Manchu people filial piety elders, pay attention to etiquette, on the road to meet the elders, to the side of a slight bow, hanging hands in salute, and so the elders walk through again; not only the elders to see the elders to salute, in the same generation of young people to see the older to salute the greetings. Friends and relatives meet, in addition to shaking hands and greet each other, some also hold waist to face ritual. The Spring Festival to worship twice, the night of the New Year's Eve to worship once, for the resignation of the old year, the first day of the year to worship once again, called to welcome the New Year.
Traditional Manchu housing is generally west, center, east three, the door opens to the south, the west room called west on the house, the center called the hall, the east room called east under the house. In the west house, there are kangs in the south, west and north, and the west kang is expensive, the north kang is big, and the south kang is small; guests live in the west kang, elders live in the north kang, and the younger generation lives in the south kang.
Taboos: Indoor west kang is not allowed to sit and pile up sundries; it is forbidden to beat dogs, kill dogs and eat dog meat; they do not wear dog-skin hats, do not lay dog-skin mattresses, and they are forbidden to wear dog-skin hats or dog-skin sleeves for guests.
Marriage customs
Manchu wedding both with the strong characteristics of the nation, but also the integration of a number of customs and etiquette of the Han Chinese people, generally speaking, to go through the following procedures: betrothal: young men and women of the Manchu people are engaged in two forms. One is the parents of young men and women are acquaintances or friends, mutual understanding, intends to do marriage, will be entrusted to the matchmaker to the children of the promise of life, there are men to the female side of the marriage proposal, there are women to the male side of the marriage proposal. The other is a man and a woman do not know each other, trust the matchmaker for the children engaged, and by the matchmaker to transfer the two sides of the "gateway sticker", open both sides of the flag Zuo, curriculum vitae, family name, three generations. In addition, they have to check each other's birthdays and birthmarks.
Put fixed: that is, handing over the gift of wealth. Divided into two kinds of put small fixed and put small fixed. Put a small fixed is the future daughter-in-law to meet aunts, brothers and sisters-in-law and other male relatives, get property. Enlarge the fixed is called "over the big gift", commonly known as "under the big dish", is to choose an auspicious day, the male will be the bride price sent to the woman's home. The day before the wedding, the bridegroom should drink "welcome wind wine". The bride left home to the male party to borrow a good apartment to stay, commonly known as "playing the next hair". Early the next morning, the woman's home color car to send the bride, escorted by her brother. Color car to the groom's home, the cave door on the ground in front of a fire pot, so that the car carries the bride from the fire pot, commonly known as "over the fire to avoid evil spirits". In order to drive away or kill the ghosts and monsters with the sedan chair, the groom to the door of the sedan chair virtual shot three arrows; there are also real shot, but generally are shot towards the bottom of the sedan chair, so as not to hurt the bride. Then, the bride was helped out of the sedan chair to heaven and earth before, with the groom together to the north three kowtow, commonly known as "worship Beidou". After worshiping the Big Dipper after the world-famous line "skimming" ceremony. That is, wearing a red head of the bride and groom, face south kneeling in front of the table in the courtyard, the table for a side of pork knuckles, wine three cups, a knife, the shaman kneeling one-legged in front of the table, one side of the Manchu chanting, one side of the knife with a knife to cut the meat into pieces and thrown into the air, while the end of the wine cups to splash the wine on the ground. The main purpose is to beg God to bless the newlyweds, so that they are full of children and grandchildren, and grow old together. After these ceremonies, the bride by the whole family (i.e., parents and children all people) into the cave. When the bride crosses the doorway, a saddle is placed on the doorway, and the bride must cross over from above. The new room bed must be laid by the whole family, the bridal chamber is laid to play music in the room, called "ringing room". Bride into the bridal chamber, a little girl with two copper mirrors in hand, to the bride to shine, and then hang the copper mirror in the bride's chest and back. Then, another little girl handed over two tin pots, which holds rice, money, etc., the bride or hold in the arms, or clamped in the armpits, commonly known as "hold the bottle", also known as "hold the media pot". When the bride on the bed after sitting still, the groom with a scale rod to cover the bride's head of the red cloth removed, called "uncovered". The next step is for the couple to drink a cup of wine and eat Hohi noodles, longevity noodles or children and grandchildren biscuits and so on.
