Qingyuan local conditions and customs

Lianshan Zhuang and Yao Autonomous County is the only Zhuang inhabited area in Qingyuan and the whole province, and it is also one of the main settlements of Guoshan Yao. Yao village in Zhuang township is not only beautiful in mountains, water and people; The people of Zhuang and Yao are hospitable, and the customs of Zhuang and Yao have their own national characteristics.

The main contents of Zhuang and Yao customs include national customs performances, Tianfeng picnics, and the scenery of Zhuang Yao village.

Zhuang Yao folk customs show the traditional folk art, customs and marriage customs of Zhuang Yao through songs and dances. The specific projects are: dancing the longevity star and tortoise, deer and crane, marriage customs, throwing hydrangea and other projects with Zhuang characteristics; Yao nationality's characteristics include long drums, dancing with lanterns at Yao weddings, competing to step on the bed, and competing with tourists to wear wooden shoes.

Have a picnic in Tianfeng, take a bus to Tianfeng Tower, one of the eight scenic spots in Lianshan, and hold it at Tianfeng Peak. The activities include: tourists cooking their own game, eating glutinous rice in bamboo tubes for dinner and overlooking the spectacular sea of clouds and mountains; At dusk, you can enjoy the night view of moonlight, water and light.

Yao Village in Zhuang Township is known as Shenxian Cave and Taoyuan Cave. When you walk into Lianshan, you can see the scenery of Luming Literature. This level turns around, and the peak turns around. The pass twists and turns. It used to be the "key to connecting mountains", and ordinary people could not stand up and take risks. It can be said: "There are mountains, there are sharp turns in the road, and the flute is everywhere. Fly over Luming Literature Pass ". If tourists want to see these two provinces, they can visit Yin-Yang Pass. This pass is at the junction with Guangxi, surrounded by mountains and rivers and peaks. In addition, there is a stone tablet engraved with the words "He Qijun passed this pass", which makes the scenery more beautiful. Yaoling Pinghu in Sanshui Yaoxiang is named after its beautiful scenery and ripples. Being in Pinghu, Kechun smells birds in summer, watches fish in summer, enjoys red leaves in autumn and sees mountains in winter, just like being in Penglai Wonderland. Butou Village in Yaozhai is surrounded by mountains and waters. From Yao Jiaqite's clothing, eating habits and living life, we can get a glimpse of the living conditions of Yao people in Shan Yao. Even Qin Mu, the master, changed his habit of not drinking here and had three drinks with the Yao people.

□ Yaopai Ancient Village is picturesque

Yaoshan is beautiful in a hundred miles, and the scenery of Yaoshan is particularly charming. This is a karst area, with many rocky mountains rising from the ground, abrupt peaks, rugged rocks, misty clouds and purple air. Qiu Wei, a poet, said, "Stalagmite Island is a fairy", and Chen Canyun, a writer, praised "you don't have to go to Guilin to find scenery". Four seasons like spring, streams and rivers, endless forests and flowers. In spring, the mountains are covered with red flowers; In summer, the waterfall flows smoothly; In Qiu Lai, osmanthus fragrance; In winter, red maple burns like fire. Wanshan Wang Chao, Luming Literature Gao Qiu, Shishan Guiyuan, Jinkeng Linhai, Bandong Tianhu, Sanpai Guzhai and other tourist attractions. Each has its own characteristics, which makes people linger.

Another feature that constitutes the scenery of Yaoshan Mountain is the scenery of ancient villages, commonly known as Yaopai ancient villages. These Yao Pais are built on the steep glass of a thousand meters high mountain, which is close to the mountain and slopes, dense, layered and piled up like mountains. Often the roof of the house in front and the floor of the house in the back are flat, with a corridor and a straight lane in the middle, connecting all the residents in series to form a pattern of Yao Pai. Most of these houses are diaojiao buildings with bamboo and cement walls, and there are also unique facilities such as a kitchen pool, a shower basin in this tank, a bedroom with bamboo and water width and as closed as a spider's web. Shows the life picture of the Yao family. From a distance, Yao Pai's main village is like a mirage and a family in heaven. Climbing the ancient village of Yaopai is like entering the altar of the castle. Entering the Yao family is like returning to the primitive society. The charm of ancient style is mysterious. Full of amorous feelings, confusing. For example, Yao Pai Ancient Village in Nangang, Yao Long Village in Motianling, the prestigious Youlingpai and the famous Sanpai Ancient Village are ancient Yao schools composed of hundreds of families, and they are a "land of geomantic omen" for people to explore and win.

