Study of Institutional Culture in Ancient Tujia Society—Religious System Culture (I)

Chapter 6: Religious System Culture. In Tujia areas, influenced by cultural traditions, social forms, and geographical environment, religious beliefs and practices have unique cultural connotations and regional characteristics. Religious system culture permeates material and spiritual culture and has become a carrier and force sustaining traditional Tujia culture.

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Chapter Six Religious Institutional Culture

In Tujia areas, owing to the influence of various factors such as cultural tradition, social formation, and regional environment, religious beliefs and the modes of religious activity have their own unique cultural connotations and regional characteristics. Religious institutional culture permeates material culture and spiritual culture and has become the carrier and force sustaining traditional Tujia culture.

North, a representative figure of the new institutional economics in the United States, believes that institutions as informal rules "come from the information handed down by society and from the part of our heritage that we call culture." They include customs, habits, traditions, ethical norms, and so on. The religious institutional culture discussed in this chapter mainly refers to the religious belief customs and religious belief traditions of ancient Tujia society.

Section One Religious Beliefs

The religious institutional culture of the Tujia developed gradually along with the process of Tujia social and historical development and the process of ethnic formation. In its system of religious beliefs, there are both survivals of the ethnic group's primitive religion and the influence of Han culture and other religions on Tujia religious beliefs.

I. A Primitive Religious Belief System Characterized by Polytheism

In the primitive religion of the Tujia, centered on ancestor worship, the system of deities is quite complex, and polytheism is the main feature of Tujia primitive religious belief. The Tujia have no fixed single religion, but rather a polytheistic religion of multiple beliefs. This multiplicity of belief is manifested in religious activities such as nature worship, totem worship, and ancestor worship, running through many kinds: Tianmen Earth God, Underworld Earth God, Bridge Earth God, Maoshan Earth God, Rongshan Earth God, Green Sprout Earth God, Long-Life Earth God, Official Stockade Earth God, and so on. The Tujia in Dejiang County, northeastern Guizhou, also believe in many Earth Gods: for growing crops they believe in the Green Sprout Earth God, whose office is the abundance or failure of agriculture; the Wind-Blocking Earth God has the office of protecting people, livestock, and crops from the disaster of violent wind and rain; the Long-Life Earth God has the office of protecting the peace of the family; the Bridge Earth God has the office of ensuring safety when people cross rivers; the Local Earth God has the office of protecting the prosperity of people and livestock and the good fortune and peace of the whole village; the Ridge-Blocking Earth God has the office of blocking ghosts, monsters, and demons; and so on. Tujia Earth Gods also include the Tianmen Earth God, City God Earth God, Mountain Village Earth God, Field Ridge Earth God, and others. From the above names of Earth Gods, it can be seen that Earth God worship covers offices and functions involving farming, mountain forests, roads, rivers, villages, longevity and misfortune, and so on. In the minds of the Tujia, the Earth God has vast powers and, besides managing agricultural affairs, can also manage human fortune and misfortune.

Earth God worship made Earth God temples especially numerous in Tujia areas. Before the founding of New China, every district and every village in Tujia areas had an Earth God temple (hall), with incense burning continuously all year round. Some villages had as many as a dozen or even dozens of Earth God temples, generally established by lineage; the more mixed the surnames in a village, the more Earth God temples there were. In old times, Earth God temples were mostly built of several rocks pieced together into a house, with yellow paper used as a door. The Earth God images inside the temple were carved from wood, carved from rock, or molded from clay, a man and a woman commonly called "Earth God Grandpa" and "Earth God Grandma."

There are three ways of sacrificing to the Earth God: birthday sacrifice, spring and autumn sacrifice, and New Year festival sacrifice. The birthday sacrifice is on the second day of the second lunar month, the birthday of the Earth God, also called "She Bai." The Tujia hold a grand "birthday celebration," and every household prepares wine, meat, and cakes and kills a chicken in sacrifice in front of the Earth God temple. "On the first and second days of mid-spring, for the 'Earth God's birthday,' each she first pastes cloth awnings in front of the she temple, hangs lanterns and colored decorations, sounds gongs and drums, and every household brings wine and meat to gather for a shared banquet. The young and old compete in revelry all night, which is called the 'Earth God Fair.' In government offices, it is called the 'Office God Earth God,' and the clerks and runners do the same." Along the Qingjiang River, the Tujia have many activities in the birthday sacrifice to the Earth God. On that day, every household prepares diced cured meat and makes rice with glutinous rice and mugwort, called "she rice," to sacrifice to the She God and pray for a bumper harvest. They also give it to one another to seek harmony among people and prosperity in wealth. On this day the whole village does no farm work, lest they offend the Earth God. All men, women, old and young must change into clean clothes and go in twos and threes to attend the Earth God fair, perform meritorious deeds, visit relatives and friends, and wish one another a good harvest. In some areas, families surnamed Tian also bring cooking utensils to the Earth God temple to hold a collective dining ritual.

"Spring Prayer" is the Tujia people's agricultural sacrifice ritual to the Earth God, hoping the Earth God will bless the growth of the five grains. It is generally combined with the sacrifice for the Earth God's birthday. There is also another sacrifice—"Autumn Thanksgiving," whose date varies from place to place. Tujia people in Hubei mostly hold it on the second day of the eighth lunar month, while Tujia people in Yinjiang County, Guizhou, hold it on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Historical records state: "In Yinjiang, on the sixth day of the sixth month, they sacrifice to the Wind God, or some say the Harvest God (Earth God), and mostly members of the Yang surname oversee the affair. On that day, they slaughter oxen and cook lambs, chickens, geese, fish, and meat—all five sacrificial animals are fully provided. The kneeling and bowing rituals are entirely different from ordinary ones. They set up paper banners in the open square, called the Great White and the Lesser White, and dance and bow before them. Men and women from all over the area come to watch. A hundred wax offerings in one marsh are not prohibited—this is what is meant by a local sacrifice."

Festival sacrifices are the Tujia custom of sacrificing to the Earth God during festivals and New Year celebrations. The first day of the month, the fifteenth day of the month, the seventh or seventeenth day of the fourth lunar month, the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, and the day before New Year's Eve in the twelfth lunar month are all sacrifice days, on which the Earth God must be honored with wine, meat, incense, paper, and chicken blood. The saying "In life one depends on the soil for sustenance, in death one depends on the soil for burial" circulates along the banks of the Qingjiang River, meaning that the Tujia people depend on the land their entire lives, and their attachment to the land is the spiritual source of their devout worship of the Earth God, passed down from generation to generation.

2. Worship of the Hunting God and Mountain and Stone Gods

The Tujia people live in mountainous areas with high mountains, deep ravines, and dense forests. Hunting is an indispensable part of their production and daily life. Some make hunting their lifelong profession, while others hunt for recreation during slack farming seasons. The custom of hunting god worship naturally has been passed down. The ancestors of the Tujia people were known for their skill in archery and hunting, and their hunting techniques were transmitted from generation to generation. These techniques include human skill and divine power. Human skill refers to the teaching of proficiently making and using various hunting tools and being thoroughly familiar with the habits of various wild animals; divine power refers to the assistance of gods during hunting, which must also be taught by a master.

Tujia people in various places mostly worship the Meishan God, though some places worship Zhang Wulang. In Longshan, Laifeng, Yongshun, Baojing, Youyang, Xiushan, Guzhang, and other places, the hunting god is called "Meishan Niangniang," "Meichang," and so on. Legend has it that in ancient times the Wuling Mountain area had many wild beasts, such as wild boars and bears. There was a famous female hunter named Meishan Guniang (Miss Meishan). Miss Meishan had superb hunting skills and would always catch many prey each time she went hunting. Later, she died in battle with multiple wild beasts. People believed she ascended to heaven and became a god, specifically in charge of wild beasts. The Tujia people have worshipped her for generations, praying for abundant prey and protection from wild beasts. Among the Tujia people of Ketian District in Yanhe County, northeastern Guizhou, whenever hunting, they worship the Meishan God both before going out and after obtaining prey. Before hunting, they set up an altar at a crossroads or facing the mountain, place knife-cut meat and several cups of wine, burn three sticks of incense, and burn paper money, praying for hunting success and asking the Meishan God to grant them wild beasts. After obtaining prey, they must carry the prey to the Meishan God's altar for offering and thanksgiving. If they catch nothing, it means the Meishan God is unwilling to grant them, and their hearts are not sincere, so they must offer sacrifices more grandly and devoutly next time. Some hunters use knotted grass as a symbol of the Meishan God, enshrining it on a nearby mountain. At home, they also often set up altars to sacrifice to the hunting god for more prey or hunting safety. Among the Tujia people of Guizhou, when sacrificing to the "Meishan God," they also recite incantations asking the "Meishan King" to help with hunting. After hunting and returning home, they also perform "huige," which is boiling the head and internal organs of the prey, placing them in a box, carrying them to the "Meishan altar" for sacrifice, burning incense and paper, and reciting invitations for all the gods who helped with the hunt to come and enjoy the offerings as a gesture of thanks. The remaining raw meat is divided equally among the hunters who participated.

