A Brief History of the Tujia—Religious Beliefs
Section Three: Religious Beliefs. According to historical records and folk legends, the Tujia ancestors passed through historical stages of belief in animism, totem worship, and witchcraft. After entering class society, the Tujia moved from primitive religion to polytheistic worship. Because the Tujia areas were influenced by the powerful feudal culture of the Han, Daoism and Buddhism spread into Tujia villages relatively...
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Section 3 Religious Beliefs
According to historical records and folk legends, the ancestors of the Tujia passed through historical stages of belief in animism, totem worship, and witchcraft. After entering class society, the Tujia also evolved from primitive religious belief to polytheistic worship. Because Tujia areas were influenced by the powerful feudal culture of the Han Chinese, Daoism and Buddhism were introduced into Tujia villages relatively early. Especially after the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials, large numbers of Han people entered the mountains to cultivate land, and the Tujia people were increasingly influenced by Han culture. Tujia religious beliefs also permeated with many elements of Han beliefs. However, ancestor worship, reverence for Tuwang, and belief in the witchcraft of the Tu teacher (called "Tima" in the Tujia language, sometimes called "Laosizi") were still passed down from generation to generation and continued.
In ancient times, the ancestors of the Tujia, under conditions of extremely low productive forces, regarded all things in nature as products of spirits, and thus had superstitious ideas of animism and white tiger worship. "When Lin Jun died, his soul became a white tiger. The Ba clan, because the tiger drank human blood, therefore sacrificed humans to it." They believed that after Lin Jun died, his soul turned into a white tiger. Because the tiger wanted to drink human blood, when worshipping ancestors they had to use human blood for sacrifice in order to seek protection. Later, killing cattle replaced killing people, and ox heads were used as sacrificial offerings. "Human Head Vow" was renamed "Ox Head Vow." Before the founding of New China, Tujia people in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou still believed that tigers had spirits. One kind was the Hall-Sitting White Tiger; this Hall-Sitting White Tiger God was a good god, and every family had to worship it. Another kind was the Passing-Hall White Tiger; when this white tiger god passed through the hall, it could crush children to death, so it was a bad god. If a child in a family became ill, it was suspected that this white tiger god had been offended, and the Tu teacher had to be asked to "drive out the white tiger" to relieve the child's disaster.
The ancestors of the Tujia had a long history of worshipping witchcraft. By the early Western Han Dynasty, there were still records of "Jing shamans in the ancestral hall below, including Wu Xian, Si Ming, Shi Mi, and the like." Shigu's commentary said: "Below the hall means beneath the hall. Wu Xian means the first among shamans..." The Tang Dynasty "Kuizhou Tujing" still said: "The Yi serve the altar, the Man serve ghosts... It is commonly said that on the night of the first day of the first lunar month, drums are sounded and people sing while linking arms, performing the dance of treading hooves... It is customary that the eighth day of the third month is the great festival, when offerings are displayed in the ancestral hall, and bells are rung, drums beaten, and shaman dances performed in reverence." Although there were later changes, around the time of the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials, it was basically still so. According to the "Baojing County Gazetteer": "The ancients were straightforward and simple, seemingly retaining ancient customs... They sacrificed to the Green Grass Ghost and tabooed bringing green grass into the house... Every year in the third month, they killed white sheep, beat drums, and blew the sheng to sacrifice to ghosts; on the night of the eighteenth day of the fourth month they sacrificed to ancestors; on the ninth day of the ninth month the whole village slaughtered livestock to sacrifice to Chongyang in repayment for the merit of the soil; at the end of the year, on the night of the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, they sacrificed to ancestors, called honoring ghosts... If there was illness, they did not believe in medicine but slaughtered cattle to sacrifice to spirits; they sang at funerals and wept at marriages, and esteemed shamans and ghosts." Until before the founding of New China, the Tujia people still believed in many gods, mainly ancestor worship, and invited Tu teachers (also Daoist priests and monks) to communicate with spirits and send away ghosts.