□ Yaojia Festival-Playing KTV

Paiyao has many festivals a year. The biggest traditional festival is "karaoke". Playing karaoke bars can be divided into Da Song Hall and Xiao Song Hall. The activities of the Great Song Hall last for 3 to 9 days and are held once every 10 to 15. The activity of Little Brother Hall is held every 3-5 years, 1 day, which is decided by Yao Sect through democratic consultation, and is usually held around the lunar calendar 10/6. Legend has it that this day is the birthday of Pangu's mother and the day when Wang Pan died. Plus 10, the grain will be returned to the warehouse to celebrate the bumper harvest, which indicates that the weather will be fine in the coming year, which is very grand. Spring is decided by elders and husbands, and money, vegetables, wine and meat are prepared in full rows.

On the eve of the karaoke bar, Yao Jiali bought wine, meat, chicken, duck, tofu, glutinous rice, cakes and fruits, and apportioned many households to donate to the karaoke bar for public use. Every household invites Han friends and relatives and friends from other places to be guests. The essence of Guage Pavilion is a comprehensive reflection of religious belief activities, national costume exhibitions, folk literature and art exhibitions and folk customs. It can be called a national cultural complex.

On the day of the Song Hall, the Yao family put on festive costumes for men, women and children; Beaded with jewels and colorful, I rushed out and had a good time.

Playing karaoke bars kicked off with the religious "Wandering God", looking up at the statues of Pan Wang and Pan Mu, holding bamboo plates, blowing horns, banging gongs, dancing long drums, dancing flower drums, young men and women and other song and dance teams, forming a mighty team to travel all over the streets of the cottage, with loud drums and ups and downs of songs, making the ancient Yao Pai full of stars, flowers and spectacular.

After wandering, people gathered in Getangping to carry out colorful cultural and religious activities. Among them, there are "da" songs, that is, singing, duet and fighting songs. Men, women and children went into battle together, shouting and not retreating. There are dances, long encouragements, flower encouragements, master dances, tea affairs and so on.

Crossing the state and the government is the central link of Getangping. They planted several golden bamboo flags in Getangping. The banner reads Jingzhou, Liangzhou, Daozhou or guangzhou fu, Lianzhou, etc. , known as the state capital. Then, Mr. Wang took the lead, dancing and watching swords, shaking two bronze bells, singing Yao Jing, and leading the wandering soul brigade to wander around these state capitals like a dragon, which changed a lot. It means to commemorate the arduous course of ancestors' migration from Yaoshan to Piaozhou and review history.

After crossing the state capital, there are songs and dances praising national heroes, chasing bad faces and exorcising evil spirits. Unique form, exquisite performance, rich national charm and high artistic level.

Everyone singing and dancing is the end of the karaoke room. At this time, the Yao family will invite foreigners to dance with their guests.

During the whole process of karaoke, the Yao family had water wine and white cake, so they could eat and drink by themselves. As a result, everyone was flushed and drunk, and at the end of the evening, they went home to entertain their guests. You see, Yaozhai is rich in wine, and everyone is holding an intoxicating home.

□ Historical sites in Wang Pan

Liannan "Wang Pan Monument", 27 kilometers away from the county seat, is the location of Woshui Town, where the mountains are high and the valleys are deep, the trees are lush, the people are sparsely populated and the environment is beautiful. But this is the earliest source of Yao's migration to Liannan, with a long history and many allusions. As early as 1300 years ago, Wang Pan Temple was built here, and the incense was flourishing and enduring. It is a treasure house for tracing the history of Yao family and studying Yao culture. A few years ago, Wang Pan Temple was renovated and paved with roads. Only in this way will it become a tourist attraction and open to the outside world.

