Regional expression of worship

Most of the people who need to worship are underage children, especially infants. Some people just regard worship as conforming to customs and habits, and there are not many other reasons. In addition, there are mainly the following situations.

valetudinarianism

If the child is delicate and sick, in order to ensure his smooth growth, he will worship someone or something as his adopted son or daughter, and protect the child through the blessing or image of the person or thing he worships. If a child loves to cry, it is also caused by a physical condition. In Yao areas, such children are considered to have to find their parents to "protect" them so that they can grow up smoothly. In Chengdu, children who encounter major diseases are considered as "death penalty" and a dangerous pass on the road of life. If he meets an evil man, he must find a michel platini to recognize him, so as to save the day.

(2) Bad luck or stubbornness.

For those children who are considered to be ill-fated or stubborn, in order not to let their parents hurt their families, parents will also find someone to transfer or dissolve their fate early, so as to achieve harmony between the upper and lower levels and family health. For example, the Dong people pay special attention to the children who are short of wood in the Five Elements, because the Dong people respect trees like gods, and once the children run into the lack of wood, they will be considered unlucky. Similarly, in some Zhuang areas of Guangxi, children who lack trees in the five elements must also recognize trees as their second parents in order to make up for the lack. If their fate is fragile, they must find hard things such as rocks to shelter them.

(3) The mother's birth experience and specific birth customs.

Children born early die of disease or disaster, so that children born late can grow up healthily and safely, and the misfortune of children who die early can be solved. In some ethnic minorities, children are destined to have a michel platini from birth due to special fertility customs. For example, the custom of "giving birth to a tree god", which was popular in Zhuang areas in the past, means that a woman prays for fertility to be connected to a tree through a red bridge, which means that "the tree will be passed on to her children". If she wants to remarry and have another child, she must stay in the wild for three nights and hold the tree several times every night, which means "marrying" the tree. Since the tree is her "husband", it is naturally the father of the child.

(4) son preference factor

In this case, the boy is given to the other party (person) as the function of "breaking the spell and releasing the spell", or the girl is given to the other party (person or thing) as the main body of the transfer "birth set". In the former case, it belongs to passive behavior, and usually the party with multiple daughters makes a request for worship; Although the latter situation is positive, it is often difficult to operate in practice, especially in rural areas. Because of the patriarchal concept, it is not easy for families with multiple girls to send girls to other families. Therefore, whether Han nationality or other ethnic minorities, when a family has several daughters in succession, they are afraid that they will never have children, so they find an adopted son from another family (called "same-family adoption"). If this other family agrees to the request of worship, the boy will officially become his child. Although the meaning of this "seme" and "seme" is the same and both are "fake", I still hope that the worship of this child can interrupt the "strange circle" in which he only has daughters. Different from the previous situation, this worship is mainly aimed at boys. On the surface, it is a new beginning for the admirer to send the boy, but in fact, the success of this form of worship depends on the actual needs of the admirer's family, because usually the boy's family also takes a fancy to each other and thinks that the child worships him as an adoptive parent, because the other family has many children and is easy to support and grow up, or even if the other party has no children, it is a "big tree" in social relations or wealth status. This will be described later when we talk about the choice of recipients.

(5) Family background

When two families are related by blood, such as parents should be good friends or sworn brothers, so that this harmonious relationship can be passed on to the next generation, they enter into an agreement to recognize each other's godmother, which also produces another custom, that is, "referring to the belly for marriage." In Jin Yong's classic martial arts novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Yang Tiexin and his sworn brother Guo Xiaotian had such an agreement: "If our children are all men, let them become brothers, if they are all daughters, they will become sisters ... If they are a man and a woman, they will become husband and wife." Both children are not biological, and their parents have often set a future relationship for them, even a lifelong event. From the above description, we can find that although there are some subtle differences in the question of "why to worship and send off" in different regions, different nationalities and different historical stages, the fundamental reason is to let children grow up smoothly and raise and teach well, although superstition is inevitable. But the taste of human feelings is also quite strong, and you can't choose to have children. As the saying goes, "life is in heaven" and "life is in providence", and being a child is "providence", but as a re-elected parent, it creates an alternative opportunity and reason for people. On the premise of protection, there are certain standards for the choice of worshippers. Of course, in many fields, there is also the habit of accidental choice, but more seemingly random and accidental choices have found their regularity and specific psychological basis. For cases such as adult worship and adoption of adopted daughters for the purpose of non-child support, the standard is more utilitarian and has a strong and clear goal orientation.

