting for the city's total population of 1,552,000 people, 72.06%, including 980,000 people Tujia, Bai 108,000 people, 108,000 people Tujia, 10.8 million people, the city's total population of 1,852,000 people, the city's total population of 1,552,000 people. The Tujia, of which 980,000 are Tujia, 108,000 are Bai, and 29,600 are Miao. In the long process of reproduction, development, inheritance, in the primitive and dangerous living environment, the formation of their unique national character and customs.

Tujia

Tujia is the main ethnic group in Zhangjiajie. The Tujia of Zhangjiajie belongs to a branch of the ancient Ba people, which is said to be the descendants of the ancient Yongguo people, as well as the ancient indigenous ancestors who have been multiplying here for generations.

The Tujia people call themselves "Bizka", historically known as the egg barbarians, Tianmen egg barbarians, southern barbarians, Wuling barbarians, Jingzhou barbarians, Wuxi barbarians, Tujia people, Tuding, Tubing, Tubing, Tujia Army and so on.

The old records say, "The people are simple, the soil is thick and the wind is pure." "Chu wind is strong, and its ills flow more than indignation. Yongding belongs to the Chubian, simple and simple customs, as if the remains of the Middle Kingdom people." A Han official once exclaimed: "secluded in the mountains, and there is this mellow and quiet customs, the so-called life does not see the outside world, and rest in the field drains food and clothing, cover the wind of the ancient also!" This is the history of the Tujia ethnic character of the basic evaluation.

Zhangjiajie Tujiajie righteousness, feelings, hospitality, hard work, avoid deception, easy to trust, good fight, can sing and dance, believe in witch Shang ghosts, martial arts fighting, worship Qin Hou Wang, to the king of the son of heaven, the Tima, as well as the gods of the grains, the king of the gods, the gods of the land, the gods of the community and so on.

Zhangjiajie Tujia in the history of Chinese war, there have been brilliant achievements; as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, that is, to help King Wu of Zhou to conquer the Zhou Dynasty, "song and dance to Ling, Yin soldiers rout"; Liu Bang crusade against the Qin Ershi Hu Hai, Tujia people for its charge, appreciated by Liu Bang; in order to resist the oppression of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Tujia Drainage Marshal phase of a single course of action in the Tchenzhou pot head of the mountains, to defeat the Fu Bo general Ma Yan. Defeat Fubo general Ma Aid, so that the horse leather wrapped body and return; Ming Hongwu early, for the resistance against Zhu Yuanzhang discrimination against ethnic minorities policy, Qin Hou Wang rate of Tujia soldiers even defeated five marquis generals of the campaign; Ming Jiajing years, Xiang Exi all the way Tujia called for a generous and sad song run to the southeast coast, defeated the Japanese in one fell swoop, the Ming Shizong personally for the Tujia to give the "Southeast the first war heroes" During the Qing Dynasty, Tujia generals such as Wang Zhengdao and Luo Rongguang guarded the country's gate with their lives, defeating the invasion of foreigners; during the Revolutionary Period, Tujia people followed He Long, Ren Bishi and General Xiao Ke to insist on guerrilla war and establish Xiang-E-Chuan-Qian Revolutionary Bases, which contributed to the birth of the country; in the War of Resisting the United States and Aiding North Korea, the Tujia soldiers of western Hunan dared to fight with the Americans, and beat out the prestige of the Chinese people. General Cao Lihuai once highly praised the volunteer army in the Tujia soldiers: "Tujia is China's most courageous and warlike nation."

Tujia footstools

When you are in Zhangjiajie, you want to see the Tujia footstools.

Due to the successive generations to carry out on the Tujia to implement the policy of suppression of troops, the Tujia people drove into the deep mountains and old forests, their living conditions are very poor, the "Old Tang Dynasty Book" said: "Tujia more miasma, the mountain has poisonous grass and sand vipers and vipers, people and buildings to live in, climbed the ladder and up, it is a dry bar." Coupled with little land, the Tujia people had to repair the steep cliffs on the foot of the building.