Wang Pan Ancient Temple is located at the intersection of Liuzhenshui and Huangjiachong, surrounded by high mountains and built with Yao brand. The more prosperous rows are Matouchong, Maokeng, Yao Long, Huangjiachong, Woshui, Liulian and Bikeng. Surround the Wang Pan Temple, forming the momentum of the stars arching the moon. The vortex river flows noisily to the county town all the year round, with a large drop and sufficient water. There is a power station along the river, and the water flow is in the same direction as the highway. Therefore, driving into the whirlpool water, along the way, the water bend bay is long, the trees are lush, there are many power stations, and the terraces are layered and beautiful. The prosperous Yao school, the majestic mountains and rivers and the Yao family are all attributed to the gift. Therefore, the Yao elders in the shanzhai often organize Yao people to hold ancestor worship and prayer activities in Wang Pan Temple. With the passage of time, the story of Wang Pan's manifesting, protecting or punishing Yao people spread more and more, and the more he told it, the more magical it became. Wang Pan became an inviolable supreme god.

Say no to God, say no to spiritual God, but the acacia tree in front of Wang Pan Temple is extremely magical. This tree is over 100 years old, with a height of 28 meters, a crown diameter of 7.5 meters, a trunk bust of 2.3 meters and a diameter of 0.73 meters. It looks like a Yao umbrella. Indomitable spirit, flourishing leaves, unbeaten all the year round. It is a pearl-like locust bean all year round. When the beans are ripe, they will fall naturally. Yao often picks them up and puts them in front of the ancestral hall in the hall. It is said that they can ward off evil spirits and protect family safety. Surprisingly, this tree can predict the weather for the Yao family. Whenever it doesn't rain for a long time, if the leaves turn from green to black, it will rain the next day. If the leaves turn green after a heavy rain, it will clear up. According to its prediction, the Yao family can arrange their own farming life. Its rotten leaves and fruits can cure diseases. People revere King Pan, cherish the sacred tree and are extremely pious. They went to pay their respects, burned incense and lit candles, prayed devoutly and picked some red beans, asking Wang Pan to bless them.

□ Yao family marriage customs

Paiyao is monogamous. Generally, people with the same surname do not get married, but they can get married after five generations.

The main way for Yao people to talk about marriage is to sing to express their feelings. Some of them sing in festivals, and sometimes they sing songs when they work in the mountains. The most popular thing is to sing in front of women's windows at night. "My fair lady, a gentleman is a good gentleman", Yao girls grow to 17- 18 years old. In the evening, young people come to sing, and some young people invite girls to sing alone. Sometimes several young people take turns to sing at the same time, and the content of singing is generally to praise the girl's good reputation and morality and express her love. If a woman has a heart, she will do the same. Among many suitors, if a young man is chosen by the woman, other young people will not be jealous, but will get heartfelt congratulations on love.

After singing and talking about marriage, the man took chicken, wine and meat to the woman's house to "get engaged" and agreed on the wedding date. The man is going to have a wedding and the woman is going to have a "dowry".

The man's bride price is mainly "marrying meat". Each piece of "married meat" weighs 6 to 9 Jin of pork, depending on the number of relatives (uncles, brothers, uncles, etc.) in the woman's family. ), in addition to symbolic red envelopes, hanging bags, wine, chicken and so on. The woman does not insist. Under normal circumstances, a few hundred yuan can solve the dowry. The bride's dowry is mainly embroidery "wedding dress" and firewood. The woman needs to cut dozens of loads of firewood as a dowry, which shows that she is a hardworking and thrifty person. There used to be fields, mountains, buckets, footbaths, dragonflies, hoes, umbrellas and other dowry. Marrying a woman is like moving.

On the wedding day, the man went to the woman's house for the night, and the woman's house prepared fried soybeans and peanuts, and several girls played with the groom until dawn. The wedding reception should be hosted by my uncle, regardless of the dishes. Generally, it's chicken with green vegetables, pork with corn, tofu with leeks and fried chicken offal. My uncle sang a toast and raised his chopsticks. When other relatives sing, the bride sings a "crying wedding song" to express her gratitude.

After the wedding reception, you get married. Sister-in-law dresses the bride After the husband (master) finished reading the scriptures, he sent his married uncle, brother and sister-in-law to sing "wedding songs", sent the bride out of the house, and took a sun umbrella on the road.

On the way to the wedding reception, the groom must carry the bride across the stream and bridge.

At the intersection of Yaopai, the man has already prepared water and wine to hold out a song to greet his relatives, express gratitude to each other around the marriage, and aggravate the feelings of relatives, and so on. It took him about an hour to sing a song and drink a bowl of wine before he took his relatives into the village.

