Folk Fish Killing Festival (Miao nationality)

On the ninth day of March every year, it is the "Fish Killing Festival" of Miao people in Longli, Guiding and Fuquan in Guizhou. On this day, people came to the river, forked a fresh fish from the river, set up an iron pot, lit a bonfire, cooked fresh fish with river water, drank rice wine, prayed for rain, and wished good weather and abundant crops. There is another legend about this day.

Long ago, God had a very beautiful princess. She is smart and talented. God loves him as much as the apple in his eyes. One day, the princess suddenly fell ill, and God was very anxious. He sent heavenly soldiers to bring elixir, collect ganoderma lucidum from Kunlun Mountain, dig ginseng dolls from Changbai Mountain and fish pearls from the sea. But none of these medicines cured the princess. Seeing that the princess's illness is getting worse every day, God is so anxious that he can't think about tea and rice. Later, the King of God heard that "there are hundreds of fish in the rivers on earth that can cure all diseases", and immediately sent the gods down to earth to catch hundreds of kinds of fish from the rivers, lakes and seas and cook them into soup for the princess. After the princess ate it, she became ill within a few days. In order to thank the fish for saving his life, God ordered to protect the fish in rivers, lakes and seas, and not to hurt them at will. God also ordered the rain god to pour all the rain into rivers, lakes and seas, and not give a drop to mankind.

At this time, there was a great drought, and the Miao people were very sad. So, the villagers killed pigs, slaughtered cows and prayed for rain. However, God still does not give mankind a drop of water. Finally, all the pigs and cows were slaughtered. On the ninth day of March, villagers caught some carp, silver carp, salmon, crucian carp and giant salamander from rivers, lakes and oceans to replace the offerings of pigs and cattle, and prayed for rain. Who knows, when God saw the human world beating his fish alive, he couldn't help crying at the thought that the fish saved his daughter's life. He cried for three days and nights, and the clouds rolled, the wind blew, and the lightning flashed and thundered. God's tears turned into a downpour and fell from the sky. It rained for three days and nights, and water flowed everywhere, filling farmland and nourishing vegetation.

Up to now, the Miao people of Pingpo in Jiuli, Guangming in Guiding and Xin 'an Village in Fuquan go to the river to kill fish on the ninth day of March every year.

Related traditions

Rain or entertainment?

Fish-killing Festival is also called Rain-seeking Festival by local people. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a dragon who was dissatisfied with the Miao people's industrious weaving, and the valley was full of Man Cang, so he turned into a fish and came to the world, casting spells to make the world dry for a long time without rain, and the Miao people ran away from home one after another. On the way to escape, the villagers got an old man's advice: "If it rains heavily, you must defeat the dragon." A young man named Gu Bing volunteered to get even with the dragon. Finally, the dragon was subdued, and Gu Bing died of his injuries. In memory of the hero Gu Bing, the Miao family decided to hold a fish killing festival once a year. Of course, today's killing fish festival is no longer a battle with dragons. People who take part in killing fish can get the qualification to kill fish by collecting some Chinese herbal medicines such as flowers, Bao Zhong and bitter jars and giving them to the fishermen in the village. "Fisherman's Head" is generally held by the venerable elders in the village, presiding over the ceremony of killing fish festival. Wang Yue, director of Guangzhong Village Committee, had a father who was a fisherman. Because Wang Yue inherited his father's business and his skill in killing fish was superb, he was naturally recognized by the villagers. The harpoon used to kill fish is like a witness to history. Harpoons are made of iron and bamboo. Iron harpoons are divided into four forks and six forks, with sharp teeth and barbs. The fishing rod is about 2-3 meters long, and a string of 20-30 meters is tied to the handle of the fishing rod. The harpoon made of Hsinchu has good toughness.

The killing fish festival is actually a kind of entertainment for local people. The purpose of people is not to fish, but to take the opportunity to sing and dance and visit relatives and friends.

Fish medicine

Use fish medicine as an aid when fishing. It is said that old Wang Miao risked his life to collect fish medicine, and the anesthesia degree of fish medicine should be effective, so as not to hurt fry too much. "Fragrant leaves" can make fish unconscious, but the fish sinks to the bottom of the river after coma. If you can't see the fish, you can't kill it Therefore, the Miao people added "Zhong Baoluo" to the "fragrant leaves", which is a kind of herbal medicine that can * * * fish eyes. After eating the fish, it will always jump to the surface of the water, so it is much more convenient for people to kill the fish with a harpoon. The preparation of fish medicine is not complicated. The collected "flowers" and "Bao Zhongluo" are chopped, dried in the sun, then pounded into powder and made into fish medicine according to a certain proportion. "Bitter sandalwood" is toxic and generally not used.

