Tujia Folk Beliefs and Culture — Egg Worship
Chapter 3: Egg Worship. In Tujia folk customs, an oval egg contains mysterious, extraordinary power. Centered on the egg, various interesting folk customs have formed. I. Origin of Egg Fertility Worship. From the perspective of traditional Tujia customs, the egg, like the gourd, is a treasure for reproducing human life. The egg reproduces life...
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
Chapter Three: Egg Worship
In Tujia folk customs, an oval egg actually contains mysterious and extraordinary power. With the egg at the center, various interesting folk phenomena have formed.
I. The Origin of Reproductive Worship in Egg Customs
From the perspective of traditional Tujia customs, the egg, like the gourd, is a treasure for reproducing human life. The belief that eggs reproduce life can be traced back to the ancient Shang dynasty's concept and myth of egg-birth of humans. The Shang people took the bird as their totem, so they honored bird eggs as objects of reproductive worship, and the myth of Jiandi was a product of this worship. Many texts, including the Shangshu: Zhonghou, Shijing: Xuanniao, Chuci: Tianwen, Shiji: Yin Benji, Taiping Yulan, Bamboo Annals, Baihu Tongyi, Lüshi Chunqiu, and Huainanzi, all record the myth of Jiandi swallowing an egg, showing its broad and deep influence. Several representative ones are recorded here:
Heaven commanded the dark bird, and it came down and gave birth to Shang.
Yin Qi's mother was named Jiandi, a daughter of the Yourong clan... The three women went to bathe, and saw the dark bird drop its egg. Jiandi took and swallowed it; thus she conceived and gave birth to Qi.
Qi's mother Jiandi was the eldest daughter of the Yourong. In the time of Yao, she bathed with her sisters
in the waters of Xuanqiu. A dark bird carried an egg, passed by and dropped it. It was five-colored and very beautiful; Jiandi and her sisters raced
to take it. Jiandi got it and swallowed it, and thus gave birth to Qi.
The above three records all indicate that Qi, the ancestor of Yin, was regarded as egg-born. It can be seen that the Yin people believed in the concept of "egg-birth of humans." Therefore the Shangshu: Zhonghou says, "Qi was egg-born."
In the long river of history, the concept of "egg-birth of humans" had a broad influence, and myths and legends about "egg-birth of humans" continued without interruption. The Shanhaijing: Dahuang Nanjing says: "There is a country of egg people; all its people are egg-born." Guo Pu notes: "That is, egg-born." The Shanhaijing: Haiwai Nanjing also says: "The country of feathered people is southeast of it. Its people have long heads and feathers growing from their bodies." Guo Pu notes: "They can fly but not far; they are egg-born, and in pictures they look like immortals." Zhang Hua of the Jin dynasty, in Bowuzhi: Yiwen, records a legend of "egg-birth of humans": "The consort of the Lord of Xu became pregnant and gave birth to an egg. She considered it inauspicious and abandoned it by the waterside. A solitary old mother had a dog named Hucang, which hunted by the waterside and found the abandoned egg, carrying it eastward in its mouth. The solitary old mother thought it strange, covered and warmed it, and it hatched into a child. When born, he lay face up, so this was taken as his name." In the Han dynasty, Sima Qian's Shiji also records the legend that "Hanshi swallowed a red pearl and gave birth to Liu Bang." By the Qing dynasty, the Veritable Records of Emperor Wu of Qing Taizu also records a variant myth of "egg-birth of humans": "Changbai Mountain is high and cold, with strong winds that never cease. In summer, the animals around the mountain all come to rest in this mountain. Northeast of the mountain, below Bukuli Mountain, there is a lake named Bulhuri. At first, Heaven sent down three immortals to bathe in the lake. The eldest was named Enggulen, the second Zhenggulen, and the third Fekulen. After bathing, they came ashore. A divine magpie held a red fruit and placed it on Fekulen's clothing. Its color was very fresh and beautiful. Fekulen loved it and could not bear to let it go, so she held it in her mouth. Just as she put on her clothes, the fruit entered her belly, and she felt it and became pregnant... Later she gave birth to a boy, who could speak at birth and quickly grew up." The overall plot of the myth is the same as Jiandi swallowing an egg and giving birth to Qi, only replacing the bird egg with a red fruit, and it still belongs to the category of "egg-birth of humans" myths.