Tujia people in some areas such as Changyang, Wufeng, and Hefeng also worship the hunting god Zhang Wulang. Legend has it that Zhang Wulang was also a master hunter who became a hunting god after death. Hunters worship him and ask him to "open the mountain." Every hunter's home has a statue of the hunting god Zhang Wulang, holding a hunting gun with a "powder horn" hanging on his chest. Before hunting, hunters must perform sacrificial rituals and recite incantations.

The Tujia people's hunting god worship and sacrificial activities carry a mysterious flavor. Only the Tima (shaman) and hunters are allowed to participate in the sacrifices, and the sacrificial process is full of reverence. Participants must pay attention to their appearance and demeanor, otherwise they are considered disrespectful to the gods and will be punished.

Along with sacrificing to the hunting god, hunters in old times also held grand mountain god sacrifices. In mountain god worship, there were temples and statues. According to the "Youyang Prefecture Gazetteer" of Sichuan, in the Qing Dynasty, "Mountain King Temples" were built on Jinzi Mountain, Lingcui Mountain, Huoshankan, and Longtou Mountain in Youyang, and local Tujia people would go there to sacrifice at set times. Hunters usually sacrificed to the mountain god in the form of offering livestock. They believed that all wild beasts in the mountains were under the jurisdiction of the mountain god, and they performed sacrifices before and after hunting.

Tujia people also sacrifice to the mountain god during farming activities. On ordinary days when going up the mountain for labor and production, upon returning and passing by a mountain god temple, they leave a piece of firewood or a handful of thatch in front of the temple to pray and sacrifice to the mountain god.

Stone god worship is also a major element of Tujia nature worship. Tujia people regard strangely shaped mountain rocks and stones as sacred stones. "People believe that wherever there is something unusual, there must be a spirit, and therefore they regard strange peaks and oddly shaped stones as gods. For example, the Sanjiao Rock in Kuaichang Township and Nuxi Township of Jiangkou County is a triangular rock formed by three stones, and is a deity that people worship and sacrifice to. Another example is the Guanyin Rock in Guanhe Township, where no grass or trees grow on the mountaintop, but there stands a single slender stone pillar, with a verdant, dark green evergreen pine in front of it. Viewed from afar, it looks like Guanyin with a pure vase and willow branch, and people call it Guanyin Rock and prostrate themselves in worship. At the Golden Summit of Mount Fanjing, during the month of Guanyin's birthday in the sixth lunar month each year, pilgrims and sightseers come in an endless stream, with a grand scale of no fewer than several thousand people."

People all conduct sacrifices for the purpose of worshipping rock gods. Tujia people believe that different stone gods have different functions, including protection stones and child-seeking stones. Protection stones (rocks) are mainly sacred stones that protect young children, and also have the function of protecting those who travel afar for safety. Child-seeking sacred stones are visited by middle-aged families without children for sacrifice. Such sacred stones are shaped like male genitalia or female genitalia, and those seeking children burn incense and make vows there.

3. Worship of Fire, Rain, Thunder, and Wind Gods

Most of the Tujia ancestors' worship of natural phenomena has been preserved to this day. Every Tujia household believes in the Fire God. Among the Tujia people at the foot of Mount Fanjing in northeastern Guizhou, every household has a fire pit, and there are many taboos regarding the fire pit. Violating these taboos is considered a desecration of ancestral spirits. Having fire in the home means the incense smoke continues without interruption. Every year on the night of the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household's fire pit burns brightly, and the whole family sits around the fire pit to stay up for the New Year, not sleeping until midnight. Tujia people worship the Fire God without idols or temples, regarding the Fire God as a symbol of the prosperity of the Tujia household, and also implying the wish to pray to the Fire God for blessings and to seek good fortune and avoid disaster.

In agricultural production and gathering economies, rain conditions play an important role. Rain is closely related to people's production and livelihood, so rain god worship is relatively widespread among farming peoples. The Tujia people have worshipped the rain god for generations. Tujia people also call the rain god the Dragon God. They believe the Dragon God is the god of rainfall and water production, and thus many myths about the Dragon King have emerged, which are closely related to Han culture. However, there are also distinctive ethnic characteristics. Among the people of Longshan County in western Hunan, the dragon god and tree god are combined into one, and the "Grandmother Tree" is called the incarnation of the dragon god. "During droughts, the masses pray for rain... they control or drag trees. For example, people from Zanai (Guo), Pojiao, Dianfang, and other townships go to dig up a willow tree under the bridge in Dianfang Township. It is said that this willow tree is the incarnation of the Dragon King, now deeply buried underground, and if dug up, it will rain. People in the Liye area go to the river to drag a so-called 'Grandmother Tree' deeply sunk in the mud, and after dragging it a few times, it will rain."

The Tujia people's rain god sacrificial rituals are mainly in the form of witchcraft. The remnants of "whipping stones to pray for rain" and "fighting dragons to pray for rain" were still circulating in the Qing Dynasty: "During great droughts, they may summon shamans to pray at the cave god. The shaman wears willow branches on his head, holds a duck and blows a horn, leaping forward, while the crowd sounds gongs and beats drums following him, called 'beating the cave.'" "During the fifth and sixth months, rain and sunshine are irregular... farmers together invite monks and Daoists, set up altars and recite scriptures, weave grass into dragons, accompanied by gongs and drums, dancing throughout the fields to avert evil."

The famous British anthropologist Malinowski believed: "The foundation of magical belief and magical behavior does not come from nothing, but from several experiences in actual life, because in such experiences one receives revelation of one's own power, saying that one has the power of things to achieve one's goals." The magical forms in Tujia rain-praying worship reflect a worship characteristic entirely different from the Han culture's prostration before the dragon.

The Thunder God has always been highly revered in the Tujia mind. Tujia people believe that the Thunder God can not only command clouds and rain, but is also the god who upholds justice and eliminates the violent and brings peace to the good. Tujia people usually set up sacrifices outside their homes during the Awakening of Insects solar term, offering to the Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother. In some areas, on the day before the Awakening of Insects, each household scatters lime around the front and back of the house to show the presence of the Thunder God's spirit, and uses lime powder to draw the Thunder Duke's hammer and Lightning Mother's shovel in the main courtyard, so that snakes and insects dare not intrude.

Wind god worship has remnants among the Tujia people of Jiangkou County at Mount Fanjing in eastern Guizhou, with ancient sacrificial rituals. People bring wine, meat, incense, and paper to a mountain hollow for sacrifice on the first day of the first lunar month each year. The Tujia people of Yinjiang County, Guizhou, sacrifice to the Wind God in the first ten days of the sixth lunar month. A grand sacrifice is held every twelve years and a minor one every three years. At the community altar, the Wind Earl's spirit tablet is enshrined, and grand sacrificial activities are held.

4. Animal and Plant Worship

Among the Tujia people's animal and plant worship, the most common are the worship of the Five Grains God and the Four Officials God.

The Five Grains God is also called "Five Grains Niangniang" and is in charge of the growth and harvest of the five grains. There are many legends about the Five Grains God. One legend says that Five Grains Niangniang taught the Tujia ancestors to recognize farming, so the Tujia people have worshipped and given thanks from generation to generation. In old times, Tujia people made statues of Five Grains Niangniang and built Five Grains Temples, with incense burning continuously year-round. Now there are basically no Five Grains Temples. The worship dates vary by region. In some places, Tujia people place the Five Grains God's spirit tablet in the fields on the third day of the first lunar month to protect the abundance of the five grains, and welcome it back home at autumn harvest; Tujia people in western Hunan offer the first handful of rice to the Grain God at autumn harvest; Tujia people in western Hubei regard the twenty-fourth day of the eighth lunar month as the Grain God's birthday and also perform sacrifices on the Dragon Boat Festival in the fifth lunar month; Tujia people in Sinan and other places in Guizhou sacrifice to the Grain God on the Dragon Boat Festival; Tujia people in Dejiang County, Guizhou, invite the Tu teacher to sacrifice to the Five Grains God during spring planting and autumn harvest; Tujia people in Xiushan County, Qianjiang County, Pengshui County, and other places in the Fuling region of Sichuan sing songs to invite the Grain God during ordinary labor.

