Funeral Customs of Tibetan in Kangba and Tujia in Xiangxi

There are five burial methods for Tibetan compatriots after death, and which one to adopt after death mainly depends on the economic and social status of the deceased before his death. The most solemn ceremony is tower burial, followed by cremation. When a child dies, or someone dies of other diseases, they throw the body into the river to feed the fish. This is called water burial. Those who have done bad things before their death are buried in the soil. Tibetans believe that buried people will never be reincarnated.

Celestial burial gives people the illusion of ascending to heaven. Celestial burial ceremonies are usually held in the early morning. In order to respect the local ethnic customs, the local government has expressly stipulated that it is not allowed to watch the celestial burial privately, and it is not allowed to take photos and videos privately.

Funeral custom of Tujia nationality in western Hunan

The funeral of Tujia people in western Hunan pays more attention to the elderly and elders, while the young people are more casual.

(1) Embarrassment: the eldest son or eldest daughter of the deceased (those who have no children or daughters will send them to other younger generations) will take a teapot or bamboo tube from the well, heat it, bathe the deceased, then put on a shroud and red shoes, tie a white gauze around his waist (one for one year according to the death of the deceased), and cover his face with a door panel. At this time, the bed grass that the deceased slept in was burned at the intersection outside the house. The quilt cover and clothes worn by the deceased during his illness should be washed and dried. Put the coffin in the middle of the hall, take fire pit ash from seven or nine neighbors' houses and scatter it in the coffin, spread leather paper, then bury it, and seal it after relatives have seen it.

(2) Dai Xiao: The filial sons and daughters of the deceased, filial children and grandchildren, all want Dai Xiao, and their closest relatives should wear white linen headscarves and white coats, with no buttons and no buttons, which is called mourning. Pam will wear it for three years in a row. The biological son of the deceased did not shave his head and hair within three months after the deceased was buried to show his grief.

(3) Funeral: The toaster will hold a funeral before "returning to the native place". After "returning home", it was changed to Taoist priests to clear the way and do funerals. It usually takes three to seven days for the deceased to go up the mountain and set up a mourning hall in the main room. Choose an auspicious day as "cremation day" to hold a funeral in these days to kill pigs and cattle for the deceased as a memorial. During the day, please ask the Taoist or local Taoist to "untie the knot" and "turn over to the dead".

(4) Funeral: The morning after the big funeral is the funeral. Please choose the land of "Qiansu Zaku, HouXuanwu, Zuoqinglong and Youbaihu" as the cemetery. When going out for a funeral, you should throw "money to buy a road" (superstitious paper) along the way and set fire to someone else's door. When the coffin was walking, someone beat the coffin lid with a "descendant stick" (seven to nine pieces of paper tied to a bamboo pole) and sent the funeral procession up the mountain with gongs and drums.

(5) Burial: The coffin is carried to the edge of the tomb well. Before going down to the tomb well, the Taoist used millet to draw gossip in the well, and after sprinkling realgar wine, the coffin could enter the pit. First, the dutiful son knelt on the coffin lid and dug three hoes to dig the mud into the pit. Then, people pile up soil and move stones to dig graves. Put a paper umbrella, a "descendant stick" and a dustpan upside down on the grave, insert the "living umbrella" given by the married daughter and niece (paper is tied like a wreath) to make a grave pile, and then set off firecrackers to indicate the completion of the burial.

In addition, the families of the deceased will send torches to the new grave for three nights. After the "Three Dynasties", they will also bring wine and "bite meat" to the new grave to "catch the soul", catch spiders and other insects, seal them in paper tubes, and take them home for the shrine, indicating that the deceased has arrived at the shrine and lived with the ancestors of past dynasties.