Hammocks are mostly wooden structures, earlier the King of the Tusi strictly prohibit the people to cover the tile, only allowed to cover the cedar bark, thatched grass, called "only allowed to buy horses, not allowed to cover the tile". Has been to the Qing dynasty Yongzheng thirteen years, "land reclassification" only after the rise of cover tile. Generally for the horizontal row of four fans of three, three columns of six riders or five columns of six riders, the center for the hall, for generations of ancestors shrine, is the core of the family rituals. According to the terrain, the building is divided into half hanging, half hanging, double handcart two wings hanging, hanging key head, curved hanging, waterfront hanging, across the gorge and across the stream hanging, rich people carving beams and paintings, cornices high, stone level coiled, there is the poetic and pictorial mood of the pavilion in the air. Famous Tujia poet Wang Chengdong wrote:

Wonderful mountains and beautiful water, wine cottage song township beauty.

Pillow on the foot-hanging tower, ten years of dreaming also flow.

Repairing the House

The Tujia people regard the repair of the new house as the foundation for the reproduction of their children and grandchildren, and therefore see it as very sacred. Before repairing the house, we should ask the Feng Shui master to choose a good place as the sound of the house with the wind and the sun at the back of the mountain and the water. No matter whose family builds a new house, neighbors and relatives come to help with the work, and they only eat without getting paid, called "working for nothing". The day of celebration is in the hall beam time, relatives and friends are to send gifts to congratulate, called "pouring on the beam wine".

The so-called beam, refers to the roof ridge beam. Beam selection has an odd rule: the owner of the house must be secretly in the mountains to find a fork into two standard straight tree, do not ask the owner of the tree is who, although secretly cut down, sawed into two, at the same time from the mountain rolled down, who is the head of the front, the tail in the back, no injuries and no scars, which one will be chosen. This custom, called "steal the beam", Tujia Zhai have rules, steal the beam is not "steal". Beam once stolen cut down to the ground, we must sound firecrackers, but also on top of the red cloth, and then lively please eight students to carry home, all the way across the city, seems to "steal" a very honorable, the tree owner not only do not pursue, in turn, but also to express congratulations, because this is a sign of good fortune and friendship, as if for the family roots made a significant contribution to the like! The honor is not only for the people, but also for the people, who are the most important ones.

The beam in the middle of the picture, the left and right book "beautiful, beautiful, full of gold and jade" or "Imperial Road, the five grains" and so on the couplet.

On the beam, two singers or palm ink master praise beam. Zanliang has a certain tune, more monotonous, in fact, is a kind of rhyme white performance form. After the beam is set up on the roof hill, those who praise the beam climb up the ladder, one carries the wine pot, and the other carries the tea tray, which contains chopsticks, wine cups, bacon, and sticky rice patties. The one who carries the wine pot praises:

The golden light of the wine pot is flashing in his hand, and the wine in the pot is fragrant.

He goes up to the house with joy, and he wants to praise the main beam with the main east.

The one who carried the tea tray then praised:

The tea tray was carried in four directions, and Zhang Lang made Lu Ban's costume.

The four corners of the tea tray are made up of dragon and phoenix tenons, and the gold lacquer plate is placed in the center.

After the praise, the two began to go up the ladder, every step on the singing of five lines of praise, the content of which is borrowed from the praise of the ancients complimented the owner of the house:

... On the three steps, in the three yuan, Liu Bei Guan Zhang visited the great sage;

Nanyang has a Zhu Geliang, three Guanxue under the High Gang ...

... On the ten steps, ten beautiful and perfect, Zhang Lang Lu Ban down to the mortal world;

Build up tall buildings and mansions, the Lord East wealth and prosperity for ten thousand years!

