Tujia Taboos
Tujia Taboos: Travelers who don't understand local taboos easily offend them, and those who do will suffer for it. The Book of Rites, Chapter on Quli, says: 'Enter a region and ask its prohibitions; enter a country and ask its customs; enter a door and ask its taboos.' This shows that only by first understanding taboos can one avoid trouble and punishment. The famous German scholar Wundt said: 'Taboos are humanity's...'
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
Tujia Taboos
Those who travel outside and do not understand local taboos easily violate them, and those who violate taboos will suffer for it.
The Book of Rites, Chapter on Quli, says: "When entering a region, ask about its prohibitions; when entering a country, ask about its customs; when entering a door, ask about its taboos." This shows that only by first understanding taboos can one avoid trouble and punishment. The famous German scholar Wundt said: "Taboo is humanity's oldest invisible law." A people's taboos are also a reflection of national psychology and a transformation of ancient religious beliefs. From taboos, one can study the forms of a people's consciousness and see a people's aspirations and wishes. The Tujia people of Zhangjiajie have many taboos—almost every action and every word has taboos.
The Tujia people have many linguistic taboos on taboo days. For example, avoid the beginning of the first month and the end of the twelfth month. On festivals, happy occasions, and days of going out, it is taboo to speak unlucky words. On the first and fifteenth days, it is forbidden to cry, quarrel, or say words like "down on one's luck," "head chopped off," "death," "illness," "poverty," or "pain." When going out, it is taboo to mention "monkey" or "ghost." To speak of a ghost, one must call it "short mule"; to speak of a tiger, one must call it "big cat"; to speak of a snake, one must call it "long worm." On wedding days, it is taboo to say words like "parting" or "leaving," and even more so to talk at length about funerals. If livestock enters the house on the first morning, it foretells: "A pig comes brings poverty, a dog comes brings wealth, a cat comes means wearing mourning clothes." And so on—too numerous to list.
In terms of behavioral taboos on taboo days, the Tujia people observe the following: On the twenty-third of the twelfth month, when sacrificing to the Kitchen God, it is forbidden to turn the millstone, lest there be drought and rain fall elsewhere; women are forbidden to comb their hair, lest rain the following year wash away the soil in the fields. During the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, it is forbidden to pour soup over rice, lest rain the following year wash away the field ridges. The rice cooked on New Year's Eve must be eaten until the second and third days of the first month, meaning there will be more than enough to eat all year, with surplus remaining. From the thirteenth of the twelfth month to the second day of the first month, adults and children must not get haircuts, as haircuts will cause ringworm. On the first day of the first month and on dog and rat days, one must not sweep the floor, as sweeping will cause many dog fleas. From the first to the third day of the first month, sweeping is forbidden, as sweeping will sweep away wealth and good fortune. On the first day, it is taboo to see the steelyard beam; if seen, one will be bitten by a snake when going uphill. It is taboo to return home empty-handed in the morning; one must carry firewood (wealth) into the house. On the three dog days (Wu days) of each month, one must not empty the manure pit or carry water. After the Beginning of Spring, one must observe the five Wu days—no ground may be broken. From the day rice seeds are sown until Minor Heat, on dragon days one must avoid the dragon and not break ground. Within a year, the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth months on snake days; the second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh months on rooster days; and the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth months on ox days are all 'Red Shа' days, on which sowing is strictly forbidden. There is a saying in the villages: "Sow on a Red Sha day, and the seed grain will not return home." When going on a long journey, "meet a Red Sha when going out, and you will never return home." When going out, one checks the days: "Do not go out on the seventh, do not return on the eighth; go out on the ninth and return empty-handed." On the day of Beginning of Autumn, it is forbidden to enter the vegetable garden to pick vegetables; otherwise the vegetables will not grow and will rot at the leaves and die at the roots. Before storing sweet potatoes, one must choose a 'closed day' to clean the potato cellar, which ensures the sweet potatoes will not rot. On Jia-Yin days, one must not slaughter livestock or poultry, otherwise the flock will be broken. On one's natal day (the day of one's birth zodiac sign), one must not slaughter, nor buy or sell livestock and poultry of one's natal zodiac sign—this is called 'taboo against harming poultry.' Within three days of a wedding, unmarried girls are forbidden to enter the bridal chamber, lest it cause discord between the newlyweds. And so on.