Food customs
Manchu folk eat three meals a day during the busy farming season, and two meals a day during the farming season. Staple food is mostly millet and sorghum rice, round-grained rice, dry rice, like in the rice with small beans or beans, such as sorghum rice beans dry rice. In some areas, corn is the staple food, and they like to ferment cornmeal to make "sour soup". The majority of the Manchus in the Northeast region also have the habit of eating water rice, that is, in the good sorghum rice or corn leaders after the rice with water, and then put into the water soak, eat fish out, into the bowl, cool and delicious.
Manchu's meat and potatoes have a long history, the Qing Dynasty that has become a staple of the court. One of the most representative of the imperial meal "chestnut flour nest", also known as small nest. Manchu confectionery Saqi Ma has also become a nationally renowned pastry. The more famous Qingdongling pastry, also known as Qingdongling big meat and potatoes, Beijing snacks Dun meat and potatoes, Hebei Chengde snacks crispy meat and potatoes, Hubei Jingzhou snack lard meat and potatoes and so on.
Northern winter weather is cold, there is no fresh vegetables, Manchu folk often pickled cabbage in the fall and winter (i.e., sauerkraut) as the main vegetable. It is rumored that the method of storing vegetables in pickles began during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. Sauerkraut boiled white meat, vermicelli is often eaten after the winter Manchu dishes.
The Manchu people love to eat pork, often cooked in white. The Manchu restaurant Najiakan in Shenyang, Liaoning, which has a history of more than 100 years, carries white meat and blood sausage, which is known as an authentic Manchu flavor.
Typical food: the Manchu people live in scattered, all over the representative of the typical food, mainly: ① white meat and blood sausage. ② hot pot. The traditional flavor of Manchu dishes. ③Sour soup. Typical food of the Manchu in Xiuyan, Liaoning Province. ④ Qing Dongling Pastry. Also known as Qingdongling biscuits.
Festivals
Traditional festivals include the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, February 2nd, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. During the festivals, traditional sports activities such as "pearl ball", horse jumping, camel jumping and ice skating are usually held.
Jinzhi: is the Manchu "clan celebration". 1635 lunar October 13, Huang taiji issued a decree, officially changed the clan name "female" for "Manchuria", which marked a new ethnic **. This marks the formation of a new national **** the same body. October 1989, in Dandong, "the first symposium on Manchu culture" on the official December 3 every year as "gold festival".
Shangyuan Festival: that is, the 15th day of the first month, commonly known as the "Lantern Festival". Like the Han Chinese, the Manchu also have the custom of hanging colored lanterns and eating Lantern Festival. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Walking for a Hundred Diseases: A festival for Manchu women. Generally on the sixteenth day of the first month. That night, the women in groups of three or five, with the far continent, or walking sand and ice, or playful and playful, called the "walk a hundred diseases".
February 2: commonly known as "dragon head-raising day". On the morning of that day, the Manchu family to the stove ash scattered in the courtyard, ash path curved like a dragon, so it is called "lead to the dragon". Then held a ceremony in the courtyard, praying for good weather. The whole family also eat "dragon beard noodles" and "dragon scale cake". Women are not allowed to do needlework on this day.
Ching Ming Festival: the graves of ancestors, unlike the Han Chinese paper money after the top of the grave on the pressure of money, but in the grave inserted "Buddha Duo". "Fodor's" is a Manchu word, translated into Chinese as "willow" or "willow branches". According to Manchu beliefs, the willow is the ancestor of the human being, and the human being is the descendant of the willow, in order to show that there is a successor, to insert the willow on the grave.
Duanwu Festival: Manchu Dragon Boat Festival to eat dumplings, rowing dragon boats, the same customs with the Han. The custom is the same as that of the Han Chinese. ?
Midwinter Festival: the Manchu people to July 15 for the Midwinter Festival, also regarded as the "ghost festival" to overthrow the souls of the dead. At that time, all the temples set up a dojo, burning lamps and chanting sutras, to hold a variety of superlative ceremonies.
