Glimpses of Zhangjiajie Folk Customs
Zhangjiajie's ethnic minorities have distinctive characteristics in everything from food, clothing, housing, and transport to weddings and funerals, from childbirth to entertainment. Old gazetteers say: 'The people are honest and simple; the land is rich and the customs are pure.' The Yongding Wei Gazetteer, compiled in the 24th year of Kangxi (1685), records: 'The Chu spirit is vigorous, its flaw often tending toward indignation. Yongding...'
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
The ethnic minorities of Zhangjiajie City, from food, clothing, housing, and transportation to marriage and funerals, from bearing and raising children to recreational activities, all have distinct ethnic and local characteristics. The old gazetteers say: "The people's sentiments are honest and simple; the soil is rich and the customs are pure." The Yongding Wei Gazetteer, compiled in the twenty-fourth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1685 AD), records: "The Chu ethos is vigorous and firm, and its defect often tends toward indignation. Yongding is attached to the Chu border; its customs are still simple and honest, and it still preserves the lingering ways of the Central Plains." It also says: "Men are willing and women are simple; by nature they are diligent in farming and devote themselves to weaving... they rather esteem frugality and plainness." From these records, we can catch a glimpse. Jin Derong, a juren from Zhengyuan County, Jiangning Prefecture, Jiangsu, came to Yongding County as magistrate in the nineteenth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1814 AD). After investigating the people's sentiments and customs, he soon wrote "Twenty Rhymes on the Local Conditions and Customs of Yongding." Seven lines are excerpted here for reference:
If you would ask about Dayong's customs, Mount Chong and the Canon of Shun bring auspicious omens.
Since the Ming Dynasty it has had household registers, yet from ancient times it belonged to the wild frontier.
The land is opened but the population is sparse; the sky hangs low and the bird paths are long.
The people are only diligent in farming; the soil itself borders the immortal land.
They are accustomed to loving to consult shamans; their customs especially favor prayers and exorcism.
Great clans revere ancestral halls; in plentiful years they hold Daoist rites.
Painted boats clamor on summer noons; village drums compete in the spring sun.
This county magistrate wrote his rhymes in this way. For now let us not judge them artistically, but one thing is certain: he truly wrote out the customs and sentiments of the local residents. He wrote only after conducting investigation and research. This is very enlightening and helpful for us today in understanding local customs.
The customs and habits of some ethnic minorities here are uniquely distinctive and extremely rich in content. We cannot cover every aspect, so we can only "gather shells from the sea of customs" and select some prominent ones for brief introduction:
Tujia Hand-Waving Dance
The Tujia people have a beautiful and ancient dance called the "Hand-Waving Dance." This dance generally runs from the third day of the first lunar month to the seventeenth. During this period, gongs and drums are beaten every night, and men and women in splendid attire gather in front of the Hand-Waving Hall, joyfully dancing and singing, continuing for more than ten days without interruption. It is extraordinarily lively and is a grand festival of the Tujia people.
"Hand-waving" is called "Sheba" by the Tujia people. The period from the third to the seventeenth of the first lunar month is called "Sheba Day" or the "Sheba Festival." Historically, the Tujia built "Hand-Waving Halls" and temples in every village. In the temples, images of the Tujia ancestors, the Eight-Bu Kings or the Tusi kings, were also enshrined. At every "Sheba Festival," there were song and dance activities. This year-adjusting hand-waving dance is called "Sheba," and also "year-adjusting." It has strong dramatic quality, with story plots and characters, and is danced collectively by Bapu (grandfather), Bapa (grandmother), Ada, Ake, and other men and women, old and young.
The form of the hand-waving dance is generally as follows: a dragon banner is hung high in the center of the Hand-Waving Hall, lamps are lit on the four sides, a golden boy and jade girl wash the hands of the Tujia people with a bronze basin, then divine fire is taken from the incense mountain, and afterward three bonfires are lit beneath the dragon banner. With three cannon shots, the Tima ritual master (shaman) first leads the way holding an eight-treasure bronze bell, and everyone follows in graceful dance, staying awake all night.
