Tujia customs and festivals

Tujia people have a traditional festival of "catching up with the New Year", and celebrate the New Year on the 28th and 29th of the twelfth lunar month every year. 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 Chief 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.

View all 2 answers

All related issues

Tujia customs and habits

1. Greet each other when meeting. If you have guests at home, you will be treated warmly. If you visit Tujia people on New Year's Day, the host will take out snow-white Ciba to bake. When both sides are golden, blow it clean, fill it with sugar or honey, and offer it with both hands. In some places, it's still a little particular to entertain guests, that is, after giving the baked rice cake to the guests, the guests are not allowed to blow, and they will bite if they want to take it. At this time, the host will take it back, blow it clean, dip it in sugar and give it to the guests. 2. In addition to rice, Tujia people's daily staple food is corn-covered rice, mainly corn-covered noodles, with appropriate amount of rice, cooked in a pot or steamed with wooden retort. Sometimes I also eat bean rice, that is, mung beans and peas. They are all cooked with rice. Baba and Unity are also seasonal in Tujia nationality. Tujia people attach great importance to traditional festivals, especially the Spring Festival. At that time, every household would kill Nian pig, dye it red and green, dry it to make mung bean powder, cook rice wine or suck wine. Pork dish is an essential dish for Tujia people to celebrate the New Year. Every year, the second day of the second lunar month is called "Social Day". At this time, you will have a social meal. Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival. Glutinous rice Baba is one of the most popular foods of Tujia people. Baba is played on the Double Ninth Festival, and Baba is given by my daughter during her confinement. When repairing the house, Baba is thrown on the beam. Extended data:

Tujia Festival: 1, Tujia Year is the most grand festival for Tujia people. Tujia people's annual festival activities last for a long time and have rich and colorful contents. Prepare from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Buy new year's goods, kill pigs, make Baba, pack jiaozi, kill pigs and push tofu. Before the Chinese New Year. 2. Ox King Festival, that is, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, is a traditional festival, and the content of the festival is generally reverence and gratitude to cows. On this day, people dressed up and came to Niuwang Temple, offering handfuls of wine and meat rice, burning incense and offering sacrifices to Niuwang, setting off firecrackers, playing suona and dancing. A banquet for married girls and relatives and friends. 3. Most Tujia people call June 6th "basking in dragon robes". According to legend, this day is the day when Qin Dong, the toast king, was killed, so every household should take out new clothes and good clothes to dry in order to commemorate the local king and ensure the prosperity of future generations. In some places, June 6th is the "New Year's Day", and every household uses corn to make wine as a sacrifice, killing cows to worship the gods. In other places, people will slaughter two pigs on this day and worship Peng Gong on the altar. July and a half is Mid-Autumn Festival, also called Ghost Festival and Day of the Dead, which is mainly to worship ancestors. Tujia people celebrate July and a half, which is different from Hakka people. Not July 15, but July 14. Some surnames or regions can celebrate July 13 and 15. July 30th is one of the major festivals of Tujia people, and burning paper can be seen everywhere on the roadside in Tujia areas.