Historically, Manchu men liked to wear blue robes and mandarin jackets, with their hair braided at the back of their heads, domed hats, and trousers. Women like to wear cheongsam, comb their hair or "updo", wear baby rings, and hang handkerchiefs around their waists. After the Manchus entered the customs, their clothing became consistent with the Han clothing, but the cheongsam has become the traditional clothing of Chinese women with its unique charm.
Earlier, before entering the customs and for a period of time after entering the customs, the housing of the Manchus was divided into two types: one was called "private house"; the other was called "official house". Private houses are where common people of the Manchu people live. Generally speaking, commoners lived in two main rooms and housed cooking stoves. The house is quite exquisite, with three beds. The west Kang is the most expensive and is used for distinguished guests. The North Kang is larger and is used by the elders of the family. The South Kang is smaller and is used by younger members of the family. For example, girls and wives of the younger generation can live on the South Kang. It can be seen that the upper and lower generations of the Manchu people are very particular. Official rooms, Manchu officials mostly lived in "official rooms". The official room is also called the "barracks". For example: After Kangxi set up the "Mulan Paddock", there was one third-grade general manager, four post-type officers, 16 commissioned knights, 16 leaders, and 450 Manchurian Eight Banners soldiers. Mulan Paddock is divided into seventy-two enclosures according to the directions of the eight flags. Each flag has one "barracks" and the *** has eight "barracks". Each barracks oversees five or five "Karens" (manchu-Chinese translation post), and there are forty "Karens" in total. Manchu officers and soldiers mainly lived in barracks (i.e. official rooms). This kind of "official house" is usually a house of four rooms, with large stone strips built into high steps. People who live in this kind of "official housing" only have the right to live in it, but not the right to deal with it. Manchu people live in houses with more south and west windows, which can keep them warm in winter and cool in summer, making life more comfortable. Manchu people, especially women, are very particular about their sleeping posture. Most of them sleep on their side, which makes them look "respectable" , when sleeping, you cannot hold your cheek with your hands while sleeping. Holding your cheek with your hands while sleeping is a sign of crying, which is unlucky. Nowadays, some elderly Manchus in Weichang County pay more attention to sleeping postures.
The eating habits of the Manchu people were very particular in the past. Manchu people like to eat millet, yellow rice and dry rice cakes (what people usually call sticky bean buns). . Whenever Laoqiu is busy, they start to clean the courtyard, and each household prepares rice wine, washes rice and makes cakes (of course, this mostly refers to households with affluent lives, and poor people cannot afford it). It is also necessary for the "Mukunda" (the venerable member of the clan) of his own surname to preside over the killing of pigs for family sacrifices. They offer sacrifices to their ancestors, celebrate a good harvest, and pray for the well-being of the whole family and the prosperity of people and animals. When the Spring Festival is approaching, every Manchu family invites each other to help make "Aiji Gefu" (Manchu language, Chinese translation of dumplings). After helping the Western family and busy with the Eastern family, they make dumplings for each other to express joy, harmony and enthusiasm. Busy and busy until the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month. When the dumplings are made and eaten, they are frozen and stored at any time. They are placed in the "Hashili" (Manchu, Chinese translation warehouse) for later eating and cooking. Of course, the steamed yellow rice cakes are also served frozen, ready to eat and hot. Yellow rice dumplings have many names and styles, and have their own poetic and picturesque flavor, such as Su Ye dumpling, lotus leaf dumpling, Chengsha dumpling, honey fruit dumpling and many other types, some with fillings and some without fillings. They have different shapes, such as Jinshan shape, Guanyin shape, peony shape, etc., and some are made into the shapes of fish, insects, birds, beasts and other animals. The images are lifelike and amazing. During the Spring Festival, every household eats finger meat on New Year's Eve. They also make boiled pork and grilled pork with unique Manchu flavor. Among pastries, they like to make "Saqima". On New Year's Eve, activities to welcome the God of Wealth will be carried out, starting from 12 o'clock at night until Wangma Computer. On the Spring Festival, there is a happy atmosphere everywhere. It has long been customary to build a snow platform at the entrance of every house or in front of the screen wall in the courtyard, and put bright and shining ice lanterns (i.e. ice lanterns) on the snow platform. The appearance of the ice lanterns is very strange and varied. Ice lanterns symbolize the return of spring to the earth, and life is full of light and auspiciousness. After the Spring Festival and before the fifth day of the first lunar month, Manchu girls and their sons-in-law can pay New Year greetings to their parents and parents-in-law and wish each other a better future.
