The Cultural Environment of Maogusi's Origin (Part 2)
Some now call wu broadly 'wuxue' (the study of wu) and divide it into five parts: first, religion—various wu cults and sorcery of primitive and slave societies, along with sacrifices, exorcism, and worship; second, customs—wu practices, funeral rites, taboos; third, art—wu songs, dances, and drama (nuo).
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Now some people broadly call shamanism 'wuxue' (shamanic studies), and divide wuxue into five major parts: 'The first part is religion, primarily the various shamanic religions and shamanic arts prevalent in primitive and slave societies, as well as sacrifices, exorcism, worship, etc.; the second part is custom, including shamanic customs, funeral customs, taboos, etc.; the third part is art, including shamanic songs, shamanic dances, shamanic drama (Nuo), shamanic paintings, etc.; the fourth part is literature, including shamanic books, shamanic poetry, myths, legends, etc.; the fifth part is comprehensive, including writing, shamanic medicine, etc.' According to this view, Maogusi should belong to the first and third parts, that is, to shamanic arts and shamanic drama. What is shamanic art? Shamanic art is a technique that attempts to use supernatural mysterious forces to influence or control certain people or things. In ancient times, female practitioners were called wu (shaman), male practitioners were called xi. Shamanic art should have begun along with the ancient ancestors' worship of nature. Because nature often gave people a sense of fear. And the ancestors also had requests of nature; besides worshipping and making offerings to nature gods in seeking their aid, they also wanted to use their own words and actions to make nature submit to their will, and thus a fantasy and action of wanting to change nature was born. One of the concrete manifestations of these fantasies and actions is shamanic art. Zhang Zichen says in his 'Chinese Shamanism': 'Shamanic art is a kind of behavior by which humanity attempts to exercise possible control over the environment or the external world. It is a behavior based on some belief and adopted out of the attempt to control things. That is to say, it is a means used by humanity to effectively control the environment (external nature) and the imagined world of ghosts and spirits. The actual efficacy of this means cannot be verified; only after people lose the relevant beliefs will its objectively existing benighted characteristics be recognized, so it is a primitive characteristic, not a manifestation of civilization. Shamanic art is the fantasy of relying on some force or supernatural ability to influence and control an object. Strictly speaking, it does not deify the object to be influenced, submitting to or pleading with it, but rather uses human subjective behavior in an attempt to influence and control it.' Song Zhaolin, in his 'Shamanism and Shamanic Art,' quotes the former Soviet scholar Shalii Anshilin: 'Shamanic superstition is a sum of many things; it originates from the same repetition of the world and demonstrates a belief in the dynamism of association or simulation.' Later Mr. Song pointed out: 'Shamanic art is the sum of a kind of belief and behavior of prehistoric humans or shamans, a technique and method of belief. It is a shamanic form in which the practitioner believes that by his own strength, using direct or indirect ways and methods, he can influence and control objective things and the behavior of other people.'
From the perspective of the nature of shamanic art, it can be divided into black shamanic art and white shamanic art. Black shamanic art refers to shamanic art used when shifting misfortune onto others; white shamanic art is shamanic art used when invoking good fortune and blessings, hence also called auspicious shamanic art. Then the Tujia Maogusi belongs to white shamanic art.
The Representative of Tujia Shamanism—the Tima
Tujia shamanism has four major functions: The first major function is to help people realize their good wishes, concretely manifested in the Tujia Tima performing Tima prayers for sons and vow-redemption for people; the second major function is to help people eliminate disasters, such as the Tima performing rituals to pray for rain; the third major function is to maintain the stability of the local community, such as the Tima leading sacrifices and conducting community covenants and mountain closures; the fourth major function is to heal and treat people's illnesses, such as the Tima going into the underworld to untie knots for families or individuals who are ill. These phenomena of shamanic culture, if measured by today's science, cannot stand up to scrutiny—they are indeed a kind of superstitious behavior, some even childish and laughable. But in the culturally backward Tujia region of that time, they still played an inestimable role. These functions of shamanism still exist in some Tujia mountain villages today and still possess a certain practicality. For example, in healing through shamanic art, there are not a few cases of illnesses that were not cured in hospitals but were cured through shamanic art; some of these are psychological effects, and some are coincidences. Beyond these, there may also be some factors not yet recognized by people. In Tujia shamanic art, many things cannot yet be satisfactorily explained by today's science, and even the Tima (shaman) cannot explain them clearly. If anyone asks him the reason, he will say it is the will of the gods, or that heaven's will was originally thus. The Tujia ancestors believed: whether in heaven, underground, or in water, there are gods, and all things in the world without exception obey these gods. In the course of human development, people constantly fantasized about being able to control and influence objective things and some natural phenomena, and thus sacrificial and shamanic activities arose, and shamans appeared accordingly. As the presider over Tujia primitive religious sacrifices, the Tima is said to be able to communicate with the gods and speak with ghosts and spirits, conveying the people's wishes upward and transmitting the gods' will downward; he can foreknow good and ill fortune, eliminate disasters and cure illnesses; he can also engage in omens, divination, soul-summoning, ghost-expelling, and other shamanic arts. They are the bridge and medium between humans and gods, enjoying very high prestige. The Tujia Tima is the synthesizer of shamanism, and the Tima is also the overall representative of Tujia shamanism. The Tima are mainly distributed in Tujia mountain villages such as Longshan, Baojing, Yongshun, and Guzhang in western Hunan. At that time, the Tujia people lacked medicine and medical care, and often invited the local Tima for 'dual relief of spirit and medicine,' which occasionally proved effective. The Tima is the representative of the Tujia 'unity of heaven and humanity,' able to 'communicate heaven and earth.'
