The Tujia — Festivals and Taboos
VI. Festivals and Taboos. The Tujia have numerous traditional festivals. Although some resemble those of other ethnic groups, the legends about their origins differ. Because the Tujia are an ancient minority with a long history and their various subgroups are distributed across different regions, the activities of traditional festivals are not entirely the same. The Tujia...
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VI. Festivals and Taboos
The Tujia people have many traditional festivals. Although some festivals resemble those of other ethnic groups, the legends about their origins are different. Because the Tujia are an ethnic minority with a long history and ancient origins, and because several clan groups within the ethnic group are distributed in different areas, the activities of traditional festivals are not entirely the same. The Tujia have traditional stories for all major festivals. The following are those with ethnic characteristics.
Rushing the New Year
Among the traditional festivals of the Tujia people, "Rushing the New Year" is the most grand. Every lunar New Year, the Han people celebrate New Year's Eve, but the Tujia always celebrate at least one day earlier than the Han, so it is called "Rushing the New Year"; families with a deceased member had to celebrate the New Year festival one day earlier still. Within Tujia clan groups, the time of the New Year festival also differed by surname. For example, the Long and Liang surnames celebrated the New Year festival in the tenth or eleventh lunar month.
Why do the Tujia celebrate the Gan Nian (Early New Year)? Four legends have been passed down among them. The most popular is the story of the Tujia victory over Japanese pirates. It is said that during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, the ancestors of the Tujia followed Hu Zongxian to fight the Japanese pirates. On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, they celebrated the New Year one day early and feasted all the soldiers generously. After eating the sumptuous banquet, the soldiers conserved their energy and, on New Year's Eve, attacked the Japanese pirates while they were off guard and won victory. Later, in memory of their Tujia ancestors, they celebrated the New Year early, and it became the grandest festival of the year. Another legend mainly says that only by celebrating the New Year early before setting out on the campaign could they defeat the Japanese pirates, and afterward this became a custom. Therefore, when the Tujia eat their Gan Nian meal, some first walk around the house carrying a shoulder pole and blow through a fire-blowing tube with a wu-wu sound, representing the scene of blowing ox horns to assemble before setting out; some carry hunting guns and walk once around the nearby hills, symbolically raiding the enemy camp, in memory of the victory won by their forebears.
There is another legend. In a very, very distant age, the leader of the Beijinka led his tribe to Beijin Village. Seeing that firewood and water were convenient there, that the trees were hung with bright red fruit, that wild animals roamed in herds, and that the river was full of fish, he was overjoyed and decided to settle in this beautiful village. When government troops came and tried to drive the tribe away, the Beijinka would not surrender and held out for three years and six months. In the end, they took advantage of the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, when the invading government troops were celebrating the New Year, to attack the enemy soldiers and win. Later generations, to commemorate this day of victory, always celebrate the New Year one day early each Spring Festival.
Why do some Tujia, when celebrating the New Year, insert several branches of "wild cat tree" in front of their houses and blow the "dong dong kui" (a Tujia musical instrument), and why do some even set up tents at home to celebrate Gan Nian? Legend says that in the Qing Dynasty, below Huixi Ping in Guzhang, Xiangxi, was the place where the Tujia king and the Hakka king's commander fought; they fought year after year, and the people had no peace. One year, when the New Year was approaching, the Tusi king was pursued by the Hakka king's commander to a hillock and stationed there. Because the government troops were numerous and powerful, the Tusi king did not dare lead his troops out to charge. Seeing that the New Year was near and not knowing whether his family was safe, all the soldiers, according to the Tusi king's orders, each cut down a tree to make a long spear and celebrated the New Year early on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. At dawn on the first day of the new year, they thrust out their "tree-trunk spears," blew the "dong dong kui," and raised a heaven-shaking battle cry; the government troops below the hill saw the hillside densely packed with spears like a forest and fled in all directions in terror. The Tujia won a great victory, and to commemorate it, later generations celebrated the New Year according to the rule of that year's twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Why did the He and Tian clans of Luota celebrate Gan Nian on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month? Legend says that at that time only the nine He brothers, who had nine sections of ox horn, and the Tian hero came to the Luota area. The forests were dense and there were many wild cats and beasts in the mountains, but no wild boars could be found, so they went out hunting. One person, on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, killed a wild animal and made New Year meat from it, and so they celebrated the New Year on that day; afterward, they celebrated the New Year on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
It is said that the Xiang and Shang clans in the Caocai area of Xiche River in Longshan became sworn brothers when they suffered misfortune together. One was a major surname and the other a minor surname; when celebrating Gan Nian, the major surname celebrated on the twenty-eighth and the minor surname on the twenty-seventh.
