The origin of the custom of killing cattle in the funeral of Shui nationality

This is the ceremony of chopping cattle and knocking horses at the funeral of the Shui people. Generally speaking, knocking on a horse by the dead means letting the dead have a horse to ride in the underworld to do business; A dead woman killed a cow and gave her Niu Gengdi in the underworld.

It was on the morning of the funeral that people who lost their families wanted to kill horses or cows or pigs. Generally, men kill cows and horses, with horses being the most expensive, and women also kill pigs. Some wealthy families killed cows, horses or pigs, and some even cut down several cows. After the ceremony, cows, horses and pork are inedible dead and householders. One leg with a tail was given to the uncle of the deceased, one leg was given to Mr. Shui Shu as a reward, the other part was given as a gift, and most of the rest were given to the guests.

Funeral is the last etiquette of life, marking the end of the journey of life. If you live, you have to die. Life and death go hand in hand. It has accompanied mankind through a long time, and life and death constitute the whole content of everyone's life process. Life is a process from ignorance to knowledge, and death is a process from knowledge to unknown. Therefore, life is alive, and life and death has become a life group event related to every individual life and even individual life. Shui nationality is an ancient and unique nation. For thousands of years, they have created rich and colorful national cultures with their wisdom and talents, and gradually formed their own unique national traditions. In the long and complicated historical evolution process, the Shui nationality has formed a set of mysterious and distinctive funeral etiquette for the deceased, which embodies the mourning for the deceased and expresses the memory of the living for the merits of the deceased. I hope that the souls of the deceased will rest in peace, eliminate the fear of the living to the deceased, pin the good wishes of the living on the deceased, and pray that the deceased will bless the lives of the living. Life should be happy, and death is sorrow for the living, but it means liberation from the world for the dead. Therefore, the Shui people think that the more lively the funeral, the better. To hold a solemn ceremony to send the old man to the underworld shows a simple materialistic understanding of the natural laws of birth, aging, illness and death. Funeral custom is a unique life etiquette. The custom of coffin burial of Shui nationality has lasted for thousands of years and has its own unique ceremony.