The Festival History of Qiang Year

On the first day of the 10th lunar month, Qiang people in Qiang Village and Qishuping of jiangkou county ushered in their grand festival-the Year of Qiang. On that day, every household in the village posted couplets, slaughtered pigs and sheep, sang and danced to welcome the New Year.

Qishuping Qiang Village, Ying Tao Township, jiangkou county, is located at the eastern foot of Fan Jing, on a mountain more than 900 meters above sea level. There are more than 280 people in the whole Qiang village. It is the only village in our province where the Qiang people live together, and it still retains its own customs and habits.

On the morning of the same day, the reporter and the Propaganda Department of Jiangkou County Committee drove along the winding Panshan Highway to Qishuping Qiangzhai. I saw some residents busy posting couplets, some killing pigs and sheep, and some young men and women dancing, singing folk songs and setting off firecrackers. The whole hut was completely immersed in the grand atmosphere of the New Year. When the Qiangshan drum in Radish Village is still ringing in Yanmen Grand Canyon and the solemn expression of the stone wall is displayed in front of people, we can't help but ask: How much intangible cultural heritage does the ancient Qiang people have?

People confidently open history, and naturally they will not forget the common sense of "Dongyi, Beidi, Nanman and Xiqiang". Even Historical Records Chronology of Six Kingdoms says that "Yuxing was born in Xiqiang". "Chun Chuan" also said: "My wife married a daughter named Xin, and she was called a beating girl. She was young and fruitless, and she played in the mountains, which meant that people felt something, so she got pregnant and gave birth to high density. My home is in Xiqiang, called Shi Xiu, and also in Sichuan. "

The statement that "Yusheng was once a Western Qiang" can be widely confirmed from some ancient books and folklore. Mr. Zhang Taiyan, a close friend, has studied Yu Niu, "Qiang" and "Jiang". "Knowing Qiang is also surnamed Jiang". "Guoyu Yujin" said: "The Yellow Emperor regarded Ji Shui as a success, so the Yellow Emperor regarded Ji as a ginger." "Jiang is from Xiqiao, and non-Xiqiao is from Jiang." Mr. Gu Jiegang said in the article "The Relationship between Yu and Sichuan": "The Xia nationality originated in the northwest and the upper reaches of the Yellow River and Minjiang River, so it is the remains of the Xia nationality in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and Minjiang River."

Scholars have a strong interest in the origin and history of ancient Qiang and Huaxia, while people living in ancient Qiang areas stay in fragmented folklore about ancient Qiang culture and history.

Xu Shen's "On Wen Yang Supplement" explains Qiang: "Qiang is also a shepherd of Xirong. From people, from sheep; Sheep also sound. " In ancient times, Qiang people lived by herding sheep, and sheep became the earliest totem worship of Qiang people. But it is precisely because of this worship that people naturally forget another important historical fact. Is "Niu" the totem worship of Qiang people? Although "Niu" can't be associated with the ancient Qiang people like "Qiang" from the perspective of philology, an important folk custom tells us that "Niu" was domesticated by the Qiang people a long time ago and became an important symbol of the agricultural civilization of the ancient Qiang people. The ancestors of Qiang people should sacrifice totems and ancestors on the first day of the tenth lunar month, including the contents of sacrificing the ox king. Therefore, the New Year's Day is also known as Niuwang Festival (the birthday of Niuwang Bodhisattva). On this day every year, every household should feed several liters of flour to the cows, make buns with highland barley flour and hang them on the horns. They also hung the cows red, polished their horns with lard or ghee, and then chased them to the mountains to let them play freely.

It can be seen that the respect and worship of cattle in ancient Qiang people is not worse than that of sheep. So, is this folk custom telling people that "Niu" is also the totem worship of the Qiang people in their annual activities?

