Enshi Customs and Culture Grand View

The Tujia people living in the Enshi region of southwestern Hubei have formed a rich and colorful traditional national culture in their long-term production and life, of which festival and customs culture is an important part, showing the ethnic characteristics of the nation from one aspect. Psychology, beliefs, morals, ethics, customs, values, ways of thinking, etc. New Year custom culture is another important part of festival custom culture, which is briefly described below.

1. Killing New Year pigs

Tujia people have always had the tradition of feeding New Year pigs. Every winter lunar month is the time to kill New Year pigs. Killing the New Year Pig not only ensures a good New Year, but also ensures that you can eat meat all year round. How many New Year pigs were killed in a given family and how many animals were killed are also symbols of the disparity between rich and poor. Killing the New Year pig depends on the day of the year and must not conflict with the zodiac of the family, otherwise it will be considered to bring trouble to the family. For example, if there are people in the family who are born in the year of dog, tiger or chicken, the day when the pig is killed cannot be one of these animal signs. When you have a good idea of ??the day, you should hire a butcher. You should also ask the strong men in the neighborhood to help. Finally, you should pay the butcher's knife according to the number of heads.

As the saying goes, "frogs jump when eating, and pigs bleat when eating." Pork that has not been drained is the most delicious. On this day, the host family will invite clan members, relatives and friends who usually visit closely to have a "soup" feast. After a soup feast, all the remaining meat is made into bacon. The Tujia people’s custom of curing bacon is also related to the humid climate in mountainous areas. It is easy to preserve after being smoked, and the meat has a good-looking color. When stewed or fried in a pot, the aroma will spread for miles.

2. Busy New Year

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Enshi Tujia people begin to busy themselves with New Year shopping. Housewives are busy making bean paste, making fermented glutinous rice, making tofu, and making glutinous rice balls. Whether a daughter-in-law can do anything depends on whether she can cook well. Making glutinous rice cakes is a skill and a labor of strength. Only strong men in the tribe who are good at making glutinous rice cakes must participate.

Bean curd, fermented glutinous rice, tofu, glutinous rice balls, and glutinous rice cakes are all made from home-produced grains. As long as people are diligent and capable, they don’t have to worry about anything. In addition, I have to go to the market to buy some things for New Year greetings. I plan to give a few gifts for New Year greetings. My family has already made a good deal and knows exactly what to buy. You must buy candies, pastries, noodles, wine and other New Year greetings. You must buy the lively and festive firecrackers and fireworks and the incense wax paper used for sacrifices. Those with better conditions will also buy some dry goods and fresh vegetables that are not available at home, and buy some new clothes for the family, old and young. Whether the New Year's goods are adequately prepared or not can tell whether a family is rich or not.

3. Celebrating the Little New Year

The Enshi Tujia people have the custom of celebrating the Little New Year, and they worship the Kitchen God on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. When delivering the stove, in order to encourage the Stove Lord to speak nice words to heaven, people used gum candies to honor him and stick his teeth together so that he could not speak nonsense. Or smear the stove door with alcohol, so that the stove prince will be so drunk that he can't talk nonsense. On New Year's Eve, we will bring the Stove Lord back.

The Tujia people believe that there are gods three feet above their heads. Whatever they do, they feel that there are a pair of eyes watching them. That is to say, "what people do, God is watching." If you have awe in your heart, you will definitely have a sense of proportion in doing things. This is actually a good kind of self-discipline.

According to folklore, this day is the day when mice marry girls. The mice did not care about the food in the granary and hid one by one. It's rare for the host to have a day off without having to fight with rats, so he has free time to clean the house. This kind of fine work will undoubtedly fall on the daughters-in-law. First, set up a long ladder and use a long broom to sweep the sun dust on the roof beams, mainly the stove room and fire pit room, which are masterpieces left by the smoke and fire. When cleaning, wear a straw hat or a turban on your head to prevent sun dust from falling on your hair. Then, clear away the cobwebs and debris in the house, sweep the floor, and wipe the furniture clean. Afterwards, remove the bedding from the bed and wash it. The men weeded the weeds in front and behind the house. After a while of busy work, the inside and outside of the house are refreshing.

3. Tujia New Year

The Tujia people in Enshi have the custom of having a family reunion dinner on the first day of New Year’s Eve, which is also called celebrating the new year. Legend has it that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the Tujia soldiers were ordered to go on an expedition against the Japanese pirates. In order to defeat the Japanese pirates' plot to launch a sneak attack during the Chinese New Year, they had the New Year's Eve dinner one day in advance and launched a sudden attack the next day, defeating the Japanese pirates.

In order to commemorate the victory of the anti-Japanese war, the Tujia people’s custom of celebrating the New Year one day early has been followed since then. The history of the Tujia people’s struggle for the survival and development of the nation and to resist aggression has been passed down through such a festival folk custom. It is an evocative song and it plays an important role in establishing national self-esteem, enhancing national pride and national cohesion.

Nowadays, family reunion dinner is usually held on New Year’s Eve. For those with big families, the reunion starts on the 27th or 8th day of the twelfth lunar month and lasts until New Year’s Eve. The meals during the reunion are very sumptuous, so be sure to have enough to eat and have leftovers. In some families, stewed cured hooves, braised pork head, and steamed New Year rice are eaten until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some families intentionally sprinkle a handful of millet into the New Year's meal. When eating the New Year's meal, the children in the family will say "a lot of millet" for good luck. The dish for the family reunion must include a dish of fish, which brings good luck of "abundance every year". Seeking auspiciousness and seeking good fortune is a true reflection of the Tujia people's yearning for a better life.