"Cutting the Communication between Heaven and Earth" was the most prevalent shamanic practice among the common people in the era of the Yellow Emperor. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor were the chiefs of the two major tribal groups of Huaxia at that time. After the Battle of Banquan, the Yellow Emperor defeated the Yan Emperor, and the two major tribes began to merge, becoming the core of what later became Huaxia (the predecessor of the Han people). Some ancient books say that the Yellow Emperor begot Changyi, Changyi begot Hanliu, and Hanliu begot Zhuanxu; other ancient books say that the Yellow Emperor married Leizu (the inventor of sericulture) and begot Xuanxiao and Changyi, and Changyi married Changpu and begot Zhuanxu. In short, Zhuanxu was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. "Cutting the Communication between Heaven and Earth" is a myth and legend about Zhuanxu. It is said that originally heaven and earth were connected, the gods in heaven could come down to the human world at any time, and mortals could also freely go up to heaven. In order to prevent people from causing chaos, Zhuanxu ordered Zhong and Li to guard the passage between heaven and earth, changing the previous situation in which humans and gods were mixed together. This myth shows that probably by the legendary era of Zhuanxu, due to the development of the productive forces, wealth and poverty began to emerge, and tribal chiefs began to separate themselves from the common people, becoming lofty "Heavenly Emperors" who could converse with the gods of heaven and earth, while the vast common people could not. However, Zhuanxu's decree did not spread to the Tujia areas for several thousand years. The Tujia Tima have always played the role of connecting heaven and earth, and the Yellow Emperor's order to Zhong and Li to "cut the communication between heaven and earth" had no binding force whatsoever on the Tujia Tima. The Tima is the figure most trusted by the Tujia people, a being half god and half human, and for a very long historical period he played the role of spokesman for the thought and spirit of the Tujia people.
The Tima of the Tujia people has two meanings: one refers to the ritual performed by the shaman, and the other refers to the shaman who performs the ritual.
The Tima is the concentrated expression of Tujia shamanism. Tima rituals are the process of carrying out "shamanic" practice, and the Tima himself is the shaman of the Tujia people. Here I will give a brief introduction to the Tima's shamanic props and some of the procedures of Tima shamanic rituals, so that readers may gain a general understanding of the Tima.
I. The Tima's Props
The spirit painting, called "Yuepi" in the Tujia language, is the main hanging scroll used by the Tima when dancing to the gods. Spirit paintings come in large and small types. When performing Tima rituals, generally one large spirit painting is hung, along with two small spirit paintings. The small spirit paintings are smaller in scale, and their internal structure is also simpler. The spirit paintings are all made of paper, mounted into scrolls. They are light and easy to carry, and when not performing rituals they are rolled up for storage. Here, the spirit paintings held by the Shang family Tima of Laxidong, Miao'ertan Town, Longshan County, are taken as an example.
1. The large spirit painting. The large spirit painting is 185 centimeters high and 75 centimeters wide. It is painted with divine images on paper and then mounted into a scroll. The entire large spirit painting is divided into eleven tiers (Heaven, Earth, Spirit, Gods, Fire, Mountain, Ghosts, Humans, Walking Water, Wuge), with a total of 135 figures.
Tier One: Xixi Qingdi placed in the center, with the Heavenly Father on the left and the Heavenly Mother on the right.