The main movements of the hand-waving dance involve swinging the same-side hand while walking and bending at the waist. The forms of swinging are generally divided into single swing, double swing, circular swing, flower swing, inserted swing, and seven-step swing. Because there is so much swinging, it is called the "Hand-Waving Dance." The hand-waving dance is also divided into "small hand-waving" and "large hand-waving." "Small hand-waving" is smaller in scale, and its form and content mainly imitate many agricultural activities such as digging the earth, sowing seeds, hoeing corn weeds, picking corn, or transplanting rice, threshing grain, and drying grain in the fields. It also includes hunting or fishing-and-hunting activities. In some places, the "small hand-waving" dance also expresses life content such as playing the leaf whistle and welcoming the bride.
"Large hand-waving" is mainly large in scale. The participating units are often several or even dozens of villages, and the number of participants is also several thousand or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. The content of "large hand-waving" is richer than that of "small hand-waving." Besides expressing agricultural activities and Tujia life, it also expresses military activities. The form of "large hand-waving" is generally first directed by a leader holding a "willow scarf" made of colorful cloth strips, followed by the "Tima" team (composed of shamans) and the drum-and-wind band, while the men's and women's hand-waving dance teams also enter together. Among them is also a particularly eye-catching armored small-flag team (they wear flowered quilts symbolizing armor). This armored small-flag team holds small flowered flags in colors including red and green, yellow and blue, brilliantly colorful and dazzling. The content and form of their performance mainly reflect human origins, the military activities of the ancestors, and tribal migrations. The dance movements are relatively difficult and are loved by the broad Tujia people.
Maogusi
Maogusi is the most primitive, ancient, and rugged song-and-dance form of the Tujia people. Those who perform this song and dance wrap their whole bodies in rice straw, wind straw braids around their waists, and wear in front a small round stick with a red cloth head. On their heads they also wear straw braids made of rice straw. The one who leads the dance is called "Old Maogusi," and those who follow are called "Little Maogusi." One of them plays "Guluzi" (similar to a swindler or villain), while the others generally have the same appearance. The performers dance while making the sound "hai hai." The content of the dance mainly reflects the ancient primitive production struggles of the Tujia people, such as hunting and fishing, and so on.
Sheba Festival
The "Sheba Festival"—a traditional festival of the Tujia people (also called "year-adjusting")—is held every year from the third to the seventeenth of the first lunar month (though in some places it is also held in the third month). During the festival, girls put on festive attire, young men carry bird guns and broadswords, and old people bring children and carry rice wine and game as they all flock to the Hand-Waving Hall. At this time, deep drum music is played, three bonfires are lit, three-eyed cannons and bird guns are fired, and dongdong kui are blown, creating a lively scene as people dance gracefully.
The "Sheba Festival" is both a festival for all Tujia men, women, old, and young and a good opportunity for young people to fall in love. They sing antiphonally, dance, pair off, choose partners, and cleverly match as couples.
The Eighth of the Fourth Month
The "Eighth of the Fourth Month" (that is, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month) is one of the traditional festivals of the Tujia people. On this day, Tujia people paste on their own walls (board walls) notices written in cinnabar, called "Maoniang notices." It is said that pasting this kind of "Maoniang notice" can drive away caterpillars. The content of the notice includes: "The Buddha was born on the eighth of the fourth month; today the caterpillars are married off, married beyond the green mountains, never to return to my home." Therefore, this day is also called "Buddha's Birthday."
The eighth day of the fourth month is also traditionally said to be the birthday of the Ox King Bodhisattva. On this day, oxen do not plow fields or cultivate land; they rest, and are fed good drink, and wine and meat are also offered to the "Ox King Bodhisattva." On this day, many farming families also comb the oxen's hair and remove lice, and clean the ox shed, to show their care and respect for oxen.
If the eighth day of the fourth month falls on a "xinmao day," the Tujia people also pick melons, fruits, and bean pods to sacrifice to the ancestors and the field god, to show inviting the ancestors and field god to taste the new harvest, to bless the year's harvest, and to wish in advance for abundant grain and thriving livestock.
The Sixth of the Sixth Month
The sixth day of the sixth lunar month is traditionally said to be the death anniversary of Qin Hou (a Tujia), originally the pacification commissioner of Cili in the sixth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (later serving as a justice official of Huguang).
