Study of Institutional Culture in Ancient Tujia Society—Funeral System Culture (I)
Chapter 7: Funeral System Culture. In ancient Tujia society, the funeral system was mainly expressed through folk funeral customs and rites, covering both rules for disposing of the deceased's body and requirements for funeral ceremonies and supplies. As a unique cultural phenomenon, the Tujia funeral system and its religious system...
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Chapter Seven: The Culture of the Funeral System
In ancient Tujia society, the Tujia funeral system was mainly manifested through folk funeral customs and funeral rites, and its content included both regulations on the disposal of the deceased's remains and requirements for funeral ceremonies and funeral supplies.
As a unique cultural phenomenon, the Tujia funeral system is closely linked to its religious system and clan system. In a certain sense, the Tujia funeral system is a comprehensive carrier of Tujia ethnic culture. This chapter focuses on making some theoretical explorations of the funeral system culture of ancient Tujia society from the aspects of the trajectory of change in funeral customs, regional differences in funeral rites, and the cultural significance of the funeral system.
Section One: Funeral Customs
According to various historical records, in the Tujia region throughout history, different forms of funeral customs appeared, and these funeral customs presented different characteristics due to regional differences.
I. Changes in Funeral Customs
As for the changes in Tujia funeral customs, existing research cannot yet provide a very clear trajectory of change. There are two reasons for this. First, the Tujia formed relatively late; although today we affirm that the ancestors of the Tujia were the Ba people, the Tujia certainly absorbed many ancient ethnic components. Therefore, in history, the Tujia certainly had many kinds of funeral customs, and it is now very difficult for us to ascertain exactly which customs were originally Tujia and which were formed after the Tujia accepted the culture of other ethnic groups. Second, there are too few historical documents on the Tujia, and it is very difficult for us to reconstruct a clear picture of change from existing documents. Roughly divided, Tujia funeral customs went through three periods: the ancient period of coexistence of multiple customs; the period after the Ming dynasty dominated by earth burial; and the period of earth burial customs after the "Gaituguiliu."
The main origin of the Tujia people is the Ba people, but they also have other ethnic components. Today it is very difficult for us to identify which ancient ethnic groups eventually merged into the Tujia, and therefore their ancient funeral customs are also not very clear to us. It is precisely for this reason that some scholars have reluctantly pointed out that there were four forms of burial that existed in Tujia areas.
Cremation. Cremation is an ancient burial form in Tujia areas that was passed down over a long period. In the "moving fire smoke" (moving graves) activity performed by the Tujia laosi (ritual specialists), the divine songs sung include the saying "when a person dies, the fire smoke rises to heaven." This means that when a person dies, the body is burned so that the soul may ascend to heaven. In the Tujia areas around Fenghuang, Jishou, and Luxi in Xiangxi, the custom of "eating fire torches" still survives to this day: if someone in the clan (including married-out daughters) is killed by others, then the entire clan (today, anyone with the same surname counts as the same clan) gathers at the killer's home, slaughters the pigs, sheep, and cattle there, feasts for several days, and then leaves. This is called "eating fire torches." This name should also be a legacy of ancient cremation. In addition to these two linguistic survivals, there are other archaeological discoveries that can prove this. In 1997, when the Xiangxi Prefecture archaeological team excavated ancient tombs at Sifangcheng in Baojing, they saw a bowl in one tomb containing bone ashes, which was identified as a Yuan Dynasty ash burial. This form can still be seen as a surviving trace in the burial customs of the Tujia people today. After an elderly person dies, the family must throw the straw from the bed the deceased slept on into the wilderness and burn it; this is a variant practice of burning the dead person's body.
Judging from existing documents, cremation should be a very ancient custom. This custom is seen in some ancient texts recording the customs of peoples in the northwest and southwest, such as the cremation customs of the ancient Qiang people recorded in the "Xunzi: Dalue" and "Mozi: Jiezang." The Ba people were one branch of the Di-Qiang people, and the Tujia were descendants of the Ba people; therefore it can be known that the Tujia cremation custom has a long historical origin.
Rock tombs and cliff coffin burials. Regarding these two burial customs, there are different views today. But what can be certain is that these two burial customs mainly existed in Tujia areas. Although we cannot affirm that they were unique to the Tujia, we can be certain that some tribes among the Tujia also once practiced rock tombs and cliff coffin burials.
