On the Folk Customs of All Ethnic Groups

The Dai nationality, also known as the Bai Yi nationality before ethnic identification, is one of the ethnic minorities in China and is related to Yunnan and Vietnam. It has historical and cultural origins with the Shan nationality in Myanmar, the Lao nationality in Laos and the Thai nationality in Thailand, and its language and customs are close to those of the above nationalities.

Water-splashing Festival (Dai calendar New Year) is the most national festival of Dai people. This festival is in June of the Dai calendar, which is equivalent to April of the Gregorian calendar. At the Water-Splashing Festival, people will worship Buddha. The girls will wash the dust for the Buddha with fresh water floating with flowers, then splash water on each other and bless each other. At first, water was splashed with hands and bowls, and then songs were splashed with pots and barrels. The more intense the splashing, the drums, gongs, water splashing and cheers became one. During the Songkran Festival, traditional entertainment activities such as dragon boat racing, flying high and flying lanterns and various song and dance parties will be held. The Dai people take rice as their staple food, and the most distinctive one is bamboo tube rice. The production method is to put fresh rice in a bamboo tube, add water, and barbecue on the fire, which is fragrant and delicious. Pu 'er tea, a specialty of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, was exported to all parts of China in the Tang Dynasty and Southeast Asia and South Asia in the Qing Dynasty. Now it has entered the markets of Japan, Western Europe and other countries and regions and become a famous tea at home and abroad. Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture is rich in special products, including 1 10 kinds of fruits alone. There are many kinds of animals and plants here, which are called "plant kingdom" and "animal kingdom". 199 1 year, Xishuangbanna national nature reserve was officially closed to the outside world.

"Closing the door" is called "entering the depression" in Dai language, which means that the Buddha enters the temple. Yunnan Dai traditional religious festival, lasting for 3 months, begins on September 15 (mid-July of the lunar calendar) of the Dai calendar every year. According to legend, every year in the Dai calendar in September, the Buddha went to the Western Heaven to lecture with his mother, and then returned to the world three months later. Once, just as the Buddha was going to the west to talk about his menstrual period, thousands of Buddhists went to the countryside to preach, trampling on the crops of the people and delaying their production. People complained bitterly and were very dissatisfied with Buddhists. When the Buddha learned about this, he felt uneasy. From then on, whenever the Buddha went to the Western Heaven to give a lecture, all Buddhists were called together and it was stipulated that they were not allowed to go anywhere during these three months, and they could only repent to atone for their sins. Therefore, people call it "closing day".

Open door festival

"Opening Day", also known as "Chuva", is a traditional festival of Dai, Bulang, De 'ang and some Wa people who believe in Hinayana Buddhism. Popular in Yunnan, it originated from the habit of rainy season life of ancient Buddhism, similar to the restoration of Buddhism in the Central Plains. The time is December 15th of the Dai calendar (around mid-September of the lunar calendar). The opening day symbolizes the end of the rainy season in the past three months, and it also means that the marriage taboo between men and women has been lifted since the closing day. From now on, young men and women can start free love and hold weddings. On this day, young men and women dressed in costumes went to the Buddhist temple to worship Buddha, offering food, flowers, wax strips and coins. After the sacrifice, a grand cultural rally was held to celebrate the end of fasting since the closing day. The main contents include setting off sparks and rising, lighting lanterns, singing and dancing. Young people will also jump lanterns in the shape of birds, animals, fish and insects around the village. At this time, when the rice harvest is finished, it is also a festival to celebrate the harvest. Open, people can personally travel the treasure house of nature and appreciate the rich subtropical customs.