Wearing
In the early days, the Manchu people's clothing had the characteristics of their own nation. The clothing of men and women is different from that of girls and wives. Generally speaking, men wear long robes, mandarin jackets, hats, and long braids on the back of their heads. Wear double-faced shoes with embroidered cloud patterns on the uppers. Women, on the other hand, wear a bun on their head, earrings, a wide straight cheongsam, a small waistcoat, and embroidered wooden shoes.
In the center of the embroidered sole, there is a wooden sole inlaid in the shape of a horseshoe, so it is also called "horseshoe sole" or "dragon fish sole", "four flash sole", etc. Manchu women did not have their feet bound since childhood in the past. Manchu women's hairstyles vary according to their age and status. Girls, use more "grabbing" hair. Married women comb their hair upward and tie it with a silver hairpin, which is called "big male hair". In the early days, young Manchu men and women loved to set gemstones on their clothes, hats, saddles, knife handles, purses, etc., symbolizing joy and happiness. And precious people mostly wear linen clothes. The poor people use roe deer skin and deer skin for clothing. This is related to the long-term lifestyle of half farming and half hunting. After the Manchus entered the country from the northeast, the rich began to pay more attention to their clothes, usually wearing silk and satin, while the common people wore cloth. With the development of society, Manchu costumes and Han costumes have become increasingly consistent. For example, the habit of wearing cheongsam has been adopted by women across the country. The habit and advantage of Manchu women not to bind their feet has also been adopted by women of other ethnic groups. Nowadays, Manchu women in some remote mountain villages in Weichang County, especially the elderly, still maintain their past attire and hairstyle. Manchu people pay great attention to neatness when dressing. No matter how many pieces of inner and outer clothing you wear, you must button them neatly and pay attention to style. This fine tradition has been preserved to this day. Manchu women's flag shoes are called "inch shoes", also known as "horse-shoe shoes". The middle of the sole, that is, the sole of the foot, is embedded with a piece of wood more than 3 inches thick, and is wrapped in fine white cloth. The area where the wooden heel does not touch the ground is often decorated with embroidery or beads. It is named because the flat surface of the sole is horseshoe-shaped; there is also a type of shoe. The bottoms are in the shape of flower pots and are called "flower pot bottom shoes"; the flag shoes worn by elderly women and working women are made of flat wood and are called flat embroidered shoes, also known as "Net Yunzi shoes". Manchu women's shoes are embroidered on the surface, while socks are mostly made of cloth and have patterns on the soles.
Marriage
Manchu marriage is monogamous.
When Manchu men and women reach the age of marriage, they usually pay more attention to their grooming. Before marriage, girls like to use the juice of "Jina Yirha" (impatiens in Manchu), mix it with alum, and dye their nails red (it is said that this can eliminate plague and diseases, and bring good luck every month). Although this is superstitious , but it shows that this nation yearns for good luck. When young men and women get engaged, the man must go to the woman's house three times to propose marriage. Each time, he asks the matchmaker to bring a bottle of wine. Only then can we know whether the woman is willing to get married. If the woman keeps the wine she brought for the third time, it means that the woman agrees to get married. If she refuses, it means that the marriage between the two parties has not been completed. Therefore, the Manchu people have a saying: "It depends on the wine." "Three bottles". After getting married, all the betrothal gifts given by the man will be regarded as the girl's property. After the engagement, the girl will do more needlework before getting married. She will embroider pillows, cigarette purses and money bags as wedding gifts. The cigarette purse is reserved for the parents-in-law. In the old days, the Manchu people used the sedan chair (later changed to the float) to kill the pigs when preparing to welcome the bride. Method: One is that the girl's brother, aunt, uncle, aunt, etc. do not go to see her off, but her mother's family and her husband's family each set off at the same time, and they meet each other on the way. , there is a "car change", that is, the bride changes from the car used by her mother-in-law's family to welcome her bride. At this time, the cars of the two families say goodbye in the middle and each returns to his home. The second form is the groom's sedan chair. When the bride (or float) arrives at the door of the bride’s house, what should she do? The man makes various pleas in Manchu, and then the woman opens the door and lets the wedding car take the bride away. After the bride enters the house, she must first sit on the bed. When the curtain is opened, the wedding attendees sing a Manchu "happy song" to the effect:
A pair of phoenixes came from the south.
Flying brings good luck
Phoenixes grow old together lovingly,
We share suffering and happiness...