When the beamer climbed up the ridge beam, each of the two sat at one end of the beam, drinking wine while asking and answering each other, with a long speech, praising the main east of the house sound like a fairyland Qionglou, the Dragon King's palace, will be sent to the grandchildren, wishing a long life. After praising the beams, the "beam poi poi" is thrown down. First, the two symbols of wealth and prosperity of the big poop in the hands and asked the owner of the house below: "to be rich or to be expensive?" The owner replied, "Both!" When the two poops are thrown down, the owner catches them in his arms. (The most taboo can not catch), and then the small poop throw down, while throwing the side singing:

laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, both hands pick up the beam poop,

all directions together to spread, the more we grab the more developed!

At this time, the people in the house are like a tide, scrambling for poop, lively and extraordinary. After throwing the poop, friends and relatives will be a section of colorful fabrics on the beam, called the "beam", at this time the firecrackers shocked the ears, the praise of the beam of the people and step by step, down to the ground, so a new house in the joyful and warm atmosphere of the neutralization of the up.

Tujia Clothing

Comparatively speaking, the Tujia clothing is not as gold and silver as the Miao, and is closer to the living type, practical type. Since the Republic of China, the Tujia men and women wear headscarves all year round, men to green, blue, white or striped cloth-based, two or three meters long, a circle wrapped around the head, wrapped up in the human character road; women are more green silk handkerchiefs or white printed headscarves, silk handkerchiefs as thin as cicadas, the longest up to seven or eight meters, is the life-long companion of the women's things, after the death of a must be wrapped in pas into the burial. Clothing to green, blue, white, calico-based, men wearing a pair of corsets, double rows of seven to eleven buttons, commonly known as the centipede buckle, cuffs, collars and pants with lace at the end of the tube; women are right lapel, large and short sleeves, decorated with lace, silver and copper pendants, commonly known as the "lapel," with the legacy of the Manchurian Qing Dynasty; not out of the Cabinet of the young girl with the flower clothes, pay attention to the big red, big green; children like to wear a bodhisattva hat, tiger head cap; children like to wear a bodhisattva, a tiger's hat, a tiger's hat, a tiger's head cap, a tiger's head cap, a tiger's head cap. Hat, tiger head cap; men's shoes are mostly blue and blue cloth, women wear embroidered shoes; girls must wear "dew clothes" when they get married, on the brightly colored peach embroidered clothes, under the eight skirt, and the eight skirt with the old man of the earth has the same flavor. According to the great writer Shen Congwen test, eight skirt is the authentic Tujia dress. Tujia men and women did not wear socks in the past, the rise of leg binding, especially men will be wrapped in adult pants, with cloth shoes or straw shoes, very spirit of the sharp, ethnic experts say that this is the Tujia soldiers war attire, there are traces of Tujia "military and agricultural unity" of the traditional system. And folk hundred craftsmen, there are different occupational clothing, such as blacksmiths wear long and wide cowhide bibs to prevent burns; hunters hanging embroidered bullet bibs is the need for combat; farmers rain under the sky in the field is a straw raincoat farming needs. For those "fate" is not good for children, but also according to the instructions of the old Secretary to wear a "hundred locks", wear a hundred clothes, that is, from a hundred families to discuss a hundred pieces of cloth into clothes to wear, otherwise it is difficult to raise a person and so on. Therefore, outsiders say: the Tujia people wear a "preoccupation".

Tujia diet

"Mouth two pieces of skin, only want to eat good", where the guests to Zhangjiajie, want to taste the folk food of Tujia.

Zhangjiajie abounds in rice, bale, sorghum, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, corn and a variety of beans, pingba on the Tujia people to rice as the main food, Dashanjie on the Tujia people on the main mixed mixed half, there is also a bale as the main food.

Tujia people dishes pay attention to sour, spicy, as the saying goes: "three days do not eat sour and horrified, like a cat's claw scratching the heart, walking soft feet and eyes also flower", so especially in chili peppers, peppers, peppercorns, garlic, green onions, leeks, parsnips, and other spicy and flavorful spices food. The old records say: because the natives live "between the rocks and valleys, ice spring cold, Gangmu Yu steam, not spicy enough to warm the stomach and spleen."

