Spring Festival customs in various places

Customs of Spring Festival in Enshi, Hubei Province;

Tujia custom

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Due to the long-term contact with other fraternal nationalities, living customs and cultures have influenced and absorbed each other, and now Chinese and Chinese are widely used. Living customs are similar to those of other ethnic groups, and few unique parts remain.

Tujia people build houses in the mountains, which are generally diaojiao buildings, with people living upstairs and livestock closed downstairs. To build a house, you have to face the mountain and water. Generally, there are four pillars and three rooms, and the middle room should be set up with ancestral temples. Both the left and right rooms are occupied, mostly two small rooms, and they are called "the second room". There is a fire shop in front of the second room, and there is a kang in the middle of the fire shop for heating and cooking. There is an iron tripod on the kang. There is a kang rack hanging above the fire kang, which is used to dry kang supplies. Especially before the Spring Festival, it is used to dry kang bacon and sausage.

Marriage Tujia people have the custom of marrying their cousins. Generally, it is the daughter of an aunt's family who marries the son of an uncle's family, which is called "bone species" and "the way to see with one's own eyes", which is regarded as in-laws plus in-laws. Tujia wedding, to send three favors. Girls should practice "crying wedding songs" before getting married. If you want to cry to your relatives and friends, you have to stop eating for 1~2 days in advance, which is the so-called "no tea, no rice". The girl gave birth to a child after marriage, and the man went to the girl's house to report the good news. The son-in-law carried a pot of wine to the woman's house and put it on the incense burner in the hall, with the spout facing outwards, indicating the birth of a boy; The spout is inward, indicating a girl. Later, the relatives of the woman's family sent food, chicken, meat and eggs to the man's family to eat "moon rice wine", and the man's family also gave gifts.

Most Tujia men and women like to wear big sleeves and trousers with embroidered birds on them. Pants should be waist-length. Both men and women like to wear white handkerchiefs on their heads and white cloth shoes on their feet, which is generous and beautiful. A woman wears silver ornaments on her head and a silver knife, bell and toothpick on her chest. There are all kinds of headdresses on the hats of boys and girls, and there are silver bells behind the hats, which jingle.

Funeral Tujia funeral, the death of the elderly, most of them have to hold a grand funeral. Teacher Tu should be invited to preside over the selection of burial date and cemetery, and there should be one mountain and one mountain. During the funeral service, "paper money" should be thrown on the road, and iron objects are prohibited in the grave. Therefore, a person's relatives should dig a well and wait until the dead are buried. During the burial, please ask Teacher Tu to open the coffin, clear the coffin and "throw rice". When throwing rice, relatives knelt in front of the coffin and picked it up with clothes behind their backs. Some chewed the rice carefully, swallowed it on the spot, and some took it back to cook, indicating that future generations should unite and live in harmony and inherit the old man's legacy.

Festival Tujia people have a traditional festival "Catch the Year". Every year, China New Year is celebrated on December 28th and 29th of the lunar calendar, and this custom has been preserved in some villages where Tujia people live in compact communities. "April 8th" is a festival for Tujia people to send caterpillars. We should read proverbs from ourselves and pray that the crops will be free from pests and have a good harvest.

It is believed that Tujia people worship their ancestors, think that ancestors are the greatest gods and bless future generations everywhere. It is generally believed in the "King of Earth", and it is said that the "King of Earth" is the ancestor of Tujia people. Every festival, burning paper, offering sacrifices to ancestors and "local kings". Tujia people also believe in the land god. During the Spring Festival, when visiting relatives and friends and passing by the Earth Temple, we should burn incense and paper. Many Tujia people also worship the "Three Kings Temple", including three gods, Ran, Yang and Tian, and pray that the Three Kings God will bless the population and six kinds of animals.

BACKGROUND: The family lives in some areas at the border of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou, which lasts for three years every year and the following year: the 29th (or 28th) of the twelfth lunar month, the "New Year"; June 25th of the lunar calendar passes the "June Year"; The first day of October passes the "October Year".