The Four Officials God is widely worshipped in Tujia areas. The Four Officials God is also called "Shiguan God" and is the god in charge of the six domestic animals, as well as the God of Wealth and the protector of family relatives. There are various legends about the Four Officials God. Some places in Guizhou say that "the Four Officials God are four of the eighteen cave barbarian kings." However, judging from the content and purpose of the sacrifices, the Four Officials God is actually a derivative of animal worship.

(II) Totem Worship

The Tujia people were formed from the fusion of the Ba people, the Wuman, and others, and therefore had many kinds of totem worship in history. The Ba people worshipped the white tiger, and the Wuman worshipped the black tiger. Because the Ba people were powerful and once ruled most of the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou, white tiger totem worship had a tremendous influence throughout the entire Tujia people.

A people's totem worship is often combined with legends about the origin of the ethnic group and clan. The white tiger totem is a relatively widespread totem belief among the Tujia people. Most scholars believe that the Tujia white tiger totem originates from the Lin Jun myth of the ancient Ba people. The "Book of Later Han: Biographies of the Southern Man and Southwestern Yi" records: "The Man of Ba Commandery and Nan Commandery originally had five clans: the Ba, Fan, Qin, Xiang, and Zheng. They all came from Wuluo Zhongli Mountain. On the mountain there were two caves, red and black. The son of the Ba clan was born in the red cave, and the sons of the four other clans were all born in the black cave. They had no ruler or chief and all served ghosts and spirits. They then together threw swords at a stone cave, agreeing that whoever could hit it would be honored as chief. The Ba clansman Wuxiang alone hit it, and everyone marveled. They also ordered each to ride an earthen boat, agreeing that whoever could float would be made chief. All the other clansmen sank, and only Wuxiang floated. Therefore they jointly established him, and he was Lin Jun. He then rode an earthen boat, from the Yi River to Yanyang. At the salt water there was a goddess who said to Lin Jun: 'This land is vast, and produces fish and salt. I wish you would stay and live together.' Lin Jun did not agree. The salt goddess would come at night to share his bed, and at dawn would transform into a worm, flying in swarms with other worms, blocking the sunlight so that heaven and earth were dark. After more than ten days, Lin Jun waited for an opportunity and shot and killed her, and then the sky cleared. Lin Jun then ruled in Yi City, and the four clans all submitted to him. When Lin Jun died, his soul became a white tiger. Because the Ba clan believed the tiger drank human blood, they sacrificed humans to it." Similar records also appear in the "Commentary on the Water Classic: Yi River," "Shiben," "Book of Jin," and other historical texts. These historical records all indicate that Lin Jun was the founder of the Ba tribal alliance, possessing superhuman ability and wisdom, and after death became the tribal god of the Ba people. Since Lin Jun's area of activity was in the Qingjiang Yi River basin, that is, present-day Hubei, white tiger worship was passed down in the Qingjiang River basin and survives to this day in the form of legends in Tujia inhabited areas.

The Tujia white tiger totem worship phenomenon contains two major elements. The first is "mutual transformation of human and tiger." The Tujia ancestors, the Ba people, regarded the white tiger as the ancestor of their own tribe and saw themselves as descendants of the white tiger, believing that humans and white tigers, as living beings, could transform into each other. The second is the spiritual entrustment of "sacrificing humans to the tiger," believing that if the white tiger could drink human blood, it would become incomparably powerful and provide divine power for the survival and reproduction of the tribe. Legends and descriptions of "mutual transformation of human and tiger" are relatively abundant from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties. "Between the Jiang and Han rivers there are the Qu people, descendants of Lin Jun, who can transform into tigers." Blood sacrifice is the core part of primitive religious rituals, or of ancient religion. In totem worship, sacrifices are needed to express devotion to the gods. Among all sacrifices, humans are the most welcomed by the gods and are the highest sacrificial offering. Although the ritual of sacrificing humans to the tiger in Tujia white tiger totem worship evolved in later development—first to "head-cutting blood sacrifice" or fulfilling the Xianggong vow, that is, making a blood cut on the shaman's forehead, and later changed to slaughtering an ox and taking the ox head to fulfill the vow—the custom of killing people for sacrifice has existed since ancient times and continued until the late Qing Dynasty. "More than a hundred years ago, the Tian surname Tujia in Longping still held human sacrifices to the white tiger god, fulfilling human vows." As recorded: "The evil of killing people for sacrifice was most prevalent in Hubei, and the ghost was called 'Lengzheng God.'" "The custom of Hunan is fond of serving demon gods and killing people to sacrifice to them. Generally, obtaining a scholar is considered best, a monk next, and others lower." The white tiger worship of the Tujia people in western Hunan regards the "Sitting Hall White Tiger" as the divine tiger. Every household must have a white tiger sitting in the hall, and every family must set up an altar to sacrifice to the "Divine Tiger." Tujia people in Youyang, Xiushan, and other places have since ancient times placed a stool in the middle of the back wall of the main room as the divine seat of the Sitting Hall White Tiger. Laifeng Tujia people offer the Sitting Hall White Tiger on the family shrine. Tujia people in Changyang, Badong, Jianshi, and Wufeng have passages in their dance sacrifices singing of the white tiger family god.

In the Tujia view, the white tiger also has an evil god—the Passing Hall White Tiger—and therefore there are rituals such as "chasing away the white tiger" and "shooting the white tiger." Some scholars believe that the custom of "chasing away the white tiger" is related to ancient Wuman customs. The Tujia people were formed from the fusion of multiple ancient ethnic groups, including a branch of the Wuman. "The Wuman also worshipped tigers, and their ancestors were the 'Tiger Fang' people. However, the Yi people, one of the descendants of the Wuman, still use the black tiger as their totem and despise the white tiger, and have the custom of driving away the white tiger. Tujia people in northwestern Hunan also have the belief custom of driving away the white tiger.... This Tujia custom of driving away the white tiger is very likely an inheritance of an ancient Wuman custom from one of their ancestors." A folk proverb says: "When the white tiger passes through the hall, if there is no disaster, there will surely be misfortune." Longshan Tujia legend says that the Passing Hall White Tiger was originally the concubine of a Tujia king. After being abandoned, she drowned herself and transformed into a white tiger, killing the children of Tusi descendants everywhere, or specifically summoning the souls of children under twelve. Later it evolved into the belief that a couple's infertility was the result of the white tiger's mischief, and thus the custom of chasing away the white tiger after autumn to seek children emerged. The ritual of "chasing away the white tiger" was especially prominent in western Hunan and northeastern Guizhou and was preserved until before the founding of New China. Western Hubei also had the custom of "chasing away the white tiger"; when a child fell ill, the white tiger must be driven away for treatment. Among the Yang and Tian surname Tujia in western Hunan, the day of the Awakening of Insects is designated as Tiger Shooting Day, that is, shooting the Passing Hall White Tiger. Every household uses lime to draw bows and arrows in the main room of the wooden building to ward off evil.

"Totem worship is actually a form of worship combining nature worship or animal and plant worship with ghost and spirit worship (ancestor worship)." Therefore, the Tujia white tiger totem worship also contains the emotional content of ancestor worship. If Lin Jun transformed into a white tiger as the Tujia totem, then Lin Jun as the Xiangwang Tianzi worshipped by the Tujia people belongs to ancestor worship. "Xiangwang Tianzi" is the common name for Lin Jun. Xiangwang Tianzi is both the ancestral god of the Tujia people, descendants of the Ba people, and a half-human, half-totem deity with the concept of the white tiger totem. However, the ancestral concept embodied in totem worship belongs to the category of nature worship, which is different from ancestor worship developed as a form of ghost worship. The former emphasizes a certain type of being, while the latter targets the soul of a specific individual. There is a close connection between white tiger worship and White Emperor Heavenly King worship. In the Tujia white tiger totem worship, the image of the white tiger god gradually detached from the group and transformed into a single transcendent White Emperor Heavenly King, bringing white tiger totem worship to its peak.