Miao nationality is an international nation that originated in China. According to the census in 2000, the total population of Miao nationality was 8940 1 16, mainly distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Hubei, Hainan, Guangxi and other provinces (regions). Miaoling Mountain and Wuling Mountain, where Miao people live together, have mild climate, and are surrounded by mountains and waters, with large and small dams scattered all over the place. Miao people mainly grow rice, corn, millet, wheat, cotton, flue-cured tobacco, rape and tung oil. Miao people used to believe in animism, worship nature and worship their ancestors. Tibetan calendar festival is the biggest sacrifice activity of Miao nationality. Generally, a small sacrifice lasts for seven years and a big sacrifice lasts for thirteen years. It will be held on the first day of October to November of the lunar calendar, when a roe deer cow will be killed and a Lusheng dance will be performed to sacrifice its ancestors. Invite friends and relatives to get together during meals to enhance feelings and family harmony. Miao ethnic group

The main beliefs of Miao nationality are primitive religious forms such as nature worship, totem worship and ancestor worship. Traditional Miao society is superstitious about ghosts and gods, and witchcraft prevails. Some Miao people also believe in Christianity and Catholicism. Few Miao people believe in Buddhism and Taoism. Traditionally, Miao people often regard some giant or strange natural objects as spiritual manifestations, so they worship them and offer sacrifices to them. Among them, the typical objects of nature worship are boulders (strange rocks), caves, trees and mountains. In addition, Miao people think that some natural phenomena or objects are gods or ghosts, and Miao language often does not distinguish between ghosts and gods, or uses both words. In most cases, ghosts are regarded as abandoned or wronged souls and tools, which often bring disasters, diseases, plagues or other misfortunes to mankind. For example, the so-called oriental ghosts, western ghosts, sow ghosts, cannibals and tiger ghosts are called evil ghosts. Natural phenomena with spirituality are often regarded as good ghosts and have certain divinity, such as mountain gods, valley gods, cotton gods, wind gods, Raytheon, rain gods, sun gods and moon gods. Miao people worship good ghosts and evil ghosts in different ways. Good ghosts are greeted by courtesy and sacrificed sincerely. Evil spirits must be bribed and cajoled until they are driven away. In many areas, Miao people also believe that there are many monsters in nature. For example, cows put shit on their bodies or spin around in the stables, trample the shit in circles, pigs eat piglets or lie in the trough, ducks eat duck eggs, tigers enter the arena, meet two snakes, and hens crow cocks. In some Miao areas, artificial objects worship land bodhisattvas, land milk, family gods, sacrificial bridges, wells and so on. The Miao language of the Land Goddess and Bodhisattva is called Land Ghost, which is generally composed of several stones. Land houses are mostly made of wood or three stone slabs, which are extremely simple and located at the intersection next to the village or the pedestrian rest place on the roadside. The belief in family gods exists in some Miao people in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan dialects, that is, setting up "family gods" idols at home. Sacrificial bridge is popular in most areas of southeastern Guizhou. Dragon is also the object of worship and sacrifice by Miao people everywhere. Totem worship. Many Miao and Yao people in the east worship Pan Hu (a kind of god dog). They have been told the story of "Goddess, Mother, Dog Dad" for generations, and regarded Pan Hu as their ancestor. Some Miao people in the central region think that their ancestor Jiang Yang originated from the heart of maple, so they regard maple as a totem. In other areas, the Miao people worship buffalo and bamboo as totem objects. Generally speaking, ancestor worship plays a very important role in Miao society. They believe that although their ancestors died, their souls will always be with their children and grandchildren, and they will be worshipped with wine and meat on festivals, even in their daily diet. In many areas, ancestor worship ceremonies are held regularly or irregularly. There are "beating pig sticks" and "beating cattle to worship ancestors" in western Hunan, "eating shit" in southeastern Guizhou, "knocking Balang" in central Guizhou, and the custom of beating old cattle in northwestern Guizhou and northeastern Yunnan. Among them, the phenomenon of eating dirty meat is still prevalent in Qiandongnan Prefecture, which is the most typical. Eating dirty is also called drum festival, drum club festival and drum storage festival, which is held every seven or thirteen years with the clan (drum club) as the unit. They believe that the ancestors' souls live in wooden drums, and the sacrificial drum is to tap the wooden drum to summon the ancestors' souls to enjoy the sacrifices of future generations. Priests are called dirty heads, and the sacrificed dirty cows are specially raised for this purpose. Each sacrificial activity lasts for three years. Most Miao people believe in witchcraft. The main witchcraft activities are yin-crossing, divination, divine judgment and offering sacrifices to ghosts. In addition to magic. Witchcraft activities are presided over by wizards. Wizards are mostly unprofessional. They play the role of hosts in the above-mentioned primary worship and witchcraft activities, and some local wizards also serve as village elders. In addition to being familiar with the ways of offering sacrifices, wizards can mostly tell the genealogy of their clan, major historical events of their nation and the route of migration sources, and are familiar with all kinds of myths and legends, ancient songs and folk stories. Some wizards also have the functions of singers and dancers. Therefore, wizards are important inheritors of Miao traditional culture and play the role of intellectuals in Miao society. In addition, wizards also have certain medical skills and know some herbs. While exorcising ghosts, it is supplemented by scientific medical means. In addition to these traditional beliefs, in modern times, as western missionaries went deep into China to preach, some Miao people in Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Border Region, Kaili, Guizhou, Yuanling, Hunan and other places converted to Christianity, and a few Miao people in southeastern Yunnan believed in Catholicism. Especially in northeast Yunnan and northwest Guizhou, Christian belief once had a strong momentum and great influence. Foreign missions or missionaries have set up many primary and secondary schools and medical institutions in Miao areas, and even implemented some economic development projects, which have played an indelible role in the social progress and political status of Miao people. The famous priests are Dang, Baglai, Zhang Daohui and Wang Shude of Anshun, all of whom died in Miao areas. After the founding of New China, the influence of Christianity and Catholicism once declined, but in recent years, it has a certain recovery trend. However, Christianity and Catholicism now practice the "three self", which is different from the Christian belief before 1950 in social organization, social influence and even belief content. Miao people abroad, a few Miao people in Vietnam and Laos believe in Catholicism. Miao people in the United States, France and other western countries also believe in Christianity and Catholicism. Miao people in Laos and Thailand are also influenced by Buddhist culture. Nevertheless, in their society, the traditional ancestor worship and soul concept are still largely preserved.