China New Year (referred to as "Spring Festival" for short) is on December 30th (or 29th) of the lunar calendar. Tujia people are all rushing to celebrate the New Year one day in advance, so they call it "rushing to celebrate the New Year". Why do Tujia people celebrate the New Year? There are four different sayings in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou: one is to resist foreign aggression. It is said that during the Jiajing period, the Japanese invaded China, and Yongshun Tusi Peng Yina was ordered to go to war. He led 3000 soldiers to the front line one day ahead of schedule, defeated the Japanese army, and made "the first meritorious service in Southeast China". In order to commemorate the victory of this campaign, but also to express the deep memory of the broad masses of the people for the Japanese soldiers, the Tujia people in Yongshun County decided to celebrate the New Year on the 29th (or 28th) of the twelfth lunar month, a tradition that has lasted for hundreds of years. Another way of saying it is to defeat alien harassment. Due to frequent ethnic wars, Tujia people often can't celebrate the New Year safely. As a result, the leader of this country made a surprise attack with clever tricks. The leader asked the people to celebrate the New Year one day in advance, and then led the soldiers to make a surprise attack. The enemy ate wine and meat during the Chinese New Year and was unprepared. Tujia people beat him out of the water and evacuated hastily. There is also a saying that Tujia ancestors were poor and worked long-term for the rich. They are too poor to be reunited with their families in the New Year, so they have to celebrate the New Year one day earlier. It is also said that taxi families in Xiyang and Xiushan in Sichuan celebrate the New Year on March 3 and April 17 of the lunar calendar respectively, because Tujia people were ordered to go out to war during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and the date of returning to the DPRK was different, so the time of the New Year was different.

From the above four different stories (legends), we can find one thing in common, that is, Tujia nationality has always been brave and fearless, glaring at the enemy, being resourceful and winning by surprise, whether it is foreign aggression, foreign harassment or exploitation and plunder by landlords. This is a heroic nation, a generous nation.

On the night of "Catch the New Year", a raging fire broke out in the village, and the flag of the New Year was flying high. Men and women danced around the fire, singing New Year's songs and dancing Maugus. This kind of "catching up with the Chinese New Year" is refreshing, wild and exciting, and has a special mood.

The formation and development of Tujia nationality's generous and happy national temperament is inseparable from the historical fact that they have suffered hardships and been oppressed in the historical process and were forced to move several times, but they can take it calmly. Therefore, just like their ancestors Chu (or Ba, "Naman"), they developed a strong national spirit of missing their ancestors, cherishing the past, Qi Xin and being martial, which was vividly reflected in the customs and legends of the last family "June Year" and "October Year".

According to folklore, the ancient Tujia people originally lived in Jiangxi province, but they could not bear the plunder and oppression of the government and the rich, and avoided the disaster of being separated. They agreed to start preparations on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, then quietly left, crossed Dongting Lake, returned to the river, and arrived at a beautiful place in the mountainous area where Wuhai sent snacks. There are big trees to build diaojiao buildings, and there are clear springs to brew "corn roast" (home-brewed liquor), which is worth celebrating. Therefore, the newly settled Tujia people decided to celebrate the New Year first: slaughter cows, worship gods, "wave hands" and sing songs. This day is June 25th of the lunar calendar, so it is called "June Year".

After several months' efforts, the newly reclaimed land is fertile, the grain is abundant, and the six livestock have gained weight, and the Tujia people have ushered in the first bumper autumn in their new homeland. In this way, they have another "October year" on the first day of October in the lunar calendar (which is also related to the "October year" of their ancestors-Chu people). Every household steamed "corn roast", big fat pigs were killed in the stockade, and people went to each village to pay New Year greetings and wish each other well.

In the rich and beautiful land of western Hunan and Hubei, there has been a hardworking and brave brother nation since ancient times, which is Tujia nationality.