In addition to the white tiger worship, some places among the Tujia also have eagle totem worship, which is related to the origin of certain surnames. For example, the legend that the Tan surname originates from an eagle ancestor has multiple versions in places such as Badong and Changyang in Hubei. It is said that in ancient times, due to tribal warfare, only a girl named She Xiangxiang remained of the Yu clan. She fled alone to a mountain cave, where she was fortunately rescued by a divine eagle, which carried her on its back to Baping Mountain and cleared land and farmed with her. Later, She girl dreamed that two eaglets entered her bosom, and she became pregnant, giving birth to a son and a daughter. Because they were born by a pool, they took the pool as their surname, later changed to Tan. After She girl passed away, the son and daughter became husband and wife and multiplied descendants, giving rise to the Tan-surnamed Tujia people of Baping Mountain, who took the eagle as their ancestor. Another legend says that She girl fled to a mountain cave, encountered an eagle that flew into her bosom, carried her to the ground, and lived with her. The next year she gave birth to a son, who in turn had eight sons and eight daughters, who intermarried and multiplied the later Tan clan.

(III) Ancestor Worship

Ancestor worship originates from ghost worship, the belief that the soul does not perish after death. Engels said: "In remote antiquity, people still had no knowledge of the structure of their own bodies, and under the influence of dream visions, they came to the idea that their thoughts and sensations were not activities of their bodies, but of a distinct soul dwelling within the body and leaving it at death. From this time on, people had to reflect on the relationship of this soul to the external world. Since the soul continues to live after leaving the body at death, there was no reason to imagine that it itself would die, and thus the idea of the immortality of the soul arose." Ancestor worship has a defined scope; not all deceased ancestors are sacrificed to. In ancient China, when determining the objects of sacrifice, first, ancestors with meritorious deeds within the clan or lineage were made fixed and eternal objects of sacrifice. The Book of Rites, Chapter on the Law of Sacrifices, says: "In instituting sacrifices, the sage kings sacrificed to those who established laws for the people, to those who labored unto death in service, to those who secured the state through toil, to those who could avert great calamities, and to those who could protect against great disasters." Second, in ancestor worship, people placed great importance on blood relations. In ancient society, besides the common ancestor worship of clans and tribes, there was also ancestor worship within the family. In the course of human development, various ethnic groups and tribes formed both distant-ancestor worship based mainly on legend and near-ancestor worship based on blood relations. Ancestor worship played a great role in maintaining the patriarchal system and holding the ethnic group together. "Ancestor worship... its function is even more clearly shown in perpetuating and maintaining the existence and integration of the clan and lineage, and it also uses ancestor-sacrifice rituals to promote harmony among clan relatives. Through ancestor-worship rituals, not only is the family line continued unbroken, but kinship relations are also made harmonious and balanced." The ancestor worship of the Tujia also originates from ghost worship, paying attention not only to figures in ethnic-origin legends but also to blood ties, praying to ancestral spirits to bless descendants. Tujia ancestor worship is divided into three major categories, including clan ancestor gods, Tuwang gods, and family ancestor gods.

1. Worship of Clan Ancestor Gods

The clan ancestor gods of the Tujia mainly include the "Eight-Bu Great Kings," the "Great, Second, and Third Gods," the "Sheba God," and the "Xiangwang Tianzi (Lin Jun, Baidi Tianzi)," among others.

The Eight-Bu Great Kings are ancestor deities commonly worshipped by the Tujia of western Hunan. It is said that the Eight-Bu Great Kings were the leaders of eight Tujia tribes in western Hunan. They led their people in opening up the western Hunan region, defending their homeland, and resisting foreign invasions, and thus were revered by later generations. Folk legend says the Eight-Bu Great Kings had extraordinary divine power and bravery because in childhood they had suckled the milk of the phoenix and the white tiger. "The eight brothers used their magic to burrow into the sky and earth, and in the blink of an eye arrived at the battlefield. When the enemy saw the eight brothers bare-handed, they howled and closed in from all directions, thrusting and slashing wildly with spears and short knives. This stirred the fury of the eight brothers. Each pulled up a tree as thick as a sea bowl and swept it across, beating the enemy until they cried for their parents and fled in defeat. From then on, foreign enemies no longer dared to invade, and the common people lived peaceful lives."

The Tujia in the Youyang, Xiushan, and Youshui River basin formerly all had temples to the Eight-Bu Great Gods, and today a damaged stele inscribed "Seat of the Eight-Bu Great Kings" still survives.

In the past, Longshan, Yongshun, Baojing, and other counties all had "Eight-Bu Great God" temples. In front of the temples were Baishou grounds. The temple building had two stories and two courtyards. On the 2-meter-high stone slabs on both sides of the gate were carved the couplet: "Merit and counsel handed down in bamboo annals, enfeoffed as the Eight-Bu; spiritual power manifested in this land, receiving blood sacrifices for a thousand autumns." On the upper layer of the main gate was embedded a stone tablet, surrounded by coiling divine dragons, with the four characters "Eight-Bu Great King" carved in the center. On both sides of the avenue directly facing the main gate stood stone figures and stone horses. After entering the gate, beside the second gate stood a pair of stone lions. Sacrificial activities to the "Eight-Bu Great Gods" were relatively grand. After every Spring Festival, people in Matizhai of Longshan County, Shuibadong of Baojing County, and other places held grand sacrificial ceremonies in front of the "Eight-Bu Great God" temple. The sacrificial ritual was called "Yuetuo," with a small sacrifice each year and a great sacrifice every three years. Three years before the great sacrifice, the people of each village, assigned by the village head, prepared the offerings needed for the sacrifice, and at dawn on the day of the sacrifice they carried them together to the temple. Fat pigs and rice wine were indispensable. The people carrying the fat pigs and offerings played music and beat drums all the way, fired guns and set off firecrackers, and competed in crossing the river in front of the temple; the first three were considered greatly auspicious, while those who fell behind foretold an unlucky year. Then they killed the pigs, cleaned them, and placed the offal on the altar, and each household boiled meat to honor the gods. The wizard, the village headman, and the incense officer led the sacrifice to the gods, and the crowd followed. After the sacrifice, they danced the Baishou dance.

The "Great, Second, and Third Gods" are also commonly believed in by the Tujia, and are spread in Wufeng and Hefeng in Hubei and Sangzhi, Yongding, Shimen, and other places in Hunan. The Hefeng Prefecture Gazetteer records that the Great, Second, and Third Gods are "the family gods of the Tian clan." Folk tradition holds that the "Great, Second, and Third Gods" were three great heroes of the Tian clan who helped Nüwa mend the sky and were later honored with temples and statues for generations. It is also said that the Great, Second, and Third Gods refer to Tian clan Tusi and belong to the scope of Tuwang worship. Although the "Great, Second, and Third Gods" are ancestral gods of the Tian clan, they have already been revered by the entire Tujia as clan ancestor gods, and so are likewise worshipped in Sangzhi County, Hunan. In the "Three Gods Temples" where Tujia people in Hefeng, Wufeng, and other places worship the Great, Second, and Third Gods, the statues are all carved from wood, "their appearance fierce and all placed together, with farmers of other households taking turns burning incense and worshipping; Tujia farming households also go to the temple to seek medical treatment and divination."

The "Sheba God" is an ancestral deity believed in by Tujia people in the Guzhang area of western Hunan. It is said that Sheba was a great tribal chief who led the Tujia ancestors in migration and died in fierce battle with the enemy. People revered him as the clan ancestor god and enfeoffed him as the "Sheba God." In old times, Tujia people throughout western Hunan had the custom of honoring the Sheba God. The Sheba ritual was also relatively grand, generally held at a Sheba ground. The Sheba ground had a Sheba temple, in which divine images were enshrined, and in front of the temple were sacred trees. The sacrificial ritual mainly consisted of dancing and singing, along with acts of sacrifice: including killing pigs, burning incense, setting off firecrackers, firing guns, throwing brooms, pounding piglets, and beating gongs and drums.

The three ancestor worships of "Xiangwang Tianzi," "Lin Jun," and "Baidi Tianzi" are homogeneous and all refer to one person.

