Lunar New Year is the biggest festival of Tujia people, which starts on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and ends on the 14th and 15th of the first month. Chinese New Year is one day ahead of Han nationality.
"The natives celebrate the New Year, and the month is twenty-nine. When the month is small, it is twenty-eight days." "According to legend, the toast sent troops. At that time, except for Japan, the whole people celebrated New Year's Eve in advance, and then they became accustomed to it. The way to pay New Year greetings is very special: "It was the Japanese who offered sacrifices to the late toast, drank fish with wine, and left the dead ancestor Muzhu behind the door. During the sacrifice, cows, horses and chickens were hidden in the cave, and men, women and children held their breath, saying that a god was in the hall and did not dare to disturb. After killing Nian pig, Tujia people put the pig behind the door corner, covered it with hemp fiber and waited with a knife. If someone passes by the door, run after him with a knife. If you catch up, take it home for a meat meal. During the Chinese New Year, meat is not detailed. Eat large pieces of meat, stir-fry, eat "combination dishes", eat a big bowl of wine, steam the New Year's Eve in a big steamer for a few days, close the door, eat and drink quickly, and don't talk. Have a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve and stay up all night. On the first day of the first month, New Year calls are made everywhere.
The most lively thing in the first month is swing dance. Every year from the third day of the first month to the fifth and sixth day of the first month, men and women get together and wave their hands and shout at night. Wave time: "or the first month, or March, or May". But most of them are held in the first month. Due to different family surnames in different places, some people dance for three nights, five nights and seven nights, some dance for more than ten nights, and some dance for one day and one night. Every natural village has a wave hall dedicated to swing dancing. There is a Tuwang Temple in the Potang. In front of the temple is an empty lawn. There are fir trees on the lawn, and lanterns are hung on them. People waved their hands and danced around the ancient fir trees. Their basic movements are simple pendulum, double pendulum and rotating pendulum. Their characteristics are that their hands and feet are arranged in sequence, with the left hand pointing out the left foot and the right hand pointing out the right foot, commonly known as "the same side of the hand". The wave amplitude is not large, the waist and knees are slightly bent, and the wave-wielder "men and women are behind each other, stumbling forward and backward" dancing on the drum. The gongs and drums are hung on the ancient trees in the center, and one person knocks. There are two kinds of hand-waving dances. The big hand-waving dance is carried out by region, with long time, large scale, rich content and complete sets. Small waves are carried out in natural villages, and the time and scale are not as good as those of big waves. Wave-surfing is not only a wave-surfing activity, but also a large-scale military-civilian performance and material exchange. There are many kinds of activities, the richness and scale of which are rare among other nationalities.
It starts two days before the first day of the first month. The first day is called New Year, and the second day is called off-year. On New Year's Eve, every household in the countryside should make a fire on the ridge of the fire, which will make people blush. The big tree bag burning in Huoling is called "Fire King", which was prepared several months in advance. People in towns burn more white charcoal. "Prosperity" means prosperity. This custom is probably a legacy of ancient worship of fire. Sit around and listen to the old man telling stories. Stay up until dawn.
The brightest and most exciting activity of the year begins with the "New Year's Eve" at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, followed by the blessing of "going out of heaven" when the new door opens. Receiving the god of wealth, welcoming the western gods, offering sacrifices to ancestors and expelling the plague are all carried out at this moment. Suddenly, firecrackers sounded, mountains rang and valleys echoed. During the festival, Tujia people eat "red koji fish" and braised dishes (or mixed dishes) symbolizing good luck and prosperity. On the first day of the first month, an ancient "swing dance" is held. "Hand-waving dance" is also called "Sheriba". Young men and women of Tujia nationality wear colorful "Xilankapu" (brocade quilt), hold auspicious colorful flags embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, and dance with Qin accompanied by erhu, suona, horn and other musical instruments, often accompanied by poems. The dance is simple, elegant and beautiful, with hunting, military, farming, feasting and so on. There are as many as ten thousand participants, and the scene is grand. In addition, dragon lanterns, lions, lantern festivals, dramas, martial arts and other activities bring infinite fun to the happy Tujia people.