Tujia women are mostly sour and spicy production of experts, such as the four seasons of fresh vegetables, wild vegetables or meat of five birds and six animals through the drying, pickling, baking and other made of dried vegetables series, preserved vegetables series, pickled vegetables series, etc., the life of the day to pass the time of the flavorful.

The famous local dishes of Tujia are:

Stewed chicken and duck with stone ear. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhangjiajie's stone ear was a tribute from the Tujia to the emperor, and it is said that this dish must be served at the emperor's feast every year. Loach drill tofu, is also a great, let the loach hungry for three days, and then let eat full of lard, and then put into the tofu, slow simmering, let the loach drill into the tofu, until stewed, the flavor is wonderful. There are bitter melon stewed fresh fish, young melon stew dry beef, are often people do not dare to match 'delicacies; it is such as blood tofu, lotus residue, Yuan Gu Ping bacon, bang bang meat, edelweiss fish edelweiss meat, tile dishes, fish chili, fire eggplant, fire pepper (mashed into a mud) and wild vegetables series, and so on. Tuji King handed down the "King of the soil full seat", a seat of eighteen bowls and plates, **** eight recipes, twenty-four series, enough to sit on a bench with China's several famous dishes to talk about the Tao. Especially the Tujia "three pots", the flavor is very unique. Legend has it that during the Ming Jiajing period, Hunan and Hubei Tujia soldiers were recruited to fight against Japanese invasion on the front line, just in time for the New Year's Eve, in order not to miss the military opportunity, the King of Tujia ordered to celebrate the New Year one day earlier, so bacon, tofu and radish were boiled in one pot, which was called "combined vegetables", and later evolved into "three pots". Guests, to Zhangjiajie, suggested to the small restaurant to taste the "three pots", so you can not forget a lifetime.

In addition, on New Year's Day, the Tujia people have to play glutinous rice patties, do bamboo leaf poop, fried fried rice, do the deep-fried noodle cake; spring to do tung leaf wheat poop, fall to do buckwheat poop, etc., are greedy.

Tujia New Year

Zhangjiajie Tujia reunion for the New Year, has its own unique customs: if the waxing moon is big, then twenty-nine New Year's Eve; month is small, then twenty-eight New Year's Eve. The Tujia people call the New Year a day ahead of time, "catching the New Year". About "catching the year", the folk legend:

Legend has it that the Ming Jiajing 33 years (1555), due to the corruption of the dynasty, the Japanese in China's southeastern coastal areas continue to ravage, the court has repeatedly sent troops to fight against the Japanese, have failed miserably to the end. Zhang Jing, a minister of the imperial court, requested the imperial court to recruit troops from western Hunan and Hubei to pacify the Japanese, and Emperor Ming Shizong approved the request and sent Hu Zongxian, a strategic envoy, to supervise the work. Yongding book Maogang Tuji Qin Yaozhi knows that it is difficult to return, decided to spend the last year with their loved ones, and so ordered: "Steam rice in the cauldron, cut emery meat, pouring large bowls of wine, one day ahead of the New Year and then go on the expedition."

Because of time constraints, it is too late to make a lot of dishes, a bacon, tofu, radish stew in a pot, called "combined dishes", eat a good road. This dish later evolved into "three pots". Soldiers on the front line, soon defeated the Japanese, recovered the lost territory, King Sejong himself gave a plaque, inscribed "the first in the southeast of the war". This history is written in the book: "On December 29th, I rewarded the soldiers with a feast, and on New Year's Eve, when the Japanese were not ready, I won a great victory. The descendants along, so into the family style."

"Catch the New Year" custom embodies the Tujia people know the big picture, willing to sacrifice their lives for the country's broad-mindedness, is the pride of the Tujia people.