Mid-Autumn Festival: The Manchu people also eat "reunion rice" during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, when the moon rises, but also for the moon. That is, the west side of the courtyard to the east of a wooden screen, screen hanging with cocklebur flowers, beanstalks, fresh lotus root, etc., for the moon rabbit. In front of the screen, there is a table with a large moon cake on it. At the time of the ceremony, incense is burned and heads are bowed, with women bowing first and men second.
La Bao Festival: Manchu families on the eighth day of the first month of the wax month to bubble "La Bao vinegar" and cook "La Bao meat". In addition to the family to eat but also to send friends and relatives.
Small year: the custom of the small year of the Manchu and the Han Chinese. The twenty-third day of the waxing moon for the "small year". At that time, every family should worship the God of the stove, commonly known as "send the stove king".
Dress
The Manchu people have a long history and developed culture. Their elegant and gorgeous costumes are unique in Chinese national costume culture and have had a great influence on the development of Chinese costume culture.
Because of the cold living environment and the need for hunting life, the Manchu people in the past, both men and women, are wearing "horseshoe sleeve" robes and coats. Nurhachu after the establishment of the eight banners system, "flag" attire, will become "cheongsam" (Manchu said "clothes").
In the early Qing Dynasty, the cheongsam style is generally collarless, lapel, waist, left obeisance, four slits. Wearing both fit, but also conducive to horseback riding and shooting. Hunting, but also dry food and other loaded into the front lapel. This cheongsam has two more prominent features, one is collarless. Nurhachu for the unity of the crown, has set up the crown system, the provisions of "where the court dress, all with a shawl collar, living only robe". That is, the regular clothes can not lead the son, only into the dynasty when wearing court dress can be added to the shawl shaped like a large collar; Second, in the narrow cuffs are also connected to a section of the upper long under the short half-moon shaped sleeve head, shaped like a horseshoe, commonly known as the "horseshoe sleeve". Normally ò up, winter hunting or combat down, so that it covers the back of the hand, not only played a similar role in keeping warm gloves, but also does not affect the bow and arrow, it is also known as the "arrow sleeve" (called "waha" in Manchu). After the Manchu domination of the Central Plains, "put waha" became the Qing dynasty etiquette in a prescribed action, officials into the court to meet the emperor or other princes and ministers, have to be the first horseshoe sleeves popped down, and then both hands on the ground kneeling to salute.
The cheongsam's outside is also used to set a round neck, body length and umbilicus, sleeve length and elbow of the short coat. Because this short coat was initially worn when riding and shooting, not only to facilitate horseback riding, but also to protect against the wind and cold, so the name "horse coat". At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the horse coat is the eight banners soldiers "uniform", and then popular in the folk, with the dress and the nature of the regular clothes, their styles, fabrics are more varied. Manchu people also like to wear the cheongsam outside the shoulders. Shoulder is generally divided into cotton, folder and leather several kinds, for warmth. Style has a lapel, pipa lapel, twisted lapel and so on.
As the Qing dynasty "fashion" Manchu women's cheongsam, there is more development. At first in Beijing and other places had prevailed in the practice of "eighteen set", that is, eighteen set of edges to look good, the style has become a wide robe with big sleeves; after the Xinhai Revolution, the cheongsam style from fat to thin; in the 20th century, the early 30th generation by the influence of Western short skirt, shorten the length, nearly knee, cuffs narrow; 30 years and lengthened, both sides of the high slit and highlight the beauty of curves; 40 years and shorten the length, near the knees, the cuffs narrowed; 30 years and lengthened, both sides of the high slit, and highlight In the mid-1930s, it was lengthened again, with high slits on both sides, and emphasized the beauty of curves. Later, the front and back of the garment were separated, and there were shoulder seams and sleeved cheongsam dresses. Wide range of materials, cotton, wool, silk, hemp and a variety of chemical fiber materials are available. In addition to long and short-sleeved cheongsam, it is also divided into leather, cotton, single and several kinds of folder, which is convenient to wear in different seasons. After continuous improvement of the cheongsam, the general style is roughly: straight collar, narrow sleeves, right lapel, nail button trip, tight waist, dress length to below the knee, both sides of the fork; pay attention to the workmanship and color matching, most of the collar, cuffs and edges of the dress embroidered with lace in various colors. So both set off the beauty of the female body, but also looks elegant and generous. The cheongsam, with its oriental colors, has now become a popular Chinese dress for Chinese women.