(1) Choose things as parents

As mentioned above, the way of choosing natural objects as objects of worship has a long history and must be the first choice. The power of nature is enormous and mysterious. Under the support of the concept of "animism", people have developed from worship and awe to kinship with it with piety and are willing to be its people. From wind and rain, thunder and lightning, eagles, leopards, tigers and wolves to mountains, trees, fire, water and earth, they all have thousands of descendants in Qian Qian. There is still a way to choose what to worship and send, and still retains the original authenticity and unshakable belief in the mysterious power of nature. For example, Tujia people in Hunan, if parents decide to choose things for their children, generally choose things related to water and stones, hoping that children can be as smooth and long as water and as firm and tough as stones. There are animals, such as pigs, dogs, cows, horses and so on. In the view of Tujia people, it is necessary to choose some animals that are regarded as humble as sacrificial objects, so that children can eliminate disasters and be safe and smooth. Moreover, once the selected animals become the adoptive parents of the children, they cannot be killed and must be treated with courtesy. Among the Han people in the southwest of China, some people choose tall and hard rocks as the objects of worship, and they will count them according to the birth date of their children. If you make a fire easily, you will recognize it as your father. This must be the belief that "tiger poison doesn't eat children". Since you are children of fire, no matter how fierce the fire is, it will not trouble your children. Of course, there are some strange choices, such as Shen Congwen's works in Xiangxi series: "A tree or a strange stone can accommodate thirty or fifty children according to local customs." And some people worship the cowshed and send well water, but the days when people and gods live together are very harmonious and there is no disagreement. "Here, it is not surprising that there are strange rocks and well water, but even Mr. Shen, a peasant from Xiangxi, is surprised by the choice of this bullpen. Trees account for a considerable proportion of the objects of choosing objects for sacrifice, and almost all ethnic groups have the custom of choosing trees as relatives. The image and growth characteristics of trees are in line with the traditional family ideal of China people. There are several kinds of trees: first, they are tall and strong, with developed roots and lush leaves, such as Daqing tree and banyan tree; First, the most common and abundant trees in the village, such as kapok and adaptable prednisone cypress along the Hongshui River in Zhuang township; There are also strange and ancient trees, taking the sun from mountains and rivers, absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, and channeling. For example, the Dong people who worship trees like gods mentioned above, the Zhuang people who hold trees to pray for their children, and the respect for banyan trees in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian all put trees in an extremely important position, not only to respect trees, but also to serve them. Being their children will certainly be considered blessed.

(2) Choose people as relatives

Choosing people as the object of worship is the inevitable development of this custom under the framework of socialization. The relationship between people is an important part of social life. The closeness of this relationship directly affects people's social composition. The higher the degree of socialization, the more important the interpersonal relationship. Therefore, when the object of worship turns from things to people, it shows that people's social consciousness is improving, and it is a kind of "kinship" thinking that turns from nature to society, like a thread that is gradually woven into a big net. Everyone is a node on this network, and every family is a grid unit on this network. People, families and clans are constructed into a network structure, which is intertwined, mutually maintained and self-contained. Worship is the connection rope between nodes or grid elements, whether near or far. Generally speaking, there are two ways to choose people as the object of worship: one is to choose with goals, and the other is to "bump", that is, "encounter"

