Collapse and edit this paragraph Beliefs and Customs
The patron saint of the Hakka people is the "Kitchen King" - the God of the Earth. The shrine of the Earth God is set up at the entrance of the village, with a big banyan tree planted next to it. On every first day of the first lunar month, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the second day of February, the eighth of April, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Ghost Festival, Hakka people go there to worship the Earth God. , place pig heads, chickens, fish (all cooked), three bowls of rice, three pairs of chopsticks, three glasses of wine, light incense and candles, kneel on the ground, and pray to the land god to bless the family's safety, good harvest, and other requirements. The placement of the offerings is as follows: incense is placed closest to the altar, wine and rice come second, meat and vegetables are farthest away, and candles are on both sides. In addition, those who have children or go out to study or work must also offer sacrifices to the land god.
Fubo Temple, Adult Temple, and Nu Temple are places where Hakka people visit every year. Even though during the "Cultural Revolution", superstitious activities were strictly prohibited, Hakka people still visited them secretly. Fubo Temple is a temple built to commemorate the Han Dynasty general Ma Yuan's southern expedition. The temple fair is held on the sixth day of the first lunar month. The Adult Temple was built to commemorate Chen Hongmou, the prime minister (bachelor) of the Qing Dynasty, who asked the people of Guangxi to be exempted from paying money and food. The temple fair is held on the 19th day of the first lunar month. The Nv Temple is a temple built in memory of Sister Liu San. The temple is located in a cave and a temple fair is held on the 29th of the first lunar month.
It is a big event for Hakka people to worship their ancestors. During the Qingming Festival in March, the entire surname becomes lively and joins hands to carry out ancestor worship activities at ancestral graves. The Hakka surnames in Liangjiang Township gather in Binyang to worship their ancestors every Qingming Festival. Generally, each family sends one person to participate. During every solar term or at the end of the year, Hakka people eat meat and vegetables first to worship their ancestors before eating. During the first lunar month, offerings must be placed until the fifteenth day before they can be removed. The offerings in the first month are mostly rice dumplings, pig head meat (whole piece), rice krispie treats, etc.
The Hakka people used to gather in the ancestral hall before spring plowing, after summer harvest, and after autumn harvest. Firstly, they would listen to people with higher education level explain and continue to write family trees; secondly, they would discuss major issues that needed to be resolved within the surname. For example, disputes with foreign surnames, construction, production, etc.
Collapse and edit this paragraph Hakka wedding customs
Huizhou’s traditional folk wedding customs are based on feudal ethics and customs. Most of them are red tape, waste people and money, and can be said to be quite ugly. The Confucian classic "Book of Rites? Hunyi" says: "Husband's power starts from the crown, originates from hun (marriage), is more important than funerals, specializes in court appointments, and shoots the countryside. The general outline of this ritual is also... hun ( Marriage etiquette is the basis of etiquette." It can be seen that Confucianism attaches great importance to marriage etiquette and customs. Traditional Chinese culture has always attached great importance to Confucianism. Under the influence of this thought, a colorful wedding custom culture with many rituals has been formed. Huizhou’s traditional wedding customs are probably the specific manifestation of traditional Chinese culture in one place.
Several forms of marriage in feudal society, such as "arranged marriage", "sale marriage", "hired marriage", "finger pulp marriage", "child bride marriage", "wild marriage", "watching the door" "Marriage", "power marriage", etc. are all found in Huizhou. Among them, betrothal marriages are particularly popular, and betrothal gifts and betrothal payments are indispensable. Its legacy can still be seen in Huizhou today.
Betrothal marriage has a long history in Huizhou.
Guangxu's "Huizhou Prefecture Chronicles" records: "It is customary to use betel nut as a betrothal for marriage, and more is considered more expensive... The betrothal ceremony and dowry are said to be a rich contract for the family." The betel nut mentioned in "Commonly used betel nut as a betrothal gift" was sold in traditional Chinese medicine shops in the old days. In betrothal gifts, it has a symbolic meaning. However, the real betel nut tradition is mainly based on money and edible items. "Fu Zhi" says that the betrothal gift "is enough to meet the family's expectations". In fact, even for those who first "make an appointment", the amount of the betrothal gift is also considerable.