The cheongsam and the "flag head", "flag shoes" and so on, together, constitute the typical traditional dress attire of Manchu women.
"Flag head" refers to a type of hair style, also known as hair crown. Similar fan-shaped, wire or bamboo rattan for the hat frame, with green satin, green velvet or green yarn for the face, wrapped in a long about 30 centimeters, about 10 centimeters wide fan-shaped crown. Wear can be fixed in a bun. Above is also often embroidered with patterns, set jewelry or decorated with a variety of flowers, adorned with a long tassel. "Flag head" is mostly used by Manchu women of the upper class, the general folk women marrying party to decorate. Wearing this wide and long hair crown, restricting the neck twisting, so that the body straight, look extraordinarily dignified and dignified, adapted to grand occasions.
"Flag shoes" unique style, is a kind of high wooden bottom embroidered shoes, also known as "high bottom shoes", "flower pot bottom shoes", "horseshoe bottom shoes They are also known as "high sole shoes", "flowerpot sole shoes", "horseshoe sole shoes" and so on. Their wooden soles and high heels are generally about 5-10 centimeters high, some up to 14-16 centimeters, and the highest up to about 25 centimeters. It is usually wrapped in white cloth and then set in the middle of the sole at the center of the foot. The shape of the heel sole is usually of two kinds, one is spacious at the top and convergent at the bottom, in the shape of an inverted trapezoidal flowerpot. The other is thin and wide, flat in front and rounded in the back, and its shape and landing marks all resemble a horseshoe. The "flowerpot bottom" and "horseshoe bottom" shoes are thus named. In addition to the upper decorated with embroidered patterns such as cicadas and butterflies or decorative pieces, the part of the wooden heel that does not touch the ground is also commonly decorated with embroidery or beads. The tips of some shoes are also decorated with spikes made of silk thread, which can reach the ground. This shoe's high heel and wooden sole is extremely sturdy, often the upper broken, but the sole is still intact, can be used again. High-soled flag shoes for more than 13 or 14 years of age, young women in the aristocracy to wear. Wear this high sole shoes to walk with a beautiful posture. Elderly women's flag shoes, more than flat wood for the bottom, called "flat shoes", the front end of the ground at a slightly cut, in order to walk.
Manchu hats are more varied, mainly divided into cool hats and warm hats of two kinds. In the past, the Manchu people often wear a small cap called "melon hat". Melon skin cap, also known as the "head of the hat", its shape on the tip of the bottom wide, for six petals sewn together. The bottom edge set a small brim about 3 cm wide, and some even without a brim, only with a piece of gold satin wrap. Winter and spring generally with black satin for the face, summer and fall are more black field yarn for the face. The top of the hat is decorated with a velvet knot made of pimples, black and red, commonly known as "abacus knot". Below the brim of the center of the nail has a "sign", called "cap is", pearl, agate, there are also small silver, glass. Legend has it that this cap first began in the early Ming Dynasty. Because of its six petals sewn together, take the "six", that is, heaven and earth four sides of the "unity" of the meaning, it is prevalent. After the Manchu entered the customs, by the influence of the Chinese culture, also take its "unity of the six" meaning, began to wear this hat, and quite popular. Now, in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period of television, television dramas, we can still often see its shadow.
Early Manchu men wore double-ridged face called "big stupid shoes" a kind of shoes. Shoes with green cloth, green satin fabric. The front face of the shoe, set double or single black leather strip. The tip of the shoe is convex and upturned, like a boat when viewed from the side. In addition to "flag shoes" and flat shoes (flat shoes are embroidered with floral patterns on the upper, and the front face of the shoe is embroidered with "clouds"), there is also a kind of "thousand-layer shoes". "Thousand-layer shoes are made with multi-layer gusseted soles, hence the name. The upper is made of fabric, and is usually not embroidered with flowers and other designs, and is mostly worn during labor.