These myths and legends of "egg-birth of humans" that repeatedly appeared in history gave the concept of "egg-birth of humans" a broad influence. The Tujia were also influenced by this concept and produced similar myths and legends. The Tujia myth about the origin of humanity includes the concept of "egg-birth of humans." Long, long ago, heaven and earth were mixed into one mass, with no heaven and no earth, all black smoke. Suddenly a violent wind blew the black smoke apart, and a white cloud drifted over. In the white cloud there was an egg; the egg white resembled the shape of heaven, and the yolk resembled the shape of earth. The egg cracked open, and out jumped a girl named Luan Yu. Luan Yu was the ancestor of the Tujia. Seeing heaven and earth stuck together, she shot them apart with an arrow. Only after heaven and earth were separated did the world exist. This myth expands from "egg-birth of humans" to the concept of "egg-birth of the universe," giving the "egg" a supernatural power beyond all nature. It is a development of the concept of "egg-birth of humans" and is completely consistent with the Han Chinese concept of the "cosmic egg." From this it can be seen how deeply Tujia creation views were influenced by "egg-birth of humans."
II. Egg Customs Grounded in Reproductive Worship
It was precisely under the influence of the ancient Central Plains "egg-birth" culture that the Tujia formed a wide variety of egg customs.
Egg customs in marriage. When a Tujia family marries off a daughter, the dowry must include a pair of rectangular wooden tea trays. In the trays are placed five-colored dyed glutinous rice, and on top of the rice are several boiled eggs dyed red, implying the wish for early birth of a noble son. This is precisely an expression of egg reproductive worship. In the wedding there is also the custom of sharing and eating red eggs. After the bride arrives at the groom's home, when the groom's relatives, friends, and fellow villagers ask the bride for red eggs to eat, the bride cannot refuse, because the custom holds that the more "red joy eggs" she gives away, the stronger the bride's fertility will be.
Egg customs in childbirth. The Tujia people of western Hubei have the custom of pouring out eggshells. The eggshells left from the eggs a woman eats during her month of confinement must not be thrown away carelessly; they can only be discarded after the baby's full-month celebration, and they must be poured out at a crossroads to signify that mother and child are safe and sound. This is also a surviving custom of the primitive belief that "humans are born from eggs." Humans are born from eggs, and when the egg breaks, the person must be fully formed in order to be born safely. In the past, because rural medical and health conditions were poor, the mortality rate of infants before the full month was relatively high, so they were not regarded as having been safely born—like a life about to break out of the egg but not yet emerged, whose life was not yet fully developed and mature, so the eggshell could not be completely broken. As a symbolic ritual of the eggshell not being able to break completely, the eggshells were kept in the home. Keeping the eggshells became a way of protecting the infant's life. When the infant passed the dangerous period at the full month, the eggshells then became a symbol of the infant's safe birth, so they were poured out at a crossroads to announce it to the neighbors and passersby. This custom vividly demonstrates the concept of "humans born from eggs." After the baby's full month, in some places a ritual of "leaving the month and worshipping the well" is also held. The mother brings two boiled eggs and carries the baby to the wellside to pay respects. After worshipping, she throws the boiled eggs into the well, then washes the baby's hands with well water, and the mother takes a mouthful of well water and feeds it into the baby's mouth. After the ritual at the wellside is completed, the mother carries back a pot of well water, heats it, and bathes the baby with it; it is said this method can prevent the child from getting sick. The custom of "leaving the month and worshipping the well" has both the meaning of borrowing the spring water of life to nurture the baby's healthy growth and the meaning of borrowing the reproductive power of eggs to protect the child from illness and disaster. It is a remnant of contagious magic. In this, the reason eggs possess the function of dispelling disaster and warding off evil is that they possess reproductive capacity. In primitive people's thinking, reproductive power was a divine force surpassing all others; since eggs possess the power of life, they also possess the power to dispel disaster and drive away evil.
