What does the saying of "three drives and three no drives" mean in Xiangxi?

Principle of corpse removal: "three drives and three no drives". There are many versions of literature about "three drives and three non-drives" and related folk sayings, with different contents. Due to other people's records, combined with the information we interviewed on the spot, it generally has the following meanings:

"Three-drive" is-

First of all, those executed by the government can be driven away. Including those who were beheaded, hanged and died in cages. The reason is that many of them were persecuted to death by the government, unconvinced and wronged. In this way, they miss their hometown and relatives so much that they should be able to hook their souls back with magic. Generally, the day before I was executed, relatives of prisoners on death row and philanthropists in my hometown would chip in some money to buy all the goods for the old company he invited. On the day of the execution, the old company and the helpers have to wait outside the court. At three o'clock at noon, the knife and axe fell, and the condemned man's head fell to the ground. When the governor and executioner of the government leave the charity ceremony, the old man in red will perform the ceremony and recite the spell, and the assistant will help sew up the beheaded guests on death row. Some bribed prison officials and executioners not to completely cut off their heads, but also added a little flesh to prevent them from becoming decapitated ghosts. Then, they covered the body with spells, burned paper money and prayed for the release of the gods. Through a series of spells, they drove the dead to climb mountains and cross mountains, even boarded a boat and crossed the water, and walked home step by step.

Second, people who died in the war can be driven away. Since ancient times, there have been frequent wars in western Hunan, so it is called "war nest". Local wars are partly due to their special strategic position and more due to complex ethnic relations. Therefore, whether it is between the imperial court and the local government, or between warlords, whether it is between tribes or villages, war is not someone's business, but the responsibility of all adult men in western Hunan, which has almost become a compulsory course in their lives. All wars, big or small, are related to the peace of one party, at least to the honor of a family. So Xiangxi pays special attention to the growth of men. When a teenager reaches eighteen, tribal villages and families will hold a grand adult washing ceremony for him. Before the ceremony begins, the man's father will ask the priests or elders in the tribal villages to choose an auspicious day of the zodiac to preside over the ceremony. On this day, tribal villages will be as lively as Chinese New Year, and men, women and children will gather in the square in front of the village to watch the adult baptism of men. The baptism ceremony is very complicated. First of all, we should put three offerings, ancestral shrines. Under the guidance of priests or elders, men first pray to the god of heaven and earth. After honoring my ancestors and thanking my parents, I began to try all kinds of kung fu. These contents mainly include running, carrying loads, playing with swords, crossing fire pits and climbing knife ladders. And the relatively developed countryside needs to carry out the corresponding etiquette and writing tests. These are the necessary tests for the survival of tribes and families in the future. When all these are passed, the priest will announce that the man is a formal adult and can participate in all activities with the adult men of Zhaili tribe. Therefore, regardless of age, as long as they are killed somewhere, their families and relatives should try their best to "drive" them back to their old places. Moreover, tribal villages will also give such dead people high courtesy and grand burial, and their relatives will also enjoy high honor.

Third, those who died accidentally while working outside can be pursued. Xiangxi has little land and thin soil, and its life is extremely poor. When a man becomes an adult, many people will travel around the world through various channels, and some will leave their wives after three days of marriage. They left their hometown, originally for a good future. The simplest thing is to find a few small money to support the family and revitalize his wife and children. As a result, for one reason or another, some of them not only failed to get rich, but also lost their lives. For such a person, his family and relatives will also endure grief and try their best to collect some silver coins, at least to let his bones return to his hometown.

"Three don't catch up" is-

First, people who die of unknown diseases can't catch up. The mountains and forests in Xiangxi and some surrounding areas are dense, and the miasma is very heavy. Some young people died of unknown diseases. People are scared. Because the local medical conditions were very poor at that time, many diseases could not be found and there was no way to treat them. If it is an ordinary emergency, there will be no big problem. If you are infected with an infectious disease, it will be dangerous. Maybe it will cause plague in one or several villages and bring trouble to innocent villagers. At the same time, in order to protect themselves, Xiangxi villages will not let dead bodies cross the border, let alone let dead bodies enter the village, which will often lead to a struggle for life and death. Even if someone in our village dies of unknown diseases in other places, they will burn it on the spot and then take the ashes back for burial. Therefore, for their own safety and to avoid bringing disaster to their hometown, corpse drivers and the families of the deceased are not allowed to drive corpses back to their hometown.

Second, those who commit suicide by throwing themselves into the river or hanging themselves cannot be driven away. The corpse driver said that people who commit suicide have a heavy yin and their souls are hard to fold. If we rush to drive the corpse on the road, it may attract real wild ghosts, trigger a corpse drive riot, and endanger the corpse driver and the innocent people in the village. Under such circumstances, people who are not particularly deep in the road can't be subdued, so they have to flee for their lives, leaving a great disaster. Even if a daring corpse driver tries his best to close the scene, they don't have the courage to do it again. There is also a saying: the soul of a person who throws himself into the river is haunted, and no matter how effective the spell is, it can only rush back to the body, but it can't call back the soul from the gate of hell. Moreover, as a substitute, their souls may be handing over to old ghosts. If the soul is brought back, there is no substitute for the old dead soul, which will inevitably affect the reincarnation of the old soul. If it was washed away, wouldn't he be killed? Isn't he incapable of reincarnation in the future? From here, I seem to see that Xiangxi people cherish life very much. They not only want to give all kinds of life a happy ending, but also hate those who waste their lives, and they will not forgive those who do not love life and cherish it after death.

Third, thunder can't move, and fire can't kill incomplete people. According to the folk saying, all the people who died because of thunder were sinful people. They must have done something bad, which is intolerable in society. For such a dead person, the family of the deceased has been ashamed. I can't lift my head in society, let alone try my best to get him back to his hometown. People who die in fires are often mutilated, the situation is even worse, and the bodies are prone to decay, so naturally they can't stand all the way. As for the mutilated limbs of dead bodies for various reasons, no matter how high the spell is, it can't cross the mountains and rivers, let alone drive them away. Therefore, according to the rules handed down by the masters, these kinds of dead bodies cannot be driven away. This "three drives and three no drives" is the basic principle of corpse drivers. Of course, this is not certain. Sometimes, under the temptation of bereavement and money, some senior priests who are particularly good at magic are confident that they have enough ability to ask God to exorcise evil spirits, and they will also receive some dead bodies after drinking poison, find out that they are not infected by infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, consumption and hemorrhagic fever, and try their best to get home. As for whether they were safe all the way and whether there were any problems afterwards, it is unknown. -Netease Forum