When the Tujia celebrate "Minor New Year," they also do so one day earlier than the Han Chinese. Some call it sacrificing to the Kitchen God or sending the Tujia king and ancestors up to heaven; on this day they must do a thorough cleaning, use white wax tree leaves to "blast fleas," and every member of the family, old and young, must bathe, which is called "washing away the grime."
At New Year, the Tujia kill the New Year pig to sacrifice to the ancestors, and they also pound glutinous rice cakes, make candies, and brew wine. The New Year pig meat must be placed behind the door and covered with a straw rain cape (the Tujia ordinarily have a taboo against wearing a straw rain cape into the house), and it must not be seen by outsiders. One person stands at the house door holding a knife or spear, and when he sees anyone passing in front of the door, he immediately chases him and must drag him into the house to eat a meal of wine and meat. If he fails to catch him, he must squat and look forward three times, meaning that he can pass the New Year safely; in some places, a hemp cloth curtain one-third the width of the main room is made to enclose the slaughtered New Year pig, and after two days it is taken out to sacrifice to the ancestors and to add to meals; in some places, at New Year, a little is first taken from the pig's head, tail, and internal organs and assembled into a "ten complete" offering to the ancestors.
The glutinous rice cakes made for Gan Nian are always strung five to a bunch, and in addition five large cakes must be made, called "Kunong cakes," which are mainly used as tribute to the Tujia king. In the past, when the Tujia king was alive, he required five large cakes as tribute every New Year. After the Tujia king died, tribute still had to be paid in the same way, and this has continued down to the present. It is said that if any Tujia family does not make the large cakes, the whole year will not be auspicious.
At New Year, ancestor worship is generally held at midnight. Some legends say that the ancestors arrived at the border of Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan exactly at midnight, so the New Year must be celebrated at this hour. Formerly, the Tujia set off firecrackers before eating the New Year meal, but later this was changed to setting them off after the New Year meal. Why was it
changed? It is said that if firecrackers were set off first, the Tujia king's soldiers would hear them and come to seize the New Year meal, for at that time the Tujia king's soldiers often robbed the common people of their meat at New Year. Therefore, the Tujia cut the meat very fine and mixed it with radish, cabbage, vermicelli, and more than ten other kinds of vegetables, calling it "mixed vegetables," and the Tujia king's soldiers would not seize this dish to eat. This is a fine dish for the New Year, and some must be kept to entertain honored guests during the first lunar month. The ceremony of sacrificing to the ancestors at Gan Nian is very solemn. Tables and chairs are placed below the shrine in the main room; on the table are set tea, fruit, incense and candles, sweet wine, rice cakes, and cakes and candies; plum blossoms and cypress branches are inserted in the rice cakes, and the whole is enclosed with a curtain. This arrangement is because when the Japanese pirates raided Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the Ming Dynasty, Peng Yinan, the Tusi of Yongshun, led 3,000 local soldiers to fight at Songjiang, and on the triumphant return could not make it home in time for the New Year festival, so they celebrated under plum and cypress trees by the roadside, and thus it became a custom. When eating the New Year meal, every household must steam rice and make chunk meat (the largest piece one jin, the smallest two liang per chunk). It is said that at Gan Nian many people went out on campaign, so only steaming in a rice steamer would cook enough, and there was no time to cut the meat, so it was only cut into chunks, wrapped with millet and seasonings, and steamed; what could not be eaten could also be carried on the road to eat. In some places, after finishing the New Year meal, the whole family, old and young, carry clothes, quilts, and so on on their backs and run and hide all over the hillsides. Legend says this is because the ancestors were very poor and had to flee for their lives right after eating the New Year meal.