Collecting herbs in the mountains is a patent for girls and boys. The herb picking season is also a good opportunity for young people to fall in love. 35% to 35% of the girls are dressed in costumes and jingles, singing while collecting medicine. If the two sides are congenial, girls will take the initiative to invite boys to eat fish for dinner at the Fish Killing Festival.

Fish take medicine just like people drink. The anesthesia time of fish is related to its size and species. The fish will soon wake up in the flowing river. A fisherman should be quick-sighted and quick-witted. In addition, despite the huge lineup on both sides of the strait, the fish really caught at the Fish Killing Festival is only a hundred pounds. Now, the water quality of Liangcha River is not as good as before, and there are fewer fish. Usually, people are not allowed to fish in the designated fish-killing river section, and it will be maintained for a period of time after the fish-killing festival.

Men and women

The morning of the Fish Killing Festival is the busiest time in the village. Strangely, all the people who came in and out were men, but there was no sign of women. According to the local old people, the Fish Killing Festival is like a man's festival, and women generally don't participate in the preparations. On the eve of the killing fish festival, husband and wife can't share the same bed; Men and women can't meet before killing fish. If they happen to meet on the road, they should say something auspicious to each other. Go to the river to kill fish, men go upstream, women go downstream, and when they reach the river, the constraints are naturally lifted. Anyone who breaks the rules can't kill the fish and can't go home.

In fact, women are not idle. They are busy preparing fish rice in the kitchen. During the Fish Killing Festival, the whole family went to the river for dinner. Fish rice is homemade bacon, salted eggs and sausages, and rice wine is indispensable. The villagers got together to guess whether it was lively or not. If the fish rice is sent by an unmarried girl, there must be dumplings. Tangyuan is a souvenir for girls and boys to express their feelings. When young men look at girls, they will take the initiative to beg for dumplings. Whose rice balls have been eaten up shows that this girl has many suitors and her family feels honored.

"Imperial Commissioner"

At several intersections leading to the river, we met several serious-looking sentries, who were "imperial envoys" sent by "Fish Head". People who don't take fish medicine are regarded as poachers, and the harpoon will be confiscated or chopped off. Regardless of the heavenly king Lao Tzu, you can't get through the checkpoint without fish medicine. It is said that a local officer took a harpoon to join in the fun, but the sentry didn't allow him to go into the water and had to go home.

If a villager's two forks stab a fish at the same time, the "imperial envoy" will make a ruling according to different situations. If there is a person on the other side, cut the fish, half for each person; If they are all on the same shore, cut the fish into two pieces and take half each. The old rules are established, and there will be no disputes among the villagers, but the "ministers" earnestly perform their duties. This work is all voluntary labor. If you want to eat fish, you have to rely on your own skills.

"The remedy to the case! Drugged ... "Wang Yue stood at the source of Ercha River and commanded. The news of "drugging" came all the way downstream, and people's shouts echoed between the two Chahe River valleys. Dozens of bags of fish medicine were poured into the river at the same time. The fish medicine splashed huge white water in the river and rolled down to the downstream. The river was filled with the fragrance of fish medicine. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the river immediately stirred up. People waiting on the shore are like vigilant hunters, staring at the river nervously, catching every tiny ripple on the water, and their harpoons are ready to go. The next step is to see whose eyes are moving quickly.

Dinner: white fish with clear water

In the evening, women dressed in costumes came to the shore with rice wine and bacon. Eating fish and rice by the river is like a big picnic. Women wait in the terminal sandbar and grass of Ercha River, set food and wine, and welcome their families and friends. The quality of fish rice represents a woman's virtue. Whoever cooks well and has many guests is the most respectable in the eyes of women. While greeting their men for dinner, they stare at other fish baskets and show off their men's achievements.

At midnight 1 1, dinner was finally served. Catfish for dinner. Catfish are made into "clear water white fish" according to traditional habits. The production process is very simple. The fish was cut into large pieces. Clear water is the only seasoning for this big dish. Just boil it. When serving, add a plate of peppers dipped in water. No one in the village lives by fishing, and it is not easy to eat fish. Fish must be eaten on the same day, mainly because the fish is fresh, and the fish medicine is Chinese herbal medicine, which will not harm people.