Manchu traditional festivals

Manchu New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

Influenced by the Han people, it became a traditional festival of the Manchu people. In ancient times, December was called "New Year's Day", the last day of December was called "New Year's Day", and the evening was called "New Year's Eve" or "New Year's Eve". January is called "Yuan Yue" or "First Month". The first day of the first lunar month is called "New Year's Day", "Yuan's Day" or "Zhengdan", "Zhengchao", "Xinzheng", etc. New Year's Eve is the last night of the previous year, and New Year's Day is the last day of the new year. It is commonly known as "Chinese New Year" to see off the old and welcome the new. "Nian" is the most important festival for the Manchu people. The whole world celebrates and the whole family is happy. Pigs will be killed after the Laba Festival. The old folk proverb goes: "Children, don't cry. After the Laba Festival, the pigs will be killed." "

In order to wish good luck, every family will post Spring Festival couplets, window grilles, hanging flags and the word "Fu" before the year. The Spring Festival couplets are composed of upper couplets, lower couplets and horizontal drapes. The number of words is uncertain, and the couplets are required to be neat and neat. They are harmonious in level and have auspicious contents. They are usually posted on the door. The upper couplet is on the right, the lower couplet is on the left, and is draped horizontally on top.

In order to offer sacrifices to Buddha and ancestors, every family will make cakes and baits before the year. Rice wine and other offerings. On the afternoon of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, please put out incense and burn incense to worship Buddha and ancestors. Worshiping Buddha and ancestors is a major event during the New Year. > On New Year's Eve, after paying homage to the Buddha and worshiping their ancestors, the younger generation should kowtow to their elders to bid farewell to the New Year. ", set off firecrackers. The courtyard was filled with sesame straw, and people walked back and forth, commonly known as "stepping on the New Year". It means "step by step to climb higher". At midnight, every family eats dumplings. When making dumplings, a copper coin is required. Put it secretly in the dumplings, and the Manchus believe that whoever eats it will have "good luck all year round." On New Year's Eve, lantern poles are erected in every courtyard, with pine branches tied up and red lanterns hung high, every night from New Year's Eve to the sixth day of the lunar month. /p>

On New Year’s Day, people should get up early to greet each other, kowtow and wish each other good luck, which is also called “New Year’s Eve”. Otherwise, it is considered disrespectful for the Manchu people in Heilongjiang to “increase wealth” on New Year’s Day. Custom: "On New Year's Day, people carry water and firewood and lock doors. When asked, the answer was: ‘Send money! ’ (Sending firewood) Then someone put the water and firewood in the cauldron and stove, shouting: ‘Add more wealth! Add wealth! '" The Manchu people hope to use auspicious words and rituals to wish for abundant wealth in the new year. The Manchu Lantern Festival

Commonly known as the "Lantern Festival", it is a traditional festival of the Manchu people. Celebrate the Lantern Festival with great joy Putting up colorful lanterns is also known as the "Lantern Festival". Like the Han people, the Manchu people also have the custom of eating "Yuanxiao" during the Lantern Festival. On the night of the festival, every Manchu family hangs lanterns, and everyone enjoys watching them. Music. In addition to the main activities of Lantern Festival, such as lantern lighting, lantern dancing, and lantern appreciation, various folk songs and dances, various operas, etc. are also performed, which adds to the joyful atmosphere of the festival.

< p> On the 16th day of the first lunar month, Manchu women have the custom of "eating away all kinds of diseases". "Fengtian Tongzhi·Etiquette and Customs 2" records: "On the 16th, women arrive together at dusk. In the open space, walk for a week, or go to a neighbor's house to sit and return, which is called "walking for all diseases". "In some places, women get rid of all kinds of diseases by rolling on the ice, which is commonly known as "Kulu Bing". While rolling, they recite: "Ku Wun turns to Wan Bing, no back pain, no leg pain. A light. " February 2nd of the Manchu people

Commonly known as "Dragon Raises its Head Day", it is a traditional festival of the Manchu people. On this day, Manchu people have the custom of "inviting the dragon". That is, in the morning, they spread stove ashes in the courtyard and make a sign to the left and right. The large circle is spread from the hall door to the gate, and then extended to the well. The ashes are curved like a dragon, so it is commonly known as "Yinlong". Then a sacrifice is held in the yard to pray for good weather and good weather. The cake is called "Dragon Scale Cake" and the noodles are called "Dragon Beard Noodles". On this day, Manchu women stop sewing for fear of damaging the dragon's eyes. Manchu people are influenced by Han customs and also celebrate the Qingming Festival. Visiting graves to worship ancestors is therefore also a traditional festival of the Manchu people. However, the method of worship is different from the Han custom of burning paper money and pressing paper on the top of the tomb, while the Manchu people "insert Buddha". That is to say, inserting willow branches. In the legend of shamanism believed by the Manchu people, willow is the ancestor of mankind, and people are the descendants of willow. Putting willow branches on the graves as a sacrifice during the Qingming Festival means that future generations will not forget their ancestors.