The worship of "Xiangwang Tianzi" is mainly popular in Sangzhi, Dayong, Changyang, Badong, Enshi, and other places. As a clan ancestor worship, the worship of Xiangwang Tianzi is a derivative of white tiger totem worship. In some places, the worship of Baidi Tianwang likewise originates from white tiger totem worship and shares the same cultural connotation as the ancestor Lin Jun. "The earthen boat on the Yi River shot the Salt Goddess; the Ba-surnamed king has old records. Why is Xiangwang called Tianzi? Wuxiang in those years was titled Lin Jun." According to the Commentary on the Water Classic quoting the Shiben: "Lin Jun Wuxiang came on an earthen boat and ruled the Yi River, shot and killed the Salt Goddess, and the Ba people took him as a god." It is suspected that "Xiang" is an error for "Xiang (Wuxiang)." "The Xiangwang Temple is below Gaojian; the temple enshrines the image of Lin Jun. Since Lin Jun was for generations the lord of the Ba people and had merit toward the people, it is said that in Shinan, Gui, Ba, Changyang, and other places people sacrificed to him." According to records, in Badong, Wufeng, Changyang, and other places in western Hubei, temples to Xiangwang were established in ancient times. There is a legend sung: "Xiangwang Tianzi had a single horn, and blew out a Clear River." The Tujia of the Clear River basin "on the sixth day of the sixth month each year stopped all boats and rafts in port, piously commemorating Xiangwang Tianzi's merit in opening up the Clear River." The Ziqiu Liu Clan Genealogy records: "Xiangwang was the ancient Lin Jun, Wuxiangshi, who had merit on the Yi River, and so the local people sacrificed to him." In Changyang, Hubei, the birthplace of Lin Jun, many places built Tianwang temples and Xiangwang temples, numbering as many as 41 according to statistics.

2. Worship of Tuwang Gods

Tuwang god worship is the worship of the souls of deceased Tuwang or Tusi kings. In the Tujia region, the system of native officials and Tusi existed for a long time in history. The Tusi were Tujia leaders under a hereditary system. The Tuwang or Tusi kings in the adjacent areas of Hunan and Guizhou possessed strong military power during their lifetimes, were enfeoffed by the imperial court, dominated one region, and were kings for generations, combining political, military, and religious power in one person. Because of the hereditary system, their ruling power was always controlled in the hands of one family and one surname. The History of Song, Account of the Man Barbarians, records: "Among the Man chiefs of the Northern River, the greatest was the Peng clan, which for generations held Xizhou. There were three prefectures: Upper, Middle, and Lower Xizhou; there were also six prefectures of Longci, Tianci, Zhongshun, Baojing, Ganhua, and Yongshun, and eleven prefectures of Yi, An, Yuan, Xin, Qia, Fu, Lei, Ning, Nan, Shun, and Gao, totaling twenty prefectures. All established inspectors, with the inspector of Lower Xizhou concurrently serving as chief of the oath, and the nineteen prefectures all subordinate to him, called the oath-subordinate prefectures. When succession was to occur, the chief oath-master led the assembled chiefs in joint deliberation. Among sons, grandsons, and close party members of sons and younger brothers who should be established, the prefecture names were fully reported to Chenzhou as guarantee, and a memorial was submitted to the commandant so that it might be heard; then the imperial edict, patent, and seal tally were granted, and the one receiving the mandate faced north across the river to bow in thanks." Because the Tusi kings were awe-inspiring in life and revered as kings, after death they were still revered as gods and sacrificed to by the people, called "Tuwang gods." Tuwang worship was inherited and transmitted in the adjacent areas of Hunan and Guizhou, first spreading in the Tujia areas of western Hunan and northeastern Guizhou, and later developing into other areas where Tujia lived. The objects of Tuwang worship among the Tujia differed in different regions, and each place and surname had its own Tuwang to worship. In western Hunan, the Tuwang of the three surnames Peng, Tian, and Xiang were sacrificed to, mainly Peng Gong Juezhu, Xiang Lao Guanren, Tian Haohan, and others; in northeastern Guizhou, the Tuwang of the three surnames Ran, Yang, and Tian were sacrificed to; in Laifeng and Xianfeng in western Hubei, the Tuwang of the three surnames Qin, Tian, and Xiang were sacrificed to. It is generally believed that worship of Tuwang arose for two reasons: first, fear. Because in old times the Tusi held centralized power and had the power of life and death over the Tujia people, the people sacrificed out of fear. The Tusi's "penal law: the heaviest was beheading... next official punishment, next cutting off a finger, next cutting off an ear. For adultery, castration; for theft, beheading; for disrespect or missing a meeting, cutting off an ear; for stealing goods, cutting off a finger—all decided personally. Other crimes were sent to stewards for beating with rods, and some died under the rod." Precisely because the Tusi arbitrarily executed people in life, after death their souls were still terrifying and made people tremble. "...In the second month they sacrificed at home; when finished, men and women all entered the mountain caves, called 'avoiding the ghost.' Their households did not light fires, did not eat or drink, did not speak when meeting on the roads, did not dare disturb stolen objects, did not dare turn over at night when sleeping, did not dare move when mosquitoes bit, fearing the ghost would notice." Second, respect. Some Tusi had virtue toward the people in life, brought benefit to the people, or had merit in guarding the frontier, and the people revered them.

Tujia people worship Tuwang and Tusi, and Tuwang temples were found throughout town and countryside. "Tusi shrines existed in every county, to sacrifice to Tusi of past dynasties, commonly called Tuwang temples." "Each village established a ghost hall, said to be the yamen of the dead native officials' Yin souls." "At every New Year, first on the front of the tail they placed the spirit seat of the deceased Tusi, offering fish and meat, while the family's own ancestral seat was placed behind the door." The Tujia of Yanhe County worship the great kings of the three surnames Tian, Yang, and Ran, with specific annual sacrifice dates: for the Tian surname, the eighth day of the third lunar month; for the Yang surname, the third day of the third lunar month; and for the Ran surname, the eighth day of the eighth lunar month. The sacrificial activities lasted three days, with pigs killed and offerings presented. The clan elder led the people of one surname in conducting the sacrifice, and people of other surnames also went to sacrifice.

3. Family Ancestor Worship

Family ancestor worship among the Tujia came much later than ancestor worship. It began after the "replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials" and gradually formed as a sacrificial custom only as Han cultural influence deepened. In the years before the "replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials," "the Man people feared epidemics, and so from Zigui upward to Shizhou, many did not sacrifice to their ancestors but sacrificed to the so-called Xiangwang." After the Qing dynasty's "replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials," the custom of building ancestral halls and enshrining family ancestors arose in Tujia areas, overshadowing the long-standing custom of sacrificing at Tuwang temples. "In Tusi times... they did not offer sacrifices to ancestors."

The form of ancestor worship is sacrifice. In Tujia family ancestor sacrifice, each family's successive ancestors, especially those with close blood relations, were offered sacrifices year-round, with frequent sacrifices expressing the descendants' degree of piety. Influenced by Han culture, particular importance was attached to "New Year" and the "Ghost Festival." New Year sacrifices carried the meaning of inviting successive family ancestors to eat the reunion meal with descendants, while Ghost Festival sacrifices had descendants send money and grain to successive family ancestors to express filial intent.

Although the custom of Tujia family ancestor sacrifice formed late, once formed it presented a profusion of cultural practices. "All clans built ancestral temples and lineage halls, enshrining images of successive ancestors and offering sacrifices at fixed times; all households set up shrines and family ancestors, enshrining tablets of near ancestors and near lineage, burning incense and paper at fixed times morning and evening." The first tablet among the various deities enshrined in each household's shrine generally read "Seat of the Successive Zhao and Mu Ancestors of the Hall." There was a small sacrifice each month and a great sacrifice on festivals. In small sacrifices only incense and paper were burned; in great sacrifices wine, money, and knife-edge meat were offered in sacrifice. Before a girl married out, she had to "cry farewell to the ancestors," and at marriage a farewell ancestor ritual was also held: the bride knelt on a sieve, asking the ancestors to let her go and bless her. The man's side set up an incense table outside the main gate to welcome the sedan chair and sacrifice in thanks to the woman's ancestors. In addition, some Tujia people also sacrificed when eating. The method was that at each meal they first used chopsticks to pick up some food and place it on the rice bowl in silent respect for about a minute, then began to eat. If there was a wedding or funeral banquet, they first filled a bowl of rice and dishes, and everyone stood around the table, with the eldest in seniority leading everyone in honoring the ancestors and deceased relatives, sprinkling wine on the ground while inviting the ancestors to drink, and then announcing "take your seats."

I. Influence of Other Religions on Tujia Religious Beliefs

While absorbing the advanced culture of outside ethnic groups, the Tujia also absorbed the religious beliefs of other ethnic groups. Around the early Eastern Jin, the man-made religions—Buddhism and Daoism—were transmitted into the areas of the Tujia ancestors, merged with the original primitive religion of the region, and effectively supplemented and transformed it. Although the man-made religions representing the political interests of the ruling class weakened the position of Tujia primitive religion with extremely strong penetration, the primitive religion representing the ethnic group's long traditional culture still remained in residual form in Tujia folk society.