(1) The goal is clear, and finding someone to worship is the main way, no matter whether the Han Dynasty is strong or young. The only difference lies in what criteria they use to choose what kind of people. For example, Tujia people living in Jishou, Hunan Province have two kinds of thinking when choosing to be worshipped, either rich or poor. If you send it to a rich family, you can enjoy its luxury and shelter your children with its wealth. People who choose poverty usually choose extreme poverty. The poorer people are, the more they can fight disasters with their lives, such as vagrants and beggars. This way of choosing the extremely poor is not so much called "fighting disasters with poor lives" as protecting calves' love. Imagine if there is a parent in the world who doesn't love his baby, who can be dazzled by hunger and have to let his child eat a bite. If they can choose who will bear the disaster, their parents will certainly use their own bodies as a shield in front of their children. Now that these begging women have become foster mothers of their children, they must catch bad lives and solve problems. Anyway, they are already very poor, with poor medical and living conditions, and they are afraid of disasters in the old countryside. The premature death of children often happens, so there are also families who choose to have more children, because it is generally believed that since such families can have so many children and can afford them, they must be blessed by God. If their children become adopted children in this family, they can naturally enjoy the preferential treatment of more adoption, or choose suitable adoptive parents according to the birth date of the children and find someone first. But in fact, who can tell whether this is chosen according to the fate of "Heaven" or whether it has been planned for a long time and pretended to be attached? Just as Zhang was holding a little double happiness among his three-year-old patient (Zhang Xueliang's real name), he found a fortune teller to "approve the eight characters". This gentleman first described the future of the Zhang family incense, saying, "How rich it is, in the future, senior officials will have to do it, horses will be ridden, and prosperity will be achieved." What a hard life it is. If you don't break it, how can the Zhang family's incense flourish? So he added a reward to find a solution. The fortune teller pointed to "Ming Dow" and sent Zhang Xueliang to the monks in the temple.

2 whoever you meet is a folk in western Sichuan. This way is called "bumping into worship". Without a predetermined goal, you will recognize whoever you meet. But in different areas, the way of "collision" is not the same, and some have special time limits. For example, in the bumps and bumps in western Sichuan, sending emails is usually carried out during the rain festival, and women are holding their children on the road "waiting for their parents". The first person who passed by, regardless of sex, age and age, stopped them, put their children on the ground and bowed down. This foster parent also recognized that Yao people knocked against each other and sent letters called "inserting". A similar way was also found in areas where Han and Zhuang people lived together in southwest China. It is called "treading water bowl". Before opening the door in the morning, a bowl of water is put on the altar. The first person to set foot in this house today is the adoptive parents that this family is looking for. My grandfather, who gave birth to my mother's five sisters, "stepped on" the eldest daughter of a family named Liao and gave me an aunt. My grandfather also gave up the desire to have a boy-he thought that even stepping on a water bowl could only "step on" a girl's house, which was really unlucky. In rural areas around Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, Henan Province, fathers will go out to visit their babies on the morning of their first day of life. When you meet the first person, regardless of sex, age, this person will become the baby's adoptive parents. People who are "touched" are often unprepared, but due to customs, they have to say yes. In some places in Shaanxi, grandparents take their children out on the full moon and "pull" whoever they meet when they go out. It is practical to send them to go to dali Bai people. The basis for them to choose to be worshipped is very simple and practical: which guest's arrival can make the crying baby suddenly calm down, or make the originally quiet baby fidgety or cry. This guest was predestined friends with the child in previous lives and will definitely be the godmother in this life. This method can only be used during the Lunar New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival, and even days are usually chosen. Men bring roosters, bacon and other food, and before dawn, they will go to places where pedestrians must pass, such as small bridges or narrow roads outside the village, cross a thin white line on the road, and then ambush. After that, the person who crosses the white line first, if he is a married man, is the child's michel platini, the married woman is the godmother, and the unmarried man or woman crosses the white line, which is the godbrother, godbrother and godsister. In rural areas, it is common to drive cattle and raise pigs. If the animal hits the line first, it will be considered as the owner, but the name is determined by the animal's title. Therefore, in this way of bumping into worshippers, there are accidental factors, but its psychological basis is reasonable or self-explanatory, or even a designed "bump into". Knowing the law of the right person's activities, this kind of "collision" is "unexpected", so it is not difficult to see that the results of those "collisions" are either not good relations with his family or people with status and identity (3) virtual relatives.