Tier Two: From left, Heavenly General, Thunder God, Wind God, Heavenly Master, Heavenly General, and so on.
Tier Three: The Six Stars of the Southern Dipper and the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper.
Tier Four: Immortal Master Tuolong, Immortal Lady Tuofeng, and in the middle, the Heavenly River Sending Children.
Tier Five: Yanji Diaola Mountain, the Heavenly Bridge, the Bridge to Heaven, and the Heavenly River.
Tier Six: White Tiger Mountain, the Earth God at the Foot of the Slope, and the Yellow River General Manager Earth God.
Tier Seven: The Twelve Month Hall and various figure images.
Tier Eight: The Tusi Spirit Hall, Duke Peng, and two guardian deities.
Tier Nine: Fourteen figures (dancing and playing music).
Tier Ten: The Two-Element Bridge and the image of the Tima performing rituals.
Tier Eleven: Ox-Head and Horse-Face and various figure forms.
The Tima spirit painting is used when the Tima dances to the gods; the main gate is closed and the painting is hung inside the gate.
2. Small spirit paintings. There are two kinds of small spirit paintings. One has the Three Pure Immortal Masters at the very top: above in this painting is Duke Peng, and below are the Eight Department Great Gods. Duke Peng has a kind and benevolent face, while the Eight Department Great Gods have red hair and red faces, fierce and menacing. The spirit painting was drawn in the Qing Dynasty, and the figures are all in Ming-style clothing. The other kind is 3 meters long and 33 centimeters wide, depicting three beauties (figures), dragons, snakes, phoenixes, tigers, ducks, chickens, pigs, pagodas, flower-beating soldiers, star-umbrella soldiers, Han people carrying sedan chairs, pushing carts, and four Han people holding banners. This spirit painting is used in "Ascending to the Heavenly River," placed on a heavenly bridge formed by long benches.
3. Paper cuttings, cut from red paper. One kind of paper cutting has the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper in the upper left corner, the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper in the upper right corner, followed immediately by the Heavenly Gate, below the Heavenly Gate the Seven Fairy Maidens, and below that the deities of the five directions—east, south, west, north, and center. On the left and right sides there are three great gates each. This painting is hung below the shrine in the central hall and is used throughout the entire ritual procedure; at the final hall-sweeping, it is propped up on the eaves with a bamboo pole and burned together with firecrackers. Another kind of paper cutting has divine curtains represented on both sides, with the image of a child's figure in the middle of the Tima, inserted on top of grain contained in a measuring box, placed at the right corner inside the main gate of the central hall. After the complete set of Tima rituals is finished, this paper cutting is placed by the host household on top of the cupboard (standing upright), and after one year it is burned, indicating that the household's child will no longer have his soul wander outside.
4. Ritual garment. This is one of the main garments (upper garments) worn by the Tima when performing Tima rituals. It is sewn from bright red cloth, bordered with yellow cloth, and opens straight down the middle of the chest (a small number of Tima ritual garments are embroidered with the Taiji and Bagua in yellow cloth, influenced by Han culture). On the upper left of the chest and shoulder is written "Thousands upon Thousands of Soldier Attendants," and on the upper right is written "Myriads upon Myriads of Divine Generals." The sleeves are not long, and the cuffs are relatively large. On the back, the left shoulder has the character "Sun" and the right shoulder has the character "Moon," and the lower back hem is slit. The Tima must wear it for the complete set of rituals.
5. Eight-Panel Pleated Skirt. It is made by sewing strips of cloth in eight different colors onto a piece of white cloth about 1 meter long and about 20 centimeters wide; each strip of cloth is about 1 meter long and about 5 centimeters wide. Because the eight-panel pleated skirt represents the Eight Department Great Gods, the Tima wraps it around the lower part of the ritual garment when performing Tima rituals. Wearing the eight-panel pleated skirt, the Tima can ascend to heaven and possesses a certain divine majesty.
6. Phoenix Crown, originally called the Eight-Phoenix Crown. This is because eight represents the Eight Department Great Gods. Each crown represents one of the Eight Department Great Gods. Later, in some places, under the influence of Daoist culture, it was changed to the Five-Phoenix Crown. The figures on it were also changed to: the Three Pure Ones in the center and Heavenly Masters on both sides. It is made from cloth shell and tied onto the head with straps.