The earliest appearance of rock tombs and cliff coffin burials in Tujia areas was approximately in the Warring States period, and by the Tang Dynasty at the latest they had already appeared, because Volume Two of "Chaoye Qianzai" by Zhang Lu of the Tang Dynasty records: "When the parents of the Wuxi Man died... niches were chiseled in the side of high mountains facing the river for burial; coffins were lowered by ropes from the mountain, and the higher the better, this was considered the height of filial piety." From this record, rock tombs and cliff coffin burials were already prevalent in the Tang Dynasty. Of course, these two burial customs were not limited to the Wuxi area (that is, present-day the upper reaches of the Yuan River, Xiangxi, eastern Guizhou, and eastern Chongqing). From existing archaeological evidence, these two burial customs existed in large numbers in the Xiajiang area and the Yuan River and Youshui River basins of Xiangxi.
Earth burial and boat-coffin burials. These two burial forms were the traditional burial forms of the ancient Ba people. As one of the main origins of the Tujia, the Ba people's cultural remains in Tujia areas are entirely natural. "Shuzhong Mingsheng Ji" records that Ba County had the "Tomb of the Lord of Ba." "Ming Yitong Zhi" says that after the Ba state general Manzi died, Chu buried his head on the south side of Jingmen Mountain, and the Ba state buried his body at Duting in the northwest of Qingjiang County. "Lichuan County Gazetteer: Yingjie Zhi" records, "The tomb of Zhou Ba Manzi is at Duting Mountain, ninety li north of the county." In the earlier extant text written by the Tujia themselves, the "Lin Ge," there is also in the "Nuo Ge" the line "when the year ends one must return, sleeping on the high slope's yellow earth mound." "Yellow earth mound" indicates that earth burial was used. The "Nuo Ge" was composed in the Han Dynasty.
In addition to records in historical texts, contemporary archaeological materials are already very abundant. In 1954, Ba people boat-coffin burials were discovered at Dongshunba in Ba County, Sichuan, and at Baolunyuan in Zhaohua County, both being earthen pit tombs. In 1972, three Ba people earthen pit tombs were excavated at Xiaotianxi in Fuling District, Chongqing, dating to the Warring States period. From this it can be seen that earth burial and boat-coffin burial were the traditional burial forms of the ancient Ba people.
Bone-picking burial (secondary burial). The earliest record of the custom of bone-picking burial is seen in "Mozi: Jiezang": "In the south of Chu there was the Yanren state; when their relatives died, the flesh was allowed to rot and then discarded, after which the bones were buried; only then could one be considered a filial son." This burial form once prevailed in Tujia areas and was passed down over a long period. "Suishu: Dili Zhi" records: "Nan Commandery, Yiling... Yuanling, Qingjiang and other commanderies were mostly mixed with Man and Zuo peoples. In their death rituals, although there was no tearing of hair or baring of the breast and leaping, they still knew how to wail and weep. When death first occurred, the body was brought out into the central courtyard and not kept in the room. After encoffining was completed, it was sent to the mountains, with thirteen years as the limit; an auspicious day was chosen, and the remains were changed into a small coffin, which was called 'picking up the bones'... In bone-picking, the flesh is removed and the bones taken; the small are discarded and the large kept."
Of the four burial customs of the ancient Tujia, only earth burial has continued to the present day. But today's earth burial customs have also undergone changes, passing through many stages before reaching their present form. Due to the lack of materials, we can only rely on existing research materials to summarize this development. Generally speaking, Tujia earth burial went through three stages.
Earth burial within the ancient ancestor-worship system. At the latest by the Song and Yuan dynasties, Tujia earth burial was mainly confined within the ancestor-worship system. Earth burial at this stage was much simpler than later burial forms. This can be seen from the extant "Lin Ge." The second and third volumes of the extant "Lin Ge," namely the "Nuo Ge" and "Lei Ge," were composed from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. Over this long period, there was no geomantic concept such as we see today. Earth burial at this time was relatively simple; in the burial ritual, the main purpose was to express remembrance of ancestors. In earth burial culture, ancestor worship was primary, mixed with some witchcraft. From archaeological materials, in 1972 three Ba people tombs were excavated at Xiaotianxi in Fuling, Chongqing; they were earthen pit tombs, and no cultural factors of today's earth burial were found in the pits.
