The Historical Background of Maogusi's Origin
Every cultural phenomenon arises from certain soil, and Maogusi is no exception—its soil comprises three elements: historical background, geographic environment, and cultural environment. Section 1: The Historical Background of Maogusi's Origin. American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan divided human social development into three stages.
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The emergence of any cultural phenomenon has its own soil, and Maogusi is no exception. Its emergence has its own soil, and this soil includes three major elements: historical background, geographical environment, and cultural environment.
Section One: The Historical Background of the Emergence of Maogusi
The American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan divided the development of human society into three periods: the period of savagery, the period of barbarism, and the period of civilization. The era in which Maogusi emerged was the late stage of primitive society, when human society had evolved into the period of barbarism. At that time, the Tujia ancestors, like the ancestors of other ethnic groups, still had a very low level of understanding, and the concept of gods filled the minds of all Tujia ancestors. Human shamanic culture made its debut at this time, and witchcraft became people's weapon for understanding the world. Dances similar to Maogusi are found in many places around the world and are very popular in contemporary Africa; even in scientifically advanced Western countries, there are similar cultures. For example, the Straw Bear Dance of England—even now in the English town of Whittlesey, the Straw Bear Dance is still performed in the streets, and it too contains certain shamanic elements.
When Maogusi emerged, the economy of the Tujia ancestors in Xiangxi was extremely backward. Although simple forms of agricultural and livestock production had appeared, the productive forces were very low, production relations were very simple, and production tools were very crude. People used simple labor to create simple means of production, and then used simple means of production to obtain very few means of livelihood. People's ability to conquer nature was very limited, and they did not yet have a latent awareness of conquering nature; even their own lives were often threatened by wild beasts and other factors. The production and daily life of the Tujia ancestors largely depended on witchcraft to control them, and Maogusi was a product of this period. The entire process of Maogusi begins with witchcraft (worshipping and inviting the gods) and ends with witchcraft (sweeping the hall); witchcraft runs through it from beginning to end.
In addition, family relations in the Maogusi era were also very loose. At that time, people only knew their mothers, not their fathers (this is vividly expressed in the performance of Maogusi). It was a matrilineal clan society, in an era of group marriage; marital relations were very chaotic, and the family was still a luxury in society. If there was a family at all, it was only the embryonic form of a family, not yet a true human family in the modern sense.
In particular, the costume of the performer (male) in Maogusi includes a very eye-catching rude stick, which represents the male genitalia—the male root. To modern people, this male root appears very rude, very indecent, and very barbaric, but as an ethnic culture, it is also a very precious cultural heritage. This is a reproduction by the Tujia people of life in the era of group marriage in primitive society, and an affirmation of the phenomena of primitive human society. Why does this phenomenon exist in Tujia culture? Because "the perceptions of primitive people are fundamentally mystical, because the collective representations that constitute an indispensable element of any discharge of primitive perception have a mystical character." Some say that the male root in Maogusi is a worship of the male genitalia, but this is an arbitrary claim. Then how should this phenomenon in Maogusi be explained? It should be said that this is still a special restoration by the Tujia people of life in primitive society—that is, the Tujia ancestors reproduced a kind of primitive social life without clothes (that is, the age of barbarism). The most accurate definition should be: this is a form of expression of Tujia sexual culture. But sexual culture is absolutely not the same as sexual worship. Because sexual worship is a belief or a national custom of life, one cannot casually reduce a sexual culture to the category of sexual worship, for doing so often leads to the error of subjectivism.
The date of Maogusi's emergence should be counted from its earliest source. Based on its content and specific performance forms, it can be traced back to the primitive period of human society. Primitive human society went through a long historical stage, far longer than modern civilized society by an unknown multiple. No one can say exactly when. The famous British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor wrote in his monumental work Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization: "As regards the existence of human language, from its earliest germs to the construction of complex languages, and from the construction of complex languages to the development of language families spread across the globe, its existence is very ancient." Because many things about primitive society remain a mystery to this day, but it can be affirmed that Maogusi emerged in primitive society. Because the language and movements of Maogusi (referring to the primitive parts; the later parts that changed with the times are another matter) are all the language and movements of primitive humans. For example, Xiang Hongqing, the tenth-generation Tima inheritor of Xiahezuo Village, Mawang Township, Baojing County, Xiangxi (now merged into Qingshuiping Town), sang the following when inviting the Eight Great Kings:
You are incomparably brave,
To capture evildoers, no need for swords and spears,
Killing people, eating raw meat and drinking raw blood—why need salt and oil?