7. Bronze bells. These are one of the main props used by the Tima when performing rituals. They are cast from alloy copper, six in total. It is said that there were originally 8, but the Tima gave one each to the Miao ritual master and the Han ritual master, leaving only 6. However, they cannot be called the Six-Treasure Bronze Bells; they are still called the Eight-Treasure Bronze Bells. The 6 bronze bells are distributed as follows: three above and three below, connected in the middle by a stick of miscellaneous wood, with a wooden horse shape carved on the upper part and tied with strips of cloth of various colors to represent dragon whiskers. The lower part is the tail. When the Tima sings Tima songs, he repeatedly strikes the eight-treasure bronze bells against his legs, producing a pleasant and melodious sound.
8. Ritual knife. It is forged from iron into a circle (the large ones 30 centimeters in diameter, the small ones 15 centimeters in diameter), with an iron handle shaped like a dagger. On the rod of the large iron ring there are many small iron rings, some with 24 and some with 12. The small iron rings are also of different sizes: the large ones about 5 centimeters in diameter, the small ones about 2 centimeters in diameter. The small iron rings can move freely within the large iron ring, producing a crisp sound when shaken. The Tima often shakes the ritual knife when performing rituals, using it to drive away evil and invoke the masters.
9. Long knife. Forged from iron, more than 1 meter long and about 3 centimeters wide, with an iron ring on the handle, and strips of cloth of various colors tied to the ring. The Tima mainly uses the long knife to drive away ghosts and ward off evil.
10. Bamboo divination blocks, made from the head of nan bamboo, and divided into large and small types. The large ones are 30 centimeters long and 6 centimeters wide; the small ones are 10 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide. The bamboo divination blocks are one of the props used by the Tima when performing rituals to divine good and bad fortune and to tell fortunes.
11. Ox horn, also called the ox-horn trumpet, made from water buffalo horn, with the tip sawed off and a hole drilled through it to make it easier to blow. A whistle made of miscellaneous wood with a through-hole is used at the blowing opening. The Tima mainly uses the ox horn to heighten the atmosphere and overawe the spirits.
12. Bronze horses. Some Tima have seven, some have three, of varying sizes. Three is the most common. They are made of bronze. The large ones weigh about 200 grams and have on them the riding image of the Earth God King; the small ones weigh about 50 grams and have no riding image. The bronze horses are placed on the spirit table in the main room and must remain displayed throughout the entire ritual procedure.
II. Tima Ritual Altar Installations (Selected Introduction):
Altar installation for raising and dispatching troops. The specific operation of this ritual installation is as follows: first, fill a measuring box with rice, then insert a steelyard into the rice, place a paper-cut of a child, burn three times three sticks of incense, use a tripod pot lid to hold rapeseed oil, and light nine lamps (using lamp rush pith divided into nine places to burn). This altar installation is used for "Seeking Sons and Daughters" and for worshipping the "Grandmother Goddess of Bamian Mountain."
Altar installation for sending off the plague god. This installation uses 6 bowls containing various internal organs and scraps of pig, sheep, and ox, one kind in each bowl. Four bowls separately hold a sheep's head, large and small pig heads (one pig weighing more than 100 jin must be killed, two small pigs of about 20 jin, and one sheep), and is used in ritual procedures such as sending off the plague god, the Luo god, and sending off the first, second, and third qian.
Altar installation for the second qian ritual. On large and small tables are placed ten large bowls, filled with cooked pork, along with ten pairs of chopsticks, ten wine cups, ten glutinous rice cakes, and one large pot of wine. In front of the table hangs red paper cutting (with images such as the Seven Fairy Maidens and the Six Southern Stars). This installation is used for sending off the second qian (worshipping the Blue Heaven Grandfather), and is removed immediately after use.
Altar installation in the courtyard. One large table, on which are placed one bowl of rice, one egg, a few yuan of renminbi, three sticks of burning incense, ten rice bowls (containing dishes and rice), and 10 pairs of chopsticks. Under the large table are one sheng of rice, one chi of blue cloth, and many strips of cloth of various colors. Behind the large table is placed one grand master's chair, covered with a single quilt, on which is placed one winnowing basket, containing one adult garment and one pair of children's silver bracelet rings. In front of the large table is placed one small stool, on which is a chopping board, with a kitchen knife standing embedded in the chopping board. At the two rear corners of the large table, two bamboo poles stand upright (tied together), one bamboo pole two meters long, on which hang 8 strings of coins; on the left upright bamboo pole is tied a piece of blue cloth, and on the right upright bamboo pole hangs one hind leg of a small pig. This installation is used to worship the Son of Heaven Dragon King.