(I) Influence of Daoism on Tujia Religious Beliefs

Daoism, also called the Way of the Celestial Masters, is a religion native to our country, with complete doctrines, strict rules and organization, and full-time clergy. Daoism takes happiness in this life as its goal, establishes its doctrinal theory through imagined immortal realms, and takes moral precepts as its main content. Because Daoism is native, it contains the religious consciousness and culture of ancient Chinese society. On the basis of the ancient polytheistic religion, it blended Confucian and Daoist thought, honored Laozi as its founder, and among its vast scriptures took the Daodejing as its main classic. In both the Quanzhen and Zhengyi schools, all things are believed to have spirits. The highest deities are the Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun; below them are the Thirty-Six Heavenly Emperors, as well as the gods of Great Brightness and Night Brightness, the gods of the Northern Dipper, the gods of the Five Peaks and Five Elements, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, and the gods of the stars. Daoism has fixed places of activity—palaces, Daoist temples, and so on. What makes Daoism completely different from other modern religions is its joy in life, valuing of life, and emphasis on "techniques." Daoism did not, like other man-made religions, regard life as full of suffering and place hope in the afterlife or an illusory heaven; rather, it took life as the great virtue of heaven and earth and human longevity as the greatest joy. It held that living in the world is life's pleasure, and only death is painful; the highest ideal was immortality, thus forming a series of Daoist practices and techniques in search of the way of nourishing life. In feudal society, Daoism provided people with the fantasy of a carefree immortal life and to a certain extent satisfied the desires of people living in hardship regarding real life. Therefore, under the specific historical conditions of the Han dynasty, Daoism gradually evolved into a religion with the characteristics of traditional Chinese popular culture. As a Japanese scholar said: "Daoism is the fusion of various ancient folk beliefs and other factors, and this fusion developed into a religion in North China in the 2nd century AD."

Daoism was introduced into the Tujia areas at a relatively early time. However, the academic community has yet to reach a definitive conclusion on the exact time when Daoism was introduced into the Tujia areas. According to relevant historical records, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial court was barely able to sustain itself and had no time to attend to Shu Commandery. Zhang Ling established twenty-four missionary districts in Shu, known as the "Twenty-Four Zhi." These districts had no appointed officials, only church regulations. Later, his grandson Zhang Lu held sway over Hanchuan for thirty years, conducting missionary activities among the Ba people in Ba Commandery, which made Daoism popular in the Ba and Nan Commanderies among the Man peoples. Most scholars believe that after the policy of "replacing native chieftains with government officials" (gaituguiliu), the religious beliefs of the Tujia had already been deeply influenced by Han Chinese Daoism.

The widespread presence of witchcraft among the Tujia provided a channel for the spread of Daoism. In its formation and development, Daoism absorbed the ancient witchcraft culture of the Ba state, inherited the nature worship and ghost worship of the Yin-Shang era and the immortal ways of the four directions from the late Warring States period, and took the Huang-Lao mystical traditions of the Han Dynasty as its theoretical foundation. Daoist fasting rituals, incantations, and talismans were derived from the witchcraft of sacrificing to gods, cursing, and sympathetic magic, and they dovetailed perfectly with the pre-existing witchcraft culture of the Tujia. The Tujia of Xiangxi belonged to Chu in ancient times, where the old customs of witchcraft were widely practiced. Witchcraft was closely tied to the daily life of the Tujia, and various forms of witchcraft were ubiquitous and highly diverse. Wang Yi of the Eastern Han said: "In former times, in the towns south of Ying in the state of Chu, between the Yuan and Xiang rivers, the people believed in ghosts and were fond of sacrifices. Every sacrifice was accompanied by songs and music, with drums and music to please the gods. When Qu Yuan was exiled and took refuge in that region, harboring sorrow and bitter grief, his melancholy thoughts surged. Coming upon the sacrificial rites and the music of song and dance of the common people, and finding their lyrics crude, he composed the 'Nine Songs.'" The "Treatise on Geography" in the Book of Sui records: "Generally, the people of Jingzhou revere ghosts, and especially emphasize sacrificial offerings." By the Qing Dynasty, in Tujia areas it was still the case that "they believe in witches and ghosts; when ill, they do not seek medicine but slaughter oxen and sheep, and the shaman beats drums and bells, divining with bamboo slips to sacrifice to ghosts." The spread of Daoism in Tujia areas was closely linked to the existence of witchcraft culture. The transformation of Tujia witchcraft from scattered and miscellaneous practices into a systematized form was the result of Daoism's ethnic and localized development in Tujia areas. The "Gazetteer of Baling County" records: "Now the custom also includes writing on several inches of white cloth or yellow paper, offering it before the gods, burning it to ash and swallowing it, called 'requesting a talisman.' When a neighbor falls ill, everyone helps to invite monks or Daoists to pray, called 'offering protection blessings.' They sacrifice in the fields and call the sick person's name to summon the soul back, called 'retrieving the soul.' Zhu Xi's commentary on the 'Summons to the Soul' says: 'In ancient times, when a person died, someone would use their garments and call three times. The customs of Jing and Chu sometimes applied this to the living.' This is precisely what is meant. The custom has been passed down accordingly." Before the introduction of Daoism, Tujia witchcraft took the specific needs of individual life as its starting point; only when people were ill or faced disaster, or sought blessings or advancement, would the witchcraft be performed. After the introduction of Daoism, Tujia witchcraft "transcended specific purposes" and became an abstract pursuit of religious significance.

The reason Daoism was able to spread and penetrate rapidly in Tujia areas also lies in the fact that it catered to the Tujia people's ethnic cultural psychology of seeking survival. In the religious beliefs of the Tujia, from their understanding and distinction of the good and evil nature of deities, all are rooted in this cultural foundation of ethnic survival. In other words, as long as it could benefit their own survival and development, "regardless of which religious belief they belonged to, they would sincerely invoke and devoutly sacrifice to them all. As long as the deity could help them and eliminate disasters and difficulties for them, regardless of their original divine nature or rank, they would all be regarded as guardian deities of their own ethnic group." The pantheism of Tujia primitive religion and the polytheism of Daoism appeared to the Tujia people as similar in belief, thus giving Daoism an inherent possibility for spreading in Tujia areas. The Tujia ancestors sacrificed to numerous deities, often worshipping gods and ghosts together without distinguishing between good and evil deities, demonstrating the strong survival consciousness of the Tujia people. Low productivity left the people of Tujia areas with no choice but to pray to deities in order to avoid disasters and ensure safety. With the policy of "replacing native chieftains with government officials," the introduction of the multitude of Daoist deities into Tujia areas was undoubtedly a comfort to the common people who had long lived in fear under harsh natural conditions and the authority of native chieftains. The Tujia, who sacrificed to their ancestors, likewise placed Daoist deities on their sacrificial altars. The "Gazetteer of Laifeng County" records: Before the founding of New China, the shrine of one household in this county enshrined as many as seven spirit tablets: in the center, "the seat of the efficacious blessing deity of the pure and meat offerings of the Three Teachings—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—served in the shrine hall"; on the right, "the seat of the souls of successive generations of high, great-grand, grandfathers and grandmothers of the Wu Xing Hall," "the seat of the Great Emperor of the Three Primes, Three Grades, and Three Palaces and the Star Lords of the Original Destinies," and "the seat of the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Southern Sea who saves from suffering and hardship"; on the left, "the seat of the Lord of the Eastern Kitchen, the Stove Prince, and the youth who carries firewood and water," "the seat of the Nine Heavens Director of Destinies, the Sevenfold Bend Wenchang Manifesting Response Zitong Emperor Lord," and "the seat of the four efficacious officials of Enzhou who manifest and bring wealth in buying and selling."

"The immortal beliefs of Daoism are rooted in the satisfaction of the human instinct for survival and enjoyment, and this instinctual satisfaction was especially prominent in the perilous and harsh Tujia environment." Although the Tujia's acceptance of Daoism did not fully absorb its essence, the influence of Daoism on Tujia primitive religion is fully evident in Tujia Nuo culture and Tima witchcraft.

