Fertility Rites and Customs in Shandong (1): Praying for Pregnancy and Seeking Children

Zibo Zichuan area, by the groom of a brother bed, the so-called "big brother brother bed, children a big help". The bed should be laid sorghum stubble, sesame straw, bean straw, etc., the song said "put on sorghum stubble, born with a handle" "put on sesame straw, generations out of the big officials" "put on the bean straw, generations out of the Xiu Cai! ". At that time, the bride and groom also *** with fill pillow (two), the elders will teach them to say "a fill gold, two fill silver, three fill a large group of children" and other such auspicious words.

In Chenjing Village, Donggucheng Town, Guanxian County, the night before the wedding, the in-laws sister-in-law to use a new broom to sweep the new bed, while sweeping the mouth while reciting a song: "East sweep, west sweep, sweeping the children all over the place; east snuggle, west snuggle, snuggle a lot of children."

In the town of Rizhao Hushan, by the close relatives of the junior boys roll bed, "left roll, right roll, the next year there is a little boy" of the ballad. Linyi area, there is also the habit of letting young boys roll bed. After rolling the bed, but also chestnuts, jujube, peanuts scattered on top, called "spread bed", also known as "spread tent", Shandong are practiced throughout the custom.

Yucheng, Texas, around the area, the new bed first by the father-in-law (no father-in-law by the eldest brother instead) to live a night, there is a so-called "father-in-law pressure new room, children a big help" said. Dongying City, Guangrao County, suburban area, to find a brother in the same generation to sleep in bed for a night, called "pressure bed", as the saying goes: "big brother pressure bed, children into the line." In Dongming County, Matou Town, Liu Yuan Village, by the groom's brother or nephew pressure bed, that is, first let them sleep a few nights, if they urinate on the new bed, then the first child after the wedding will give birth to a boy. Dezhou area, the night before the wedding, to choose a grandparent, parents full of full-fledged child men to accompany the bridegroom to sleep in the new bed "pressure bed", in order to give birth to a son early. Wake up the next morning, press the bed of the boy to ask for jujube soup. After the jujube soup is served, chopsticks are used instead of a spoon, and the picture is "early child" ("jujube" harmonizes with "early child") and "fast child" ("jujube" harmonizes with "early child"). The picture is of "early son" ("枣子 "谐音 "早子") and "quick son" ("筷子 "谐音 "快子").

Additionally, in the layout of the cave, it also reveals the desire to have children, especially boys, such as the wedding home more stickers, "red plums, green bamboo and grandson," such as happy couplets; windows should be paste red paper, and pasted on the "pomegranate open a hundred children!

(2) Wedding Ceremony Prayer

In the wedding ceremony customs, there is a considerable portion of the pregnancy praying for children custom. In the Jinan area, the person who goes to marry the bride has to choose a "full-fledged person", i.e., a woman with two parents, two children and a happy family, in order to pass the blessing and fertility from the full-fledged person's hand to the newcomer. Before the newlyweds go out on the sedan chair, they first use candles to "light the sedan chair", on the one hand, there is the intention to drive away evil spirits, on the other hand, there is also the intention to bring the fire to the in-laws to be inoculated. Yantai area, the groom to the bride's home to meet the bride, there will be two bowls of soup, two bowls of dumplings are not fully cooked. The soup contains jujubes, cinnamon balls, and lotus seeds, which means "early birth". While eating the dumplings, the bride is asked if she is going to have a baby, to which she replies "yes". In Wenshi Village, Shewopo Town, Qixia City, women bring jujubes, peanuts, taro and other items from their mother's home to their mother-in-law's home, and distribute them to all the people to eat after the bridal chamber. In Lunan and southwestern Lu, a woman who marries a woman is accompanied by an old hen, in addition to the metaphorical auspiciousness (chicken), great luck, but also hope that the hen will lay eggs on the same day. Jiaxiang County, Jintun Township, Hongtun Village, to sit in the bride's sedan chair to put a copper stove, which is loaded with a little charcoal, said the bride is with the fire to the in-laws to pass the seed. Linzi District, Zibo City, to meet the bride to secretly bring back a pair of chopsticks from the female family, which means "fast". Weifang area has a similar custom, the male party to the female home to meet the bride, the groom before leaving to take away the chopsticks.