June 6 "Qin after tanning"

Zhangjiajie Tujia festivals in particular, almost every month there are festivals, and sometimes a few festivals in January, but the most influential national holiday is the June 6 "Qin after tanning".

Legend has it that after Zhu Yuanzhang claimed the throne, betrayed the purpose of the peasant revolt, feudal lords, indiscriminate construction of palaces, forced the Maogang Division of the Tujia people to contribute to the large wood of the fragrant nan, and thus the Yao servitude is very heavy, coupled with the drought in Hunan and Guangdong, the people eat each other, so that the people are not bored with life. Hongwu three years (1370), then served as CiLi appeasement, hu guangli ask (judge) of the Tujia chief Qin after, united sangzhi, yongshun, hefeng and other "eighteen holes barbarians" indignantly unveiled revolt, the vibration of the dynasty and the field, zhu yuanzhang personally sit down JingZhou, has sent five marquis generals to send troops to conquest, Qin after seven years of defeat, insisted on the war, and then due to the betrayal of traitors, by the official soldiers. Traitor betrayal, was captured by the army. Hongwu five years on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Zhu Yuanzhang in Nanjing ordered the implementation of Qin Hou Ling Chi get (skinning), a moment of flying sand, darkness, the capital seven days and seven nights of the sun and the moon is not clear, day and night. Zhu Yuanzhang realized that wrongly killed the real son, heaven and earth, hurriedly kneeling on the ground, to heaven and earth wish, every year, June 6, 16, 26, so that the Qin queen king sitting on the throne for three days, pro-exercise three worship nine kowtow rituals. Wish after the clouds really open fog dispersed, the sun and the moon back to the light. In order to obtain the real shadow of Qin Hou, Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered the Qin Hou skin blowing drums, for the temple. In order to prevent moths and mold, the sixth day of June every year, but also after tan tan skin, so this day is also called "tan after tanning dragon robe", "tan after tanning skin". Yongshun County Records, said: "June 6 sunshine books and clothes, according to legend, Maogang Tusi Qin was executed on this day, blood spattered its clothes, the nearby residents of the violent clothes to hang, called 'sunshine Dragon robe'."

Wood leaves to pass the love

Xiangxi Miao men and women looking for an object, love, Xing "catch the edge of the edge of the field", the Tujia men and women with wood leaves to pass the love.

Tujia people every day in the mountains with the birds, cicadas as companions, lonely, happy, worried, or what is the secret affairs of the heart, they pick a piece of wood leaves, blowing up the wordless song. These wooden leaf song, or melodious, or as sobbing, or joyful and happy, or sobbing, far from listening to the birds chirping, like a spring in the ding-dong, full of poetic flavor. Blowing wood leaves is not an easy task, after a long time of practice, in order to blow out the tune. Some young men and women love each other, but it is inconvenient to speak, but also do not like the matchmaker to make things right and wrong, so the wooden leaf courtship, full of love written on the wooden leaf, the mountain people sing:

Full of mountain leaves pile pile pile, ask Lang will blow will not blow?

One day, I will learn to use only wooden leaves without a matchmaker.

A thousand taels of silver are not enough to buy a sister's heart.

The ancient song "crying marriage song"

The Tujia girl received the male informed of the day before the marriage of ten days and a half months, no longer go out to do work. First in the hammock boudoir set up a square table, set the tea ten bowls, invite relatives and neighbors nine women sitting around in order to cry the marriage song, the bride in the middle, called the "package seat", the right woman for the "seat", the left woman for the "collection of seats ". The bride sounded, "Ansei" to take over the cavity, in order to cry to go, day and night. Crying rules: mother and daughter cry, aunt and nephew cry, sister cry, uncle and nephew cry, aunt and sister-in-law cry, scolding the matchmaker ... Crying three or five days, there are up to ten days and a half months. The main content of the mother and daughter to recall the love, to talk about the pain of separation, thanks to the grace of upbringing, to brother and sister-in-law to take care of elderly parents, teach the daughter to be a man of the world, and so on.