Qin Hou was the Tusi of Maogang in Dayong. In the early Ming Dynasty he launched a peasant uprising and was suppressed by three "marquis-level" generals mobilized by Zhu Yuanzhang. Qin Hou was resourceful and brave and skilled in battle. Later he was betrayed by his son-in-law Zhu Siji and was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month in the fifth year of the Hongwu reign (1372 AD) by "lingchi." (Note: lingchi means slow slicing.) Later, in order to commemorate him and recall his merits, the Tujia people on this day aired and dried clothing in every household (commonly called "drying the dragon robe," also called "Qin Hou drying his skin"), with the meaning of eliminating calamities and disasters.
Tujia Girls' Crying Marriage
When a Tujia girl marries, some begin crying two months before marriage; the long period is two months, and the short period is also ten days to half a month. Crying marriage is not only an outpouring of parting emotions, but also a display of intelligence and talent. For a girl, whether she can "cry marriage," and how well she cries, has a great influence on her reputation and status. Some Tujia girls begin learning "crying marriage" as soon as they are twelve or thirteen. If some parents see that their daughter is not learning well, they invite a woman who cannot cry marriage well to be a teacher and teach her to cry. By the time they are fifteen or sixteen, they also invite girl companions to hide in the stilted building to "practice crying," teaching each other to cry. Besides learning "crying marriage" at home, some girls also take the opportunity while cutting firewood on the mountain or washing clothes by the stream to study the skills of "crying marriage" with one another, discuss methods of "crying marriage," and compare their abilities in "crying marriage," determined to make their "crying marriage" successful and outstanding!
The crying-marriage songs are lyrics collectively created by the Tujia people over a long period and are also the crystallization of collective wisdom. The content includes crying for father and mother, crying for sisters, crying for elder brothers and sisters-in-law, and taking leave of ancestors, as well as crying over dowry, scolding the matchmaker, and also crying on the bridal sedan, crying while combing hair, and crying while putting on flowers. The lyrics run to more than a thousand lines. The crying is sincere and intense in emotion, the tunes are mournful and moving, the sentence patterns are free and flexible, the language is vivid and plain, and the flavor of life is very strong, full of parents' love and children's affection. Once they cry aloud, even hearts of iron and stone would likely be moved to tears.
Here we select a few passages to share with everyone:
1. Crying for Father and Mother:
My father who loves me dearly,
My mother who loves me dearly!
On this day,
We must part, we must separate,
How can you expect your child to take it lightly?
How can you expect your child to bear to leave?
My teeth have not yet set their roots,
How can I leave my parents?
My hair has not yet grown long,
How can I leave my father and mother?
2. Crying for Brother and Sister-in-law:
My brother and sister-in-law,
My sister-in-law,
Sister is a vine without a root,
No leaves above, no roots below.
The mortal world is unfair,
Born of the same mother, yet fates so different,
Brother is gold, precious and heavy,
Sister is lamp-rush, cheap and light.
If I were your little brother,
Of two rooms I would have one,
Of two pillars I would have one,
My brother,
My sister-in-law,
Oranges are sweet but must be peeled,
Brother and sister sit close but must part.
Your good-for-nothing, spineless sister is leaving,
The thousand-catty burden you must carry,
You must look after Father and look after Mother,
Look after the old and look after the young,
When the vat has no water, carry it for Sister,
When the stove has no fire, light it for Sister,
In the sixth month, bear the sun for Sister,
In the twelfth month, scoop the snow for Sister...
3. Crying for Sisters
Good sisters,
Today's days have piled up together,
Without your laughter,
Without your noise,
Without your singing,
Without your dancing,
Your former faces have all changed,
The time of parting is near,
Scattered, scattered,
The old friendship cannot be forgotten.
We lived together in the maiden home for seventeen or eighteen years,
Fed and raised by the same well water,
We went up the mountain together to gather firewood,
In the garden we scraped hemp together,
In the pounding room we husked glutinous rice together,
In the boudoir we embroidered by the same lamp,
Who would have known,
That today we sisters must part…
4. Scolding the Matchmaker
You've worn the threshold down by stepping on it,
You've made the yellow dog bark itself hoarse,
You've licked a notch into the bowl with your tongue,
You've trampled the courtyard into pits with your feet,
You've stared at the eaves so hard the tiles fell from the roof,
Everything good to taste, you ate,
You ate, you tasted, and then you deceived my parents,
You ate, you tasted, and then you came to force me from my hometown!