Some researchers have also believed that ancient burial centered on ancestor worship embodied the clan nature of the Tujia. These scholars cite the record in "Suishu: Dili Zhi" as evidence. It says, "(When a person died), young men of the neighborhood, each holding a bow and arrow, sang around the corpse, using arrows and bows as rhythm; the lyrics told of the pleasures of life up to its end, roughly like today's funeral songs." However, from this material we simply cannot see any trace of clan nature. Since it says "young men of the neighborhood," this includes many possibilities: they might be of the same clan, or they might be of the same tribe. Moreover, whether the Tujia of the Sui-Tang period had already developed clan culture is still an unproven proposition. And from the "Nuo Ge" and "Lei Ge" in the extant "Lin Ge," what is narrated are the ancestors of the entire tribe, including the seven surnames. Therefore, it can be affirmed that in the earth burial of this time there was not yet the patriarchal-clan nature of today, but rather tribal ancestor worship.
Earth burial within the Han Chinese feng shui system since the Ming Dynasty. Earth burial became generally prevalent in Tujia areas beginning in the Ming Dynasty. This was mainly caused by the Ming Dynasty population migration policy of filling Hunan with people from Jiangxi. The policy of filling Hunan with Jiangxi people caused large numbers of Han Chinese to enter the Xiangxi and Exi areas. Han culture then spread extensively and deeply in Tujia areas. What influenced the Tujia most deeply was burial culture. Han "feng shui geography" was quite attractive to the Tujia, and the Tujia's Tima and Liuluo extensively introduced feng shui studies into the burial rituals they presided over. Although it was still earth burial, previously sites were mainly chosen according to witchcraft, whereas now sites were chosen according to feng shui. We can see this from volumes such as the "Lin Ge" and "Song Ge Chu Men" in the "Lin Ge." In these volumes of songs, feng shui is mentioned, such as "specially bury my eyes together by the dragon side, righteous descendants generation after generation will specially prosper in wealth." Han burial rituals are also mentioned, such as the arrangement of the mourning hall; burials were all conducted in imitation of Han culture. At this time, because of the Ming Dynasty trend of compiling genealogies and the court's promotion of the clan system, the Tujia were also affected, and the clan system gradually became established. Only then did patriarchal-clan culture truly enter Tujia earth burial customs.
Earth burial within the multicultural framework after gaituguiliu. After "gaituguiliu" (replacing native chieftains with appointed officials), the appointed officials sent by the court vigorously transformed Tujia culture, and this also involved burial customs. The Tujia partially accepted Han Daoist burial rituals for the deceased, such as "opening the road to guide the dead," "releasing the bonds of life and death," and "performing Daoist rites." The Tima and Liuluo also learned many techniques from Daoist priests in the burial rituals they presided over. After gaituguiliu, the various forms of earth burial customs basically took fixed shape and have continued in use to the present.
Today's researchers mostly take gaituguiliu as the watershed and divide the changes in Tujia earth burial customs into two periods, before and after; this does not accord with the actual situation. Earth burial customs should have undergone relatively major changes beginning in the Ming Dynasty, and then changed again at gaituguiliu, finally becoming today's burial form.
II. Regional Characteristics of Burial Customs
As for the regional characteristics displayed by Tujia burial customs, scholars seem to have reached a consensus so far: "Baishou in the south, tiaosang in the north." This means that the southern Tujia like to dance the baishou dance, while the northern Tujia like to dance the tiaosang dance. Although this saying does not directly point out differences in burial customs, in fact it also implies that the burial customs of the north and south are different. This is because the northern Tujia perform tiaosang in burial customs, while the south does not have this ritual. However, more and more research and investigations show that Tujia burial customs present diverse regional characteristics. These are described separately below.