Before having the reunion dinner, set off firecrackers. As long as you hear someone's firecrackers going off, you can tell that this family is having a family reunion. In recent years, with the ban on whipping, this link has been eliminated. If you are in the countryside far away from the city, the crackling of firecrackers during the Tuan Nian Festival will come one after another, and the usually deserted countryside will suddenly come to life. Then the "calling ancestors" ceremony is held, which is to invite the ancestors to go home for a reunion. This ceremony is completed by the head of the family. First place a few cups, bowls, and chopsticks on the table, pick some vegetables and add some rice to the bowl, put the chopsticks on the edge of the bowl (a taboo in normal times), pour some wine into the cup, and after calling them one by one, start burning paper , then pour the wine on the ground, and finally pour some tea on the ground. In the process of calling ancestors, you have to talk to the ancestors as if they were alive, but invisible through a barrier. At the end of the ceremony, the whole family comes to the table to celebrate the new year. Unless there are special circumstances, no one should be missing, which means that the family is reunited and in harmony.

After the reunion dinner, the men posted couplets and hung lanterns. The women carried the clothes that their families had used for bathing and changing that day to a place with running water to be starched. When it gets dark, family members lead their children and grandchildren to worship at their ancestors' graves, lighting incense, burning paper, setting off firecrackers, and kowtow. The purpose of offering sacrifices is to enable future generations to remember their ancestors and inherit the fine traditions and precious spiritual wealth of their ancestors.

In the evening, the whole family sits by the fire kang or brazier, chatting, laughing, and enjoying themselves. The old man with the story set up the dragon gate array, and the children opened their eyes wide when they heard it. They couldn't bear it anymore and the adults held them in their arms to sleep. This is called "keeping the year old". Those who can stay up will stay up all night.

On the first day of the first lunar month, at dawn, the man in charge of the household gets up early to set off firecrackers and go out to carry rice and water. Whoever wakes up early shows that he or she is diligent. On this day, no one in the family is allowed to sleep in, and the sleepy children have to be woken up by their parents. The purpose of this is to warn family members not to be lazy and to be rich only through hard work.

4. New Year greetings

The customs of New Year greetings for the Tujia people in Enshi are geographically different in the six counties and two cities across the state. In some places, people worship their clan members before the new year and their father-in-law after the new year. In some places, people do not go out on the first and second day of the lunar month, but pay homage to their father-in-law on the third and fourth day of the lunar month. In some places, there is a saying that "it's never too late to greet the Dragon Boat Festival if you want to."

Generally speaking, younger generations pay New Year greetings to their elders, and peers and friends pay New Year greetings to each other. When paying New Year greetings, rice cakes are indispensable, followed by noodles, sugar, and wine. The number and thickness of the samples show the importance of the relationship. When a married girl goes back to her parents' home to pay New Year's greetings, she has to carry a pair of hooves on her back. If the hooves are small or there is no back, it means that the girl's family is not having a very good life. The elders do not pay New Year greetings to the younger generation, but only return gifts or give lucky money to their children.

New Year greetings are the best time for interpersonal communication. By walking around with each other, you can not only connect with each other and achieve harmony, but also pass information to each other, and you may be able to discover career opportunities.

5. New Year’s entertainment activities

Enshi Tujia people cannot celebrate the New Year without group entertainment. From towns to villages, people participate in a high degree, such as playing with dragon lanterns, playing with lions, and picking flowers. The main ones are lotus boat, continuous ringing, and playing.

What is even more distinctive is the day of chasing furry dogs on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Maogouzi (common name for foxes) likes to steal chickens, so they must be driven away.

First use bamboo tubes to make torches or use alfalfa oil to make candles for later use, then cut branches to build a shed, put in straw-tied fur dogs, pile up unbroken bamboo tubes and cannon leaves (see bubbles and bursts in the fire) ). When it gets dark, all men, women and children go out, put lighted torches and candles on the side of the house and on the roadside, and then burn the dog shed. The crowd here makes a sound of "oh ho", and the crowd on the other side shouts "Catch the dog" Dog!" At this time, the mountains and fields were filled with flames, shouts and shouts were deafening, and it was very lively.

The fun-filled annual entertainment activities require close cooperation from the participants and harmonize the relationship between the neighbors. Any barriers we usually have are eliminated by participating in such activities.

With the development of the times and the advancement of civilization, some traditional customs and cultures have disappeared. Disappear because there is no need to exist. For example, worship the Kitchen God and the Door God. After decades of reform and opening up, the Tujia people's ideological concepts have undergone great changes. They believe that relying on God is not reliable, but relying on the Communist Party and oneself is reliable. The disappearance of some customs is because the objective objects have disappeared, and there is no need for their existence. For example, chasing away a stray dog. Since the mid-1970s, Mao Gouzi has disappeared, and there is no need to retain the custom of "catching Mao Gouzi". Although some customs have been passed down, they have been simplified. For example, when paying New Year greetings, I used to carry things or carry them on my back, no matter how far away they were. Later, they changed to giving money, and then they brought nothing but their mouths, and the family played for a day.

The birth or disappearance of any cultural phenomenon has both historical inevitability and realistic objectivity. Only when it can be closely connected with people's lives can it have vitality and vitality, and can it be easily followed and passed on. .