There are about 5.7 million Tujia people (1990), mainly in Yongshun, Longshan, Baojing and Guzhang counties of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Hunan, and the rest are distributed in Laifeng, Lichuan, Hefeng, Xianfeng and Xuanen counties of Enshi, Hubei, and Qianjiang and Pengshui autonomous counties of Shizhu, Sichuan.

Tujia language belongs to Tibeto-Burman language family of Sino-Tibetan language family, which is close to Yi language branch. No mandarin, long-term use of Chinese. Most Tujia people speak Chinese, and some people understand Miao language. Only in some remote areas of Yongshun and Longshan, they only speak Tujia dialect.

Tujia people call themselves "Bizka", which means local people. Call the Han people "Hakkas". Two thousand years ago, they settled in present-day western Hunan and western Hubei. At that time, together with other ethnic minorities, they were called "Wu Lingren" or "Wuxi people". There are different opinions about the origin of Tujia nationality. First, they are descendants of Cubans. One is that some barbarians moved from Guizhou to Xiangxi in ancient times; It is said that at the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Five Dynasties (about 19 10), Peng Xian led the descendants of white craftsmen who moved from Jiangxi to Xiangxi. These statements need further study. But one thing is certain. That is to say, after the Five Dynasties, Tujia people in the western region of Hunan, Hubei and Qinghai, a stable nation, began to form a single nation gradually.

In the hilly areas of western Hunan and western Hubei where Tujia people live, the altitude is mostly between 400 meters and 1500 meters. Mountains overlap and hills are densely covered. During the crossing of Wuling Mountain Range, Youshui, Lishui and Qingjiang River crisscross, with mild climate and abundant rainfall, which has good conditions for developing agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline and fishery. The mountainous area is densely forested, and the terraces are all hills, where rice, corn, potatoes and wheat are planted. Cash crops include sugar beet, ramie, cotton, tung oil tree, camellia oleifera, tea and so on, among which tung oil tree and camellia oleifera are the main diversified projects in Tujia areas, which play an important role in Tujia economic life. Economic forests include pine, Chinese fir, nanmu and cypress. In addition, precious medicinal materials, aquatic products and underground mineral deposits are also rich, and the specialty giant salamander is a precious animal famous at home and abroad.

Tujia folk custom

Mourning dance

Tujia funeral dance, also known as "encircling coffins, beating coffins, mourning and encouraging", is a folk song and dance handed down by Ba people two thousand years ago. The old man died and stopped in front of the hall for a few days. Relatives and neighbors all went to pay their respects. In the evening, "drums and songs" are played all night to increase the warm atmosphere, which is called lifting the silence of the dead and comforting the new family. Tujia people love funeral dances. "Hearing the drums tickles my feet." . The characteristics of funeral dance are basically similar to Tujia waving dance. Hands and feet on the same side, dancing clean and bold. The movements are smooth and soothing, and the dancers play oscilloscope music with strong rhythm. Dancers dance and sing, and their voices are falsetto, which is similar to singing. Suitable for men, women and children to dance together, and the dance vocabulary is healthy. Generally speaking, it mainly focuses on praising the life story of the deceased, singing and nurturing, productive labor and so on. Tujia funeral dance is a comprehensive folk art that combines singing, dancing, blowing and beating. It is essentially a folk ritual activity, which shows Tujia people's worship of their ancestors. 2. Wolong

It was formed by Tujia people dancing with benches as "dragon lanterns". Two people, three people can, two people jump in tandem, three people jump in tandem. Dance movements include "The River Eagle Spreads its Wings", "Snow Covering the Roof", "Huanglong Wrapped Around the Waist" and "Tiger Going Down the Mountain". The activity time is mostly from Lunar New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first month. Festivals are also possible.

Lantern drama

Lantern Festival is a popular local opera in Wuling Mountain area. It has four characteristics: first, the dress is simple, and an official dress, a gauze cap, three mouthparts and a sword are enough; Second, there are few people, students, Dan and ugly, usually one man and one woman, no more than four people; Third, there are not many instrumental music. Only 1 person is required to be equipped with "big drums" in the field of literature, and gongs and drums are added in the field of martial arts. Fourth, no performance venue is selected, and all venues can be used. Lantern Festival has different names because of different performances. On New Year's Eve, people call it "He" when celebrating the festival, "Qingming Lantern" in Tomb-Sweeping Day, "Watching Lantern" on birthdays, and "Deng Gong" when men and women get married and have children. There are more than 60 drama programs.