Divided by the presider of the burial ritual, there are two different systems: Tima in the north and Liuluo in the south. In the vast Tujia inhabited areas from northwestern Hunan to western Hubei, what prevails is rituals presided over by the Tima. In the Fenghuang, Jishou, and Luxi areas of southern Xiangxi, rituals are presided over by the Liuluo. Both Tima and Liuluo are Tujia laosi. In terms of origin, the two are the same; both originated from the officials in charge of sacrifices among the early Ba people. But in later development, differences gradually emerged. Especially after "gaituguiliu," the Tima introduced more Daoist ritual elements and became more religious in flavor. The Liuluo, by contrast, preserved tradition more completely. Therefore, the Tima do not chant scriptures, or often sing impromptu according to the characteristics of the setting. The Liuluo, however, still have a long-historical "Lin Ge" that is sung in burial rituals.
Divided by whether the ritual includes the tiaosang dance, it should be divided into three regions. Tiaosang in the north, daoraoguan in the center, and dalin in the south. The north refers to western Hubei, the center refers to northwestern Hunan, and the south refers to the Fenghuang, Jishou, and Luxi areas of Xiangxi. All three rituals came from the burial rituals of the ancient Ba people, but tiaosang and dalin are still very close, while daoraoguan is closer to being sinicized.
Daoraoguan was influenced by Daoist burial rituals and developed on the basis of tiaosang. The practice is: choose a relatively spacious place, place two long benches in the middle, and lay the coffin on the benches. Under the direction of the Daoist priest, the many filial sons perform sacrifices around the coffin. What is chanted and sung in the middle is all lyrics improvised by the Daoist priests according to the characteristics of the setting (in fact, most Daoist priests have a fixed set of lyrics). Although daoraoguan is a type within Han burial rituals, it also retains traces of the ancient Ba people's tiaosang.
The difference between tiaosang in the north and dalin in the south lies in the different degree of influence by Han culture. Tiaosang in the north has basically already become fully dance-like, and the regional characteristics of this tiaosang dance are very obvious.
Compared with tiaosang, dalin is much more primitive. Dalin is also a dance form, but in this dalin dance, the elements of entertaining gods and people are relatively few; the dance movements are mainly symbolic sacrifices, symbolizing the battles of Lin Jun in those years, his suffering, and the migrations of the ancestors and other historical scenes. When dancing, it is also formed by two Liuluo (or four or six people), with everyone forming a square formation. Each person holds a bamboo pole about 1 meter long in the left hand and a 30-centimeter-long broken-headed bamboo tube or bamboo pole in the right hand, dancing in interlocking fashion to the sound of drums. Throughout the dance, the drum master is the soul of the whole performance; he must strike drumbeats of different rhythms according to the progress of the dance, and he must constantly remind the dancers how to change their movements. There are only a few fixed movements in the entire dance, and the dancers are all Liuluo. Ordinary people do not participate in dalin. Some scholars have verified that dalin originated from the primitive memory of part of the Tujia people poling wooden rafts across rivers when migrating west from Yuanling, and of the whole tribe spending nights in the forests during the westward migration. After each round of drumming, the Liuluo strike the bamboo poles and say the words "up there, up there," "down there, down there."
The reason dalin is said to be more primitive than tiaosang is that whether it is the tiaosang dance of the northern Tujia or the dalin dance of the southern Tujia, both include the singing of the Nuo Ge, Qi Ge, Lei Ge, Twelve Flower Songs, and so on. Judging from the names of the songs, the north and south are completely identical, but the contents are very far apart. In tiaosang, the songs sung are already completely in the style of mountain songs, but many of the songs sung in dalin are still lyrics from the early Western Han period; such complete preservation is extremely rare in cultural history.
By rights, since the Tujia originated in the Qingjiang River basin of western Hubei, the tiaosang and funeral songs of the northern Tujia should be more authentic. But in reality, the southern Tujia are instead much more primitive. Why is this? This requires tracing back to the fact that after the southern Tujia migrated south in the Qin Dynasty, they lived in seclusion around the Tuo River in Fenghuang County, Hunan, and especially that they long lived in seclusion in the Duwu Basin of Fenghuang County, having no contact with the outside world; only thus did they preserve the ancient dalin dance and Lin Ge intact.
Integrating the above discussion, we can draw a conclusion: although the Tujia are distributed across two different river basins, the Qingjiang and the Yuan River, their culture is distributed in an interlocking manner, and within this interlocking distribution there is a single continuous origin and development. The regional characteristics displayed by Tujia burial culture were mainly caused by the different degrees to which Tujia in different places were influenced by Han culture.