In the area of Jihua, when the bride gets out of the sedan chair, her feet are not allowed to touch the ground, and the people have to use the sacks (or cloth bags, mats, futons, etc.) to spread on the ground. When the bride and groom walk on the sacks, the people should pass the sacks, one by one, and then lay the sacks. The people laying the sacks shout, "Pass it on, pass it on." This custom means to pass on the generations. Weifang area, the bride and groom holding red and green towels to the cave and the way to lay a few sacks.

Jining, Binzhou, Zibo, Tai'an and other places, the bride before entering the door, are to press a pair of chopsticks on the door under the red brick, meaning "fast son". Bride to the courtyard to go in the process, all the way to the body of someone to sprinkle chestnuts, jujubes, peanuts, etc., implying that the "early child".

Rizhao, Qixia and other places, before the bride into the bridal chamber, by the housekeeper, sedan chairmen or carpenters in the door nail hanging curtains, hanging while singing a happy song: "on the eight immortals, the next eight immortals, please hang curtains under the eight immortals. Hang the curtain on the top to give birth to a noble son, and hang the curtain on the bottom to give birth to a scholar. Both hands hang together, a scholar and a scholar." When the bride enters the bridal chamber and crosses the dripping eaves in front of the house, she has to take a step over, otherwise she will "step on the dripping eaves and stay there for twelve years", and she can only give birth to a child after twelve years. Huangdao District, Qingdao City, the law home village, the new couple into the bridal chamber, the old people will sing a song: "three gold, two silver, the family has a treasure bowl. Sitting on the pier, good to hold grandchildren ......"

In addition, Shandong more common "fill the pillow" custom, but also more with the meaning of praying for pregnancy and children. Such as Dongying City, Guangrao County, suburban area, in the hospitality of guests after the "fill the pillow", that is, to the empty pillowcase head stuffed with straw and so on, and said congratulatory language "this fill, that fill, feed the child to do the scholar" and so on. Weifang Changle area, the bride with new straw fill two pillows and bundled together, so that the groom on his back, the bride said while filming: "Oh, good boy, do not cry, do not cry." Then by grandpa and grandma one person to hold a, rolling around in the new bed, known as "rolling grandchildren".

The Wenshi Village, Snake Worp Town, Suxia City, needs to ask the old man with children and grandchildren to feed the newcomers noodles, which also implies that a couple of newcomers will be full of children and grandchildren in the future. Rizhao Wulian area, usually let the groom eat lotus eggs, the bride ate dumplings, on behalf of the birth of a boy. In the Linyi area, in some places, the newlyweds have to drink lotus seed soup to take the meaning of "having a son in a row". Cangshan County, Jiazhuang Township, the bride to eat a hard-boiled egg in the new room, the first bite the deeper the better, "a bite to the white, next year, hold a small nephew; a bite to the yellow, a year a scholar boy. Huantai, Qingzhou, Jining City, Rencheng District, etc., the bride to eat uncooked noodles, dumplings (Qingzhou area called "descendants of the dumplings"), when asked "birth", answer "birth"! When asked if they are going to have children, they will answer "yes" to win the lottery and wish to have children early. Weihai area, the bride and groom drank a cup of wine, to eat a bowl of oysters and a bowl of boss fish, meaning "Li Zi" and "companion to the old".