Banana leaves wrapped around the body,
Silvergrass worn on the head,
Dancing feet and hands, shouting and calling, they have come.
Strange-looking people have come.
Why mention worshipping the Eight Great Kings? Because when the Tujia people perform Maogusi, they worship the Eight Great Kings as revered deities, thereby seeking the protection of the Eight Great Kings, so that the coming year may bring a good harvest and good fortune.
According to Peng Changfeng, the altar master of Tutuping Village, Jiashi Township, Longshan County, the situation of worshipping the Eight Great Kings is as follows: Maogusi is performed in the Baishou Hall of Tujia mountain villages. In large Baishou Halls, the main hall enshrines the statues of the eight brothers of the Eight Great Kings. These statues are very ugly in appearance, with disheveled hair and bare feet. In the center is a goddess statue, said to be the wife shared by the eight brothers of the Eight Great Kings—this is precisely a true portrayal of group marriage in primitive society. The offerings to the Eight Great Kings are raw meat, raw pig heads, internal organs of raw livestock, dried muntjac meat, dried white flour meat, golden pheasant crests, wild boar tusks, and so on from the Tujia region. When arranging the offerings, some wild vegetables are also placed, such as tree bark, leaves, dried bamboo shoots, dried Chinese toon tips, dried fern moss, dried wild onion, and houttuynia roots. From these offerings, one can confirm that the era of the Eight Great Kings was primitive society, their lifestyle was that of eating raw meat and drinking blood, and their mode of production was fishing, hunting, and gathering
economic type.
The primitive fishing-hunting-gathering economic lifestyle reflected in Maogusi is also expressed in its language and dialogue, presenting us with a picture of the economic, cultural, and customary life of primitive society. For example, in the first scene of Maogusi, "Looking for Land (that is, looking for a place to survive)," from Tutuping Village, Jiashi Township, Longshan County, the dialogue between the characters the altar master and Bapuka (Maogusi) vividly reflects this:
Altar Master: Where did you come from? (Note: The original dialogue is in Tujia language; the Tujia language text is seen in the Tutuping script later.)
Bapuka: We came from Ximei Mountain.
Altar Master: Where did you sleep last night?
Bapuka: Last night we slept under the palm tree.
Altar Master: What did you eat?
Papuka: We eat palm tree seeds.
From the above dialogue of Maogusi, we see a vivid picture of primitive social life. It is precisely this arduous life that sustained the reproduction of humankind.
In the specific performances of Maogusi, apart from the opening "Worshipping the Eight Great Kings," the scenes reflecting primitive life include "Maogusi Flirting," "Maogusi Antiphonal Singing," "Looking for a Place (that is, looking for a place to survive)," and "Seizing a Bride"; those reflecting slash-and-burn agricultural production include "Cutting the Swidden," "Burning the Swidden," and "Sowing Seeds"; those reflecting fishing and hunting production methods include "Catching Fish" and "Chasing Meat (hunting)." These scenes are a reproduction of the production and life of primitive humans in primitive society, and also a re-presentation of the production and life of primitive humans. These scenes of Maogusi fully demonstrate that the era in which Maogusi emerged should be in the early period of the first people—that is, it belongs to the primitive society stage of humankind.
After the birth of Maogusi, with changes of the times and the advancement of society, the content of Maogusi performances added some content of production and life of ancient humans. For example: "Making Ciba," "Blacksmithing," "Doctor Treating Illness," "Maogusi Going to School," and so on. These newly added scenes and contents illustrate the Tujia people's sensitivity to social development.