In addition to the above-mentioned choice of objects and people to worship and send, some people choose virtual images as adoptive parents. Virtual image is a personified person with supernatural ability. For example, in Hangzhou, the object of children's worship is called "ghost". This kind of ghost often mentioned in Lu Xun's articles is a ghost specially sent by Yan Luowang to capture the souls of the dead. "Parents are afraid that their son will not live long, and they are afraid that it will cost a lot of money to worship their adoptive parents, so they will not give it to others, but to ghosts." Give the child to it in the hope that it will not take away the soul of giving the child, so as to ensure a long life. In the old society, the world mistook ghosts and gods for Hu's surname, so it was called "it is a big deal to worship Hu Ganye and recognize his parents, so the necessary ceremony or procedure is essential, but simplicity is different from Baoshan, Yunnan, so it is necessary to kill chickens and cook meat at the ceremony and invite relatives and friends. In everyone's celebration, parents or children bow to the recipient themselves, and the recipient only needs to do so at this moment. After that, an important link is that parents should name their children "names". Some parents "bump into", but also have to cook in the "bump into" place, have a picnic on the spot, ask relatives and friends to eat enough, and then lead the worshiped people to "recognize the door" before carrying out the above etiquette.

Chengdu folks call it "shooting the general's arrow", so if a child worships God in this way, the child's father will stop him when he "bumps into" the first adult man, and then give the prepared dining tables, incense sticks and bamboo arrows to the other party to let him shoot an arrow for the child at home. After the bow ceremony, michel platini will name the children and give money and things to the adopted children. Even after the worship, the two families will walk like relatives in the future. It is more interesting to mention "touching the surname" in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, because in the old countryside, it is generally the old people who get up early to pick up feces, so many people "touch" these people, who are unprepared and have limited education, so they are "touched". Therefore, there are many names in this place, such as "Dung Basket", "Dustpan", "Dog Baby" and "Shoulder Shoulder Shoulder", and the father of the child knows that these names are indecent, but they are just nicknames. Moreover, China folks have long said that "a cheap name is easy to raise", so he was called away.

In old Beijing under the root of the imperial city, this ceremony is relatively complicated. First of all, you have to choose an auspicious day to hold it, and then prepare banquets and gifts for the children to honor their godparents. The most important thing is to prepare a hat for michel platini, a pair of shoes for the godmother, and clothes and other items. Moreover, adoptive parents can't go in and out casually, and everything has to be prepared. First of all, a pair of chopsticks is necessary, which means that we will eat his family's food with our adoptive parents in the future, especially his family. Because children often drop bowls, in order to avoid bad luck, families with conditions will order silver bowls and chopsticks at jewelry stores, or buy a wooden bowl at Huguo Temple and Baita Temple. After sending away the bowls and chopsticks, we should also put a longevity lock on the adopted children's backs to ensure their longevity, happiness and safety. In addition, children's clothes, shoes and socks, hats and Chinese-style chest covers should also be given away. As for the name, you can follow your surname or keep your original nickname. Although the worship ceremony varies from place to place, the basic process is similar, except for a few things: choose a date (auspicious day or collision date)-&; gt； Prepare gifts (food, clothes, etc.). )-&; gt； Salute (bow)-> Feedback (from adoptive parents to adopted sons)-&; gt； Naming (nickname) Among them, feedback and naming do not exist in the way of choosing the object of worship, but there are similar substitution links. For example, in Tengchong mountain area of Yunnan, after worshipping the tree as the father, there will be a "communication" ceremony between the clergy and the "tree god", and then the father of the child will be told whether the "tree god" is willing to accept the child. If so, he will burn incense and worship, and give the child a name with branches and leaves according to the wishes of the "tree god". Therefore, in Tengchong area, there are names such as Thunderbolt (Thunderbolt Tree), Rongxing (Ginkgo King), Goose Branch (Goose Feather Tree), Shumao, Shu Mei and Shusheng.