In the town of Rizhao Hushan, the wedding night sister-in-law to sister-in-law end of the urinal, to say "I give sister-in-law end of the urinal, the next year to hold a nephew. In the area of Qingzhou and Yishui, it is the brother-in-law who carries the urine bowl, saying as he walks away, "The couple is always good, and in the coming year they will carry a big boy." In the Linyi area, the youngest sister-in-law gives her sister-in-law a new basin, which is called "Auntie sends the basin to hold her nephew early". In addition, the bride's mother-in-law puts a tree stump under the bed in the new house, meaning "Grandma sends a stump to hold grandchildren as early as possible". In the Yimeng mountainous area, the bride's mother-in-law will be two onions tied together under the pillow, but also to put a thorn, in order to foretell the future will give birth to a pair of white fat baby and very obedient.

In addition, in the open face, burning bed male bed mother and other wedding rituals, is also full of praying for the son of the festive atmosphere. Qixia City, Snake Worp Town, Wen Shi Village, the marriage ceremony in the custom of open face, locally known as the "stranded face", is the use of two strands of wire twisting the forehead sideburns to modify the way. When the face singing face song: "red eggs, full face turn, this year to eat your happy buns, next year to eat your red eggs." This custom is also practiced in Hongshanyu Village, Shanting District, Zaozhuang City, Caizhuang Village, Chentong Town, Donggang District, Rizhao City, and Gaofang Village, Juno County. In Fajia Village, Huangdao District, Qingdao City, there is a wedding ritual of burning beds for males and females. On the evening of the wedding day, the old people will burn two more fires to make the bed hot and pray for early grandchildren.

(C) after marriage, pray for a child

arising from the marriage in the pray for children in the custom, with a certain degree of celebration, wishing components, and after marriage, long marriage infertile or only fertile girl did not give birth to a boy's prayers, with a strong desire for heir. Shandong area, pray for pregnancy and many ways to seek children, including tethered dolls, betting on the child is relatively common, in addition to the sheer rice, begging for acacia, to discuss the happy eggs, for Zhang Xian and other forms.

1. Tethered dolls

Tethered dolls, also known as "tethered hi", "tethered children", "holding children", "knocking children", etc., the new China was founded, and the Chinese government is now in the process of establishing the new China, and the Chinese government is now in the process of establishing the new China. Tethered dolls generally go to Taishan's Bixia Yuanjun Shrine, Doumu Palace, Wangmu Pond and all over the white nunnery, children and grandchildren Hall, Zhang Xian Temple, Grandmother's Temple, Land Temple and other places. The deities consulted are usually the Goddess of Mercy, the Grandmother of Mercy, Zhang Xian and the Queen of Mercy.

Bixia Yuanjun on Taishan Mountain is commonly believed to be the Birth Deliverer, and every year people go to pray for children and return wishes. Usually a Taoist priest in the temple presides over the ceremony of praying for pregnancy and seeking a child. First, a clay doll is taken from the shrine and handed over to the Taoist priest, who then prays and ties it to the doll's neck with a copper coin tied with a red thread. After that, they take the doll and use the coins to strike a chime in front of the god to name the child. After the prayers for the child are brought home, the doll is hidden somewhere in the bedroom, and it is said that this will soon lead to pregnancy.