There is also a very distinctive shoes, called Ula (leg warmer) shoes, mostly for the Manchu people to wear in winter. Sewn with cowhide or pigskin, inside the leg warmer (Wula) grass, both lightweight, but also warm, suitable for winter hunting and ice running.
Housing
Manchu people in the early days of the mountains and live by the water, in order to facilitate and adapt to their habits of production and life. Manchu rural houses are generally three or five rooms, sitting north to south for light, are in the east end of the south side of the door, shaped like a pocket, commonly known as the "pocket room", to facilitate the gathering of warmth. East and west have rooms, with the gatehouse, which constitutes what is commonly known as the courtyard. Most of the houses are brick houses with ridges, commonly known as "Haiqing houses". Room columns are inserted into the ground, the door opens to the south, tall and spacious. Room directly opposite the door of a so-called hall, also known as the outhouse, set the kitchen stove pots and pans, water tanks, stoves through the west chamber of the kang, kang, the Manchu language called "tufa". From the west wall of the hall, the door is opened to the inner room, which consists of "Wanzikeng" or "Mangzhi kang" on the south, north and west sides. The Manchus are still right-winged, and the west wall is used as a place for ancestral tablets. The west kang is a narrow kang that does not house people and is connected to the flue. The north and south kangs are on opposite sides. The bed is covered with mats or paper and oil. A closet is placed at the end of the kang, which contains clothes, and bedding and toiletries are stacked on top of the wardrobe. At night, the elders live in the south kang of the west house, and the north kang is divided into brothers and daughters-in-law. When they go to bed, their heads face out of the kang and their feet are against the wall, which is good for preventing cold and breathing fresh air. The walls are mostly covered with paper paintings. In order to protect themselves from the cold in the north, some of them also have a fire place. Outside the house, there is a round chimney (called Hulan in Manchu) on the west wall, several feet above the eaves. The chimney has a nest at the bottom of the wind arena, to block the wind. North and south walls have windows, window paper glued to the outside of the window pane, more "Goryeo paper", paper dripping oil or salt water, so as not to be wet for the rain and snow fall off. The window panes and the door lattice form various patterns, which are beautiful and firm. The windows are divided into two, and the upper window can be supported by a stick for ventilation. There is often a yokka hanging from the beams of the room, and babies are placed in the yokka. There is a rectangular kang table on the kang, and it is warm and convenient to sit around the table and cross-legged during meals. The left and right sides of the table are covered with felt mattresses for guests. The latticework, rafters, and buildings of the house are often carved and painted. The side rooms are set up in the mill and warehouse (called Hash in Manchu). Outside the room surrounded by a wall. Southeast of the courtyard erected "Solon pole", the pole on the tin bucket, under the pole to put three stones, known as the "God Stone". Behind the pole is a brick wall, wall decorated with rain hitch.
In the past, the city's rich and powerful people live in courtyard houses. The main gate of the courtyard was usually a three-roomed building with three to five rooms in the main house and three to five rooms in the east and west compartments, surrounded by a brick wall, with stone blocks on both sides of the gatehouse, known as "Shang Ma Shi". Some courtyards are divided into two courtyards, one in front and one in back. Most of these Manchu folk dwellings have been preserved in the Manchu settlements in the Northeast. However, since the 1980s, most of the houses have been built in a more spacious and modern style, except for a small number of people who still keep the traditional way of building.
In order to adapt to the mountainous and forested snowy plains living environment, the traditional means of transportation in the Manchu settlement areas are mainly horse-drawn carriages, plows, canoes and birch-skin boats. Climbing plow (Manchu said Fala) is a snow transport, the two tree trunks with fire baked and bent into a bow, the upper end of the upturned, the ground part of the width of about 1 meter and a half, above the pavement board or made into a box, driving to the horse, oxen, loaded with people loaded with extremely lightweight. Currently only in the colder northern mountains occasionally used. Manchu water transportation is the earliest canoe (Manchu called Wei Hu), by the thick logs cut into the hollow, can accommodate several people. There is also a birch bark boat, the production is more difficult. First do the keel, inside and outside with birch bark, a person can carry walking. It was quite lightweight. It is now rare and has been replaced by modern boats.