Daughter club

Daughter's party was originally a traditional festival for Tujia (and Miao) youth to love each other. It is held on the third day of May and the twelfth day of July in the lunar calendar. Young men and women dressed up for the party. In the old society, girls were not allowed to go out. Only on this day did they go to a meeting, so they were called "Daughter's Club". A girl who wants to choose a husband wears many layers of clothes, which are long inside and short outside, and good clothes can be seen. When I hurried to the meeting, I brought some local products, mountain products, and pretended to go to the market to sell things. The man looking for someone is carrying an empty basket and pretending to be shopping. When he met the girl, he went to the shop. In a funny "pricing counter-offer", we showed our wisdom and got to know each other. If the price is rising, it means that the girl will not agree. If she doesn't, she should go away, or she will be scolded. On the contrary, it means that the girl acquiesced, and the two sides withdrew from the downtown area and found a secluded place to do their lifelong events.

Weeding, beating gongs and drums

Tujia people say that rice planting is rice seedling and corn planting is grass planting. These two kinds of farming means that in midsummer, it is inevitable to be tired and sleepy. In order to cheer up the spirit and regulate the body and mind, it is accompanied by gongs and drums, so it is called mowing drum. Generally speaking, gongs and drums are gongs and drums, and they are sung by themselves. The lyrics mostly wish good weather and good harvests, and there are also historical stories. Besides, rappers often improvise, joke and cheer up. 6, pay attention to the rice year meat

Tujia people wish a happy new year: there is food and meat, especially good bacon mixed with glutinous rice and millet steamed into dishes for their families to comment on the "Year of the Group", and they say that food and meat are good luck.

Nanju

Nanxi Opera is named after the word "Nan" of Nanfu. Moreover, because its music department is composed of Lu Nan (like Huang Er), Hokuriku (like Xipi) and Shang Lu (like Shaanxi Opera), and it is combined with Gongnuo Opera, Lantern Opera, local folk songs and sacrificial music, it has become a unique kind of drama. The music of Nanxi Opera consists of gongs and drums and Qupai music. The role is divided into four lines: life, Dan, clean and ugly. They are both civil and military, can play and sing martial arts, and qigong and martial arts are mixed. Most of the operas are legendary dramas and historical story dramas, and there are nearly a thousand traditional plays. 8. Nuo opera

Nuo opera is a kind of local opera evolved from the folk custom of rewarding gods and wishing. Characterized by wearing a mask to perform; Nuo opera can be divided into eight endings and eight endings. "Eight endings" belong to witchcraft rituals, and "Eight endings" are dramas with plots and a series of dramas. The role is divided into four lines: life, Dan, purity and ugliness, and the singing is divided into treble, flat tone, funeral, flower drum and folk song. Nuo opera is loved by rural people because of its simplicity, simplicity and life. The villagers perform Nuo opera for ancestor worship, birthday celebration, birth, weddings and funerals, promotion, being the top scholar, welcoming the gods, eliminating disasters and seeking happiness, and overcoming difficulties and exorcising evil spirits.

Guoshe

Tujia people attach importance to the Spring Festival society, that is, the fifth May Day after beginning of spring. Someone held a club ten days before Club Day, and there were two main activities. First, I went to the grave to worship my ancestors, but the new grave was not inspected; The second is to have a "social meal", that is, steamed glutinous rice with dried wormwood powder, wild garlic, Demilai, thousand beans, diced bacon, etc., as a gift to friends in the neighborhood to show harmony and unity. It is forbidden to hoe plows on social days, otherwise it will hinder farming.