On New Year's Eve, they burn two pieces of firewood in the fire pit, and while burning them they chant: May the farming year be good! If the pig is fattened we can eat meat, may the mortar hole be clear for pounding rice, may the pigs be well raised, may the chickens thrive. On New Year's Eve when the rooster crows, every household must make some symbolic gestures, such as pounding the rice mortar three times; pushing the mill three times; calling to the pig three times at the pigsty; calling to the ox three times at the ox shed; and knocking three times at the granary door. Some also paste paper money on the fruit trees in front of and behind the house, knock the trunk several times with an axe, and ask, "Will you bear fruit this year?" Another person answers, "Yes"; "Will you be sweet this year?" The answer is, "Sweet." "Will you drop your fruit this year?" The answer is, "No."
On New Year's Eve, they must "guard the year" and "seize the year." Every household burns a vigorous fire all night long, and it must burn brighter and brighter. The whole family sits around the fire pit, talking, laughing, and telling stories, which is called "guarding the year." When the rooster crows, every household in the Tujia village must "seize the year" and set off firecrackers; when setting off firecrackers they also strike a salt jar, and all the family, old and young, must shout, "A bumper harvest year comes to our house." Whichever family's firecrackers sound first, that family will be the most auspicious in the coming year, so everyone wants to set off firecrackers early, and the more and louder they are, the more they foretell prosperity in the new year; the Tujia call this "seizing the year."
Some Tujia also have the custom of celebrating Gan Nian under trees on the hillsides. Legend says this is because their ancestors suffered disaster and hardship and could not celebrate the New Year festival at home, and in order not to forget the ancestors' suffering, the habit of celebrating in the open air was formed. Some Tujia in Baojing and other places also have the custom of sacrificing to the ancestors at the edge of the fields and then returning home for reunion. After eating the New Year meal, they close the toilet and all the small doors, leaving only the main door ajar, and insert branches of the Chinese toon tree into the door ring and on the door to welcome the ancestral grandmother home for the New Year. Because the ancestral grandmother celebrated Gan Nian this way in her lifetime, the descendants must do the same, and only then will the ancestors be pleased.
On the first day of the first lunar month, people generally go to pay New Year calls on the elders of the same clan and ancestry; on the second day they mostly go to the wife's parents' home to pay New Year calls; on the third and fourth days they mostly visit neighbors and fellow villagers. From the third to the fifteenth day is the "Tiao Nian" (year-adjusting) period, and the spring-welcoming activities gradually reach their climax; where there are Tujia king temples or Babu Great God temples, people must go to the temple to perform the hand-waving sacrifice. The Tujia also celebrate the Lantern Festival, and in some places they also celebrate the sixteenth and seventeenth. At night, they must burn fir branches or cypress branches outside the house, which crackle with a zhi-zhi sound, called "burning lice and fleas." Children shout loudly and chase one another, called "chasing Mao Jiu" and "chasing the hairy dog," symbolizing driving away wild beasts and protecting the prosperity of poultry and livestock.
Ox Hair Great King Festival
The Tujia take the seventh or seventeenth of the fourth month, or the eighth or eighteenth of the fourth month, as the Ox Hair Great King Festival. On this day they must kill a pig, make large chunks of meat to sacrifice to the ancestors, and set out a banquet to entertain married daughters and close relatives and friends.