Etiquette
The Manchus are a people who pay great attention to etiquette. The Manchu people meet or see the guests, there are a variety of etiquette, including playing a thousand rites, stroking sideburns, pulling the hand rites, holding the rites, half-squatting rites, kowtow rites and so on. Among them, the playing of thousands of rituals, hold to see rituals, kowtow rituals are mainly used for men, while others are used for women. The "Thousand-Playing Ceremony" is used for the younger generation to the elder generation and the subordinate generation to the chief, in the form of popping down the sleeve of the arrow, bending the left knee in front, bending the right leg slightly, placing the left hand on the left knee, dropping the right hand, and asking for good health. Hugging to see the etiquette is used between peers, the younger generation to elders can also be used, but the younger generation to embrace the elders of the waist, the elders stroked the back of the younger generation, and so on. Nowadays, some of the cumbersome etiquette has been simplified.
The Manchu tradition of honoring the elderly is more obvious. The younger generation every morning and evening to the father, the ancestors greetings, on the way to meet the elders to make way for the elders to sit down and eat first. The Manchu people emphasize feelings of trust, sincere treatment of guests and friends, guests must be hosted, the promised things must be done.
The traditional marriage ceremony of the Manchu people is more complicated, roughly through the matchmaker, put the set, the color, over the box, welcome the bride, worship, worship ancestors, the size of the sub, back to the door and other procedures.
Through the matchmaker that is, the man's family asked the matchmaker to the woman's family proposal, the two agreed to put a small fixed, that is, the man's family gift Ruyi or hairpin and bracelet things for the fixed gift. Then the wedding, that is, to choose an auspicious day, the male family and their relatives to ask the female family name, the female family hosted a banquet, the male parent speech to propose, the female family to thank again and again, the male family insisted on proposing to the female family agreed to be considered to settle the marriage. Only after the woman's family agrees will the marriage be finalized. At this time, the man must pay homage to the woman's family deity and her elders. After the wedding to be over the gift, but also to choose an auspicious day, the male family to send clothes, silk, sheep, geese and other gifts. The man's family will also give silver money. At this time to agree on the wedding date. Into the stage of welcoming the bride, the woman's family in the day before the wedding date to accompany the dowry, commonly known as "over the box", the bridegroom to the woman's family to thank. Meet the bride, the groom in the company of the bridegroom team rushed to meet the bride, on the way to the two cars on the wrong side, the bride's brother will hold the bride on the groom's family of colorful cars, commonly known as "plug the car" (due to the different customs of the Manchu people in various regions, there is also a bridegroom and bridegroom to meet the bride's home directly to the bride's home to meet the bride. There are also places where the "flag custom does not pro-welcome" said). Bride to the groom's home, the car for the sedan chair, sedan chair landing, the groom should be false shooting three arrows. Bride masked red head off the sedan chair, and the groom stood beforehand in the yard in front of the heaven and earth table, three kowtow to the north, commonly known as the worship of the Big Dipper, that is, worship of heaven and earth. After worship withdrawal of heaven and earth table, the bride into the temporary tent, called sitting tent. Sitting in the tent when the "open face", change the head shape. After sitting in the tent, the bride crossed the saddle into the bridal chamber, the bridegroom with a scale pole to remove the cover thrown to the eaves. Couples drink the cup of wine, eat the happy face, children and grandchildren meat and potatoes, the people in the bridal chamber. In the evening of the wedding day, the bride and groom to worship the ancestors. The first day of marriage, the bride to her husband's relatives loaded with cigarettes and tea, worship clan, recognizing the generation, so-called sub-size. Generally three days after the wedding, the couple returned to the woman's home, to meet the family and worship ancestors. One month after the wedding, the bride back to the bride's home for a month, so-called live on the month. At this point, the marriage ceremony is over.