Crying marriage song is generally made on the spot, see mother cry mother, see aunt cry aunt. Crying words are different, there are also fixed crying words, such as "than the ancients", "*** room crying", "ten paintings", "ten embroidery ", "December" and so on. Crying has a tune, inhibit the staccato, is a very difficult combination of singing and crying art. The bridegroom must seek a teacher to practice beforehand (secretly, of course). When they cry, they use phrases such as "buzz", "brute" and "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah, and so on. As "crying sisters":

Drinking water from the same well, stepping on the same rocky road;

Eighteen years in the same village and the same cottage, playing with the same grown-ups.

Weaving and weaving baskets, grinding mills and grinding mills...

We have been working together for a long time...

Another example of this is the cry of "Saeki" (伢)娘:

Mother, mother, I have to go now, and then I will help mother to comb her hair.

I remember the wildflowers on my temples, but when did my forehead become wrinkled with bitterness?

The cradle is still ringing in my ears, and my mother has turned white for her daughter.

Mother's cry:

The gongs and sedan chairs are urging her to leave, and she is not saying enough.

There is a leap in the world every three years, but why not a leap in the fifth year?

The first thing you need to know is how to get the best out of your life.

Tujia women crying marriage custom has been passed down for a long time. The Qing Dynasty Tujia poet Peng Tanqiu recorded that: "Ten sisters song, love relatives, sad parting, song for the Man sound, very sad, tears with the sound down, is the 'Bamboo Branch' legacy of meaning also."

The poem "Crying for Marriage" was written in the ancient Bamboo Branch Lyrics:

The peach season is a time of good fortune, and the sadness of parting is infinite.

The poem is about a woman who cries for her mother, sister-in-law, and sisters, and the tears of love are like a thicket.

To celebrate the joy of marriage with cries, and to worship the dead relatives with songs and dances seems incredible, but it fully reflects the unique endowment and cultural awareness of the Tujia people.

Birth and Childbirth

Chopsticks: "Ten Sisters" cried, spraying na gongs and drums urging the sedan chair, then, the bride must be her brother and brother or cousins, back into the sedan chair, the mother that is, in the sedan chair around the spread "grains", praying for the daughter to become a success.

Maternity taboos: the day of the bride's wedding, to the new room bed woman, must be a child with a daughter and have a certain reputation in the local area, there are women without children can not. Widows are not allowed to enter the bridal chamber. The woman who receives the tent must also have children.

Woman pregnant, called "happy", shall not sit on the threshold of the house, said to be blasphemous to the family God; can not sit on the stretcher, hoe handles, said to be raised in the future children lazy; house can not be nailed, for fear of "nailed" to the fetus; can not hit the snake, hit the snake! Wazi to spit tongue; not allowed to enter the cave, for fear of hair "four-eyed wind"; not allowed to step on the buffalo rope, because the buffalo to twelve months pregnant, for fear of over the month ...

The child was born: the child wow fell to the ground, the man must report to the mother-in-law, the birth of a boy to hold a rooster, the birth of a girl to hold a hen, the mother-in-law will know at a glance is a man or a woman.

Three days later, the grandmother went to the daughter's home to see her grandchildren, called "wash three". Then they agree on an auspicious day to send gifts to celebrate the birth, called "pouring rice wine". Grandmothers must send fabrics, baby sweaters, shoes, hats, diapers, chickens, eggs, meat, rice and cradles. The first thing you need to do is to give the mother and child the clothes they need to wear, so that the mother and child can have a good time together.