In daily life, the Tujia people also have many taboos, such as: It is forbidden to casually break ground, drive nails, remove doors, move furniture, or make hammering noises in the home of a pregnant woman, lest it cause miscarriage or disfigure the fetus. It is forbidden to sit on someone else's main doorsill, as it suggests disrespect to the host. It is taboo to go to someone's home to borrow money in the morning—this is called "no wealth goes out in the morning." Normally, when returning home from work, one must not carry a hoe over the shoulder with a dustpan hanging from it into the house; one must carry them by hand, because carrying a hoe and hanging a dustpan symbolizes someone has died and one is going to the grave to pile earth. One must not carry empty water buckets or manure buckets into the house, meaning no wealth will come in. It is taboo to place an umbrella in the main hall, because for Tujia families surnamed Tian and Yang, an umbrella is placed in the main hall only when someone has died. It is taboo to have a toilet in front of the main hall or a granary behind the house, meaning a bad reputation will spread and the family will produce a prostitute (granary sounds like 'prostitute' in Chinese). It is forbidden to wear straw sandals into a postpartum woman's room, as it is believed one will step dry the mother's milk. It is forbidden to poke at the fire pit with iron tongs or urinate there, lest it cause a fire. In a home with a newborn baby, one must not go to borrow anything or get water to drink, lest it cause the baby to cry at night or die young. It is taboo for a postpartum woman who has not yet completed forty days to enter another's house, as it is believed she will offend the other's earth deity and dragon spirit. White headscarves are taboo at weddings and house-building. When going on a long journey, it is taboo to meet a monk or hear a crow caw. In the main hall, the seam line of the square table must be placed horizontally, not facing the ancestral shrine, lest it offend the ancestral spirits. If a neighbor's roof ridge, gable, or eaves face one's own main hall, it is taboo—this is called 'human sha' or 'arrow sha.' At a bride's bowing ceremony, it is taboo for young unmarried girls and 'four-eyed people' (pregnant women) to watch. When an elderly person passes away, it is taboo to say "died"; one must say "grown old" or "passed on." It is taboo to whistle in the house, as whistling is said to be calling ghosts. It is forbidden to tap bowls with chopsticks while eating, as it is said to show disrespect to the host—only beggars tap bowls. Those who die away from home must not be carried into the main hall. It is taboo to watch snakes mating; if seen, one's luck will be bad—even if one does not die, one will lose three layers of skin. It is taboo to wear a straw rain cape into the kitchen, lest it cause fire to burn oneself. On the mountain, do not pick up a barking deer; by the river, do not pick up a carp. Finding a shoe when going out is a good omen, meaning "promotion upward." Finding a towel is not good—it is said to be mourning cloth. Seeing a coffin being carried when going out is greatly auspicious—it is said one can rise in office (coffin sounds like 'official') and gain wealth (coffin sounds like 'wealth'). The Tujia people most dread the age of thirty-six: "When a person reaches thirty-six, some are happy, some are worried"; "At thirty-six, one takes a tumble." Therefore, regardless of gender, one must hold a thirty-sixth birthday celebration to ward off misfortune and pass the threshold. In daily life, occasionally encountering thirty-six (in numbers, serial numbers, etc.) is considered an unlucky sign. A carpenter's sawhorse must not be sat on; a blacksmith's anvil must not be struck; a gelder's horn must not be blown; an opera performer's costume chest must not be leaned against; a farmer's tripod must not be stepped on (disrespect to the host). In front of a tile kiln, it is taboo to say "red"; on a boat, it is taboo to say "sink." Opera troupes call an umbrella a "stretcher," avoiding the word "scatter" (which sounds like umbrella). Children must not pick green tung nuts, or they will get tuberculosis. Children must not play with sparrows, or their hands will shake and they will not write well when grown. Elders must not curse their own children and grandchildren, as it is said: "A parent's mouth is a measure without limit." And so on—too many to enumerate. Some literate people write on paper: "New spring begins writing, a hundred taboos are lifted; throughout the four seasons, may all things go as wished." In reality, this is still due to a psychological need regarding taboos.
So some say: The taboos of the Tujia people are, in fact, a kind of village covenant—an omnipresent code of conduct for dealing with people and matters.