These complicated marriage procedures have been simplified in today's Manchu-inhabited areas and have been integrated into modern forms. For example, the insertion of the car, evolved into a young man and woman riding bicycles or motorcycles, each accompanied by a free wedding party, from their own homes, traveling to meet in the middle of the road, the two exchanged bicycles or motorcycles, and then to the groom's home together. There are also worship ancestors, some places evolved into the new couple worship both parents. Although there are changes, but still has a strong ethnic characteristics. In addition, Manchu marriage ceremonies vary slightly depending on the region in which they live, and are not identical, but the main procedures are roughly the same.
Manchu's child-rearing customs are relatively special. The birth of a male in the door to the left hanging bow and arrow, the birth of a female in the door to the right hanging colorful cloth, the mother's family to send a yochi. Three days after the birth of the child, friends and relatives to send congratulatory gifts, commonly known as "milk". And held a baptism, called "wash three". At the time of the full moon, guests are invited to "do the full moon" and bows and arrows or strips of cloth are removed and hung on the "grandchildren's rope". On the 100th day, colored strips of cloth from each family are woven into locks, called padlocks. At the age of one year, a grand ceremony is held for the child to "catch the week". Generally at the age of 16, boys shave their hair, girls coil their hair in a bun. So far in the northeastern Manchu settlement still retains the "breastfeeding", "wash three", "do full moon", "catch week" and other traditional customs. and other traditional customs.
Burial customs
The funeral of the Manchu people is based on earth burial and cremation, and the history of earth burial and cremation is very long. Cremation was the mainstay before the Manchus entered the country, mainly due to their frequent migration. In addition, the Eight Banners generals in the early Qing Dynasty, more deaths in battle, the bones are inconvenient to send back to their hometowns, so more cremation. Gradually changed after the Manchu entered the customs, from the cremation and burial and development of earth burial as the main earth burial. Funeral rituals are, the deceased before the end of life wear life jacket, mostly robes, coats, for the singular. The spirit stops inside the house, usually within 7 days. The spirit bed is made of wooden boards, with the head west and feet east. Spirit streamers made of red cloth with about 3 feet, decorated with black spikes, hanging in the yard on a high pole. Manchu people use the special shape of the coffin, the upper part of the bulge, wide and narrow, called "flag material".
Spiritual period of family mourning, held a memorial service. Into the coffin when the coffin put gold and silver and other things, the poor with gold and silver foil instead of treasure, the mouth contains copper or jade, the spirit of the coffin in the yard in the shed. Funeral mostly choose a single day of the lunar calendar, carry the spirit of 16 kong, 32 kong, 64 kong points. After the funeral, the people who helped are thanked and invited to dinner. After the funeral, they burn paper on the grave every seven days, seven times in a row. The paper is burned on the 100th day and on the anniversary. The Manchu burn paper is folded into a pocket shape, commonly known as the burning pocket. Qingming Festival to go to the grave, burning pockets and inserting the Buddha. In the past 30 years, the funeral of the Manchu people and changed to cremation-based. However, the rituals of paying tribute to loved ones still retain many ancient traditions, such as burning pockets on the Qingming Festival, inserting the Buddha's buttress, burning seven, burning 100 days, burning anniversary, etc., are still the same.
Taboos
The Manchus have many taboos. Blasphemy against gods and ancestors is not allowed. For example, the Manchu people to the west for the noble, ancestor box on the west bed, the west bed is not allowed to live and put miscellaneous objects, can not have a variety of disrespectful behavior. Not allowed to hit the dog, more taboo to kill the dog, eating dog meat, wearing a dog skin hat, also does not allow foreigners wearing a dog skin hat into the home. Legend has it that Nurhachu had instructed the clan "there are beasts in the mountains, as much as you can hit to eat, but, in the future, no longer allowed to eat dog meat, wearing dog skin, the dog died to bury it, because the dog is humane, can save the Lord, is a righteous dog." Since then, love and respect for dogs has become the habits of the Manchu people. In addition, the Manchus not only do not eat crow meat, there are feeding crows, crow worship custom.