< p>However, due to the passage of time, this happy song has been basically lost, and some old Manchus no longer have complete memories.After paying homage to her husband's family on the first day, the bride has to "sit on the kang" for a day. , also called "sitting for blessings." That night, a table is placed on the table with two wine bottles and two wine cups. After holding hands, the bride and groom go around the table three times and then drink on the kang. A pair of red candles are lit and kept going all night long. One or more people sing a happy song in the outer room, called "Lakongjia", or someone can scatter black beans into the new house. After about two hours of excitement, people disperse.
(But it is different when getting married. For example, when the Manchu people in Beijing got married in the old days, the groom would pick up his bow and arrow and shoot three times at the bride who had not uncovered her "hijab". This may be a form of marriage robbery in the clan society. legacy of the time).
On the day after the wedding, the bride is led to visit the elders in the neighborhood and perform family rituals. This is called "dividing the bride and groom." Three days after the wedding, the bride took the groom back to her natal home.
The Manchu family rules are very strict. The daughter-in-law should say "good morning" and "hello at night" to her parents-in-law every day. Usually, when a new daughter-in-law wants to return to her parents' home, she must first ask for leave from her parents-in-law. The parents-in-law allow the daughter-in-law to stay at her parents' house for a few days. Before the new daughter-in-law leaves, she must bow to her parents-in-law. After she returns from her parents' home on time, the new daughter-in-law must first go to her parents-in-law to greet her and say hello, and then return to her room.
On weekdays, if relatives and friends invite the parents-in-law to go, if the parents-in-law are unable to go, the son should first ask the two elders: "Can the son or daughter-in-law go instead?" After the two elders agree, they can go to the relatives and friends. at home. After the son and daughter-in-law came back from relatives and friends, they first said "goodbye" to the two elders and said: "It's the second elder's meal!". After two years of marriage among Manchus, family etiquette gradually decreases.
Believe in Shamanism
Most of the ethnic minorities in our country have their own religious beliefs, and the Manchu people believe in Shamanism.
Shamanism is a relatively primitive religion. There are no temples or shrines, and there are no full-time believers. However, there are people who serve "Lao Buddha" called Chama.
Chama is somewhat similar to monks in Buddhism and Taoist priests in Taoism, but they are not the same. Because Chama Chun is a part-time voluntary god entertainer. Chama can get married and start a family, and also participate in productive labor. Adult Chama does not have any privileges or remuneration, and is only respected by the clan members. Chama is both male and female. But a girl cannot be a chama. Women must become chama, and they can do so after marriage. People who become Chama do so voluntarily and with the permission of their parents, out of a kind of wish. For example, if you are sick, you can promise to be a chama to "Lao Buddha" and serve "Lao Buddha", so that you can cure the disease and eliminate disasters. How to become a chama? It has to pass the test of "Lao Buddha": every year on the 7th day of the seventh lunar month, people who want to be Chama go up the mountain to pick up a kind of Dazi fragrant leaves, dry them in the sun, grind them into fine flour, and use a basket to make them. Sieve it out. After the old Chama lit it, he put the Dazi incense under the nose of the person who wanted to be a Chama and accepted the influence of Dazi cigarettes. When the "three-stroke power" of Dazi incense burned out, if the person being tested had runny nose, and tears, this means that those who want to be Chama are sincere. Otherwise, it means that the heart is not sincere and cannot be accepted as Chama. After passing this test, those who become Chama must learn from the old Chama to worship gods.
When offering sacrifices to the gods, Chama dressed up, put on brightly colored divine clothes, tied twenty-two bells shaped like hoe trousers around her waist, and held a drum in her hand. Zhugu is a flat drum covered with roe deer skin, which is beaten rhythmically with a whip. Under the guidance of Lao Chama, he learned to "go around the edge of the Kang", dance steps, twist his waist, and twist forward and backward. Get up and express your respect for "Lafayette" with the most pious heart. The most important thing for Xinchama is to learn sacred songs. Sacred songs are sung in the Manchu language and are used to praise the merits of ancestors and pray for their protection and blessings. After the new Chama learns how to sing and dance in sacrifices to the gods, he can go to worship the gods with the old Chama.
After becoming a Chama, you become a member of the "Lafayette". When Chama's parents pass away, Chama can be away from the deceased. According to investigation, in the early years of Weichang, the Manchus held Chama worship activities. After the birth of New China, such activities have basically disappeared.