The Manchu people regard July 15th as the Ghost Festival, which is also regarded as the "Ghost Festival" to save the souls of the dead. During the festival, during the day, various temples will hold Ullan gatherings, light lanterns, chant sutras, and perform rituals. The lanterns are burned in the pond. At night, the lanterns are lit and floated along the river, which means "Cihang Pudu".

Children dance in groups, each holding a lotus lantern. Manchu Mid-Autumn Festival

August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional festival of the Manchu people. The autumn moon is full. The Manchu people, like the Han people, regard the full moon as a symbol of reunion. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the "Reunion Festival".

Manchu families celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and have a "reunion dinner". At night, when the moon rises, people also offer offerings to the moon: a wooden screen is placed on the west side of the courtyard facing east, and cockscombs, edamame branches, fresh lotus roots, etc. are hung on the screen to offer sacrifices to the moon rabbit. An Eight Immortals table is placed in front of the screen, and a large moon cake is served on the table. When offering sacrifices, burn incense and kowtow. Because the moon belongs to the yin category, Manchu women worship the moon first, followed by men. After the sacrifice, the moon cakes are cut and each person eats one piece, which is called "reunion cake". Manchu Gold Awarding Festival

The Gold Awarding Festival is a festival of the Manchu people, which is "Gold Awarding Zhalan" in Manchu. "Banjin" means "birth" in Manchu, and "Zhalan" means "happy day" in Manchu. On the 13th day of the tenth lunar month in 1635, Huang Taiji, the son of King Nurhaci of the Later Jin Khan, abolished the old name of Jurchen and changed the name of the clan to Manchu. He also officially announced that from now on, the Manchu people would hold a grand celebration ceremony for this day. On October 13th, the Manchu people in Xinjiang gathered together to celebrate their national festival with singing and dancing. Many Manchu compatriots wore cheongsam and other ethnic costumes, danced traditional folk dances, sang folk songs, and carried out Various celebrations. At the same time, ethnic foods such as milk tea, saqima, cakes, and golden silk cakes are also prepared for everyone to taste. Many Manchu writers, painters, calligraphers, artists, etc. wrote poems and paintings for everyone and performed exquisite skills, making the celebration very lively and interesting. The Manchus

The Manchus, who have lived in the vast areas of Baishan and Blackwater in the northeast of the motherland, have been an important member of the Chinese nation since ancient times and have a long history and ancient civilization. The ancestors of the Manchu people can be traced back to Sushen in the pre-Qin period. During the Han and Jin dynasties, Su Shen was called Yi Lou in the Central Plains Dynasty. From the Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the descendants of Yi Lou were called Wuji and Mohe. After the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchens (the predecessors of the Manchus) living in the Central Plains gradually merged with the Han people. The Jurchens living in the Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins were all under the jurisdiction of the central government from the Yuan to the Ming Dynasty. After the 15th century, the Jurchens continued to move south and rose again. At the beginning of the 17th century, Nurhaci, the leader of the Jianzhou tribe, unified the Jurchen tribes and established the Houjin Dynasty in 1616 AD. In 1636, the country's name was changed to Qing. In 1636 AD, Manchuria entered the customs, and then established a unified, feudal central government across the country. Until the Revolution of 1911, when the Qing Emperor abdicated, the country was founded for nearly three hundred years. The Manchus of the Qing Dynasty were different from the Jurchens of the Jin, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. They were a new nation formed under new historical conditions, with the Jurchens as the main body, and some members of the Han, Mongolian, and other ethnic groups. ***The same body. This new nation, in the same region, has a completely different economic life, has a completely different psychological quality reflected in a different culture, and has formed a stable national consciousness. With the strict Eight Banners organization and vigorous enterprising spirit, together with other fraternal ethnic groups, they jointly created the largest unified multi-ethnic country in eastern Asia.

Manchus are scattered throughout the country, with the largest number living in Liaoning Province. Other Manchus are scattered in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Shandong and other provinces and regions, as well as in Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Yinchuan and other large and medium-sized cities. It has the characteristics of small settlements among large dispersions. Currently, the main Manchu-inhabited areas have established Manchu autonomous counties such as Payan, Fengcheng, Xinbin, Qinglong, and Fengning, as well as several Manchu townships. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the Manchu population was 10,682,263.

Due to the close exchanges in economy, culture and life, the Manchu people gradually became accustomed to using Chinese. Nowadays, only some remote Manchu villages in Heilongjiang still have a few elderly people who can speak Manchu. The vast majority of Manchu people in other places already speak Chinese.

