Tujia Customs in Zhangjiajie
Announcing Good News: After the birth of a child, the son-in-law reports the news to his parents-in-law — carrying a rooster for a boy, a hen for a girl, plus several red-dyed eggs, saying at the in-laws' home: "Your daughter has gone somewhere far." The in-laws know the grandchild's gender as soon as they see the chicken. Bamboo wine and Wazhou: Tujia people call childbirth "adding a person to the household." After this first...
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
Announcing the Good News:
After marriage, when a child is born, the son-in-law announces the good news to his parents-in-law. If a boy is born, he brings a rooster; if a girl is born, he brings a hen, along with several red-dyed eggs, and goes to the father-in-law's house saying: "Your daughter has gone to a far place." As soon as the parents-in-law see the chicken, they know the sex of the grandchild.
Zhenzhu Rice Wine and Wazhou:
For the Tujia people, bearing and raising children is called "adding people and importing mouths." After adding people and importing mouths, the first celebratory event is the "Zhenzhu rice wine," to express congratulations. On this day, clan relatives and close friends give money to congratulate, and the maternal grandparents especially must give a bamboo cradle, quilts, clothes, shoes, hats, and brown sugar and eggs to the grandchild. After the child is one month old, they go to the maternal grandmother's house for "leaving the month," and on returning, the maternal grandparents give "send-off money." When the child reaches one full year of age, there is another celebration called "Wazhou."
Giving Childhood Names:
Local people believe that giving a child a childhood name makes them easier to raise. Tujia people even believe that the more lowly the childhood name, the better—such as "Doggy," "Beggar," "Rock," and so on. These childhood names, after the school-going age, are generally no longer used on formal occasions, but among peers and elders they remain in constant use.
Hundred-Family Rice and Clothes:
Those with superstitious beliefs invite a fortune-teller to cast a child's fortune. If the child's fate contains "barriers and demons," they also invite a sorcerer to fulfill a vow and ferry the child through the barrier. To make the child easier to raise to adulthood, some have the child formally adopted as a nominal son by someone; some collect a piece of cloth and a small amount of rice from one hundred households, cook "hundred-family rice" for the child to eat, and sew "hundred-family clothes" for the child to wear; some put a "hundred-family lock" on the child, inscribed with the words "Long life, wealth, and honor; easy to raise to adulthood."
Night-Crying Notice
If a small child cries incessantly at night, a red paper inscribed with "Heavenly Emperor above, Earthly Emperor below; my family has a night-crying child; passing gentlemen, read it once, and he will sleep soundly till dawn" is posted on trees, bridges, or walls at crossroads. It is believed that doing so will stop the child's night crying.
Egg Divination:
A shamanistic ritual custom using eggs as divination tools to diagnose illness and retrieve the soul for children. When a child is frightened, sleeps restlessly at night, has poor appetite, and is listless, it is believed that the soul has left the body, and a ritual master must be invited to burn eggs and redeem the soul. In performing the ritual, blue cotton thread is wound seven times around an egg, then incantations are chanted and talismans drawn over the egg. The egg is buried in fire and burned. If the egg bursts quickly, it is believed the child was frightened not long ago and the place is not far, and after the egg-burning soul-retrieval, the child will recover quickly; if the egg bursts slowly, the child was frightened longer ago and the place is farther, and after the egg-burning the child will gradually improve. After the egg bursts, it is quickly taken out, the shell peeled off, and based on the burst pattern on the egg white, the cause and location of the child's fright are identified. After identifying them, incantations are chanted, a talisman is drawn on the child's forehead, the burned egg is given to the child to eat, and the cotton thread wound around the egg's middle is tied on the child's wrist (left for boys, right for girls). Only then does the egg-burning ritual conclude.