Tujia religious beliefs can be roughly divided into three categories: The first category is the ancestral spirits of Tuwang (local lords). Most Tujia villages along the Youshui River basin have Tuwang shrines or Tuzhu temples. In Xiangxi, the three gods worshipped were mostly Duke Peng (that is, Peng Shichou), Tian Haohan, and Xiang Laoguanren. The Tujia people believed that after Tuwang Peng Shichou died he had become a great god, and everyone had to sacrifice to him. From the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and from the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month, each village set its own regular time to sacrifice to Tuwang, and this was the most solemn. There were also "Second Month Hall," "Third Month Hall," and "Fifth Month Hall" for worshipping Tuwang. In the Laifeng, Xianfeng, Xuan'en, and Lichuan areas of western Hubei, most established Sanfu Palace, mainly worshipping the three ancestral gods Qin, Tian, and Xiang. "The Sanfu gods are said to have been three Tusi officials who had beneficent governance in life, and the people could not forget them, so temples were established and sacrifices made to them in the rural communities." In Sangzhi, Dayong (now Yongding District of Zhangjiajie City), Changyang, Badong, Enshi, and other places there were many Xiangwang temples, worshipping Xiangwang Tianzi. Xiushan had many Tuzhu temples, which were the family gods of the Yang clan. Whenever the Tujia celebrated the New Year or festivals, they had to prepare wine and meat to sacrifice to Tuwang. If a vow had been made to Xiang Tuwang, a day also had to be chosen to fulfill it, slaughtering cattle and pigs for sacrifice. Boatmen along the Qingjiang River believed in Xiangwang Tianzi, saying, "Xiangwang Tianzi had one horn, and blew out a Qingjiang River." Whenever the sixth day of the sixth lunar month came, boatmen had to moor at river ports and use the three sacrificial animals and wine to thank him for his achievement in developing the Qingjiang River and to pray for protection for smooth sailing. "The Tuwang Temple is that of the ancestors of the Tian clan of Xiushan. The ancestors of the Tian clan were chiefs of Jiujiang, Miaojiang, and Xiaojiang in You, hence they were called Tuwang. The king was most efficacious. In the spring and autumn sacrifices, although the descendants of the Tian clan presided, all the local people gathered."
In Yongshun, Longshan, and other places, Babu Spirit Temples were also built. The Babu Temple in Yongshun had already been established when the Yongshun Xuanwei Office governed the area. "In ancient times a temple was established to sacrifice to the Great Gods of the Eight Departments. Every year on the first day of the first lunar month, shamans sacrificed a white-mouthed water buffalo to pray for a year of good fortune." Folk legend says the eight great gods were Ao Chao He She, Xi Ti Lao, Xi He Lao, Li Du, Su Du, Na Wu Mi, Long Ci Ye Suo Ye Chong, and Jie Ye Hui Ye Na Fei Lie Ye. Before the founding of New China, during the first lunar month the Tujia people killed nine sheep for sacrifice, and after the sacrifice they performed hand-waving song and dance, which was very solemn. In Xiche and other villages in Longshan, folk tradition held that the eight great gods were transformed from eight great generals of the Tuwang, and every time the hand-waving dance was performed, the eight great gods had to be worshipped first.
In addition to temples belonging to ancestor worship, after the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials, with the development of the feudal landlord economy, each family also set up ancestral spirit tablets to worship its own ancestors. Sacrificing to ancestors on festivals was still very prevalent before the founding of New China.
The second category is the spirits of all things related to nature, labor, and life. For example, in Xiangxi, the Tujia mostly believed in Meishan God, Ami Mama, Earth God, and Siguan God. Meishan God (also called Yunxiao God) was the hunting god. Its shrine was often made of three bricks placed outside the right side of the house, and hunters worshipped it at midnight before hunting. When worshipping, they had to dress neatly and were not allowed to expose the chest or body. After every hunt, they had to take game for sacrifice, and cut off the heads and feet of rare birds and beasts to present to the Tu teacher, who hung them for sacrifices to spirits and ghosts as objects of worship. In Changyang and other places in western Hubei, the Tujia mostly believed in Zhang Wulang as the hunting god, worshipping him before the hunt to pray for abundant catch. Afterwards they had to offer the animal's head in sacrifice, and only then could they divide and eat the game equally. In Xiushan and other places, the hunting god was sacrificed once every three years, and this was the most solemn. Folk legend says Ami Mama (also called "Bashan Grandma") was the first wife of the Dragon King's son. After being abandoned by the Dragon King, she devoted herself to raising other people's young children, and all those she raised grew up healthy and strong. Therefore, when a child was born, people often cut a paper image of a Bodhisattva, made an umbrella, and pasted it on the cupboard. Women devoutly worshipped it on festivals to protect the child's growth. In addition, there were the Earth God who governed the five grains on the slopes and the Siguan God who governed the attraction of wealth and treasure.
The Tujia people worship the land, and there are not only Tudi Gonggong but also Tudi Popo. They believe that both are incarnations of humans, have seven emotions and six desires, and are given surnames. Their duty is to protect the prosperity of people and livestock and ensure a bumper harvest of all grains. The land gods worshipped by the Tujia are a large family, divided into Shanmu Tudi, Qiaoliang Tudi, Tianyuan Tudi, Changsheng Tudi, and Qingmiao Tudi. Worshipping land gods is very common in Tujia communities, and the faith is sincere. Before the founding of New China, in many Tujia areas, a land temple was built every half a li or so. The temple was less than three chi wide and could only accommodate the statues of the land couple. Incense burned continuously in front of the land temples all year round. In daily life and festivals, there are often contents praising the land gods, such as singing the legend of the land god in the Haocao Luogu, beating the New Spring Land during the Spring Festival, beating the God of Wealth Land when a new house is completed, beating the God of Longevity Land on birthdays, and also performing land-beating shows for weddings and healing to thank the Old Man Under the Moon for bridging the magpie bridge and to drive away evil spirits and chase away hidden souls. In addition, the Tujia people also worship several other deities, such as the Fire God, among which are the Mountain-Burning God, the Fire-Smoke God, the Slash-and-Burn Goddess, and the Kitchen God; and the Water God. In every Tujia mountain village there is a well, and during festivals and New Year celebrations, the Well Water God must be worshipped to seek the Well Water God's blessing.