In the more than 300 years since the Qing Dynasty, Manchus and Han people have lived together in various places for a long time. The Manchus in the Pass have no differences from the Han in terms of language, clothing, customs, etc.; the Manchu people living in various places outside the Pass are just In areas where Manchus live together, some Manchu residents still speak the Manchu language and maintain some inherent Manchu customs. At the same time, some elements of Manchu customs can also be found in Han customs (including Chinese vocabulary). The Manchus are a nation that is both good at learning and creating, and they have contributed to the development of the motherland's culture.

Manchu costumes

The costumes and hairstyles of the Manchus directly inherited the basic customs of the Jurchens who like to wear furs, are suitable for hunting and hunting, and have their hair braided. At the same time, they also incorporate some forms of Han, Mongolian and other costumes. . Their clothing and hairstyles are novel and colorful, especially their robes, coats, shoes, hats and braids, which have a strong national style.

Cheongsam: The cheongsam is a garment worn by the Manchu people regardless of age or sex, rich or poor. It is called "Yijie" in Manchu. Because it was the common clothing of the Manchu banner people, later generations called it "cheongsam". The basic style of the robe is round collar, narrow sleeves, left waist, slits on all sides, buckles and belt. Men wear robes that reach to their feet and have a fat hem. The robe has narrow sleeves, slits on all sides, and a fat hem, making it easier for riding and shooting, so it is also called an "arrow jacket." On the narrow cuffs of the robe, a semicircular sleeve head is often added to cover the back of the hand. In winter, it can protect the back of the hand from the cold and facilitate archery, so it is called "arrow sleeve". It is also called "horse hoof sleeve" because of its shape resembling a horseshoe. The arrow sleeves are usually turned up and put down when saluting. In the late Qing Dynasty, arrow sleeves lost their original practical function and were only used as a "sleeve-dusting" ceremony for upper-class Manchus.

Coat: Manchu folk clothing, the short coat worn outside the robe is called "coat", also called "outer coat". There are several types of gowns, such as mending gowns, wearing gowns regularly, and walking gowns.

The patched coat is the coat worn by Manchu officials in the Qing Dynasty. The length of the dress is over the knees, the sleeves are over the elbows, and the placket is buttoned. A regular coat is a coat worn on a daily basis. Its shape is roughly the same as that of a patched coat, without patches. Xinggao is a coat worn when going out. The length is only waist-length, the sleeves are elbow-length, and the cuffs are flush and wide. The short coat and short sleeves are convenient for horseback riding, so it is also called "mandarin jacket".

Vest: It is a sleeveless short coat, also known as "waistcoat". It is a kind of Manchu casual clothes.

Eagle Wing: It is a kind of coat worn by the Manchu Eight Banners disciples during the Qianlong period.

Collar: Early Manchu cheongsams had round necklines and no collars. When wearing a robe, you need to add a hard collar, which is called a "collar".

Duanqiao: Manchu nobles and the emperor’s courtiers and bodyguards like to wear a kind of fur with fur on the outside, called "duanqiao". The end cap is slightly shorter than the robe, with a double lapel, round neckline, and flat sleeves. The form is similar to the supplementary clothing of Manchu officials.

Pants: Manchus usually wear long trousers, wide-legged trousers and fat-legged trousers. The waistband of the trousers should be high and wide, and a belt should be tied after making a big pleat above the waistband. The legs of the trousers are also wide and must be pleated and tied with leg straps.

In addition, there are many Manchu costumes with ethnic characteristics. Such as: crowns, hats, pendants, etc.

The clothing of Manchu women is generally the same as that of men. There are also official uniforms and casual uniforms. Official uniforms are divided into robes, coats, linings, etc., and are generally narrow and elongated.

Historically, Manchu hairstyles and hair accessories inherited the customs of the Jurchens since the Jin Dynasty. Men half shave and half grow their hair into braids. That is: shave the surrounding hair, leaving only the hair on the back of the head, braid it into a big braid, hang down the back of the head, tie it with colorful silk, and decorate it with gold, silver, pearls, and jade. Women's hairstyles vary more. When they were young, they wore their hair in the same style as boys. When they reached adulthood and were about to get married, they began to grow their hair and pull it into a bun. Among adult women's hairstyles, the most popular hairstyle in the early Qing Dynasty was "two-breaded hair", also known as "shelf hair" and "fork hair". Manchu food customs

Historically, the Manchu food was based on the traditional customs of the Jurchens of their ancestors and the cooking techniques of the Han and other ethnic groups.

Staple food: Manchus take miscellaneous grains as their staple food. Commonly eaten grains include barnyard millet, millet, wheat, barley, forest, millet, polenta, sorghum, buckwheat, etc.