Accompany ten elder sisters

Accompanying ten sisters is a unique form of crying marriage for Tujia girls. The night before the bride's wedding, parents invited nine unmarried girls in the neighborhood, including the bride *** 10, to sit around the table and sing all night, so they asked the ten sisters to sing. Ten sisters take turns sitting at a table. First, the bride cries "ten times" and the bride cries "once". The cook put a dish on the table. When the food is set, the other nine sisters cry in turn. Finally, the bride shouted "ten times" and the chef collected the dishes and drinks as usual. After the food is finished, the activity of accompanying the tenth sister is over. There are many lyrics about crying marriage, such as "Ten Swings" and "Ten Harvest", which have the virtues of crying ancestors, the kindness of parents, the friendship of sisters, the wisdom of brothers and sisters, the affection of their hometown and so on. Sometimes I cry and scold the matchmaker. Melody in seven words and eight sentences.

Xilankapu

Xilankapu is an ancient traditional Tujia craft brocade that spreads in the distribution center of Tujia nationality in Wuling Mountain area. In Tujia language, "lance" means bedding, and "Karp" means flowers. Xilankapu is the flower quilt of Tujia people, the crystallization of wisdom and hard work of Tujia people, and is known as the flower of Tujia arts and crafts. Xilankapu was famous in the Northern Song Dynasty. The cloth made of this cotton yarn is a tribute to the emperor by the toaster. At the same time, Tujia people also use it to beautify their clothes. In modern times, it became one of the dowry products of Tujia girls with warm and bright colors and rich patterns. It is said that this dowry must have been woven by the bride's novice, and the pattern was conceived by the bride herself. The patterns are flowers, birds, insects, fish and various geometric charts. Fine weavers, bright colors, elegant style and excellent texture. Xilankapu pays attention to patterns and fine workmanship. The pattern on the quilt cover is woven by various colors of silk thread, and there are 100 kinds of flowers and patterns. The width of Xilankapu is generally about 50 cm. Three pieces of quilt cover can be made by splicing, and a single piece can be made into pillow towel, apron, table mat, foot quilt and so on.

Half a month.

Tujia people pay more attention to half a month, which is known as "the year is smaller and half a month is bigger". Originally, the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar was a half-moon festival, but because the whole family had to reunite and take back the married girl after half a month, there was a contradiction in time that "the husband's family could not leave after half a month, and the mother's family had to leave after half a month", so the first to fifteenth day of July was designated as half a month. During the first half of the lunar calendar, the main activities are ancestor worship, wrapping with paper money, writing the names of deceased parents, burning outdoors, raising the voice of mourning, sending money to show respect, and filling the path with incense and candles, which is called road candles, spending money in the wild and giving it to wandering ghosts.

Dongkekui

It is a small musical instrument popular among Tujia young men and women. It's simple to make. Just use a small bamboo with a length of three or four inches, cut four small holes and put a small living tongue in it, and you can play.

Young Tujia men and women play quinine in winter and winter. They usually crouch under ancient trees, stand by and watch streams and bamboo forests, or play in unison or solo. They look up at the sky and play their own melody, which is intoxicating.

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a woman named Dongdong in Tujia nationality. She is industrious, kind and ingenious, and often helps others to knit earth quilts, snakeskin ribbons, make shoes and sew clothes, so Tujia people love Dongdong. Later, Dongdong's husband was arrested and handed over to the local king. When Dongdong's husband left, he said, "I'll be back when the peach blossoms bloom." In spring and winter, sitting under a peach tree, watching the peach blossom, waiting for her husband to come back, she was so depressed that she broke a bamboo, chiseled a small eye and left a living tongue. Expressing my thoughts for my husband by playing peach blossoms. Peach blossoms bloom and fall, and my husband hasn't come back yet. The same is true in the second year. In the third year, when blowing a small bamboo tube in winter, a little magpie flew to a peach branch to rest and said to Dongdong, "Stop blowing, my husband is dead, stop blowing, my husband is dead." Dongdong's husband was tortured to death. Dongdong heard the bad news and cried to death under the peach tree. After the death of Dong Dong, whenever the peach blossoms are in full bloom, you can still hear this melodious and sad voice in a quieter and deeper night.