Changyang Tujia people attach great importance to family ties and friendship, and the Spring Festival is a good time to contact feelings. First of all, men and women take turns to pay New Year greetings to their elders, who "bid farewell" to the younger generation, especially the younger generation, which is also commonly known as "lucky money". Therefore, there is a saying that "adults love farming, and we love Nian". When people visit relatives and friends and congratulate each other, as the saying goes, "On the first day, they worship their parents, and on the second day, they worship their mother-in-law." .
Of all the festivals, celebrating the New Year is the most distinctive. Tujia people generally celebrate the Spring Festival one or two days earlier than Han people, and some celebrate it six or seven days earlier, which is called "catching up with the Spring Festival". The time of "catching up with the Chinese New Year" varies according to the surname and clan. Take Youyang County as an example; Peng surname in Laozhai township, the twelfth lunar month passed the "catch up with the year"; Peng's surname is in Houxi Township, and the twelfth lunar month is a "catch-up year"; Li's surname can be found in Daxiang and Tanxiang, and the twelfth lunar month has passed the "Catch the New Year". The way of "catching up with the New Year" is not exactly the same. Li in HKUST and Shatan Township is forbidden to kill chickens and pigs during the Chinese New Year. It is forbidden to light oil lamps at night, only candles, which will not go out all night. When some Peng surnames are "catching up with the Chinese New Year", men have to cook in the morning. When the meal is ready and the ancestors are worshipped, wake the women and children up. After dinner, the whole family went out to play. Tujia people usually cook in pots. "After dinner, it is to cut the meat, add seasoning, sandwich the meat layer by layer, and sandwich the radish. And cook in one pot. " To make a good New Year's Eve dinner, you must sacrifice to your ancestors first. When offering sacrifices, burn incense and candles, burn money and turn paper into paper, kneel three times and knock nine times, miss the merits of ancestors and pray for blessing.
In the new year, we should first feed fruit trees, plowshares, cowshed, pigsty and henhouse, and stick "lucky money" to pheasants, grinders and hoes, so that crops, livestock, melons and fruits will flourish and financial resources will flourish.
Second, Lantern Festival.
The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month is actually a continuation of the Spring Festival.
Changyang Lantern Festival, like the Lantern Festival in history, is mainly about decorating and watching lanterns, and the atmosphere is particularly warm.
Because Changyang is a mountainous area, limited by conditions, there are not many kinds of lanterns, unlike the 99 kinds of lanterns in Changyang Nanqu, which can only be exaggerated by folk artists. Common lanterns are red melon lanterns, hexagonal palace lanterns, lotus lanterns, rabbit lanterns and lantern lanterns.
The most lively entertainment activities in urban and rural areas are dragon lantern dancing, playing with lions, running bamboo and horses, playing with clam shells and rowing lotus boats. Dragon lanterns come in five colors: blue, yellow, red, white and black, with nine, eleven and thirteen sections. The performance patterns include "Two Dragons Playing with Beads", "Yunlong Turning Over", "Jade Dragon Plate Column", "Golden Dragon Swinging Tail" and "Four Doors Piercing Flowers". The most lively performance is that the five dragons are out, killing each other. At that time, gongs and drums resounded through the sky, firecrackers and thunder shook the house, which was particularly spectacular. According to the old legend, Longzhouping county has the saying that "the east gate is white and the west gate is white, and Hejiaping's' black shame' cannot be provoked". In rural areas, people still play with the "grass stick dragon lantern", commonly known as the "plague lantern", which is made of thatched grass. Others play "bench dragon", that is, put a dragon's tail on the bench and dance with the stool feet in one hand. These dragon lanterns are small, flexible and charming.