Carry a child to walk at night to put a diaper on the child's head, said to avoid evil; children full hundred days, to lick the pig's tail, said not to salivate; girls lick the chicken wings, said that when they grow up, they will comb their hair; but also let the children drink the eyebrow soup, said that when they grow up, they can talk; some of the children's umbilical cord on the top of the mountain, said that when they grow up, they are bold, and do a great deal of work; the child is full of weeks of age, to be "dig week", that is, to do a year-old birthday; children are frightened, in front of the door at the crossroads splashing water and rice or ask the old man of the soil "to eat scares"; infants commit "night crying" (commonly known as "100 days of crying") "Hundred days of crying"), write four verses on paper towel on the roadside or bridge pillar, so that passers-by read: "Earth Huang Huang, my home out of a night crying Lang, passers-by read a sentence, a sleep to the dawn!" It is said that after a hundred people have read this, the child will stop crying.

Xiangxi on the basket

Zhangjiajie three points of the Ping, seven points of the mountain, Tujia people for generations with the high mountains, but also with the basket formed an unbreakable bond.

The girl got married, to weave "laundry basket" as a dowry. Laundry basket is small and delicate, scorn silk delicate, chic pattern, is the sign of the family's home, but also the bride's skillful and hard-working "brand"; daughter gave birth to a child, the mother's family to send a "mother basket" (also known as the "children basket "), the basket into a long tube-shaped, very fine workmanship, is dedicated to carrying children, Song Zuying sang "small basket" is this basket; picking Pods, corn with a "high basket", which has a large caliber (diameter of more than 2 feet) The waist is thin, the bottom is square, higher than the top of the head; chopping wood, pulling hog grass with "firewood basket", it is thick thick belly, can withstand the fall; there is also a special for men to pick Pods stick of "support basket", by a stretcher will be two 3 feet high, diameter length of 1 feet 2 inches of piper piper string up! The Pods are quite tight, picked on the shoulders to facilitate the steep cliffs down the high slopes; another wooden basket, a few sticks, strung into an empty frame can be placed objects, tied with contemptuous silk, so that the back of logs, stones, send fat pigs; the most special is the "water basket", waist-length mouth, small, woven with leather scotch, inside and outside the brush with tung oil, the lack of water in the mountains, the natives from the canyon The most special is the "water basket", which is made of leather and braided with tung oil inside and outside, and the water is scarce in the mountains.

The basket, in the view of the mountain people, as the desert camel, river boat boat. The people outside the region call it "Xiangxi on the back of the basket".

Weeding Gongs and Drums

Every spring, summer and fall, the mountains are digging up the raw land, weeding grass, digging up the busy days of Tonglin tea forest. Dozens of friends and neighbors invited into a group, east one day, west one day "white work". In order to regulate fatigue, speed up the progress, they will ask two singers, standing on the mountains, a person hit the drum, a person playing the gong, double-finger clip throat, with a high octave of the fake voice singing to help, the Tujia people called "weed gongs and drums".

Weed gongs and drums have a fixed program: when the morning work is sung, it is also called "song head", and then sung "Invitation to God Song". It is said that a long time ago, Tujia had a cropper surnamed Zhang, raised five sons. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world was in chaos, the five sons were conscripted as soldiers, all died in battle, the emperor moved with compassion, sealed the eldest son for the land of the Heavenly Gate, the second son for the land of the Earth, the third son for the land of the neighborhood, the fourth son for the land of the bridge, the fifth son for the land of the mountain gods. All these land gods worked honestly for the people. The singer then sang to the mountain god:

You have to protect the seedling crops, protect the grains to get a good harvest;

One day the field side to go three ways, three days the field side to go nine patrols ...

"Yang song" is a song sung at work after breakfast, is the main part of the grizzly gongs and drums, both fixed lyrics, such as "beat the drums son of an official back", "love sister song", "singles song", etc., but also improvisation, can sing historical stories, can also sing ancient legends, can also sing folk anecdotes. Sometimes, see the workers tired, sing a few "cowhide song" tune taste;

call me to sing on the song, open singing a cowhide song;

sing a cockerel laying duck eggs, sing a bird's head long horns;

sing a river flowed upside down, sing a rocky roll on the slope;

sing a mosquito pull yawn, sing a chaff shells rubbed into a rope.