The third category is the various gods formed by combining with Buddhism and Daoism and believed in by the local ethnic groups. The Tujia, Miao, and Han peoples in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou, having long suffered oppression by feudal rulers and the influence of feudal culture, had Daoism and Buddhism introduced into the area very early. Before the founding of New China, the gods believed in by the Tujia were mixed and numerous. There were both Tujia ancestral gods and gods of Buddhism, Daoism, and other religions. In almost every county where Tujia people lived in concentrated communities, there were White Emperor Heavenly King temples or Heavenly King temples. In these temples, the main gods were three gods with red, white, and black faces. Who the three gods were is explained differently in different places. In Jishou, Fenghuang, Luxi, and other places, the Tujia had to observe the "Heavenly King Fast" for fourteen days around Minor Heat each year, burning yellow wax incense. When the fast ended, the whole village killed pigs and made wine to sacrifice to the Heavenly King, and the ceremony was solemn.
The Tujia had idol worship. Idol worship is a product of giving form to spirits on the basis of spirit-object worship. It is the result of artificial processing, sketching facial features, and transforming spirit-objects into idols. Among the Tujia, the more typical ones are Ami Popo and the Great, Second, and Third Gods. Women who had given birth had to worship them before meals or on festivals, thereby wishing in advance that the newborn would not be afraid of being frightened by the white tiger, would be strong and sturdy, and would be easy to raise. The Great, Second, and Third Gods were widely believed in by Tujia people in Hefeng and Wufeng in Hubei and Sangzhi and Shimen in Hunan. Legend says the Great, Second, and Third Gods were three young men who helped Nüwa mend the sky. They had immense strength. In order to keep the sky from collapsing, the eldest held up the sky with his right hand and placed his left hand on his hip, turning red in the face from exertion, and was therefore called the Red-Faced Adult; the second held up the sky with both hands and could not move, and was smoked black by fire and smoke, becoming the Black-Faced Adult; the third stood on white stone and held up the sky with his head, and his face was covered with white ash, becoming the White-Faced Adult. After mending the sky, the three turned into three camphor trees. Later generations, to commemorate their achievements, cut down the three camphor trees and made three divine statues, painting their faces red, black, and white respectively. People called these revered idols the "Great, Second, and Third Gods," built temples for them, and worshipped them from generation to generation.
Before the founding of New China, when the Tujia people held religious ceremonies or performed "vowing" and "redeeming money," they all did so through the tu laoshi (Tujia ritual masters). There are various legends about the origin of the tu laoshi. One of the more common versions says that the founding patriarch of the tu laoshi once went to the Western Heaven to fetch scriptures and obtained one and a half scriptures and eight bronze bells. Later, on the way back, a Han Daoist asked him for one scripture, and a Miao master asked him for half a scripture and two bronze bells. When the Tujia master went to the Western Heaven again to fetch scriptures, the Buddha would no longer give him any. The Buddha of the Western Heaven said: "The guest master has one scripture, the Miao master has half a scripture. The tu laoshi moves scriptures about at random, yet whatever he says is accurate, whatever he says is efficacious." Therefore, the ritual implements used by the tu laoshi were only the master's knife, the chopping knife, and six bronze bells, with no scriptures. Clearly this legend deified the tu laoshi in order to consolidate their position as being able to perform rituals and communicate with the gods. Before the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials (gaitu guiliu), the tu laoshi were attached to the tusi system and held considerable power. All matters in Tujia villages—sacrifices, healing the sick, driving out ghosts, making vows, fulfilling vows, marriage, praying for children, driving out the white tiger, settling disputes, divination and asking about affairs—were all under their management. The tu laoshi did not engage in production and could also pass down their position hereditarily. At the New Year, households that slaughtered pigs had to present them with two jin of meat, and after the harvest they also collected five jin of grain. After gaitu guiliu, the tu laoshi evolved into performers of religious rituals; some also served as song masters, and some as Tujia doctors, and they gradually declined.
Around 1920, among the Tujia and Han peoples in Yongshun and other places, "...they regarded Buddhism and Daoism alike; apart from monks and nuns, those who worshipped idols were very few... Yet when ill, there were also those who invited monks and nuns to recite scriptures and shamans to drive out ghosts." Those who believed in Protestant and Catholic Christianity were still few. Right up to the eve of the founding of New China, although religious beliefs in Tujia areas were not uniform, they were still basically consistent with the religious situation in Yongshun described above; only in a few Tujia villages in remote mountains with poor transportation did people believe in the tu laoshi's rituals. But on the whole, the content and forms of Tujia religious belief were very rich.