What are the eating habits and customs of Qiang people?

The long-standing pattern of various festive banquets of the Qiang people in Beichuan depends on the family's economic situation and the specific situation of raw materials. In houses built for weddings, funerals and birthday celebrations, there are rules for side dishes, plates and bowls on the table. Appetizers and dinner are generally separated, and the form is mostly "thirteen flowers" (that is, thirteen dishes), that is, the five-meat dried board with bacon as the main material is added with four elements of walnut flowers, dried bean curd and wild vegetables, and then the process of three frying is added. Thirteen Flowers is the simplest meal, with no less than four kinds of meat. Six to eight kinds of meat dishes such as whole chicken, whole fish, whole elbow, boiled white, longan and sweet meat are the best, and the rest are supplemented by more expensive wild vegetables and wild mushrooms.

There are rules for serving, opening and withdrawing, and offenders are regarded as disrespectful to the guests. As soon as the morning of the banquet arrived, the customer service department announced the serving. First, it will put a table of "Thirteen Flowers" and some bowls in the center of the room. Then, the host began to worship the gods, set off firecrackers, burn incense, greet the ancestors and ancestors in the same place, and then take the bowl back. When nine dry dishes, tableware, etc. They are all set on each table, and the guests support the company to announce the purpose of the banquet to relatives, and sit down to eat and fire guns in the order of up, down, left and right according to the different identities (generations) of the guests; At each table, the guest service company arranges a guest to sit in the front right lower corner to accompany the guests to pour wine. After all the guests are seated, they will serve three courses. When the wine is over 30, firecrackers will be set off in the top-grade bowl. The customer service department will address the guests on behalf of the host family, and the host will toast the guests respectively, singing wine songs while toasting. After the toast, all the dishes are collected, and then the dish is "thirteen flowers". The guests continue to persuade the guests to eat until they are full. After all the guests are seated, they can leave.