Wedding Celebration
Marriage among young Tujia men and women was very free. In the past, both sides expressed feelings and chose partners through dancing and singing. Once a match was made, as long as the "Tulaosi" gave consent, they could become engaged on the spot and then immediately choose an auspicious day to marry. When the bride came to the groom's home, no betrothal gifts were required; the bride only needed to tie a red silk thread at her sleeve. Due to the constraints of feudal marriage, arranged marriages also arose, but the customs of the ethnic group were still retained.
Tujia marriage generally goes through several stages, namely: seeking marriage, stepping the house site, engagement, taking the eight characters (that is, writing down the bride's birth date and hour and giving it to the groom's family), sending the date, the bride's family steaming the flower-wearing wine, and the groom's family fetching the bride. So-called seeking marriage means the groom's family brings tea (a piece of thin meat) and sugar to the bride's home to seek marriage. If the bride's family accepts the gifts, the match is about seventy or eighty percent settled. If they refuse the gifts, it means the bride's family does not agree to the marriage, and the matchmaker need not call again. So-called "stepping the house site" means going to the groom's home to see whether the family circumstances are good. If the bride's family thinks well of the groom's family situation, they eat at the groom's home. When leaving, the groom's family must also give gifts to the bride's family, called "sending-off money." So-called "engagement" means that after the groom proposes and obtains the bride's family's consent, the groom's family has people carry a "table box" and send gifts (generally meat, fish, wine, and clothes, etc.) to the bride's family, and the bride's family writes the birth date and eight characters on red paper and gives it to the groom's family to take back. After obtaining the "eight characters," the engagement is formally settled. So-called "sending the date" means the man and woman ask a yin-yang master to choose an auspicious wedding date, and then the matchmaker brings gifts and delivers the good date to the bride's home. If the bride's family agrees to the wedding date, they ask a carpenter to make furniture. The groom's family must send gifts and also give the carpenter a "lucky red packet" (a small sum of money). At the same time, the bride's family hurries to make cloth shoes, prepare the dowry, and actively prepare for the wedding. So-called bride's family "steaming the flower-wearing wine" means the bride's family holds a banquet to welcome relatives and friends and congratulate the bride. So-called groom's family fetching the bride means preparing a banquet to bring the bride into the home. On the wedding day, there are many rules and taboos. For example, the bride must "cry marriage," must "open the face" (using thread to pull out eyebrows and fine facial hair), must "put up the hair" (combing braids into a bun), and so on. On the day the groom's family comes to fetch the bride, they also hold a "gate-blocking ritual," and the ritual officers of both sides have a set of ceremonial dialogue. Only then does the groom pay respects to his parents-in-law, drink, and eat, and only then is the bride allowed to "board the sedan chair." When boarding the sedan chair, bamboo chopsticks and five grains are scattered in front of and behind the bride, meaning many children and grandchildren and a bumper harvest of all grains. After the bride boards the sedan chair, her own brothers grab the sedan poles and push and pull them three times to express the bride's reluctance to leave her natal family.
When the bridal sedan chair is carried to the groom's front gate, one person slaughters a rooster in front of the sedan chair, called "avoiding evil," which means warding off evil spirits. After "avoiding evil," the bride is led out of the sedan chair into the main hall brightly lit with red candles, where the "ritual officer" calls out the bowing ceremony: first bow to heaven and earth, then bow to both parents, then the bride and groom bow to each other. After bowing, they enter the bridal chamber. When entering the bridal chamber, the bride and groom both rush to sit on the bed. It is said that whoever sits on the bed first will be the one to manage the household. After sitting on the bed, the two also drink the "cross-cupped wine."
At night, there is "teasing the bridal chamber," and for three days and three nights there is no distinction of rank; family members and guests, old and young, may all take part. This word "tease" is well chosen; it means playful fun and excitement. Everyone can clamor for the bride and groom to carry "carried tea," that is, carrying it with a rectangular tea tray or a round tray, or carrying "taut tea" with a long towel. To carry "taut tea" with a long towel, both sides must pull the towel especially tight, otherwise the teacups will fall. If the bride and groom do not carry it well, they have no choice but to offer cigarettes and candy to everyone to satisfy their demands, and only then can the "teasing the bridal chamber" come to an end.
Early the next morning, the bride and groom must offer 'egg tea' to their elders and present new shoes, while the elders give the bride 'tea money'.