呑呑狗头
There are three Kangs in Manchu houses, among which the Western Kang is the most expensive. The Western Kang is also called "Buddha Kang". Women are not allowed to sit on it, and ordinary guests are not allowed to sleep on it. Only Mr. Gu can sleep on the Western Kang. Dog-skin hats and whips with dog-skin tips cannot be placed on the Western Kang.
Why is Xikang so sacred? Because the "Buddha Box" is enshrined on the Western Kang. The Buddha's box is extremely sacred and cannot be seen by ordinary people. The gods worshiped by the Manchus are not fictional gods and Buddhas. In the Buddha box, there are statues of the ancestors and princes of the nation's heroes. There are also eighteen deities inside. In addition, there are genealogies. The genealogy records the history of the family, such as the rise and fall of the family, and the merits and contributions of the ancestors. The Buddha's box also contains incense and candle offerings, silk holders, and table curtains. When the Manchu family reaches the year of dragon and tiger, they need to revise their genealogy.
Because the number of descendants continues to increase, the genealogy needs to be revised every certain number of years. Genealogy revision is divided into genealogy and genealogy. The method of compiling the genealogy is: during the sacrifice, Mukunda prepares three books: one book to register the deceased; one book to register the born people; one book to register the newly married daughter-in-law of the clan (or family). Surname and flag points. When compiling the genealogy, a pig must be killed for sacrifice, and all members of the clan must be present. After you finish editing the genealogy, you should also treasure it. During the Manchu sacrifices, some families also worshiped "manye". Manye is also a kind of Buddha statue. Some are made of wood, some are made of clay, and some are made of copper. However, the place where Man Ye is enshrined is not on the Western Kang, but on the "main room Kang" connected to the kitchen. Next to Manye, two pairs of pigskin jingangs are placed every year, which is meant to be worn by Manye when he patrols and protects the banner people. In fact, Manye is also revered as a god. However, Manchu people spend a lot of money in their sacrificial activities, especially when they "dance their gods". What should some poor Manchus do if they cannot afford to hold such a large event? Then adopt another kind of sacrificial ritual - the mute trumpet. It can be seen from this that the Manchus neither "dance about family gods" nor "tongue the dumb trumpet", which was not the case among the Manchus in the old days. There is always a ritual to be adopted. It would be disrespectful to our ancestors if we don't even perform the "Mute-Battou" ritual. In this way, the ancestors will not agree and will be angry with the descendants.
How to perform "dumb horning"? This sacrificial ceremony is very similar to the "wishing pig" of the northern Han people. First, a pig must be killed. The butcher is not allowed to enter the house. He must stay in the yard no matter how cold the weather is. After killing the pig, you don't need to use hot water to soften the hair. Instead, you can find three big stones, put them on a shelf, and light a fire. The killed pigs were put on the fire to burn their hair. When all the hair is burnt clean, the pig head and tail are cut off and placed on the offering table to worship the ancestors. Then open the pig, take out the oil hanging from the pig's intestines, put it in the pot, wash the millet, put it in the pot, and cook it together. Then the elder starts to eat the rice from the pot. The whole family, from the oldest to the youngest, has to serve food like this. When eating, everyone sits outside and is not allowed to enter the house. Because the meal time is in the middle of the night when the sky is full of stars, this kind of meal is called "Xiaoye Rice" or "Dazi Rice".
After eating the "Small Night Dinner", cut the prepared pig into eight large pieces, put them together and put them on the altar table. At this time, the ancestor worship activities officially begin. First, Mukunda led all the clan members to kowtow in front of the offering table. Then they would line up in a long queue according to their seniority, walk into the house, stand in front of the Western Kang, and kowtow to Lafayette and their ancestors. Especially when kowtowing, no one is allowed to speak, and there is total silence. That’s why it’s called “dumb trumpet”. The louder the sound is, the more sincerity one shows towards Lafayette and the ancestors. After eating the mutton, put the shaved and cleaned pig into a large pot on three stones and cook it. After it is cooked, everyone in the clan is invited to eat the pork (and relatives and friends are also invited to eat it). All the meat must be eaten, and not even the soup is allowed to be left. After eating the meat and soup, place the three pot-holding stones in a clean place without getting them dirty. The Manchu people perform this kind of sacrificial activities to honor the Buddha, seek good luck, and yearn for a happier life.