Among the Tujia in the Youyang area, there is a myth of the "Ox King" that says: in ancient times the farmers practiced slash-and-burn cultivation in the deep mountains and open wilderness, toiling day and night, yet what they harvested in a year was not enough for a month's rations. The starving dead lay everywhere, and the stench of rotting corpses rose to heaven. The Jade Emperor asked what the reason was, and all the officials looked at one another and did not dare speak frankly. Only the Ox King reported the truth and then descended to the mortal world to help the farmers plow the fields. The Jade Emperor had always liked the Ox King for his diligence, hard work, honesty, and simplicity, so he ordered him to descend to the mortal world and proclaim the "Jade Emperor's sacred edict," decreeing that all people in the world were permitted only "one meal every three days." When the Ox King came down to the mortal world and understood that "one meal every three days" made it hard to survive, he arbitrarily altered the "sacred edict" and told the common people to eat "three meals a day"; this is the origin of three meals a day. When the Ox King returned and truthfully reported back to the Jade Emperor, the Jade Emperor was furious on hearing it and immediately demoted the Ox King to the mortal world to plow the fields for the people, and ordered that the people were not to give him rice or meat, but only grass for his whole life. The Ox King pitied the hardships of the people and gladly accepted the order to descend to the mortal world, obey people's commands, and labor for them. Therefore, the Tujia people everywhere set up shrines to sacrifice to the "Ox King," and called the day of the eighth of the fourth month the "Ox King Festival." On this day, every Tujia household lets the ox rest and entertains it with good food.
In Xiangxi, the Tujia popularize "The Story of the Ox Hair Great King," saying: the Ox Hair Great King was a great general in the heavenly palace. Fearing that the common people would be lazy, he scattered grass seed on the ground, one handful for every step he took, but after scattering for a while he remembered wrongly and scattered seven handfuls of grass seed for every step, so grass was everywhere, and in some places there was more grass than crops. The Jade Emperor was furious and said, with so much grass growing, how can the people hoe it all? You go and eat it. At the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, when the five grains had just been planted, food was very scarce. The Ox Hair Great King, on the Jade Emperor's orders, went to notify the people that they should eat once every three days, but the Ox Hair Great King forgot and told the people that the Jade Emperor said they should eat three meals a day. After he returned, the Jade Emperor was furious again and said: if one meal every three days is not enough, three meals a day is even less enough; you go and plow the fields for the people. So the Ox Hair Great King descended to the mortal world, ate the grass he had planted, and worked for the people. Therefore, on the ox's birthday, the "eighth of the fourth month," they
do not let the ox plow the fields, feed it the best fodder, and people also rest from work for a day.
There is also an origin for celebrating the seventeenth and eighteenth of the fourth month. Because the Peng clan, who came by fir boat, arrived at Longshan on the seventeenth of the fourth month, while the Peng clan who came by chestnut boat arrived only on the eighteenth of the fourth month, this festival has two days.
The Sixth of the Sixth Month
In some places, celebrating the sixth of the sixth month is as important as celebrating Gan Nian. Every household must take out good cloth and clothes to air in the sun. On this day they must steam glutinous rice, pound rice cakes, kill an ox, and go to the Tujia king temple to worship the Tujia king; after the sacrificial rites, the whole village dines together. Why do they call airing clothes "airing the dragon robe"? Legend says the sixth of the sixth month is the day when Qin Li, the Tusi king of Maogang, met with disaster, and his dragon robe was stained with blood; to commemorate King Qin Li, the Tujia on this day wash and air the dragon robe for King Qin Li, praying for the prosperity of Tujia descendants.
Another legend about King Qin Li says: the mother of Qin Li, the Tusi king of Maogang, was pregnant for three years before giving birth to him. He had three fleshy dragons growing on his body, and because of this his parents were killed and transformed into three large nan bamboo trees. He was taken by his elder sister Qin Xia to hide in a deep cave in a cliff and so survived. From the age of three he began to practice martial arts and developed a marvelous archery skill. Later, urged on by his elder sister, he used divine arrows and magic arts to avenge his parents, and at Jiugang (Stream) he led 3,000 Tujia in rebellion. The court sent Yang Qiong with government troops to besiege Qin Li's stronghold, "Seven Years Stockade," but after seven years passed, Yang Qiong still could not defeat Qin Li. The emperor then sent Zhou Dexing to lead troops to besiege him, killing everyone on sight. In order that the 3,000 Tujia would not be massacred, Qin Li surrendered alone and asked to be bound. After he was escorted to the capital, he acted according to his elder sister's plan; the emperor permitted his soul to sit on the throne for three days on each of the three days containing the number six in the sixth month every year. Later, because Qin Li was killed on the sixth of the sixth month and his dragon robe was stained with blood, on this day the dragon robe must be aired. As history moved on, the sixth of the sixth month became a Tujia festival commemorating the ancestors
; during the festival, rummaging through boxes and cupboards and washing and airing clothes has become a habit, and it is still done this way today.