On the third day of the newlyweds' marriage, the custom of 'returning on the third morning' is observed, which means the groom and bride bring gifts to visit the bride's family and return the same evening. As they leave, the parents earnestly advise the couple to live in harmony and manage the household diligently and thriftily, and also give them a sum of 'send-off money'.
Tujia Stilted Wooden Houses
The Tujia people love to live in groups and reside in stilted wooden houses. They build houses in villages and stockaded settlements, rarely as isolated single families. The houses are mostly wooden structures with small blue tiles, lattice windows, overhanging eaves, wooden railings, and winding corridors, exuding an antique charm. Typically, each home has a small courtyard with a fence in front and a bamboo grove behind, paths paved with bluestone slabs, walls paneled with planed wooden boards, and lit by pine torches, leading a peaceful pastoral life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Today, the stilted houses where Tujia people live have greatly changed. Many villages now have electricity, as well as radio and television.
Throwing Glutinous Rice Cakes When Raising the Ridge Beam During House Construction
When the Tujia people build a new house, they throw glutinous rice cakes when raising the ridge beam to express congratulations. The content and form are as follows: On the day of erecting the house and raising the ridge beam, relatives and friends send plaques and red cloth, accompanied by gongs, drums, and firecrackers. When formally raising the beam, two 'song masters' are invited to hold tea trays, carry wine pots, and climb up the central pillar step by step along a wooden ladder to the roof beam. At each step up the ladder, they recite a few words of praise. When nearing the ridge beam, they deliver a series of laudatory words, then take out two large rice cakes and ask the host whether he wants wealth or honor; the host replies that he wants both wealth and honor, and the song masters say, 'Grant you both wealth and honor,' and throw down the two large rice cakes. After the host receives the cakes, they throw some smaller cakes as a treat for the onlookers. This form is called 'throwing rice cakes when raising the ridge beam.'
After the rice cakes are scrambled for, the song masters step down the ladder step by step, reciting more words of praise, and thus the ridge beam raising is concluded.
Steaming 'Bamboo Rice Wine' and 'Waqu'
For the Tujia people, bearing and raising children is called 'adding people and increasing mouths,' and there are likewise many 'ritual customs.' For example, when the woman becomes pregnant after marriage, it is called 'having joy'; after the child is born, they must 'announce the good news.' The so-called 'announcing the good news' means the husband takes red eggs and a chicken to inform the parents-in-law. If a boy is born, he brings a rooster; if a girl, a hen. Three days after birth, the maternal grandmother personally bathes the grandchild and brings clothes and other items.
The first celebratory event after 'adding people and increasing mouths' is 'steaming bamboo rice wine' to express congratulations. On this day, relatives and close friends send money to congratulate, and the maternal grandparents especially give quilts, clothes, shoes, hats, brown sugar, eggs, and other items to the grandchild; some even give bamboo-woven cradles. After the child is one month old, they go to the maternal grandmother's house for 'coming out of the month,' and upon return, the grandparents also give 'send-off money.'
When the child reaches one year old, another celebration is held, called 'Waqu' (digging the week).
Holding 'Dao Chang' and Singing 'Mourning Songs'
In the Wulingyuan area, when a person dies, it is called 'a hundred years of returning to longevity.' This is treated as a joyous event, hence the folk term 'white joyous affair.' However, due to the grief of relatives, various forms of mourning activities are held. For example, after death, Taoist priests are invited to 'open the way'; after encoffining, the deceased is covered with a red 'longevity quilt'; relatives and friends bring incense, paper, and funeral banners to bid farewell before the spirit and the body. Those with better means may hold a 'Dao Chang' for three to five days; those poorer who cannot afford it invite people to sing 'mourning songs' (also called 'longevity songs'), mainly recounting the deceased's life deeds and the 'Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars,' etc.
At burial, the children hold the spirit tablet, wear hemp mourning garments, and relatives and friends accompany the funeral procession up the mountain until burial is complete before returning. Seven days after death, Taoist priests are invited to perform 'Yin Qi' for the deceased, once every seven days, to be done three to five times before completion.