Tujia people miss winter and winter for the people, and also play according to the small bamboo tube they made before their death. At the same time, they call this small musical instrument "Dongdongkui", and "Quin" is the sound change of the word "blow".

Catch up with the new year

Southerners usually call the Spring Festival "Chinese New Year", while Tujia people call it "catching up with the New Year". Catching the New Year is the biggest festival of Tujia nationality in a year. The most striking feature of the so-called "catching up with the New Year" is to celebrate the New Year one or two days in advance (that is, on the 28th or 29th of the twelfth lunar month), which Tujia people have their own legend explanation.

According to legend, during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Tujia ancestors surrendered the enemy according to the plan of General Hu Zongxian. One year, the Spring Festival is approaching, and the enemy is still not destroyed. Tujia people who are far away from home celebrate the New Year in advance on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and they are always spirited. After the rich celebration, the soldiers saved their strength and gained great morale. The next day (New Year's Eve), while the Japanese army was unprepared, they launched an attack and won the war. In order to commemorate their ancestors, Tujia people always celebrate the New Year in advance and call it the Spring Festival, which is the biggest festival every year.

Tujia people want to kill pigs, spring cakes and make snacks during the New Year. Especially this year, Ciba is very distinctive. Ciba is often played on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, often by several neighbors, full of laughter and harmony. The method is: steam the glutinous rice, beat it with a special trough and hammer, and then press it into a flat shape. After making Ciba, there will always be five in a string, and five big Ciba will be made. They are called "Gu Nong Ba". It turns out that this kind of Baba is used to pay tribute to Tuwu. Later, there was no local king, but it took a long time to become a custom, and it has been with us until now. It is said that a year is unlucky if it is not too big.

June sixth

The sixth day of June in the ancient calendar is a grand festival for Tujia people to commemorate the ancient hero Qin Li. On this day, Tujia Shanzhai was beaming, killing pigs, slaughtering sheep, making rice cakes and tofu, inviting guests from afar to come home, drying clothes, washing their hair in the stream, lighting lanterns and torches at night and dancing in the wave hall.

Legend has it that one year, there was a famine where Tujia people lived, and Tan Li's old mother starved to death alive. One night, she had a dream for Tan Li to plant a southern bamboo in the hall and practice archery for three years and six months. When the chicken flies and the dog jumps home, they shoot the arrow to the north, so that they can shoot the emperor and board the emperor's seat. Li Qin listened to my mother's words, planted bamboos in the back hill, practiced arrows in the hall behind closed doors, told her sister-in-law to wait for three years and six months, and called him when she saw chickens flying and dogs jumping in the room. Three years later, my sister-in-law was impatient to wait. She put the black dog on the house and drove the chickens all over the sky. Then she shouted, it's been three years and six months, and chickens have flown into the house. Hearing her sister-in-law's shouts, Qin Li opened the door in a panic, then drew a full bow and shot three arrows to the north. As soon as the arrow was shot, the bamboo roots in the back mountain were blown away. They didn't ride on horses, and the arrows they shot didn't hit the emperor. When the emperor pulled out the simple pole nailed to the dragon throne, he saw the words "Huguang Tan Li" on it, so he sent a military marshal and 5,000 soldiers to Shanghai to capture Tan Li. Qin Li and his sister-in-law hid in the mountains for three years and six months. Marshal military forces seemed to look for a needle in a haystack, but there was no sign of Qin Li, so he arranged the date of returning to the DPRK. Who knows that Tan Li was taking a bath in the ravine, and the golden dragon on his back was seen by the officers and men, so he was arrested, taken to Beijing and put in prison. Sister-in-law followed him to Beijing to watch Qin Li and told Tan Li, "You just have to say that the golden dragon on his back is painted, Emperor. The next day, the emperor questioned him himself. When the emperor saw the golden dragon on Tan Li's back, he didn't dare to kill him. He asked whether it was generated or painted. Tan Li remembered her sister-in-law's instructions and promised that it was painted. When the emperor heard that it was painted, he smiled and ordered the hatchet man to drag it out and behead it. Sister-in-law rushed to the scene of the killing, hugged Tan Li and wept bitterly, and blood spilled on her clothes and hair. After Qin Li was killed, heaven and earth were inseparable, the sun and the moon were unknown, and chickens and dogs didn't bark. When the emperor knew that he had made a mistake, he didn't wear a dragon robe or ascend to the throne, so he made Qin Li's ghost wear a dragon robe and sit on the throne for a day to be emperor.