At the door of the man's house, the groom "ran away from home", went home on the third day, took the bride back to her family to worship her ancestors, and then went home to start her wedding life. The man's family also took the bride home by chanting, and then held a banquet. At this time, the bride must bring a basin of water to introduce her husband and wife to each other, and the husband and wife give gifts to the red envelopes. Then, the bride stood in the corner of the room, ready to add wine and rice to the elders, listening to the songs of the wedding uncle and the man's in-laws. The wedding banquet is also the dish mentioned above. If you add more after eating, the wedding reception will be noisy for hours, and everyone will sing at the top of their lungs and get drunk.

It is rare for divorce to exclude Yao. The divorce procedure is simple. Both sides drink a bowl of wine back to back on the road and go their separate ways, which is considered divorce. Divorce and remarriage are not discriminated against, and the marriage customs are basically the same as those of daughters.

□ Unique Zhuang architecture

The traditional residence of Zhuang nationality is called Gaolan, which is divided into two floors, the upper one is inhabited by people, and the lower one is raised by livestock, mainly made of Chinese fir bark and thatch. After liberation, the life of Miao people has been greatly improved, and at the same time, it has been influenced by Han architecture. Nowadays, HOS houses are generally in the form of "three on the first floor" and "five on the first floor", that is, the hall is in the middle, with two bedrooms on both sides, plus a slightly shorter annex such as kitchen and pigsty. Another pattern is "one hall, two rooms, one well and two corridors", that is, there is a courtyard in front of the hall and wings on both sides.

Generally, a solid house does not open the back door or back window, but only the front door, side door and side window. People with the same surname go to build a village and build a village, one household and one house. After the population flourished, several gatehouses appeared in the village, and one gatehouse represented a branch with the same surname. The gatehouse is a public place. There is a pair of "eyes" made of eight tiles on the door. The old man's longevity wood is placed on the shed, and benches are placed on both sides downstairs for people to sit and rest and children to play. In front of the gatehouse, there are gold plaques engraved with fame, and some are embedded with stone carvings recording the origin of clans.

□ Unique Strong Family Festival

Zhuang people have their own unique objects of worship, and almost every lunar month has a festive or commemorative festival. Some of them are the same as Han festivals, such as Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival and winter solstice. However, although these festivals are the same, the ceremonies to celebrate or commemorate them are different.

From the first day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the first month, during the Spring Festival, the Zhuang people like the custom of singing "New Year's Eve songs" and "sitting in karaoke bars" in groups. "Pretending to be ancient" is popular in the countryside, and men, women and children are mobilized to dress up as ancient heroes and historical figures respectively. In the evening, carrying lanterns with figures, birds, fish, butterflies and other images, interspersed with lion dances, and touring outside neighboring villages with gongs and drums. The "Antiquities Team" has more than 100 people. The leading light indicates a certain village, and it is supported by the most senior people in the village who are considered "lucky".

On February 2nd, the Zhuang people called it "Farming Day". It indicates the beginning of farming activities, and every household makes a big bowl of soup, which indicates a good year. You can't invite foreigners to eat and stay overnight on holidays, and your newly-married daughter has to go back to her parents' house to get production tools and seeds without staying overnight.

On March 3rd, some Zhuang people offered sacrifices to their ancestors on this day. In the past, pork was divided by surname after collective grave-sweeping, but now it is changed to sweeping graves by each family.

April 8, commonly known as "the birthday of Niu Huang", was called "Longhuahui" in ancient times. It's a big festival for Zhuang people. It's very lively to entertain friends and relatives, steam yellow and black glutinous rice with soaked yellow leaves or maple leaves, and wrap it with tender bamboo leaves. Feed cows and buffaloes separately, insert wickers or sleeves on the barn door, and let the cows rest for a day. Some villages eat glutinous rice without chopsticks, but knead the rice into a ball and grasp it with their hands. If there is a weak child at home, let him eat the food in his hand, put on hemp fiber and bamboo hat. Eating in the cowshed means that children can eat coarse, grow fast and be as strong as cattle.

On June 6th, the Spring Festival. The Zhuang language is called "worship Yuanna", which originally meant to cut new crops and worship the god of the field. It is also a big festival for Zhuang people, and it is necessary to steam two or three Jin of glutinous rice and brown rice to celebrate.