Beliefs and Taboos
In the old society, the Tujia people generally worshipped Bodhisattvas and ancestors. Every household had a 'spirit shrine' in the main hall, with red paper inscribed in the center with 'Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, Teacher' and on both sides with 'The family enshrines Buddhist deities and incense, and the successive ancestors of the [surname] clan' (the '[surname]' indicates what surname to write; here it is not referring to any specific family or surname, so a general term is used instead). If a newborn child fell ill, they would make vows of incense; when the child reached 1 or 3 years old, they would invite a sorcerer to 'capture the evil,' and at night perform opera, called 'redeeming the Nuo vow.'
In case of drought or insect plague, they would hold Daoist rites to pray to the gods, dancing with dragon lanterns while splashing water, beseeching the Dragon King for rain. In the old society, many villages built Earth God temples and Grain God temples, where people often came to burn incense and worship, praying for the gods' protection of people and livestock, and bountiful harvests.
The Tujia people also have everyday taboos, but most are concentrated around the Spring Festival period. For example, after the Minor New Year on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, it is forbidden to dig soil around the house, as it is considered inauspicious to disturb the earth at this time. On the evening of the 30th, they dig and loosen soil freely, so every household digs drainage ditches and cleans up thoroughly to welcome the New Year.
On the 24th, they also worship the Kitchen God. At the reunion dinner, they first honor the ancestors, offering meat and wine, burning incense and paper, and kowtowing. Besides meat dishes, the reunion dinner includes green vegetables and cabbage; eating green vegetables is a pun for 'peace and tranquility,' and eating cabbage is a pun for 'everything going smoothly,' etc. For the New Year's Eve meal, they get up in the middle of the night to cook and start eating before dawn, saying it brings brightness. They cannot soak rice in soup while eating, or the field ridges will collapse. During the New Year, only auspicious words are spoken; words like illness or death are avoided.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, every household pastes up couplets reading: "Auspicious when leaving the door, wealth comes to us." There is also the rule that "on the first day one does not go out; on the second day one pays respects to one's father-in-law." If one must travel far, a diviner is consulted to pick an auspicious day, for it is said: "Do not leave on the seventh, do not return on the eighth; leave on the ninth and you will come back empty-handed." When setting out, seeing a magpie is a good sign, while seeing a crow is inauspicious. A woman must not step over a carrying pole, or she too will be considered unlucky. For bathing, there are separate large and small foot basins: men wash in the large one, women may only use the small one. After a woman becomes pregnant, things in the house must not be moved about casually, earth must not be disturbed in front of or behind the house, nails must not be driven into walls or plank partitions, and a knife must not be used to chop the threshold, and so on. It is said that violating these rules will cause the pregnant woman to miscarry.
If a family member dies a violent death away from home (such as being killed, falling to death, or beaten to death), the corpse cannot be carried into the house, because if the "Red-Headed Old Thousand" enters the house, the descendants will face more misfortune than fortune. Moreover, such a person cannot be buried together with those who died of illness or old age, but must be buried separately. With the improvement of scientific and cultural knowledge, these beliefs and taboos are now becoming fewer and fewer.
The Miao "Dragon-Welcoming Dance"
Among the Miao people there is a very ancient dance — the "Dragon-Welcoming Dance." The history of the "Dragon-Welcoming Dance" is as follows: It is said that long, long ago, the Miao lived on "Guolang" (Sun) Mountain. The mountain was thickly wooded, with great fir trees so large that ten people could not encircle them. The crops on the mountain also grew very well — corn (maize) was like ox horns, millet like horse tails, and cotton like white clouds. Life was very prosperous, and every household had ample food and clothing.
However, the good times did not last. The "Long-Haired Ghost" saw that life in the human world was prosperous and became jealous and resentful. He instigated the Thunder God to drive away the dragon, and from then on the life of the Miao people became hard. Every year there was drought, the crops withered and died, and people and livestock had great difficulty even finding water to drink. With no other way, they had to lean on canes and climb the mountain to pray for rain. Praying for rain did not work; only by welcoming the dragon back would it do. So the Miao people thought of the dragon and longed for the dragon, and every year on the second day of the second month, the sixth day of the sixth month, or the ninth day of the ninth month, they held a "Dragon-Welcoming" ceremony, singing and dancing. This is the origin of the Miao "Dragon-Welcoming Dance."