In some places, the sixth of the sixth month is the "New Food Festival." Tujia village households must brew wine with corn for the sacrifice, kill an ox to honor the gods, and the whole village, old and young, celebrates the festival together.
In some places, when celebrating the sixth of the sixth month festival, two pigs must be killed and taken to the altar to honor Duke Peng. After the sacrifice, the pig's internal organs are boiled in a large pot and shared out among everyone, while the pork is paid for by everyone together. When dining together, everyone discusses the dates for picking tea seeds, gathering tung seeds, breaking corn, and harvesting rice, and this has become a rule to which no one is an exception; they also elect a leader to manage affairs during the production process, and sometimes they may take turns managing it.
Taboos
The taboos of the Tujia run through all aspects of religious belief, festivals, birth, old age, sickness and death, and etiquette and customs; some taboos were influenced by the Han Chinese, while others carry local and ethnic characteristics. Some taboos have become norms of people's behavior and play the role of customary law.
At New Year and festivals, on the first and fifteenth days, no matter who it is, no one may say unlucky words. Each year, only on the autumn harvest "idle days" and the "Water Star Day" before the New Year may the dust in the house be swept twice, and the dust must be taken to the main crossroads to be burned; at all other times sweeping is forbidden. On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month at "Gan Nian," after the rice is put in the steamer, women are no longer allowed to do needlework or wash clothes. When eating the New Year meal, it is forbidden to soak rice in soup. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month they do not eat rice cakes; it is said that if one eats rice cakes, blisters will appear on the body.
On New Year's Eve, the floor must be swept clean, so that in the coming year no weeds will grow in the crop fields; on New Year's Eve they do not turn the mill or pound rice in the mortar. At New Year, they do not use needles, otherwise the crops will bolt and become infested with insects; it is forbidden to fetch well water and to kill poultry and livestock. From the first to the third day of the first lunar month, sweeping is not allowed, for fear of sweeping away the wealth. At the same time, on the dog and rat days of the first lunar month sweeping is also not allowed; if one sweeps, fleas will breed. On the first day of the first lunar month it is taboo to see stalks; if one sees them, one will be bitten by a snake. From the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and on the Beginning of Spring, anyone born in the years of the ox, snake, or dragon must not fetch water; if they fetch water, there will be drought. On the three wu days of a month, they do not dump manure, dig manure, or fetch water. Violating this will bring drought. People born in the year of the dog must not sweep on wu days, lest fleas breed on their bodies. On Qingming and the Beginning of Summer, the plow ox is forbidden to be used; if the ox is used, it will fall ill.
In the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth months, the days of the snake; in the eleventh lunar month, the days of the rooster; in the third, sixth, and ninth months, and in the twelfth lunar month, the days of the ox are all called "red sha days"; the full moon is a "earth plague day," and sowing is taboo on all of them. A Tujia folk saying goes: "Sow on a red sha day, and the seed grain will not return home." Sowing on these days will not bring a good harvest.
Each month, on the two jia-geng days that fall on yin, on ren-chen and wu-chen days, and on geng-shen and ji-mao days, six days in all, it is taboo to sell things, to slaughter, and to release and feed poultry; those who violate the taboo will have poor fortune. Among Tujia seasonal taboos, those in the twelfth and first lunar months are the most numerous, and the folk saying "taboo the beginning in the first month, taboo the end in the twelfth month" is widespread.