Three. Land festival
On the second day of February, people generally call it the birthday of the land. In ancient times, it was called "social sacrifice", and the country was the social god. In Changyang, there is a "land meeting" every social day. However, this kind of village community activity with a certain scale died out in the Republic of China, and the remains of this ancient custom can only be seen among the people, that is, after this day, people punish wine and meat at home and distribute them to the land temple for sacrifice, respect the land father-in-law and the land mother-in-law, and pray for good weather. In addition, childless families also seek education. Then, go home and enjoy the "sacrificial mash". Here, there are often about three or five neighbors, relatives and friends, which people usually call "eating spring wine"
Fourth, Tomb-Sweeping Day
In Changyang, Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave sweeping is an important ritual activity. Qingming is the first time, especially in the busy farming season. According to the time, "villagers take" tea before rain "and insert" Qingming Miao ". When it comes to snow, it is called "Peach Blossom Snow". As the saying goes, "the poor should not listen to the coaxing of the rich, tung flowers will bloom, and tung trees will sow" ... In the month, dry weeds should grow, saying that "grass grows on the head". When seedlings grow too densely, they are called "broken seedlings". " 』
Verb (abbreviation of verb) ox king's day
Tujia people all over the country have an important festival-Niuwang Festival. Ox King Festival is held on the seventh, eighth, seventeenth and eighteenth day of April, which varies from region to region. On this day, the pig will be killed to make a large piece of meat to worship the ancestors first. A banquet for married girls and relatives and friends. The origin of this festival spreads the myth of "King of Cows". In ancient times, farmers worked hard day and night, but were hungry. Niu Wang was ordered to descend to the world and learned that "one meal every three days" was difficult to survive, so he changed the imperial edict and called the people "three meals a day." The Jade Emperor banished him to the mortal world and only allowed him to eat grass. Therefore, in order to be grateful to the Ox King, Tujia people designated April 8 as "Ox King Festival".
Six, Dragon Boat Festival
In Changyang, all the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are carried out according to the ceremony. The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are different. It's not the first time, but after the first end of the fifth day, there will be the fifteenth sun and the twenty-fifth sun. During the three Dragon Boat Festivals, except for Daduansun and Duanyang, mugwort leaves and calamus are no longer hung, and the holiday diet should be the same as before.
Seven, June 6th.
In Tujia areas, the content of June 6th Festival varies from place to place. In the Qingjiang River Valley of Hubei Province, June 6th is a festival dedicated to the king. People lit incense sticks, set off firecrackers, prepared wine and meat, and offered sacrifices to King Lin Jun, praying that he would bless people to sail safely on the water. Tujia people in Lichuan, Longshan and other places believe that the black god can exorcise evil spirits, eliminate disasters and avoid diseases. Burning incense on June 6th, carrying a parade of black gods in red, is called "burning black gods". Tujia people surnamed Yan in Xiangxi celebrate the New Year on June 6th. Some Tujia people think that June 6 is the birthday of the sun, so they should worship the sun god and pray for him to give sunshine, warm everything and ensure a bumper harvest. In some places, June 6th is the New Year. People worship God by burning wine and killing animals, giving thanks and praying for a bumper harvest.
August, July and a half
July 30th is also a big festival for Tujia people, that is, the 13th day of the seventh lunar month. This festival is mainly to worship ancestors, and some places are called "Ghost Festival". Legend has it that on this day, Yan let go of the gate of hell and let all the ghosts go home. So in July, every family cleans the environment, and family members are not allowed to make noise or be naked. You can't kill snakes and frogs when you see them at home. You have to burn incense and paper, saying that these things were changed by your ancestors. After the festival, we have to prepare some porridge, burn some paper money and mix it inside, and scatter it far outside the door. This is called sprinkling "ghost porridge", which means sending ancestors on their way. In some places, it is called "Catch Yunnan Conference".
Nine, Mid-Autumn Festival
Changyang Tujia people have four activities to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival:
One is to honor parents or give moon cakes and snacks to relatives and friends to show gratitude or friendship to parents, and at the same time to express reunion.
The second is to put moon cakes, melons and snacks and enjoy the moon with family members. The scholar's home also eats moon cakes, enjoys the moon and recites poems.
Thirdly, when jathyapple occupied the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather became mature. The agricultural proverb says, "Clouds cover the mid-autumn moon, and rain hits lanterns. 』
Double ninth festival
In Changyang, there is also the custom of drinking chong yang wine. The county annals said, "On the 9th of Jiqiu, scholars climbed the mountain with wine, and the scenery was very pleasant. People brew fermented glutinous rice, and its wine is not bright after years, which is called chong yang wine. This kind of wine is commonly known as "jar wine".
Xi. Off-year
The 24th of the twelfth lunar month. The Lunar New Year, which falls on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, is second only to the New Year. Since ancient times, the important custom around this festival is "offering sacrifices to stoves" to repay "the kindness of eating with fire".