What are the customs of traditional funerals?

Funeral activities for the deceased have been passed down from generation to generation, and the legacy has existed since ancient times. Doing one thing is called getting something for nothing. People who die over 60 are as busy as happy events. So people call weddings, funerals and weddings "weddings and funerals". In fact, birth, illness and death are natural laws, and it is the responsibility and obligation of the younger generation to support the elderly.

Throughout Yuxian's funeral customs, it can be roughly divided into three stages: funeral, memorial and funeral training, but each stage has very specific rules and procedures, and the process is quite complicated, with strong feudal superstition. What's more, in order to talk about ostentation and extravagance, it is really a waste of people and money, which not only drags down the family, but also makes the other party die if there is a ghost.

People in Yuxian county hold funerals for as little as three to five days and as many as nine and a half months. Usually, the mourning period is seven days. Taking the seven-day mourning period as an example, this paper analyzes the whole process of mourning in Yuxian County.

The first section into the funeral

Dying is the first stage of the whole funeral activity, during which the workload is large and the time is short. We should try our best to handle the following matters.

1, the last filial piety. As the name implies, the so-called farewell to the old woman is actually the younger generation sending the old man away. That is to say, when the patient's life is dying, all his/her children and other immediate family members should be informed in time, so that they can spend as much leisure time as possible with the patient until the patient dies. What is this? First, filial sons (son, daughter-in-law, daughter, grandson and granddaughter) can be made to show more filial piety, and try to let them wait on the patients for a few more days, so that the patients can live for a few more days, so as not to regret it in the future. Second, you can listen to the patient's last words before he dies, and then deal with the matters that the patient failed to deal with before his death according to the will. For example, how much money is owed to whom to do something, how to dispose of family property, how to deal with funeral, and so on. Thirdly, it is a great psychological comfort for patients to have children and other immediate family members around them when they are dying. Even if you die, you can die, so it is called mourning.

2. The broken window is covered with red. After the death of the patient, all immediate family members should be temporarily restrained and the window should be broken to cover the red in time. The so-called broken window is to break the enough paper, saying that the patient will get sick and have bad luck at the moment of death. If he doesn't break the window, he can easily stay at home and hurt others. At the same time, all red things in the room should be labeled with white paper, saying that ghosts are afraid of seeing red. Some even put white paper on the mirror, saying that ghosts are afraid of seeing the sun, and the mirror reflects light easily.

3. Install the old plastic surgery. After a period of careful work, all the immediate family members had to work together in Qi Xin to dress up the dead. First of all, put on old clothes, also called shroud. In Yuxian, most of the old clothes prepared by the people for the dead are blue, usually four-season clothes (single clothes, double clothes, cotton-padded clothes, shoes and hats, etc. ). The clothes are unbuttoned and there is no belt. There are some ribbons on the coat and a blue ribbon on the trousers. Folk believe that it is difficult for the dead to escape if they are strangled and strangled (dialect: reincarnation). Therefore, the ribbon tied to the coat and trousers should not be tied to the knot, but must be tied with slippers. Some people want to nail sixteen cloth nails on the soles of their shoes, seven in front and nine in the back. It is said that the road in the underworld is slippery, and the deceased is a stranger in the underworld. There are cleats on his shoes, which makes it easier to walk. Avoid empty sweaters and fur clothes when you are old, for fear that the dead will become animals in the afterlife, and avoid wearing clothes made of satin (rags). After putting on old clothes, you should simply give the deceased a facelift (shaving, shaving and fixing hair). After all the operations are completed, cover the face of the deceased with white cloth or yellow cloth, which is also called "light clothing".