Characteristics of the staple food of the Manchu people, they like pasta and He food, which taste sweet and sour.

The Manchu cuisine is mainly based on meat, and they especially like to eat pork. This is a custom that has been followed from generation to generation since their ancestors Sushen and Yilou.

In addition, they also like to eat mutton and the meat of various animals. There are many ways to cook dishes, but common Manchu people mainly boil, stew, boil, roast, roast, etc. The types of dishes and eating methods still retain ancient customs in many aspects. Manchu Architecture

Northeastern folk proverbs say that Manchu houses are "pocket houses, ten thousand-character Kangs, and chimneys standing on the ground", which vividly summarizes the characteristics of Manchu house styles.

Each Manchu family usually has three or five bedrooms, facing north and south. Most of the three bedrooms open on the south side of the easternmost one, and the five bedrooms usually open on the second one from the east. , shaped like a pocket, so the Manchu people commonly call it "pocket house". If there are three or five rooms with an open door in the middle one, it is commonly known as the "opposite room".

The room with the door open is called the "outer room" and is the kitchen; the rooms on the west side (pocket room) or the left and right sides (opposite room) are called the "inner room" and are the bedrooms. In a three-room pocket house, there are usually two stoves in the south and north in the outer room, and the stove fire is connected to the kang in the inner room. The inner room faces the Kang in the north and south, and there is a narrow Kang in the west against the gable wall connecting the north and south Kangs. The three Kangs in the south, west and north form a "ren" shape, commonly known as "Wanzi Kang" and "earth tiles" in Manchu. The Kang is generally six feet wide, one foot five inches high, and two feet five or six feet long. Because the Kangs of two rooms are connected together, it is commonly called "two Kangs in a row".

The interior furnishings of Manchu residences are particularly characteristic of the Manchu people themselves.

On the west side of the outhouse, there are pot stands on the south and north sides, and tableware is placed behind the pot stands. On the west wall above the pot stand, the Stove Lord is worshiped with couplets. The first couplet says: "God speaks good things"; the second couplet says: "The lower world ensures peace"; the horizontal line says: "The head of the family". In the middle of the ground in the northwest, a stone mill is often installed, which can be used to grind noodles and crush beans at any time.

On the west wall of the back room, there is a board for worshiping ancestors. There are two boxes on the board, one for storing family trees and the other for storing tents for worshiping ancestors. The Western Kang beneath it is the most respectable and no one is allowed to sit on it. Nan Kang is the second honor and is the residence of the head of the family. A kang table is placed in the kang, with mattresses on the left and right sides for entertaining guests. There are cabinets at both ends of the kang, containing clothes. Manchu Beliefs

The Manchus and their ancestors all have the custom of believing in shamanism.

Shamanism is one of the oldest primitive religions that worships multiple gods. Based on the idea of ??animism, the content includes nature worship, totem worship and ancestor worship, and has certain rituals. "Shaman" is originally a Tungus language, which means an agitated and crazy person. Because the wizard's dancing posture is very unrestrained when performing the ritual, the wizard is called "shaman". Many ethnic groups in northern China in ancient times, such as the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Turks, Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols, etc., all believed in shamanism. They both had their own inheritance and influenced each other. The Manchu custom of believing in shamanism is inherited from this and continues to develop. Manchu taboos

In Manchu beliefs and customs, in order to avoid evil, certain words or things that are considered contrary to the gods are forbidden to be said or done, which are called taboos.

Taboos on festive weddings of the Manchu people: on New Years, festivals and festive days, you must say auspicious words to everyone, commonly known as "asking for good luck". It is taboo to say depressing or unlucky words.

When the Manchu people get married and have children, they need to be cared for by a "general practitioner", which is the so-called woman who has both husband and wife and children. Such people are considered to have good fortune and great fortune, and will also benefit newlyweds and newborn babies.

Manchu funeral taboos: the word "death" is taboo in funerals. When an older person dies, it is said to be "old", or it is also known as "passing away". The clothes worn by the dead are called "shrouds".

Manchu sacrificial taboos: Manchu people, regardless of high or low, offer sacrifices to gods indoors. For any room facing south or north, the west room is the right direction; if the room is facing east or west, the south room is the right direction. The ancestral boards, ancestral boxes, incense dishes and other items on the main wall of the main room are taboo to be touched at will, and it is especially taboo for others to peek at them. The Western Kang in the main room is a sacred Kang. It is forbidden to sit or lie down, and it is also forbidden to pile things on the Western Kang.

The sacred pole in the courtyard is the most sacred and it is taboo to touch or move it. Even the shadow of the sun's pole is not allowed to be stepped on.

Manchu families who raise livestock are not allowed to let pigs enter the courtyard of the human sacrifice room.

In addition, there are other taboos, which are not listed here one by one. Manchu Festival