More people tether their dolls in local temples. In the past, around Dingtao, on the third or twenty-sixth day of the third month of the lunar calendar, infertile women took a red rope tied with copper coins in their hands and went to the Temple of Child Delivery Grandmother or the local Faux Mountain Temple to worship the Grandmother of Child Delivery, reciting under their breath, "combing my hair and washing my face to the temple, kneeling on the ground when the center, burning incense and kowtowing to pray to the gods, giving my family a son." Then give the baby a baby name, the hand will take the red rope tied to send the grandmother in the body of one of the many clay dolls above, turn around and go back, while walking and read: "children children with the mother to go, our home can be better than here, the hall of residence of your grandmother, the west room is our room; wait until my son was born, grandmother care of the mother to feed; uncle give you to buy things, parents to buy clothes. " After entering the house, the red rope tied to the table legs, commonly known as "Jiuju Liye". Heze area, then in the tethered dolls, but also pick the mud dolls on the body of a bit of dry soil, home to read: "children with the mother to go, hungry to buy you a bowl of rice, thirsty to buy you a bowl of porridge, do not go elsewhere, go home with the mother." After arriving home, you have to swallow the mud doll soil and water. Linqing area in the urban area is mostly in the first month of the lunar calendar 16, rural areas are more in the lunar calendar on the eighth day of the fourth month to go to the temple tethering dolls. On that day, the prayers to the grandmother of the temple kneeling begging, and then with a red line tied to the neck of the mud doll, mouth read: "Blessed boy with the mother to come, not blessed boy sitting on the temple platform. The aunt's house and the grandmother's house don't go, and they follow their mother home." After the prayer, with a red bag will be wrapped in mud dolls to hold home, but also three times a day for food. Dezhou area, people in the Niangniang Temple to seek children, must bring their own toy boy offering in front of the spirit. After burning incense and praying while people are not on guard, wrapped up and run, go home and get pregnant. But if people see, that sends the child to the Queen sent the child will be scared away, people's wishes will not be realized. The sought-after porcelain dolls have to be locked in a hidden box and can't be taken out until the spawned child gets married. In the area of Jiaozhou, most of the dolls are chained on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, and the next day they are sent home by the temple monks and placed in a hole in the wall at the head of the bed, and they are also supplied with water and rice three times a day. If a child is born, the clay doll is built into the wall. Tengzhou area is to the nunnery to give a certain amount of money, and with the nuns as a godfather, by the nuns with a red belt tied to a mud doll, or tied to a stone, and take a name, and then pray for the child will be carried in their arms, all the way home shouting the name just taken. Guangrao County suburb often go to Yunmen Mountain (within the boundary of Qingzhou) to seek a child, a red rope hanging in the tree, buy a mud doll, wrapped in a red bag to carry back. Boxing County, Chendo Town, Dongzhai Village, to be tethered back to the doll on the bed under the mattress, a hundred days can not sweep the bed.

In the area of Liaocheng, there is a wooden couplet next to the shrine of the temple enshrining the Queen of Send Life, which reads, "I have a piece of my heart to send this child to you, and you must be good to leave some good deeds with him". There is also a "send life brother" under the Niang Niang, who carries a cloth cummerbund on his shoulder, which is filled with clay dolls, and is rumored to be in charge of sending children at the order of the Niang Niang. There are many clay dolls with red bibs and bare bottoms on the idol's offering table. To tether the dolls of women, to the temple to pay the money of joy, burn incense and kowtow, pray for some, you can pick one of the many mud dolls, even if the dolls tethered.

2. 押子

押子, also known as "pressure son", harmonic "pressure branch", is also a more common prayers for children ceremony. Seekers come to the temple in the mountains and forests, in the cypress or pine tree branches on the fork to put a stone to pray for the birth of a child. Before and after Mount Tai's Doumu Palace, Bixia Ancestral Temple or Jinan's Lingyan Temple around some of the pine or cypress trees, almost all of them above the clip with a stone, which can be seen to bet on the child's custom of a long history.

3. Shedding rice

Usually, it is done on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month every year. The people who seek children make congee and rice from the accumulated rice on weekdays and give it to the poor people. Tengzhou, Taierzhuang area in the making of porridge chanting: "for children to save a handful of rice, for children to save a handful of noodles, save for the eighth day of Lahai to give rice." After the rice is done, it is carried to the street to give alms. In addition to give rice, those childless couples or fasting Buddha, or do some other good deeds, such as paving roads and bridges, help the elderly to help the poor, hot days charity tea, winter charity clothing and so on. In short, is to accumulate "Yin Gong", in order to early birth.

4. Other prayers for children

In addition to tethering dolls, betting on the child and the meal, there are a number of other prayers for children around Shandong customs. Jinan, Ningyang area, no childbearing family to adopt other people's children, that can make their own pregnancy and birth, respectively, known as "borrowing children" "with children".