In the "Dragon-Welcoming Dance," first a "Dragon Master" leads the way holding a porcelain bowl, followed by several daigou (boy attendants) divided into two teams, holding red and green striped banners and moving in a dragon formation. There is also a red-robed old si (shaman) brandishing a shaman's knife and waving a willow banner, driving away the "Long-Haired Ghost" all along the way. Then come group after group of Maru Daipar (young and beautiful girls, usually in groups of eight, twenty-eight, forty-eight, or eighty-eight, etc.), wearing brightly colored embroidered clothes, embroidered skirts, and embroidered shoes, and also carrying embroidered umbrellas and embroidered handkerchiefs, with coiled braids on their heads, silver ornaments, and silver "longevity locks" on their chests, dancing gracefully and twirling their embroidered umbrellas to welcome the dragon and bring rain. Their dance movements include: honoring the heavenly gods, longing for the dragon's return, the dragon turning over, the dragon putting on clothes, the dragon seizing the treasure, and then welcoming the dragon into the dragon gate and tossing glutinous rice cakes. At this time, all kinds of Miao instruments — tongpi long horns, corn-copper gongs, suona, ox horns, and large drums — sound together, accompanied by leaf-blowing and Miao songs, and so on. This is the liveliest moment, expressing that the dragon has been welcomed back and that the life of the Miao people is good again. It reflects the Miao people's longing for and pursuit of future happiness.
Ganqiu (Autumn Fair)
"Ganqiu" is a festival of the Miao people rich in traditional flavor. It is generally held each year at the Beginning of Autumn. On this day, the Miao people, men and women, old and young, all take part; the crowds are huge and the scene is extraordinarily lively. The autumn fair is not only a world of activity for the elderly and children, but also a place for young men and women to sing in antiphonal style, dance, and court one another. Ganqiu is also a good opportunity for collective trade and the exchange of goods.
The origin of the "Ganqiu" festival is as follows: It is said that there was a brave and skilled Miao youth named Bagui Dahui. One day, while out hunting, he saw a male eagle in the sky, raised his hand and shot an arrow, and the eagle fell as the arrow flew. When he went to pick up the eagle, unexpectedly it was an embroidered shoe. He wanted to find the girl who had thrown the embroidered shoe, but he simply could not find her. With no other way, he designed a large swing on which eight people could sit and swing at the same time, and named it the "Eight-Person Swing." On the day of the "Beginning of Autumn," he invited everyone to come and swing. Unexpectedly, while swinging, he accidentally found the girl who had thrown the embroidered shoe; her name was Daipar. As soon as they saw the token (that embroidered shoe), they fell in love with each other. Through antiphonal singing, young men and women sought their sweethearts, and so they all came to "Ganqiu." In this way, the Miao Ganqiu festival gradually spread, and the more it was held, the livelier and more flourishing it became.
The Bai "Zhanggu Dance"
The "Zhanggu Dance" is an ancient, unique, and vigorous ethnic dance of the Bai people. It is circulated in Bai areas. The Bai people in the Wulingyuan area all like this dance very much.
It is said that one year, when the Bai people were preparing for the New Year and pounding glutinous rice cakes, robbers suddenly burst in to plunder. The Bai people used wooden pestles as weapons and fought the villains bravely and tenaciously. After a fierce battle, the villains fled in haste. The Bai people were so happy that they waved their wooden pestles, singing and dancing. In this way a special "Wooden Pestle Dance" came into being. Later, through generations of transmission and evolution, it gradually formed the Bai "Zhanggu Dance" that we see today.
Miao Clothing and Adornment
Miao clothing and adornment are generally simple: they plant their own cotton and ramie, spin their own yarn, weave their own cloth, and sew their own clothes. Only the five-colored silk threads used for embroidery and the silk and satin used as backing are bought. Miao men wear front-buttoned jackets, with a small vest over them, leggings on their legs, a plaid silk turban on their heads, and a wide waist sash around their waists. Women's clothing and adornment are more particular than men's. The garments stress embroidery and rolled edges; they wear silk turbans, low in front and high on the right, piled into spiral or oval shapes. The colors are also of two kinds, blue and white. Miao women are especially fond of silver ornaments, wearing silver ornaments with various patterns and designs on their heads, hands, and chests. When they walk, the ornaments jingle, dazzling in a riot of color and especially eye-catching.
Miao Flower Belts
The clever and deft Miao girls can not only embroider and spin and weave cloth, but can also weave flower belts of various patterns.