4. Pima Dai Xiao. After dressing up for plastic surgery, the immediate family members waiting beside the deceased knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, burning paper, and some people dressed Dai Xiao as a dutiful son (son), followed the rules of male left and female right, and put a white hemp on the man's back shoulder; Dai Xiao, who is filial to his daughter-in-law's long hair, also follows the rule that men are left and women are right, and tied a bunch of hair with white thread. Then put the burnt paper ash on a piece of white linen paper and put it in the arms of the deceased. It is said that when the dead go to the underworld, there are unfamiliar ghosts and gods everywhere. If you encounter ghosts and gods that are difficult to grasp, you can use money to accommodate them so as not to be bullied in the underworld. At the same time, we should put a round bread with white flour on the cuff of the deceased. It is said that dogs are evil in the underworld. When the deceased meets a dog in the underworld, break some buns and feed it, so that the dog will stop biting and report to the underworld smoothly. Quot beat the dog and make buns. "Finally, put a bowl of' pour rice' on the head of the deceased, indicating that the deceased is dead and will never eat again. Then, put three plates of steamed bread on your head, three incense sticks on the incense burner and two constant lights, also called street lamps. The ever-burning lamp is twisted into a rope with cotton, soaked in edible oil and ignited. Edible oil is also called sesame oil, commonly known as plain oil. Finally put a burning paper basin? Quot burial basin ",commonly known as earthen basin.

5. Move the body to the grave. Yuxian people pay attention to watching red flowers, and see red at funerals; No red death, no red death. The so-called "seeing red" means that you die before the sun comes out when the sun is shining high during the day. We must go through the sun, and we must refute the jade pot and amaranth. Br> Under normal circumstances, Yuxian people will be buried on the same day. Because according to folk customs, anyone who can't be buried that day needs to be parked on the door panel or heatable adobe sleeping platform every day, which is not good for the living and the dead. As the saying goes, "Out of sight, out of mind". Postponement of the funeral of the living will not only cause economic waste, but also be a great spiritual blow to watch the deceased lying proudly every day. For the dead, they have worked hard all their lives, and then they have to carry door panels or heatable adobe sleeping platform for three days after death. You have to suffer when you are born, sick or dead, and you have to be disturbed, so you should minimize the formalities and go to the funeral on the same day.

When buried, the coffin should be moved to the ground of the main room, two long wooden benches should be placed upside down under the coffin, and all the town things should be put in the coffin. Town objects include: hay (cereal grass), five grains (millet, hemp, wheat and beans), cypress, ash (charcoal ash), pig iron, shredded pork (ponytail), charcoal, cinnabar, medicated leaven (if there is no medicinal material, it can be replaced by distiller's yeast), realgar and seven kinds of medicinal materials. For example, when the deceased dies at the age of 60, he will put six taels of money on his back, one for each year, one for every day, one for the ground, seven yellow papers and seven white papers (collectively referred to as yin and yang papers).

After all the things in the coffin are put in place, relatives and friends will carry the body into the coffin. When moving a corpse, don't let the dead body be next to the door frame, saying that the dead body is next to the door frame (also called scraping the door frame), and it will be difficult for future generations to prosper. Therefore, when carrying the corpse, someone should use yellow paper, broom (a tool specially used for women's kang and bed) or paddle to stop the pain. Put the body in the coffin, and the dutiful sons should put the daily necessities and clothes that the body loves in front of them in turn. It is said that after the deceased entered the coffin, his fingers were not stretched out, and he was still arresting people, praying and stroking his hands. After all the formalities are completed, a wooden bench under the coffin will be set up, with four bricks on it for the funeral, and then the coffin will be covered, and the mourners will let off three fireworks to show that the soul of the deceased has gone west.

It should be noted that there are also exquisite parking coffins. If the deceased is male, he can sit up straight after death and put the coffin in the center of the mourning hall when parking. If the deceased was a woman, she should have been sitting in the center of the hall when she was alive. If the husband dies first, women can sit up straight after death. If the deceased lives in a group hall (dialect: there are people living in one hall, and the property rights belong to two families), regardless of whether the deceased is male or female.

6. Place the coffin table. Immediately after the funeral, put the coffin table. The coffin table is usually a high table made of black wood, commonly known as the square table. Now most people use group watches. The coffin is placed in front of the coffin, and the offerings, incense burner bowls and lamps originally offered to the dead are moved to the front of the coffin, and then the dutiful son is asked to smash a curtain with white linen paper in front of the coffin, which is also called an apron (people think the coffin is an apron) for fear of sticking to the living. Therefore, if outsiders don't help, the dutiful son must do it himself. The burial basin was placed under the platform of the coffin, and it remained fragrant from then on until the funeral. Yuxian people think that it is childless to cut off incense, so from burial to mourning, all dutiful sons should be on duty day and night, and wake up in turn to burn paper for filial piety. At the same time, put a plate of steamed bread behind the coffin to worship ghosts and gods.