There are also many taboos related to etiquette. For example, the bathwater of a newborn baby must be poured out at the corner of the fire pit or in the toilet, and pouring it out at random is forbidden. One may not wear straw sandals into a house with a newborn to borrow things or light a fire, otherwise the baby will cry without stopping or die young. If a person wearing straw sandals enters the baby's room, the mother's milk will be scant or dry up. Within seven days after the baby's birth, the baby must not be allowed to see the sky. The baby's diapers may only be dried under the back eaves and must be taken back the same day. The baby's cradle must have scissors and a chopping knife stuck upright in it, and laying them flat is taboo.
During confinement, women are forbidden to eat white chickens and speckled chickens; if they do, disaster will come to the baby and the mother; they are forbidden to eat beef, for if they do the child will not be able to speak; they are forbidden to eat duck eggs and duck meat, for if they do the child will walk like a duck, and so on. The mother's bowl may not be placed together with the bowls of other family members. Within three days after the baby's birth, the mother may not leave the fire-pit room; before the full month she may not go to the main room or the kitchen, and may only enter and leave by the back door.
There are also some taboos concerning underage children. During New Year celebrations, festivals, and joyous occasions, children should not speak carelessly. Children may only eat chicken meat, not the chicken head—eating it shows disrespect to elders; they must not eat chicken feet, for eating them will make their hands tremble when writing; they are forbidden to eat pig trotters, for eating them will make it hard to find a spouse, and even if a spouse is found, she will be taken away by others; they must not eat pig snout meat, for eating it will cause snoring; they must not gnaw on the rice spoon; they must not start school in a leap year; violating these taboos will prevent them from achieving success and fame. Children, young women, and pregnant women are tabooed from sitting on the threshold of the main hall.
There are also taboos regarding weddings. It is taboo to break ground or carry out construction in a house where there is a pregnant woman, for breaking ground will cause the pregnant woman to miscarry. Pregnant women and widows are forbidden to receive the bride and watch the wedding ceremony. From the day of the wedding, for three consecutive days, unmarried young women (who have not yet had their facial hair removed) and pregnant women are not allowed to enter the bridal chamber. After the sedan chair carrying the bride arrives at the groom's house, before the wedding ceremony is held, the groom's parents must not meet the bride; those attending the wedding must not wrap white cloth around their heads.
There are also some taboos concerning death and funerals: for example, for those who die outdoors, regardless of age or gender, it is taboo to lay the corpse indoors; only after inviting a Tu teacher to perform the "climbing the knife ladder" ritual may the burial take place. For those who die a normal death, the corpse is laid indoors, the ancestral spirit tablets are covered properly; the cat is shut up and must not be allowed to enter the mourning hall, and during the memorial ceremony, the sound of a cat meowing must not be heard. Inside and outside the house and around the ancestral graves, it is taboo to break ground or dig holes, for doing so will offend the spirits and bring disaster. In front of and behind the house and in front of and behind graves, it is taboo to bury the dead again, for violating this taboo will cause more deaths. Women are tabooed from stepping on the mourning hall, and so on.
There are even more taboos regarding daily production, life, and etiquette. For example, one must not carry a hoe, wear a straw rain cape, or bring empty water buckets or empty manure buckets into the house; it is taboo to enter the room with the fire pit wearing straw sandals, and one must not step on the fire pit or the three-legged stove stand with one's feet; it is forbidden to warm one's feet at the stove entrance; it is not permitted to eat at the stove; on New Year's Eve, one may move the three-legged stand to sweep away dust, but at all other times it is taboo to touch the three-legged stand. It is taboo to place umbrellas, chicken coops, or wine jars in the main hall; it is taboo to beat drums in the main hall; adult male guests must not sit together with young married women, but they may sit on the same bench with unmarried young women. In the seventh month, if a snake, frog, or other large creature enters the house, it must not be killed, only driven away, because they believe that snakes, frogs, and large creatures are incarnations of ancestors. In the Badong area, the Tan surname Tujia believe that the eagle is the benefactor of their ancestors, and they may only drive the eagle away, not kill it, and so on.
After the founding of New China, these taboos in Tujia areas gradually disappeared with the development of the social economy and the continuous improvement of cultural levels. Some taboos are still known to elderly Tujia people, but the vast majority of middle-aged and young people no longer remember them clearly.