Binzhou City, Wudi County, small Botou Town, the former vegetable garden village, the child seekers in the New Year's Eve holding a handful of straw burning, while walking to the home, said: "Black boy, white boy, are on my home to eat dumplings." In Wangdian Village, Chentou Town, Boxing County, two old men from the family of a child-seeker took a bamboo rake to the side of the road at the head of the village on the night of the New Year's Eve and said, "White girl, black boy, all come to my house to eat dumplings. Have they come yet?" The other man said, "Yes." He said this three times in a row. Finally, touch a stone, or a brick, or a lump of earth on the place where the bamboo rake has sown. If you touch a stone or a brick, it means that you will have a boy; if you touch a piece of earth, it means that you will have a girl. You must not look back or talk to anyone you meet. When you return home, you should put the stone, brick or piece of earth you touched under your daughter-in-law's blanket. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the daughter-in-law will not get up until she has finished her meal under the blanket. Qufu area, New Year's Eve by the mother-in-law to touch a stone outside the house to hide in the daughter-in-law under the bed, or the Lantern Festival quietly end of the neighbor's noodle lamps to the daughter-in-law to cook and eat, that can make the infertile women pregnant. Zoucheng area, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, so that the daughter-in-law not pregnant to eat noodles lamp, many people like to eat surnamed Liu and surnamed Dai people in front of the door of the lamp, the harmonic "to stay" "with", "to stay with the child"! "Bring the child" meaning, the so-called: "Steal the lights of the Liu family, the year ate the birth of the year. With a daughter called lamp brother, with a kid called lamp into." In addition, the Zoucheng area of women often in the "grandchildren stone" in front of burning incense to return the wish. Weishan area of infertile women in the New Year in the village called "black hair, yellow hair, small, are running to my home," in order to pray for pregnancy. Jiaodong area has a March 3 to the new daughter-in-law to send the custom of face swallow, the purpose is also to pray for children.

Eggs are a symbol of fertility, some places in Shandong prevailed eggs to pray for pregnancy. In the Tengzhou area, when an old man hears that a child has been born in his family, he goes to ask for a red egg for his daughter-in-law. On New Year's Eve, they cook a loose egg for their daughter-in-law. In the Taierzhuang district of Zaozhuang, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the mother-in-law will cook three eggs for her infertile daughter-in-law, and the eggs must not be cooked. In the Longkou area, women who have been infertile for a long time have to hide behind the door of their house and secretly eat a boiled egg every morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Yiyuan area has the custom of touching Buddha's teeth. Some local temples have Buddha's teeth, and after praying for pregnant women to pay money and kneeling piously, they will be introduced into the secret room by the temple presidency to touch or look at the Buddha's teeth, which is said to be able to conceive and bear children.

Some families praying for children also enshrine the Goddess of Mercy in their homes, begging her to give her son, and even some please Feng Shui Mr. look at the base of the house to see the feng shui, at the expense of changing the house, move the graves, and move the door (to change the direction of the main door of the house) in order to seek a man and a half a girl. Qixia City, Snake Wopo Town, Wen Shi Village, there is the custom of moving the door to pray for children.

People in Shandong who are eager to have a boy often adopt some customary practices to pray for a boy. For example, if you only have a girl, you will usually name the girl "Wangdi", "Laidi", "Bandi", "Changdi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi", "Zhaodi" and "Zhaodi". "Zhaodi", "Leadi" (hoping to bring a boy), or "Tingting" (to stop the birth of a girl), etc. In the Heze area, pregnant women are asked to bring a boy to the family. In the Heze area, there is a practice of letting pregnant women eat special eggs. When a pregnant woman is forty days pregnant, take an egg, knock open a small mouth and put a chicken waist (kidney), water and noodles, the whole egg wrapped up, cooked over charcoal fire, and quietly make the pregnant woman eat in no one's place, in order to pray for the birth of a boy. (From Shandong Province Folklore Journal, pictures from the Internet, for reference only)