7. Set up a tent for a funeral. On the second day after the funeral, we should first choose a funeral (also called the general manager) to help the families and dutiful sons of the deceased handle all the affairs during the funeral. Secondly, relatives and friends are settled by the funeral (dialect: arrangement), and a Peng Ling is set up in the courtyard for the mourners to pay homage, eat, rest and place paper ties and wreaths. Send a dutiful son or someone who is eloquent and skillful to send a funeral to the elders in the neighborhood. According to Yuxian folk custom, dutiful sons are not allowed to enter the homes of relatives and friends. Usually standing at the entrance of the hall or home, say hello first. After someone came out to pick him up, he knelt down on the spot, climbed on the ground with his hands straight and kowtowed three times. At this time, the person who came out to receive him should quickly pick him up and connect him? Quot forget it! Forget it! "It means that people are gone, and no matter how big the grievances are, they are all free.

8. Break ground and hit the grave. On the third day of the funeral, the funeral is responsible for contacting the Yin and Yang division to prepare the memorial service and the funeral supplies needed for the funeral, and sending the dutiful son and the bald head (referring to the bachelors who are old and young and specialize in lifting materials and smashing tombs for a living) to mark a pit in the cemetery and break ground to smash the tomb. On this day, after the dutiful son enters the cemetery, he should first pay homage to the land god (if it is an old grave, he should see the grave god). Draw a circle with silverware called "Silver Land". Write the word "open the tomb" in the circle, worship three plates of steamed bread, burn three blank sheets of paper, and shovel the soil three times with a shovel. Then the bald head began to break ground and smash the tomb. When digging a grave, if wild animals such as snakes and toads are dug out of the ground, it will be a great joy. Among the people, snakes are dragons and toads are lumbricus. Grave robbers should pack the dug-up wild animals in boxes, report good news to their owners and receive rewards when they come back. Due to this folk custom, some grave robbers had to put a snake in the box in advance to defraud the owner of the reward. When the dutiful son comes back from painting the hole, he will also wash his eyes and face with seven cotton balls dipped in white wine prepared in advance, and then put them in yin and yang bowls and put them on the altar.

Section 2 Sacrifice and Drinking

The funeral ceremony is extremely complicated and the etiquette is quite heavy. If the memorial service is not fully prepared, it will not only directly affect the smooth progress of the funeral, but also cause a storm and offend relatives and friends. Therefore, at this stage, the funeral should be extra cautious and handle everything properly. The general principle is to meet the requirements of local customs and habits during the day, so as to reduce unnecessary troubles for the families of the deceased and their descendants. Here, we might as well trace the funeral activities from the folk funeral songs.

Funeral songs

A Bai Lianhua bloomed on the spot,

There is also a good man card on it.

Dead people do more good things,

The underworld is the Lotus Terrace.

Three days without eating dead food,

I went to Wangxiangtai in seven days.

Looking at the hometown platform,

The whole family wears white, old and young.

Put up a high canopy,

The canopy is covered for half a day.

After Jinshan and Yinshan,

Boys and girls stand on both sides.

The golden incense burner burns sandalwood,

Hang the champion on a silver wax stick.

How many confessions did Ling Qian make?

Take a look, two eyes and three eyes.

I came from the east to pay my respects,

I came to pay my respects to Master Shang,

Go north to mourn the civil and military officials.

The dutiful son carries the guide coffin,

Swing from side to side three times.

There is a March 3 every year,

The queen mother built a fairy boat.

Ruban hasn't sat on the mast yet,

Across women and men.

Shen Wanshan, the first ferry,

Two ships crossed Kangwan.

Meng Gai, the daughter of Minlang Sad Song Ferry,

Four ships crossed the Li Cuilian.