The records of ancient Qiang in ancient books have far-reaching historical value for the study of ancient Qiang, and many folklore circulating in ancient Qiang areas can confirm some historical facts in the records. This will undoubtedly bring some enlightenment to the strategy of "building a Tibetan and Qiang cultural corridor" in the process of building the first Tibetan state in China. How to further explore and develop the Qiang culture, constantly enrich and deepen the characteristics of the "Tibetan and Qiang Cultural Corridor" and innovate the working idea of "Cultural Yangzhou" is worth thinking about by everyone who cares about the Qiang culture.

Enter the Qiang family to celebrate the Year of the Qiang-11month 10. On the first day of October of the lunar calendar, villagers in Luobuzhai hold an annual mountain worship activity according to traditional customs. The activity of offering sacrifices to the mountain begins with the melodious suona. Wang Mingjie, an old stone wall in the village, led the elders and villagers from the village, blew suona and carried goats for sacrifice, walked around the village, and then arrived at Pan Linshan behind the village. Around the sacred tree, he led the people to dance in sheepskin and sing the Buddhist scriptures of Shibi, while offering sacrifices to mountain gods, tree gods and village gods. To express their religious belief in animism and their gratitude for the bumper harvest of grain, and also to express their gratitude for the good weather, peace and good luck in the coming year.

In the evening, the villagers gather around the bonfire, roast sheep, sing folk songs and dance Sharon, then everyone gets together for a reunion dinner, drinking and singing to their heart's content. The Qiang calendar year is also called the Qiang Year Festival, and the Qiang language is called "Japan, the United States and Kyrgyzstan", which means auspicious and festive festivals. It is also a traditional national activity of the Qiang people to celebrate the harvest and reunion. Its connotation is similar to the Spring Festival in Han areas and the Tibetan calendar in Tibetan areas.

After the Qiang people changed from "living on water plants" to "living on rocks", that is, from nomadic people to agricultural people, according to the ancient Qiang people's solar calendar in October and the iron plate calculation of the Qiang people's "explanation ratio", it was calculated that the first day of September (that is, the first day of October in the lunar calendar) was the Qiang calendar, which was regarded as the most solemn and festive festival of the nation.

From spring planting to autumn harvest, the farmers who worked hard for a year entered the slack season, and the cows who worked hard for a year gained a short freedom and were put on the mountain. Grain went into the barn and pigs and sheep went into the pen, which is naturally a very happy thing. People who went out to work also rushed home, so people began to sing and dance to celebrate the harvest.

Because the Qiang people worship spiritual things and believe in polytheism, after entering the agricultural society, the Qiang people not only closely linked their destiny with the land, but also pinned their hopes on heaven, hoping that the gods would bless the Qiang people, and the weather would be good every year, and they would be lucky and healthy every year. Therefore, in the past years of the Qiang people, a ceremony of "offering sacrifices to heaven and making wishes" will be held every year. At the same time, Qiang people have formed a special feeling with cattle in the long-term productive labor. Qiang people believe that the bumper harvest of grain can not be separated from the help of Niu Wang, so some areas still retain the custom of "Niu Wang Hui".

Strictly speaking, the "Mountain Festival" is the expression of the Qiang people's good wishes (folk call it "wishing"), while the Qiang calendar year is the way for the Qiang people to express their good feelings (folk call it "wishing"). Therefore, the mountain festival is a "spring prayer" and the Qiang calendar year is an "autumn reward". Both of them belong to farming activities, which not only embodies the light of ancient Qiang traditional culture, but also shows the profound connotation of Qiang folk culture. At four or five o'clock in the morning, the breakfast table was opened. The whole process is full of human touch. Because of the cold temperature, the villagers at the same table said that their grain wine was specially used to drive away the cold. Trembling and frozen hands can't help drinking the earliest wine I've never drunk in my life. Sure enough, the wine drove away the cold so badly that the night in the mountains was no longer so cold. In the eyes of city people, their life is not rich, even a little poor, but the simplicity of life does not affect happiness. The wedding giver is dressing up, and we are ready to leave, send her to the man's house and go out to pay homage, so around 6 o'clock, we are ready.