Egg customs in the capping ceremony. Among the Tujia, a bride-to-be must perform the capping ceremony on the night before the bridal sedan chair arrives; she must shave off her eyebrows and pluck the fine hair from her face. At that time, the groom's family must send over two boiled red eggs. Before the bride-to-be "opens her face," she must roll the two eggs over her face a few times; this is also a manifestation of egg reproductive worship. Rolling two red eggs over the bride-to-be's face expresses the wish to inject the egg's reproductive power into her body, praying that after marriage she will have the ability to bear and raise children.
Egg customs in festivals and birthdays. The Tujia have the custom of eating shepherd's purse boiled with eggs on the third day of the third lunar month. On the festival day, people gather shepherd's purse, which has small white flowers, wash it clean, and boil it together with eggs. After the boiled eggs are shelled, they appear translucent pale green. It is said that eating such eggs during the festival can cure dizziness and drive away evil and disaster. Shepherd's purse boiled with eggs may indeed have medicinal value, but that it must be eaten on this festival day to be effective is probably not merely for medical reasons but also for customary reasons. The custom of eating shepherd's purse boiled with eggs on the third day of the third lunar month originates from the ancient Central Plains custom of floating eggs during the Shangsi Festival. Zhang Xie of the Jin Dynasty wrote in "Fu on the Purification Rite": "Floating plain eggs to cover the water." Pan Ni wrote in "Poem Composed at the Luo River on the Third Day": "Plain eggs drift back with the current." Plain eggs were boiled eggs. Placing boiled eggs to float on flowing water was intended to beg for children. Begging for children from eggs was undoubtedly to borrow the reproductive power of eggs to obtain fertility. Later, begging for children from eggs gradually evolved into begging for immunity from eggs, and this became the later custom of eating shepherd's purse boiled with eggs on the third day of the third lunar month. The healing function of eggs comes from their reproductive function.
Egg customs in hospitality practices. Among the Tujia of western Hubei, there is the custom of entertaining distinguished guests with egg oil-tea soup. Oil-tea soup is made by frying tea leaves, dried glutinous rice, corn, peanuts, dried tofu, sesame, ginger, scallions, garlic, and other ingredients until crisp in boiling rapeseed oil, then boiling them with water; its flavor is fragrant and delicious, combining numbing, spicy, sweet, and savory tastes. Putting boiled, shelled eggs into the oil-tea soup gives it a distinctive flavor. Influenced by reproductive worship, the number of eggs placed in the oil-tea soup is particular: generally 3 or 4. The Tujia believe that eating 1 is swallowing it alone, eating 2 is cursing someone, eating 5 is diminishing the five grains, eating 6 is receiving official salary, and eating 7, 8, or 9 corresponds to the unlucky saying "seven die, eight perish, nine are buried." The auspicious and inauspicious meanings contained in the number of eggs are also variations of the egg reproductive concept.
Egg customs in religious activities. The Tujia have activities worshipping the Earth Mother Goddess. The Earth Mother Goddess is the God of the Five Grains, that is, the goddess who nurtures the growth and ripening of crops. Every year on the third day of the first lunar month, as the new spring arrives, the God of the Five Grains must be invited out of the house to the fields to nurture the crops. After the autumn harvest is completed and the five grains are stored in the granary, the God of the Five Grains must again be invited back into the house and installed at the granary door. Both times the Earth Mother Goddess is invited, a sacrificial ceremony must be held. During the sacrifice, incense is burned, wine is offered, and eggs are respectfully presented. The purpose of offering eggs may have been the hope that after eating them the Earth Mother Goddess would increase her reproductive power and multiply and nurture more grain. If eggs can strengthen people's reproductive capacity, they can also strengthen the Earth Mother Goddess's ability to grow crops. From the concept of "all things have spirits," humans and things are inseparable; the power that works on humans can likewise be used on things. Worshipping the Earth Mother Goddess is one of the most solemn sacrificial activities of the Tujia. According to the "Taiping Huanyu Ji": "The customs of Ba all emphasize the Field God." The Field God is the Earth Mother Goddess. For such an important sacrifice, the Tujia use only eggs as offerings, unlike some ethnic groups that use large livestock such as cattle for sacrifice. This shows how deeply they believe in and how much they worship the enormous reproductive power contained in the tiny egg. From worship of the egg's reproductive power, there inevitably follows worship of the chicken. The Tujia have a shamanic ritual of using a rooster to drive away the Hall-Crossing White Tiger. Every year after autumn, people always worry that the Hall-Crossing White Tiger will come to endanger children's lives. Therefore, every household with children must invite a Tujia ritual master to drive away the white tiger once. The method is to insert a bamboo pole on the flat ground outside the door and hang a rooster on it. The shaman performs rituals inside the house, and when the rooster outside crows, it indicates that the white tiger has been driven away. Compared with the enormous white tiger, the tiny rooster is so weak and insignificant, yet its single crow can drive the white tiger away, showing the place the egg's reproductive power held in people's minds.