Leave five boats to cross,

Good people go to heaven alone.

Two bridges on Xitian Road,

Jinqiao is higher than Yinqiao.

There is running water under Jinqiao,

Evil spirits howl under the silver bridge.

Thousands of people will not leave immediately,

Just wait for a good man to leave once.

Mindfulness is happy and beaming,

There are three immortals in the air.

Immortals never leave their homes,

Send that bangs and throw money.

Before throwing money,

I send money to good people.

According to the customs of Yuxian County, efforts should be made to handle the following matters in the memorial ceremony:

65438+ mainly depends on the economic situation of the birthday at home. In order to talk about ostentation and extravagance, wealthy families need to put up a lot of papers, such as poultry at home, pavilions in the palace, cash cows in Jinshan Yinshan, gold couple cars, VCD of color TV, mobile phones for household appliances, tap water for dining stoves and so on. Everything you want can be pasted for the dead, while ordinary people and men are pasted after death. After a woman is born, she pastes paper people, paper cows, paper carts, gold and silver cabinets, etc. It is said that old cows can drink the dirty water washed in the underworld.

In addition to pasting the paper on it, the Yin and Yang families also paste funeral sticks, make paper hangers, and attract spirits flags.

The funeral stick is made of wicker. The upper end is round and the lower end is square, which means "the sky is round". Usually, the length of a funeral stick is seven inches. If there are many dutiful sons, the shortest is five inches and the longest is nine inches. All funeral sticks are odd in length. Why? People think that marriage is a happy event and auspicious wedding, and most of them use even numbers, which means in pairs, while even numbers are forbidden in funerals. All the funeral sticks were sealed with white paper and stood under the coffin after being retrieved. The deceased was male, standing at the lower left of the coffin, and the deceased was female, standing at the lower right of the coffin.

A "paper hanger" is made of white paper. * * * is divided into three layers, and the notes are divided according to the age of the deceased. If a person dies at the age of 60, it needs to be divided into 62 pieces of paper, one for one year old, one for every day and one for the ground. There is a white steamed bun, a handful of incense and a stone hanging in the middle of the note. The steamed bun is for the deceased to board the homesick platform.

"Soul-inducing complications" are made of five-color paper. First cut the white paper into a net, pick it on a willow stick, and all kinds of hydrangeas made of five-color paper are hung around it. Then twelve ghosts were hung in the middle, and a few words were written, such as "Huang's complications lead the soul to the grave", "Jin's couple lead the soul to the grave" and "Du's soul left the underworld early and recommended to save the bitter jade boy.

At the same time, the mourning hat, paper hoop, mourning bag and rented mourning shirt were taken back for use at the time of mourning.

2. Draw a coffin hanging threshold. People pay attention to the fact that the deceased can't live in a coffin with white stubble, so they should also paint the coffin before opening the crane, commonly known as "painting the coffin". "Painting coffins is also divided into three classes, * * * is divided into five colors, middle five colors and lower five colors". Usually, officials with status, status and money are rich and expensive to show authority and wealth, loyalty and filial piety. Such as Wang Xiaobo Bing, Li Kui jy Save Mom, and Mother-in-law Tattoo. Most people paint five colors, that is, when a man dies, he paints the pattern of "two dragons playing with pearls" and when a woman dies, he paints the pattern of "Feng Dan facing the sun". In other words, poor people paint five colors, which means that painters can paint at will, but they really can't afford to paint red. In a word, they drew a colorful coffin.

After painting the coffin, the Yin and Yang division also wrote a note in red paper "The coffin examined by the sick gang was on ××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

3. Cheng Xiao. On the fifth day, the whole funeral reached a climax, called hanging. On this day, people who came to pay their respects came and went in an endless stream. One after another, people who sent sacrifices and meals, as well as those who burned paper and incense before the spirit, came. Filial piety men and daughters greet and send each other off, sometimes kneeling with them to burn paper, and sometimes helping them with coffins. They can't be idle in grief and try their best to socialize. funeral

Some traditional folk customs and habits reflect the wishes of the living to the dead and their good wishes for a prosperous life.