1. The Tima Spirit Chart and Ritual Performance

The Tima Spirit Chart is hung up when the Tima performs rituals, and it is clear evidence of the combination of Tujia primitive religion and Daoism. Its conception is roughly divided into twelve layers according to the three realms of heaven, the human world, and hell. The uppermost layer and the first several layers are all heavenly gods and immortals, basically Daoist deities, and are the great protective deities that the Tima must invoke when performing rituals. The first layer is the "Three Pure Ones," with Lingbao Tianzun in the center, Yuanshi Tianzun on his left, and Daode Tianzun on his right, with the sun and moon on either side of the Three Pure Ones. The middle layers are the various deities of the human world, such as the Three Primes Dharma Ancestors, the Earth God, and the Twelve Month Gods. Below the ninth layer are mostly the deities of hell. In the scenes there are various depictions of the Tima ascending to the heavenly court above and entering hell below.

When the Tima chants certain deities during rituals, he especially emphasizes their divine powers, greatly praising their magical ability to subdue demons, conquer monsters, and drive out evil spirits. These divine powers and magical abilities mostly come from Daoist deities, such as the Old Lord, the Three Pure Ones, and the Jade Emperor.

In the primitive religion of the Tujia in Jiangkou County, northeastern Guizhou, the martial teaching carries a strong Daoist flavor. When the Tu master performs rituals, he must first invoke the Daoist deities. In the center of the altar, the spirit chart of the "Three Pure Ones and Heavenly Worthies" is hung, and on both sides are hung the spirit charts of "Marshal Ma" and the "Five Numinous Officials." When holding major religious activities, before the Tu master performs rituals, invokes the deities, issues military talismans, and mobilizes thousands of soldiers and horses, he must first invoke the Great Emperors of the Three Pure Ones and the Supreme Old Lord.

2. Tujia Nuo Culture and Daoism

Nuo, originating from witchcraft, was a sacrificial activity of the ancients to drive away ghosts and epidemics and to repay the gods and fulfill vows. Nuo culture is a cultural phenomenon of world significance, and China's Nuo culture still survives among more than ten ethnic groups today. The Central Plains region is the birthplace of China's Nuo culture.

After Nuo culture was introduced into Tujia areas from the Han Chinese regions of the Central Plains, it immediately blended with the primitive witchcraft culture of the Tujia, forming Tujia Nuo culture. At the same time, the development and intergenerational transmission of Tujia Nuo culture were deeply marked by Daoism. Nuo is also called by the Tujia "Nuo vow opera," "Nuo altar opera," or "Nuo hall opera," and it basically preserves the appearance and characteristics of primitive shamanic dance, with the Tu master wearing a mask, holding Nuo instruments, and singing while dancing.

The prevalence of shamanic customs among the Tujia and the strong primitive consciousness of the Tujia people prepared suitable conditions for the development and flourishing of Nuo culture in Tujia areas. The difference between Nuo culture and witchcraft culture lies in the following: Nuo culture takes Nuo dance, Nuo sacrifice, and Nuo opera as its basic carriers, while the carriers of witchcraft culture include song and dance as well as various different forms of shamanic sacrificial activities; Nuo sacrifices are large in scale, while folk shamanic sacrifices are often conducted by individual shamans in single households; the use of masks occupies a special position in Nuo sacrifices—without masks there is no Nuo—while ordinary shamanic sacrifices, although they have many props, do not wear masks.

Tujia Nuo culture is the crystallization of the fusion of Tujia primitive religious shamanic sacrificial behavior and Daoist culture, as can be seen from the many Daoist deities mentioned in Tujia Nuo opera lyrics and the hanging "Chart of the Three Pure Ones." The deities worshipped in Tujia Nuo opera belong to two major systems: one is the religious deities of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, and the other is the deities of Tujia primitive religion, reflecting the tolerance of Tujia religious cultural consciousness. The main scenes of Tujia Nuo opera in Dejiang, Sinan, and other places in Guizhou include: Grandma Tang, General Golden Horn, Emperor Guan Sheng, the mighty general Zhou Cang, the Daoist of the Ten Continents, and the Divine King Li Long, bringing together the deities of Tujia primitive religion and Daoist deities, and performed in masked form.

According to modern survey data, in the Chongshou Nuo ritual of the Tujia in Wenping Township, Dejiang County, Guizhou Province (that is, the most lively and festive of the various Chong Nuo vow-fulfillment rituals in Tujia belief, a Chong Nuo birthday celebration ritual held for elders of sixty or seventy years or in their rare seventies), the cloth covering of the Nuo hall and the hanging of the spirit charts are very particular. The composition of the spirit charts creates the specific space required by the ritual and displays to people the vast sacred world of folk Daoism—a spirit world with Daoist deities as its system, blended with Nuo hall deities and folk popular gods. In the spirit charts, Daoist deities occupy the main positions. The Jade Purity Chart of the Central Marchmount depicts twenty-five divine images arranged in seven layers, among which the three deities of the seventh layer are all Daoist deities—Yuanshi Tianzun, the Old Immortal of the South Pole, and the Purple Star Emperor of the North Pole; in the center of the sixth layer is the Jade Emperor Zhang Jian, the first deity among the Four Sovereigns of Daoism. In the center of the fourth layer is the Lord of the Five Emperors, holding the Taiji instrument, whose image is the same as Pangu in Daoist legend; the second layer contains the official who requests orders and the Three Primes Generals of Daoism who guard the heavenly gate. The Highest Purity Chart of the Eastern Marchmount depicts thirty divine images arranged in seven layers, among which the three deities of the seventh layer are Lingbao Tianzun, Celestial Master Tao Rong, and Celestial Master Zhang Daoling. The third layer includes the Judge Who Crosses Out Records and General Zhenwu; the second layer includes Zhou Sanlang, the Demon-Dispelling General, the Lightning Immortal Official, and the deities of the Daoist Thunder Department. The Supreme Purity Chart of the Southern Marchmount depicts forty divine images arranged in seven layers, among which the three deities of the seventh layer are the Supreme Old Lord Daode Tianzun, the Wondrous Dao True Lord Celestial Master Zhang Heng, and the Lingbao Dharma Master Celestial Master Deng Zhong. The fourth layer includes Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, Patriarch Zhenwu, and the Immortal Maiden Who Transmits Orders.

The Tujia's fulfillment of Nuo vows embodies ethnic moral and ethical views and is consistent with the inner spirit of Daoism, playing a promoting role in the infiltration of Daoist theory. Daoism emphasizes moral edification and combines moral cultivation with the way of longevity, possessing a strong secular character. The "Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi" says: "The ruler who governs the state must cultivate morality; loyal ministers who assist must devote themselves to practicing the Dao. When the Dao is universal and virtue overflows, great peace arrives." This shows that Daoism places great importance on morality, and Daoism holds that heaven, earth, and humanity cannot be separated from moral restraint. The Tujia people express their views of good and evil through Nuo deities, and the fulfillment of Nuo vows advocates happiness in this life. The Tujia people believe that the Nuo deities can protect the Tujia people in moving toward equality and freedom and living a happy life. "First protect and repay vows to bind the local lord, auspicious stars shine high and blessings fill the house; the family prospers and all things go well, disasters do not come and misfortunes do not arise; the five grains are abundantly harvested, the front granary is full and the back granary is filled."

In short, in Tujia areas, not only are there no lack of Daoist believers, but Daoism also combined with the primitive beliefs of the Tujia. In the legends of the Tu master's patriarch, ritual implements, and clothing, and in the patterns of the Tu master's rituals and ceremonies, the brand of Daoism is everywhere. Daoism became the principal deity in the Tu master's invocation and ritual performance, occupying the highest position.

(2) The Influence of Buddhism on Tujia Religious Beliefs

The border area of the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou, where the Tujia live in concentrated communities, was the gateway for ancient Central Plains culture to enter the southwest. Under the policy of "replacing native chieftains with government officials" implemented during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, not only did Daoism profoundly influence the religious beliefs of the Tujia, but Buddhism, under the vigorous advocacy and promotion of appointed officials, gradually made some Tujia common people into Buddhist believers, and some even became clergy. At the same time, the status of Buddhist clergy in the eyes of the Tujia also rose accordingly. The academic community generally believes that Buddhism was introduced into Tujia areas very early. During the Xiankang period of the Eastern Jin (335-342), the Xianfo Temple was built in Laifeng, western Hubei, with three giant Buddha statues of Shakyamuni, Maitreya, and Dipankara inside, and nineteen small Buddha statues. During the Yonghe period of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin (345-356), the Yonghe Temple was built in Yonghe Village, Wanmu Township, present-day Youyang County. From the Six Dynasties to the Yuan Dynasty, Buddhism spread widely and deeply in Tujia areas. By the Ming Dynasty, Mount Fanjing had become an important Buddhist mountain in central and southwestern China. Before the founding of New China, many residents of all ethnic groups in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou went there to offer incense.