The Manchus forbid eating dog meat and protect crows: The Manchus have a custom of killing dogs and forbidding eating dog meat. They consider crows to be sacred birds, and when holding sacrifices, they must put meat on the rope pole to worship them. Outside guests are not allowed to place their dog-skin hats and whips on the Western Kang. Legend: "In the early years, when Nurhachi worked as a tea boy for General Li Chengliang in Shanhaiguan, he was found to have seven-star moles on his feet. He was the "True Dragon Emperor" that the court wanted to arrest. At that time, General Li prepared a prison car to capture and send him to Beijing. At that time, General Li's maid Qionghua (also said to be Li's concubine) helped Nurhaci escape. He rode on the big green horse and the second green horse and the old horseman led Luffy to escape from the city. Daqing died of exhaustion on the way. After the incident was revealed, General Li beat Qionghua to death. Nurhachi was chased and had nowhere to hide, so he had to hide in the grass. Suddenly, many crows flew around him, and Nurhachi lay down tired from running. After getting off the ground, he fainted and fell asleep. When the pursuers arrived, they saw crows surrounding a dead body but could not find Nurhaci. Before leaving, they set off a fire to burn the grass. Nurhaci was shocked when he woke up. He looked closely and saw that there was no fire around him and the ground was wet. It turned out that a yellow dog dipped his tail into the water and put out the fire. The dog was exhausted. It was the big green horse, the crow and the yellow dog who saved his life. Later, when Nurhachi became King of Han, in order to commemorate the Savior of the Great Green Horse, all the courtiers wore horse jackets with horseshoe-shaped cuffs and trouser corners, and the courtiers wore red tassels and feathers on their hats. Horse shepherds and common people must set up horse stakes in front of their doors. In memory of the big yellow dog, the Eight Banners are not allowed to eat dog meat, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
Screen wall and sacred pole: There is a shadow wall facing the entrance of the courtyard. In front of the screen wall, there is a sacred pole about six feet high. The top is a wind-milled copper top covered with red cloth. On the top of the pole, it is about a foot long and short. There are three stones at the bottom of the sacred pole, and the back screen wall is made of bricks and decorated with a rain tower. The origin of this kind of courtyard decoration is said to be that the three fairies Foculun ate a spiritual bird in the ceiling pool of Changbai Mountain and got pregnant with a red bird. The son Nurhaci, the eleventh generation grandson of Yongshun, Bukuli, fled because of being abused by his stepmother. , together with the eight heads digging "Bangchui" (ginseng) in the Qixing Treasure Land, they went into the mountains to look for ginseng. Nurhaci used a rope to pull the stick to pull the grass. Under the stick, there were bright red four-leaf "Bangchui" flowers. He pulled the rope to pull the stick there. There is "Bangchui". Later, eight leaders became sworn brothers with Nurhachi, selling ginseng for money, recruiting soldiers and buying horses. After several battles, he unified all the various tribes in Jianzhou and became the King of Han. The rope pull stick used by Nurhachi became the rope in front of the Manchu people's house. Pull the pole. Lu Zhenyu said in "A Brief History of the Chinese Nation" that "Nurhaci was born in a revolutionary family in Jianzhou. His ancestor Jue Chang'an was killed by the traitor Nikan Gelan in Jiaotakshi. Nurhachi himself was also not tolerated by the Jianzhou Ministry. Living in poverty, he lives a poor life of picking ginseng and traveling to and from the horse market. "When digging ginseng up the mountain, I have to use a rope and a pull stick. I also have to "ride a wheel" on the mountain to have picnics and cook. When I collect ginseng, I have to carry it back down the mountain with a tong. The shadow on the wall is the enlarged shadow of the clip on the back, the magic pole is the modification of the rope and pull stick used to dig ginseng, and the sacred stone is the stone used to support the pot during the picnic. These three courtyard decorations are items to commemorate Nurhaci, and they are also three production tools that remember the ancestors of the Manchu people in the Changbai Mountains.
Mukunda: A place where the guards and soldiers live together. The chief of the tribe is named Mukunda. His official name is not hereditary or appointed by the superiors. He is held by a highly respected elder in the tribe and has the power to do so. He adjudicates all major affairs in the clan and leads the sacrificial rituals. Mukunda's opinion must be sought at weddings and funerals. There are also various rules and disciplines in the clan, such as stealing, elopement, stirring up trouble, fighting, being unfilial to parents and other bad behaviors. Mukunda can punish them according to the rules.
Buddha Box: The Buddha Box is extremely sacred and cannot be touched by ordinary people. The box contains the statue of Baylor (Prince), the ancestor of the tribe and the national hero. There are also eighteen deities inside, thirteen of them are Soli strips, and five are of Goryeo strips. In addition, there are genealogies, which record the history of the family, its rise and fall, the achievements of its ancestors, etc.