Huizhou’s traditional betrothal marriage etiquette is very complicated, starting from the matchmaker’s marriage proposal to the final custom of returning home for three dynasties. There are various pre-wedding rites and grand marriage ceremonies such as making a house, welcoming the bride in person, visiting the church, and staying with the bride.
Huizhou’s complicated folk wedding customs evolved from the “six rites” of feudal wedding etiquette. The "Six Rites" originated from the Zhou Dynasty. "Book of Rites" records that the marriage procedures that should be followed at that time were "nacai" (the matchmaker proposed the marriage), "asking for the name", "naji" (the man made a fortune and the woman formally recognized the marriage), and "nazheng" (the ceremony was held to confirm the marriage). ), "please date" (agreement on the wedding date), "personal greeting" (welcome the bride). These six links are the so-called "six rites", which are the earliest marriage etiquette in feudal ethics. Over the next two thousand years, although the six rituals have changed, they have remained true to their origins, and their shadow can still be seen in wedding ceremonies everywhere today.
Hakka funeral customs
Compared with other customs, funeral customs are more solemn and solemn. The Hakka people are very thoughtful about this, even too red tape. The funeral services are lavish, the etiquette is extravagant, the feast is sumptuous, the soul is drunk and drunk, drums and music are played to mark the farewell, and so on. In some places, old customs still exist.
When the patient is dying, the "shroud" made in advance is put on the patient, which is called "shroud". In the past, there was a saying of "top six, bottom four", that is, wearing six layers of clothes on the upper body and four layers of trousers on the lower body.
Hakka custom attaches great importance to farewell. Those who are away from home try their best to get home in order to see her one last time before she dies, to show her filial piety. After a person dies, he immediately burns the sedan chair and paper, and his family, children, and children cry out in grief. It's for "sent off to the end".
Announcement of mourning: Immediately after the patient dies. A filial son goes to his maternal uncle's house and uncle's house to report the funeral, and an obituary notice is posted in front of the door or at a nearby intersection.
Placing a memorial hall: hanging a white cloth in front of the body, setting up an incense table, and placing a memorial tablet or portrait. In the morning and evening, the souls cry, register the gifts or "candles" sent by relatives and friends, and hang the tents on both sides of the filial piety hall in order.
Stiff neck: Move the body, spread a white cloth on the floor of the hall, put the body on it, put a new tile on the head, and put a cloth triangular pillow on the tile, and send someone to wait day and night; choose a day and time to put the body into the coffin It's called "incoming materials". Every morning and evening, when relatives and friends come to express their condolences, the bereaved female family members mourn beside the coffin in the tent. In the evening, relatives and friends attend the wake at Xiaotang, which is commonly known as "staying with the deceased at night".
One should choose the right time to mourn, usually in the morning. In the old days, there was a "mourning" on the first day, with people staying up all night and playing drums and music loudly. During the funeral, a memorial ceremony is held first, and then the coffin is raised for the funeral. Pay attention to ostentation to show your children's filial piety.
Burial: placing the coffin in the cemetery. The choice of cemetery should pay attention to "feng shui". The appearance of the tomb is very similar to the Hakka dragon house, which is a manifestation of the Hakka ancestor worship. On the third day after the burial, relatives wear mourning clothes and go to the grave to cry, pay homage and burn paper money, which is called "three dynasties".
Doing Qi: After a person dies, a memorial ceremony is held every "Qi" day, commonly known as "Doing Qi". Usually only "five-seven" is done. Finally, a memorial ceremony is held and the spirit house (paper house) is burned, which is called "Wanqi" to mark the end of the funeral. From now on, when a sacrifice is held on the first anniversary, it is called Kai Xiaoxiao; when a sacrifice is held on three years, it is called Kai Daxiao. During the mourning ceremony, red couplets were put on the door and hall, and everything returned to normal.
According to Hakka custom, after a few years of burial (usually ten years), the tomb is dug, the remains are baked over charcoal fire, and the limbs are bent and packed into a special pottery urn according to the human body structure, which is called "gold inspection". ”, and then reburied, this is the permanent and real grave.
For people who died abnormally, there are some special funeral customs, such as paying more attention to asking monks and Taoists to pay homage and chant sutras to save the soul of the deceased.