In addition to those among the Tujia who believed in Buddhism, Buddhism spread and penetrated in Tujia areas and formed the "Literary Teaching" through combination with Tujia primitive religion. The emergence of the "Literary Teaching" changed people's concept of the soul and gave rise to the idea of reincarnation. The religious practitioners of the Literary Teaching are called "Daoist priests," also known as "masters." "Daoist priests" inherit through father-to-son succession or master-to-disciple transmission. To become a formal Daoist priest, one must undergo "transmission of the Dharma," and the transmission of the Dharma requires three conditions: first, being from a family that has practiced the Literary Teaching for generations; second, having followed the Dharma continuously for three years; and third, being able to read and recite scriptures. On the day of transmission, the master invites seven to more than ten fellow religious friends from all directions to witness the ordination before the shrine of Shakyamuni.

The Daoist priests are responsible for major activities such as conducting vegetarian feasts, holding jiao offerings, burying the dead, and delivering souls from purgatory. In northeastern Guizhou, Tujia people invite Daoist priests for house-building feng shui, burying the dead, praying for the sick, and driving epidemics from villages. In particular, burying the dead requires Daoist priests, and the funeral rituals are numerous. First, an auspicious day for burial is chosen, a mourning hall is set up, a spirit seat is installed, and a soul-guiding banner is hung; shrines are set up for the Buddha, Guanyin, Ksitigarbha, the Ten Kings of Hell, the Eighteen Arhats, the Five Directions Great Emperors, and the Three Thousand Gati deities, and eleven spirit charts including those of the Ten Kings of Hell and Ksitigarbha are hung, inviting the deities to take their seats and offering vegetarian offerings; Daoist priests chant scriptures, and the filial son presides over the sacrifice; during the stage rituals for delivering the soul from purgatory, Tujia performers sing funeral songs, and the Daoist priests preside over forms such as chorus, question-and-answer, and antiphonal singing, and perform rituals such as thanking the gods, sending off the spirit, responding to the seven, and the Numinous Mountain. In the various religious activities presided over by Daoist priests, Buddhist concepts such as "karmic retribution," "the yang repaying for the yin," and "the alternation of yin and yang" are mixed in, and throughout the entire religious activity the consciousness of chanting scriptures, eating vegetarian food, and seeking goodness for the Buddha runs through from beginning to end.

It is worth noting that the result of Daoism and Buddhism influencing Tujia religious beliefs did not cause a fundamental and complete transformation of Tujia religious beliefs into an artificial religion, but rather formed a unique ethnic religious belief culture of the Tujia with ancestor worship and worship of Tujia kings as the main content, blended with Daoist and Buddhist deities.

III. Factors Influencing the Changes in Tujia Religious Beliefs

The religious beliefs of the Tujia underwent a process of transformation from natural religion to artificial religion. Correspondingly, belief customs such as white tiger worship, fire worship, and Lin Jun worship were formed, as well as religious practitioners such as the "Tima" shaman and "Daoist priests." The changes in Tujia religious beliefs and religious customs are the result of the combined action of social forces and natural forces; they are the result of the comprehensive action of political factors, institutional factors, psychological factors, and geographical environmental factors. Among these, political factors and institutional factors are the determining factors, while psychological factors and geographical environmental factors are influencing factors.

The intervention of state power and changes in political systems are the direct causes of changes in religious concepts and religious systems. "Because they had no strength to struggle against the exploiters, they inevitably developed a longing for a happy life after death, just as savages, because they had no strength to struggle against nature, developed belief in God, devils, and miracles." In class society, on the one hand, laborers could not escape the profound suffering caused by the exploitative system; on the other hand, the exploiting class used religion as an important spiritual weapon to anesthetize and deceive the people. This is the profound social root of religion's existence and development under the exploitative system. After the Tang and Song dynasties, feudal dynasties successively implemented the loose-rein system and the native chieftain system in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou, changing the Tujia's original condition of "each village following its own customs, without recognizing any lord," and the Tujia's native natural religion was gradually replaced by artificial religion. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, strongly supported by the dynasties, spread into Tujia concentrated communities with strong penetration and extremely rapid transmission speed. Buddhist temples and Daoist monasteries throughout urban and rural areas gradually changed the Tujia people's belief customs and ritual forms, and produced the Tujia's unique religious culture—"Literary Teaching" culture. The central regime's direct administration over the Tujia was realized through the powerful influence of the Tujia kings or native chieftains who had long resided there. By virtue of imperial investiture, the Tujia kings or native chieftains, who concentrated political, military, and religious power in their own hands, possessed the great power of "life and death, reward and punishment" over the local people. They were awe-inspiring in life, and after death were worshipped as clan deities, called "Tujia King Gods." Thus, the clan deities of the Tujia underwent another transformation with the changes of the times, and Tujia king worship emerged.

Psychological needs are an important reason for the emergence of religious belief; changes in psychological needs inevitably affect changes in religious belief. The human need for survival is the primal driving force behind the emergence of religion. When life faces the threat of hunger and the forces of nature, people often place their wishes for food and for bodily protection upon nature gods, and thus totem worship and nature-god worship came into being. When society evolved to a certain stage, people began to pursue the meaning of existence—for example, the pursuit of property, money, and the opposite sex; the pursuit of friendship, love, and aesthetics. The pursuit of worldly interests inevitably leads to changes in people's psychological faith. Thus, utilitarian religious culture became integrated into people's daily lives. As the great British anthropologist James George Frazer said, "Magic asserts that all objects possessing personality, whether human or divine, are ultimately subordinate to those impersonal forces that control everything. Anyone who knows how to skillfully manipulate this force with appropriate rituals and incantations can continue to make use of it."

The reason Daoism and Buddhism were able to spread rapidly among the Tujia, and the reason Daoist priests and witchcraft were able to be accepted by the Tujia, is precisely that they catered to certain psychological needs of the people. If the early worship activities were a sincere belief in the gods, hoping to achieve some goal with the gods' help, then belief in Daoism was more a compensation for people's psychological deficiencies, sublimating the deep-seated attachment to life and the craving for the satisfaction of desires into a religious devotion, and transforming sighs about life and astonishment at nature and society into a fantasy about the gods. In this fantasy, everyone could attain immortality and become an immortal through Daoist cultivation, giving their spirit support and forgetting their troubles. Thus, the Tujia lived at ease and lived happily, fully enjoying freedom and joy in their limited years of existence.

The geographical environment is also an important factor influencing the formation and development of religious beliefs. The complex ecological environment led the Tujia people to develop their unique religious culture; at the same time, the unique geographical environment also nurtured the Tujia people's distinctive religious sentiments, enabling them to show great tolerance and strong adaptability when facing foreign cultures and religions, and to actively choose religious beliefs compatible with their own ethnic culture. The Taoist belief in immortals is rooted in the satisfaction of human instincts for survival and enjoyment, and this instinctual satisfaction is particularly prominent in the Tujia natural environment. The Tujia people have lived for generations in the border area between Jingchu and Bashu, a region known for 'the spread of shamanistic customs' and 'revering shamanism and favoring ghosts.' Tujia culture is closely linked with shamanistic culture, and 'believing in ghosts and revering shamanism' has become a common phenomenon. Therefore, the natural environment where the Tujia people live provided suitable soil for the spread of Taoist culture. The places where the Tujia people live have a mild climate, abundant rainfall, year-round mist and clouds, and high air humidity. The book Rongmei Jiyou is full of praise for the earthly paradise in the Tujia inhabited area: 'Mountains coil beyond the ancient vastness, people are in the ethereal void.' 'In the tower there is another aura of mist and rosy clouds, on the temple can accommodate a broad-minded man.' 'Everywhere clouds connect the houses, every home water embraces the forest.' This unique natural landscape is both a natural cave heaven and blessed land for Daoist practice and an ideal place sought by Daoism for becoming gods and immortals. It is an important reason why Daoism was able to take root and blossom in the Tujia inhabited area.

"Any society is manifested through individual consciousness. Therefore, social forces are bound to become individualized, that is, to penetrate into the individual members of society and function within them. It can be said that social forces are in this way transformed into individual forces, and even become an indispensable part of our own existence. It is precisely because of this fact that social forces can be strengthened and be exalted and sanctified by our own hands." In their continuous evolution and transformation, the religious beliefs of the Tujia provided people with deeply accumulated and richly colorful historical information, and became the main axis and core for interpreting Tujia culture.

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