III. Variations of the "Humans Born from Eggs" Concept and Customs
The concept of "humans born from eggs" and related myths and customs inherited from ancient times by the Han Chinese, while influencing Tujia reproductive concepts and customs, were also influenced by Tujia ethnic culture and integrated many elements of Tujia culture, thus undergoing various changes in form.
First, the concept of "humans born from eggs" evolved into the concept of "humans born from peaches," and from this arose related myths and customs. The Tujia region is rich in peaches, and their abundant fruit easily gives people the feeling that peach trees and peaches have strong reproductive power. Moreover, the shape of a peach is very close to an "egg," so using "peach" instead of "egg" as an idol of reproductive worship was a very natural matter. The Tujia concept of "humans born from peaches" thus emerged at the historic moment, and at the same time gave birth to related "humans born from peaches" myths. The myth says: after Luanyu shot open heaven and earth, there was no human habitation in the world. Thinking that she had no children, she cried sorrowfully. Goddess Nüwa told Luanyu not to cry and let her walk all the way along the Yellow River; if she saw 8 peaches floating down from upstream, she must pick them up and swallow them; even if 1 peach blossom floated down, she must also pick it up and swallow it, and in this way there would be people in the world. Luanyu followed Goddess Nüwa's words and swallowed 8 peaches and 1 peach blossom, and indeed became pregnant. Luanyu was pregnant for 3 years and 6 months and gave birth to 8 sons and 1 daughter; from then on there were human seeds in the world.
The myth of humans born from peaches expresses the Tujia worship of the reproductive power of peaches. With the peach at the center, a series of customs also formed. After a Tujia infant reaches 40 days, a baptism ritual must be held and the fetal hair shaved off. When shaving the fetal hair, it absolutely must not all be shaved off; a patch of hair resembling the shape of a peach must be left on the top of the infant's head to protect the infant's healthy growth. Girls are often given names containing the words "peach" or "peach blossom," also to take the meaning of good fortune and peace. Tujia people like to plant peach trees in front of and behind their houses, praying for continuous descendants and a flourishing family. The Qing Dynasty poet Peng Yongxing wrote in "Bamboo Branch Song": "Peach blossoms are customarily used for girls' names; the child was born on the birthday of peach blossoms; if she marries a son-in-law from the slopes of Mount Tiantai, year after year beneath the flowers she will accompany the spring plowing." This is a vivid portrayal of the Tujia people's love of peaches, affection for peaches, and reverence for peaches. When a Tujia elder dies, peach leaves are cut and boiled into soup to bathe the deceased, and 7 bows and arrows are made from peach branches and inserted on the coffin; peach branches are also often inserted in front of the grave. Using peach branches in funerals has two meanings: first, to use the reproductive power of the peach to help the deceased be reincarnated and reborn as soon as possible; second, to let the ancestors (the deceased) borrow the reproductive power of the peach to protect descendants from generation to generation.