Tujia people drying clothes on this day is also called drying dragon robes, which is a legend that Tan Li became emperor for a day. On this day, a woman washes her hair because of the story left by the blood and oil in her sister-in-law's hair. At present, there is a story circulating in Tujia areas that "I have waited for three years, but I can't afford to wait for half a year".

Niuwang Festival

Tujia ancestors engaged in farming earlier, and have developed the tradition of caring for and respecting cattle since ancient times. April 18 every year is designated as the birthday of cattle. On this day, Tujia people will celebrate the birthday of cattle. Even if spring ploughing is very busy, all cows will be given a day off on April 18 to cook porridge for them, and the owner will respectfully read a poem "Zhu Niu Wang Ci". It is said that when he read this, the old cow burst into tears and felt that his master had said something to his heart.

According to legend, the ox king is a member of the gods. One day, he accompanied the Jade Emperor to see the earthly scenery in the worse heaven. When he saw that mortals had no food to eat, and one by one they were sallow and emaciated, he begged the Jade Emperor to give them food seeds to eat. The Jade Emperor agreed to Niu Wang's request, but told him, "Tell mortals to have a meal every three days." Niu Wang came to the world with joy and sent many seeds to the mortals, and taught them how to farm, but in a panic, he misinformed the Jade Emperor that he wanted three meals a day. Ordinary people have food, three meals a day, stomachache and a good life. They are all fat and have nothing to do, knocking on the lid of the tripod and singing, which makes the jade emperor restless. One day, the jade emperor said to the ox king, "mortals have nothing to do when they are full." You should sow some grass seeds in the grain field, and the grain field will be covered with grass and grass. " This time, Niu Wang misunderstood the jade emperor's words and planted three kinds of grass seeds step by step. Later, the grain fields were covered with grass and could not be shoveled. People accused him of killing mortals, which made him impatient. One day, the Jade Emperor called Niu Wang and said, "It's all your fault. If mortals can't finish kung fu, they can help them pull plows and rakes to make spring, and when they are hungry, they can eat grass on the ground. " On April 18, Niu Wang went down to earth. Since then, the late king has worked honestly for ordinary people, helping them pull plows and rakes, and never stopped breathing after a year of hard work. If you are hungry, eat your stomach. In order to repay Niu Wang, people set April 18 as his birthday. "Cattle stop driving on April 18th", until now, this quaint custom has been firmly maintained.

Central room

Tujia folk houses are generally built on the mountain, and the layout of the Three Dark Kings is clear. There is a vertical hatchback, and there is a hall in the middle of the main room. There is a incense box (shrine) in the hall to worship the famous road god. The hall is a sacred place for Tujia people's sacrificial activities, and also a place for important weddings and funerals. Especially at the funerals of the old and the dead, Tujia people will hold mourning dances in the hall. Tujia people believe in "animism" and "immortality of the soul", so they like to hold funerals and mourn the dead with cheerful and warm funeral dances, which enlivens the atmosphere. Therefore, the book with the Book said, "When the old man died, he was put in the coffin room, leading the young people, each with a bow and arrow, singing around the coffin and singing about his life and happiness until his death." Judging from this historical record, this is probably the earliest "funeral dance" of Ba people, which means that ancient people used bows and arrows to exorcise evil spirits and prevent ghosts, and sang praises for the dead, similar to people holding memorial services for the dead now.