At the end of the evening, we sing the "Song of Sending Off the Gods":

When we see the sun go down, we beat the gongs and drums to send off the gods;

Some gods walk on cranes, some on lions;

Only the land has nowhere to go.

"Yongding County Records" recorded that: "rice-planting and cultivation of grass, there is the sound of gold drums and singers to entertain each other, but also the remains of the ancient field song." Sangzhi County Records" also contains: "summer weed, the group gathered on the ridge, two people on the eulogy, Chuang Kai, gongs and drums should be, called playing the gongs and drums. This farm music, used to save laborers also."

Taboo

As the saying goes, "Ask the forbidden, ask the custom." Tourists to a foreign place as a guest, if the taboo of the locals, will invite trouble, adding some unpleasant things.

Tujia people taboos are especially many, different regions, different families, different lines, have their own different taboos content, which reflects a cultural mentality full of superstitious, but also mixed with certain scientific connotations, because it is a summary of the Tujia people's long-term life and practical experience.

Zhangjiajie Tujia people in the morning to see the snake shouting "long worm" or "slipper", talk about the tiger called "big cat", see the monkey called "paw", talk about ghosts called "paw". ", talking about ghosts called "short mule". Many taboos have become proverbs, such as going out to choose a good day: "the first fourteen twenty-three, the old man is not down on the nunnery"; "seven do not go out and eight do not return, out of the nine empty-handed back"; "spring do not pick up the eagle to fight the birds, winter do not pick up the sweat! Towel"; "on the mountain Mo pick up suede, down the river Mo pick up carp" (referring to the inexplicable death of suede and carp); New Year's Eve taboos more, not allowed to noisy mouth, do not hit the children, do not extinguish the lights; on the first day of the New Year do not talk about the "back time" words. "the mouth of the master and the mother, infinite bucket"; "thirty-six, knot heel"; "people full thirty-six, happy happy, sad sad", because thirty-six years of age the highest percentage of deaths, the most trouble, therefore Folk always want to avoid all things "36", just like foreigners taboo "13" number the same. People full of thirty-six years old, regardless of gender, must do the birthday rush over the head; all the red and white wedding accounts, occasionally touch the thirty-sixth serial number, is not good with the omen, so many people must first do things in the thirty-sixth serial number on the words written on the auspicious words; children are not allowed to play with the bird, said to be growing up hand jumping to write the word is not good (in order to protect the bird); children are not allowed to pick the fruit of the immature tung, said that they want to get "consumptive disease "(to protect Tonglin); carpenter's yard board can not sit, blacksmith's anvil can not be knocked, castration with the craftsman's horns can not be blown, the playwright's wardrobe box can not be relied on, the farmer's support frame can not be stepped on (deception of the Lord); tile kiln before the taboos are not to say "red" for fear of red tiles, the boat is not allowed to call the "Chan "Surname, because Chen and" sink "harmonic; theater troupe called" umbrella "to support the child", avoid a" loose "word; the beginning of the year when you hear the bird (cuckoo) call, such as sleeping in bed or walking downhill quasi-unlucky, the New Year's Day livestock into the house, the megaphone "pigs to poor, dogs to rich, cats came to wear mourning clothes"; wild raccoon into the house, chickens on the tree, the dog on the house, there will be no disaster, do not die off the layer of shells; dreaming of clear water to wash their faces, dreaming of white cloth to wear mourning, dreaming of red cloth to wear mourning, dreaming of red cloth to wear mourning, dreaming of red cloth, dreaming of white cloth to wear mourning. White cloth to wear mourning, dream of red flowers, dream of joy, dream of children to prevent thieves; dream chickens, birds, small fish have a quarrel (quarrel), dream buffalo have wealth, dream of jumping kan have a disease, dream of flying turn health, dream up the mountain has a good thing, dream of going downhill to the back of the time, dream laugh to cry, dream disaster to happiness ... ... All these and more.

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