Regarding the weaving of flower belts, relevant historical records say: "The Southern Man cut their hair and tattooed their bodies to show that they were of the same kind as dragons and snakes, so as to avoid being harmed by them." Originally, Miao girls wove flower belts to protect themselves from snake bites. The belts they wove were so realistic that their patterns resembled snakes, causing snakes to mistake them for their own kind and thus keeping people from harm. No wonder the author of this book, when a guest among the Miao, once heard a beautiful legend: In ancient times, because people living in the Miao mountain areas often suffered harm from poisonous snakes, a beautiful and clever girl thought of a way. Seeing that snakes quickly left when they met their own kind, she imitated the snake's patterns and wove a kind of flower belt about one cun wide. Usually, when going up the mountain, she wrapped this flower belt around her body; if she encountered a poisonous snake, she would take off the flower belt and wave it at the snake. In this way, when the poisonous snake saw it, it thought it was its own kind and quickly left. This method was very effective and kept many Miao people from harm. From then on, Miao flower-belt weaving was passed down from generation to generation. Through generations of transmission, Miao flower belts have been woven faster and faster and more and more beautiful. They have developed from the original single purpose of preventing snake bites to many uses today, such as tokens of love between young people, gifts for relatives and friends, and also straps for handbags and decoration for some furniture, and so on. The patterns and designs of flower belts have also become richer and richer, including those expressing good fortune and love, such as "Double Happiness Comes to the Door," "Abundant Harvest of the Five Grains," and "Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water," as well as those depicting flowers and plants, such as "Autumn Chrysanthemum," "Orchid Grass," and so on. Miao girls' craft of weaving flower belts has also improved. In the past, weaving one flower belt took several days; now, one sees them holding an ox-bone needle (some also use copper or silver needles), moving the needle and thread like a flashing meteor, and a one-meter-long flower belt is quickly woven.
The Miao people are especially hospitable. They are very polite, value affection, keep their promises, treat others sincerely, are honest and simple, and are not hypocritical. They have always upheld justice, supported the right and rejected the evil, and when they see injustice on the road, they draw their knives to help, ready to go through fire and water without hesitation.
Thrush Fighting (Bird Fighting)
Thrush fighting (also called "bird fighting") is one of the favorite recreational and sports activities of the Tujia people in the mountainous areas of western Hunan. The author of this book has several times gone to Yuanguping, Xiejiaya, and Hongtuping in Yongding District to watch the contests in person; truly, the crowds are huge and the scene is extraordinarily lively. When the bird-fighting meet begins, first a local expert bird keeper hangs his bird cage on a tree in the central meeting ground, and then "experts" from all sides arrive one after another. Soon the meeting ground is hung full of bird cages. At this point the "expert bird keepers" (generally respected local elders) announce the formal start of the bird-fighting meet. With a wave of the hand and a shout, firecrackers crackle, gongs and drums resound, and bird calls rise on all sides, chirping and twittering, while men and women, old and young, all watch the contest. The expert bird fighters each seek out their opponents. As soon as the thrushes' eyes redden, they pounce fiercely at each other, grabbing and pecking, and fighting breaks out on all sides. At this time, some experts and people who love their birds like their own children use "secret words" to command the thrushes to "strike the hoop head" (that is, peck the opponent's head), "strike the flinging beak" (that is, peck the opponent's beak), "braid and pull the ox" (that is, use the beak to drag the opponent's belly), "two dragons seize the pearl" (that is, peck the opponent's eyes), and so on, until they fight to exhaustion and are hard to separate, when the referee decides the winner. The victorious thrush is hung with colored silk and red cloth on its cage and given a fine name, such as "King of Birds," "Tiger of the Whole Mountain," and so on.
According to the expert bird keepers, thrushes that can generally fight and are good at fighting all have "yellow wax beaks," "ox-sinew legs," "scissors wings," and "fan tails." These birds peck several thousand times at a go. Besides thrushes, they also raise mynahs, golden pheasants, bamboo partridges, and other birds. These bird keepers love their birds as their own children, watching over them day and night, never leaving the cages unattended. They carry the bird cages when going out and hold them when entering the house; truly, the cage never leaves their side. They achieve this: when a bird lives, they care for it; when a bird dies, they bury it; when a bird is buried, they make offerings to it. Bird keepers say: "One person keeps birds, and youth does not age; a family keeps birds, and all things go well."
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