Second, the concept of "humans born from eggs" changed into the concept of "humans born from grapes." In the Youyang area of eastern Sichuan, there is a legend of humans born from grapes. Long ago, there was a great drought under heaven, the earth cracked from dryness, and a divine man climbed up to the heavenly court along a mulberry tree to ask the Jade Emperor to send rain to save the people of the world. The Jade Emperor picked up a broom and swept some water from a golden basin down to the mortal world a few times, and as a result there rose a great flood reaching the sky, wiping out humanity. Seeing that there was no smoke from cooking fires in the human world at all, the Jade Emperor sent the Nuo God Grandfather and Nuo God Grandmother, two siblings, down to the mortal world to multiply humanity. Although it was the Jade Emperor's command, the Nuo God Grandfather and Nuo God Grandmother felt that they were full siblings and were embarrassed to become husband and wife. Through divine matchmaking, after trials such as rolling stone mills that came together and planting gourd vines that became entwined, the two had no choice but to become husband and wife. After marriage, Nuo God Grandmother became pregnant and gave birth to a string of grapes. Seeing this, the husband and wife were ashamed and angry, so they cut the string of grapes off one by one and threw them away. Those thrown on the ground became the Tujia, those thrown on rice seedlings became the Miao, those thrown in caves became the Dong, those thrown in water became the Shui, those thrown on dry land became the Han... The various ethnic groups were multiplied in this way. In this myth, the imprint of "egg" reproductive worship is still clearly visible. Because the shape of grapes is roughly similar to an "egg" and they likewise contain the seeds of life, they were used to replace "eggs" as reproductive worship objects. However, as people's understanding of the harm of close-blood marriage increased, grapes were also regarded as the evil fruit of blood-relative marriage, and people feared giving birth to grape monstrosities, forming a contradictory psychology: they acknowledged that their ancestors were born from grapes, yet feared that women of their own ethnic group would again give birth to grape monstrosities. This is the result of the remnants of creation myths and people's understanding of real life becoming entangled and contradictory with each other. It was precisely under the control of this contradictory psychology that the Tujia have various taboos regarding grapes and objects resembling grapes. For example, fish roe resembles grapes, and Tujia girls are forbidden to eat fish roe.
Third, the concept of "humans born from eggs" changed into the concept of "humans born from red balls." Among the Tujia people of Lichuan in western Hubei, the following myth is still circulated: long ago, heavy snow fell continuously from the sky, and many people froze to death in the ice and snow. Only a brother and sister remained in the world. They had neither food to eat nor clothes to wear. Suddenly, they saw a tall and large dawn redwood tree, and the two climbed up along its trunk. They climbed and climbed, and all at once they actually climbed up to the heavenly palace. They saw Bodhisattva Guanyin, and Bodhisattva Guanyin said: "Only the two of you are left in the world; the continuation of human life depends on you. Go down to the mortal world and bear and raise children!" The two returned to the human world and felt that as brother and sister they should not marry, and neither was willing to do as Bodhisattva Guanyin said. At that moment, the deity threw down two branches from the sky, and the two branches quickly joined together. Only then did the brother and sister know that their union was the will of heaven, and so they agreed to unite. At the wedding, the younger sister was very shy, so she broke off a branch and held it up to cover her face, as if holding an umbrella. Thereafter, when Tujia girls married, they all held an umbrella. After marriage, the younger sister gave birth to a red ball, and the two were greatly shocked and decided to throw the red ball away. After the red ball was thrown out, it exploded in the air, and countless small pieces flew out; these small pieces became people. The red ball in the myth is still a variant form of the egg. In fact, the red ball has broader representativeness: all round or nearly round living objects can be included, such as chicken eggs, fish roe, bird eggs, snake eggs, turtle eggs; peaches, oranges, plums, apricots, grapes, pomegranates, peanuts, dates, pumpkins, watermelons, and so on. Therefore, the objects listed above all became substitutes for the reproductive worship object "egg." The arbitrary expansion of egg reproductive worship objects took "all things have spirits" as its precondition. Until recent times, the concept of "all things have spirits" still prevailed among the Tujia, and religion was still mainly nature worship, which provided fertile soil for the expansion of egg reproductive worship.
The various variations of egg reproductive worship all formed corresponding customs among the Tujia, among which the most typical is probably the scattering-the-bed ritual in wedding ceremonies. The Tujia scattering-the-bed ritual is closely related to the Central Plains scattering-the-bed ritual, but the Tujia scattering-the-bed ritual also has its own unique form. When a Tujia girl marries, among her dowry there must be a white linen mosquito net. At the time of marriage, the net is threaded through the net tube with two purple bamboo poles and carried by the "momis." When the net is delivered to the groom's house, a certain ritual must be held: first handing over the net, then hanging the net, and finally scattering the bed. After the net is hung, the groom hands a red-lacquered tray to the bride, and the tray contains various fruits and other items, which the bride scatters. The bride sings as she scatters:
I bestow upon you two pairs of golden lotus bowls, and give you five pairs of ivory-jade chopsticks.