Bai nationality is a minority in the southwest frontier of China. Mainly distributed in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Lijiang, Bijiang, Baoshan, Nanhua, Yuanjiang, Kunming, Anning and other places, as well as Bijie in Guizhou, Liangshan in Sichuan and Sangzhi County in Hunan. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the population of Bai nationality was 1858063. The use of Bai language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family of Sino-Tibetan language family, and some people say that Bai language and Tujia language also belong to the Chinese language family. Most of them speak their mother tongue and generally use Chinese. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Bo Wen (Bai Wen) was used, that is, "Chinese characters were read for nothing". Chinese writing has its own language, and its literature and art are rich and colorful. Manage agriculture well and salt azaleas. Three teas are a traditional way for Bai people in Yunnan to drink tea when entertaining VIPs. Bai people basically practice monogamy. The son separated immediately after marriage, and parents usually lived with their youngest son. Some of the landlords are big families with four generations living under one roof. People of the same family and surname don't marry, but they will marry their uncles and aunts as usual. A childless woman can be adopted by her husband's wife, and a childless woman can also adopt her brother's children (adoption) or adopted children. Son-in-law and adopted son had to change their names and surnames in order to obtain the right to inherit property. Before the Yuan Dynasty, the Bai people believed in tantric Buddhism, so cremation prevailed in Bai areas. After the Yuan Dynasty, due to the influence of the Han nationality and Chinese culture in the mainland, it was changed to burial. Funerals are usually grand. Bai people in Pingba area live on rice and wheat, while corn and buckwheat live on mountains. Bai people like to eat sour, cold and spicy flavors. They are good at curing ham, bow fish, fried chicken brown, pork liver and other dishes. They also like to eat a unique "raw meat" or "raw skin", that is, roast pork half-cooked, cut into shredded pork, and served with ginger, garlic, vinegar and so on. Bai people also like to drink roasted tea.