On July 7th, Begging for Skillfulness Festival. Zhuang girls want to take a bath in the river. Legend has it that the fairy water in the milky way in the sky flows to the world, and the girl is more physically and mentally fit after washing. At the same time, it is also put back into the fairy water to make vinegar, which is called "July fragrance".

July 14th is called Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as Ghost Festival. Zhuang women go to their parents' home on this day, and they will bring chickens and ducks gifts home to visit relatives on holidays.

On the Double Ninth Festival on September 9, the Zhuang people do not climb mountains like the Han people, but engage in activities of "sending fire gods". This afternoon, a person from every Zhuang village went to Tiantou or the river beach to tie a hut with bamboo and straw, and put paper money and firecrackers there to sacrifice to Vulcan. In the evening, one person from each family set fire to the hut. The sound of paper guns is combined with the sound of bamboo joints, wind and fire, and people's "screaming" call, which is intended to send Vulcan away and pray to avoid house fire. The hut will not be lit when it is burned. It will go home in the dark to show that Vulcan has sent it away.

□ Funny Zhuang family marriage customs

Family members of Zhuang nationality have the habit of "singing in three steps when going out", and love is also expressed by songs. When the young man saw the woman he liked, he sounded with a song: "Good color, good flowers, good desire for flowers, good peanuts at the crossroads, have you asked if anyone is in charge?" No one likes to manage the younger brother to move ";

If a woman is married, she will sing: "No tricks, no tricks. Don't touch my flowers If you don't live, my flowers are taken. Please ask my brother to love flowers everywhere "to show her attitude.

If the woman is a girl, but she is not interested in the young man, she will give up singing: "Tell my brother that I am a rose, and my brother knows that the rose is full of thorns and is not afraid of his brother moving";

If the girl secretly loves the young man, the song will be full of affection: "My good brother was born with thin eyebrows. Today, when I saw my belly thinking, the belly man was thinking and thinking, how can I create lotus roots? * * Roots grow and shade. At this time, the young man will humbly answer, "if my sister says that my brother is good, how can I compete with my sister for a draw?" Lai (meaning "sprinkle") is not afraid to cry. In order to show her mind, the girl will sing more affectionately, "Tiantian Net girl is not greedy, black girl is not greedy." My heart is empty, the lime is white and no one eats it, and the yellow sugar is black and sweet. "

Even if a wedding is held, there is a unique custom:

First, the bride wears a black wedding dress when she gets married. Black is orthodox in the dealer. Even if the bride usually hates black clothes, she must wear a black wedding dress sewn by the groom's family on her wedding day before leaving the hall to say goodbye to her elders.

The second is to "seal" the bride, that is, when the bride steps out of the hall and walks to the house, the mother will immediately follow the bride's footsteps and follow suit. Legend has it that the bride will forget the way home and marry her husband wholeheartedly.

The third is to carry the bride out of the house. When the bride goes out of the house, she will cover the bride with a red headscarf immediately after receiving her mother, and then her brother designated in advance will carry the bride out of the village, and then walk with the bridesmaids on the road. Why does the bride need someone to carry her? It means that the bride can't give up her relatives and doesn't want to leave, so she has to let her brother carry her.

Fourth, the bride is not allowed to turn back on the road. If she turns around inadvertently, she will go to the well or the river to draw water for the bride to drink as a punishment for her infidelity to her husband.

Fifth, the bride's new house is "sitting". When the bride is introduced into the cave, her mother-in-law will sit opposite her and put her feet on her feet until the stool is hot and the floor is warm, which means that the bride will take root and blossom.

Sixth, the bride draws water, that is, the bride draws water for the first time after entering the door, which is very particular to Zhuang people. When the bride is taken to the well or the river by her aunt or sister-in-law, she curtseys to the source first, and then collects a few coins before she can draw water, so as to inform the water god that the bride has paid for the water, and the mouth of the bucket should be filled with the water at one time, praying for happiness and prosperity in the future.

The seventh is to steal the groom's shoes. It is important for the groom to hide his shoes after the wedding night. If the bride peeks at them, she will keep her promise in the future. Therefore, the groom hid his new shoes under the pillow before going to bed that night.