I bestow upon you two plates of red dates and peanuts, and give you two bowls of osmanthus seed round cakes.
Dates and peanuts are scattered into the net, osmanthus seed round cakes are placed at the bedside.
Green silk and red thread wrap around the golden hooks, mandarin duck palace lanterns hang from the net's edge.
The carp has its pond to scatter its roe; husband and wife within the net will be together for a hundred years.
Phoenixes soar and luan birds fly; sun and moon are cultivated together.
From the scattering-the-bed custom, it can be seen that the activity contains multiple meanings, such as wealth and good fortune, harmony between husband and wife, and growing old together, but its central meaning is begging for children. In the past, bearing and raising children was the most important purpose of marriage, and all happiness between husband and wife centered on this, so in the Tujia scattering-the-bed ritual blessing the marriage, praying for sons became the central content. Most of the things the bride scatters have the meaning of begging for children: "dates" imply early birth of a precious son; "peanuts" carry the wish that descendants multiply like peanuts; "osmanthus seeds" even more imply early birth of a precious son; "the carp has its pond to scatter its roe" is a metaphor for husband and wife uniting to bear children. In this, dates, osmanthus seeds, peanuts, seeds, and so on all became aids to birth, or so-called reproductive symbols. These reproductive symbols are all variant forms of the "egg."
Those as small as fish roe can replace eggs as reproductive symbols; those as large as melons can likewise replace eggs as reproductive symbols. Among the Tujia, the Mid-Autumn Festival custom of stealing melons to send children is preserved. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, with a bright moon in the sky, kind-hearted people take advantage of the moonlight to steal melons from winter melon patches and "send children" to childless couples. The melon thief may steal melons from anyone's field at will, and the owner, knowing full well that someone is stealing melons, does not interfere and is secretly happy, believing that the more melons are stolen, the more prosperous he will become. After the melon thief takes the melon, he wraps it in swaddling clothes and delivers it to the bed of the childless couple. When delivering it, he must also ask someone to pretend to cry like a baby and say some auspicious words in four-character or eight-character phrases, playing a role in urging conception and hastening birth.
Fourth, round woven objects were used to replace "eggs" or "eggs" as reproductive worship objects. The Tujia have the courtship and marriage custom of snatching tribute chickens. Tribute chickens are woven from bamboo strips, with size and shape like chicken eggs. There are two kinds, hollow and solid; the solid ones are stuffed with rice straw and painted in five colors on the outside, bright and dazzling. Young men and women often use the activity of snatching tribute chickens to find their sweethearts. The method of snatching tribute chickens is that one person throws out the tribute chicken, and everyone else goes to snatch it. Whoever snatches the tribute chicken has the right to throw it at the person he or she loves. If the beloved is interested, she will deliberately expose herself and let the tribute chicken hit her; if not interested, she will turn sideways, bend down, dodge left and right, and not let the tribute chicken hit her. In Tujia mountain songs there is even the lyric "colorful chickens convey feelings and join marriage destinies." The reason striking tribute chickens could become an important means for men and women to unite in marriage is that the concept of egg reproductive worship was at work. The tribute chicken is a substitute for the egg and also a symbol of reproduction. Men and women throwing the tribute chicken at their beloved undoubtedly contains the meaning of praying for the other's strong reproductive power. And strong reproductive power was an important condition for entering marriage, so the tribute chicken thrown at the beloved became the bond of marriage.
In short, under the influence of the concept of "humans born from eggs," the Tujia produced various "egg birth" myths, legends, and customs, as well as various myths and customs that evolved from the concept and myths of "humans born from eggs." These variant and original myths and customs constitute a vast reproductive worship cultural circle centered on eggs. Eggs and the round or oval objects evolved from eggs, whether living or nonliving, all became symbols of human life!