Wa nationality is one of the ethnic minorities in China. The existing population is over 350,000. It is mainly distributed in the mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of Cangyuan, Ximeng, Lancang, Menglian, Shuangjiang, Gengma, Yongde and Zhenkang counties in southwest Yunnan. Namely, the Awa Mountain between Lancang River and salween and the southern section of Nujiang Mountain. Wa people who live with Han, Dai, Brown, De 'ang, Lisu, Lahu and other ethnic groups are generous and hospitable, welcoming guests with wine first, thinking that there is no wine as a gift. Wa people have various customs of entertaining guests and toasting. One is that the host of the toast takes a sip from himself first to dispel the various warnings of the guests, and then hands it to the guests in turn. Guests must drink the wine offered to them and try their best to dry it to show honesty, otherwise it will be regarded as disrespect for the host; Another form is that both the host and the guest are squatting on the ground, and the host hands the wine to the guest with his right hand. After the guest takes it with his right hand, he touches the ground slightly or bounces the wine on the ground with his right hand to show respect for his ancestors. Then the host and the guests drink together. Wa people have the habit of not toasting ignorant and unkind people. Whenever the son goes out and the guest leaves, the host will also send a "farewell gift". That is, to propose a toast to relatives or guests. At that time, the host will use a gourd (a container for holding wine) to hold wine, take a sip first, and then send it to distant guests or relatives. Guests need to drink all the gourds to show that their family and friendship will never forget. The Wa people in Xinmi Street are an agricultural people. In the past, its productivity was low and its ability to resist natural disasters was weak. Therefore, around agricultural production, many sacrificial activities have been formed, some of which have been gradually customized and developed into festivals. "New Rice Festival" is one of them. The "New Rice Festival" is a day for rice to ripen, celebrate harvest and taste new rice. Due to the difference of climate, the time of grain ripening varies from place to place, so the holiday time of different regions, villages and even every household is different, but it used to be held in July and August of the lunar calendar (September of the lunar calendar). To determine the date, one is to choose an auspicious day according to the maturity of their respective grain. Second, the best date for parents or grandparents to die. It is intended to invite the souls of ancestors to come back, taste new rice with their families and have fun. And ask them to bless future generations' families with happiness, good weather and abundant crops in the spirit of heaven. In order to let the Wa compatriots from all over the country celebrate the "New Rice Festival" at 199 1, Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County and Ximeng Wa Autonomous County jointly decided to designate August 14th of the lunar calendar as the "New Rice Festival" for the Wa people. The traditional New Rice Festival is held by many families alone. On the festival day, the host gets up early to prepare food, wine and meat for the festival. Then go to the field and cut a new valley. Hanging a string of cut millet on the door means inviting the soul of the grain into the house. Crush the remaining grains, put them in an iron pot and bake them with low fire, and pour out new rice to make rice. Then, a family sacrifice ceremony was held: a bowl of new rice was placed on the altar with various dishes on it, and the wizard was asked to recite a spell to offer sacrifices to the Valley God and ancestors. After the ceremony, under the leadership of the wizard and the old man, the whole family enjoyed the new rice. After that, the host opened the door and told the neighbors the news of his holiday. So people came to congratulate with all kinds of gifts. The host kills chickens, pigs and even cows to entertain guests. Everyone is singing and laughing and enjoying the harvest. Wa nationality is a nation that can sing and dance well. Bamboo dance, once a kind of dance to bless the elderly after their death, has now become an entertaining dance. The dance form is the same as that of Li nationality in Hainan. That is, two big bamboo poles are flat on the ground. Outside the two big bamboo poles, people hold the small bamboo pole face to face and slide back and forth along the big bamboo pole, and the dancers jump in the gap between the two bamboo poles. The dance moves are lively and cheerful, imitating the shapes of ants, turtledoves, leopards and thrushes. Bamboo dance is usually held after the death of famous and influential old people in the village. It beats the bamboo pole with a pestle and dances, and all men, women and children in the village can participate. The local old man said: "Although a man is dead, his soul will not die, and he can't live in another world without singing and dancing, so people will sing and dance to see him off." It is this broad-minded view of life and death that has created many funeral dances of the Wa people.