In the warm firecrackers, the words of the guests and the ticking of suona, the bride was carried on the sedan chair by her younger brother. At that time, it was already dark, and all the way, blowing and setting off firecrackers. The farewell party must be at the front, followed by the suona team, the guests, the sedan chair, the dowry and the dowry team. The courtesy guests walked all the way, shouting all the way and shooting all the way. Anyway, after crossing the bridge and getting on the train, they have to let go. All dowries are red.

In addition to the traditional clothes and daily necessities, the bride's dowry also adds a red bedspread, refrigerator and so on. The sisters who saw her off also fell in love with the fashion of applying lipstick and smoothing their eyebrows.

Judging from the clothes worn by villagers, the national characteristics of Qiang men have long been obliterated by modern civilization, and their national costumes have been replaced by suits, sportswear and sports shoes. Women, on the other hand, stick to tradition, and they inherit the personality and beauty of the Qiang people. The groom must first hold a ceremony to thank his ancestors and hang red, which is completed step by step in the voice of the protocol department, and then the bride and groom pay their respects. It is said that the more red the groom hangs, the more luck he has.

In this way, the bride was picked up by the groom in the suona and firecrackers and started a new life. Then, the woman to be married leads out of Hua Ting, and it is very important and indispensable to hold a concierge in the whole wedding, because every ceremony should be presided over and completed by them. The guests invited by the man and the woman's family are all their own, followed by the guests. They come at the drop of a hat, first of all, worship heaven and earth, secondly, worship the cook, and secondly, worship their parents as guests. Anyway, someone will take the mat in another direction, and when the bride and groom turn around, they will always turn around in all four directions.

Finally, the grand ceremony of unveiling the veil. Before the memorial ceremony, the bride can bring any jewelry. You must go to the court before you can bring it.

Before the bride arrives, she should set off firecrackers first, and then call out politely. Then my uncle killed the chicken, drew a symbol at the door with chicken blood, and then put the symbol on the door with a knife. In this way, as soon as the bride was carried into the house, she was attacked and bombed by a group of relatives and friends. Then the bride and groom were sent to the bridal chamber to wash their faces and bring jewelry. The Qiang people will celebrate the Qiang New Year on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month. At this time, Qiang families have begun to kill pigs and can eat blood steamed bread. The most important traditional festival of the Qiang nationality is the Qiang calendar New Year. The time is the first day of the tenth lunar month. Stop working and go out during the festival. Gather at home and make calves, lambs, chickens and other sacrifices with flour to worship ancestors and gods. In some places, Duangong jumped into the sacred forest, slaughtered sheep and sprinkled blood in front of the altar to offer sacrifices to the gods. Mutton was returned to each family, and then the family was invited to drink homemade wine, sing wine songs and dance with pots and pans to celebrate the harvest.

Qiang nationality is a nation that can sing and dance well. Men, women and children will sing their own folk songs, whether it is labor production or weddings, they will sing and dance. Festivals are the best time to sing and dance. Therefore, on holidays, Qiang people should enjoy singing and dancing. Jiuge is a traditional form of "Zajiu" duet during the Spring Festival. When singing, the host and guest sit side by side and sing in pairs. Slow rhythm and beautiful melody, high voice and euphemistic voice, elegant and simple style. The lyrics are long, expressing good luck, viewing congratulations and rewards, or telling family history and recalling ancestors' achievements. Festival singing is often accompanied by dancing. The forms are "jumping pot village", "jumping armor" and "skin encouragement", among which "jumping pot village" is the most popular. When dancing, men and women exchange places, creating a warm and happy holiday atmosphere. After about half a minute, a shovel finally got up again.

Dozens of men and women attended, accompanied by singing and dancing, often singing and dancing. Qiangdi is the main musical instrument accompanying song and dance. This is an ancient six-stage double-tube clarinet. In addition, there are small gongs, hand bells, suona, sheepskin drums, huqin, oral strings and other musical instruments. These instruments can play, play and pop up unique folk music, which makes people in festivals extremely happy.