At night, the elders live on the south kang in the west room, while the brothers, sons and daughters-in-law live on the north kang. When going to bed, face your head outside the kang and put your feet against the wall, which is very suitable for keeping out the cold and breathing fresh air. There are many paper paintings on the walls. To protect against the cold in the north, some even built fire grounds. There is a round chimney (called Hulan in Manchu) built on the west gable outside the house, which is several feet higher than the eaves. There is a wind nest at the base of the chimney to block the headwind. There are windows on the north and south walls, and the windows are papered outside the window lattice, mostly "Korean paper". The paper is sprayed with oil or salt water to prevent it from falling off due to rain and snow. The window lattice and the bright sub-window lattice on the door form various patterns, which are beautiful and strong. There are two windows, upper and lower, and the upper window can be propped up with sticks for ventilation. There is often a stroller hanging from the beams of the house, and the baby is placed in the stroller. There is a rectangular kang table on the kang. When eating, you sit cross-legged around the table, which is warm and convenient. There are felt mats on the left and right sides of the table to entertain guests. There are many carved oil paintings on the lattice, rafters and pillars. The side room is equipped with a grinding room and a warehouse (called Hash in Manchu). The house is surrounded by walls. There is a "Saulun pole" erected in the southeast of the courtyard. There is a tin bucket on the pole, and three stones are placed under the pole, which are called "sacred stones". Behind the pole is a wall made of bricks, with a rain cover on the top. In the past, wealthy families in the city mostly lived in courtyard houses. The main gate of a courtyard usually has three rooms, with three to five rooms in the main room and three to five rooms in the east and west wings. It is surrounded by brick walls and there are stone fences on both sides of the gatehouse, called Shangma Stone. Some courtyard houses are divided into front and back courtyards. Most of these Manchu folk residential styles are preserved in the Manchu inhabited areas in the Northeast. However, since the 1980s, except for a small number of people who still retain traditional building methods when building houses, the vast majority have built more spacious and bright modern houses.

In order to adapt to the living environment of mountainous areas and forests, seas and snowfields, the traditional means of transportation in Manchu areas mainly include horse-drawn carriages, sledges, canoes and birch bark boats. The sledge (called Fara in Manchu) is a means of transportation on the snow. Two tree trunks are heated by fire and then bent into a bow shape. The upper end is raised. The width of the part close to the ground is about 1 and a half meters. The upper part is covered with boards or made into a box. It is driven by horses, Cows are extremely light for carrying people and goods. Currently only used occasionally in colder northern mountainous areas. The earliest water vehicle of the Manchus was the canoe (called "Wei" in Manchu), which was hollowed out of a thick log and could accommodate several people. There is also a kind of birch bark boat, which is more troublesome to make. First make the keel and attach birch bark inside and outside so that one person can carry it for walking. Quite lightweight. They are now rare, replaced by modern ships.

Etiquette

The Manchu people are a nation that attaches great importance to etiquette. Manchu people have various etiquettes when meeting or paying homage to guests, including the greeting ceremony, the sideburn stroking ceremony, the hand-holding ceremony, the embracing ceremony, the half-squatting ceremony, and the kowtow ceremony. Among them, the Daqian ceremony, the hug ceremony and the kowtow ceremony are mainly used by men, while the others are used by women. The Daqian ceremony is used between juniors to elders and subordinates to superiors. The form is to lower the arrow sleeves, bend the left knee forward, bend the right leg slightly, put the left hand on the left knee, droop the right hand, and say hello. The hug ceremony is used between equals, and the younger generation can also use it to their elders. However, the younger generation should hug the elder's waist, and the elder should caress the younger generation's back, etc. Now, some of the cumbersome etiquette has been simplified.

The Manchu tradition of respecting the elderly is more obvious. The younger generation should greet their fathers and ancestors every morning and evening. They should give way to elders when they meet on the way. When eating, the elders should sit down first and eat first. The Manchu people value feelings and trust, treat guests and friends sincerely, hold a banquet to entertain guests, and do their best to do what they promise.

The traditional marriage ceremony of the Manchu people is relatively complicated, and it roughly goes through the procedures of communication, placement, receiving gifts, passing through the box, welcoming the bride, worshiping in the hall, worshiping the ancestors, dividing the bride and groom, and returning to the door.

The groom's family invites a matchmaker to propose to the girl's family. After both families agree, the bride's family gives Ruyi or a hairpin as a wedding gift. Then there is the engagement, that is, choosing an auspicious day, the groom's family and his relatives go to the bride's family to ask for her name, the bride's family holds a banquet, the groom's parents make a speech to propose, the bride's family rejects the proposal repeatedly, the groom's family insists on the proposal, and the bride's family agrees before it is settled. marriage. At this time, the man will worship the woman’s family gods and her elders. After the engagement, there are gifts, and it is also an auspicious day. The groom's family sends gifts such as clothes, silks, sheep, and geese. The groom's family will also give some money as a gift. At this time, the wedding date must be agreed upon. Entering the wedding stage, the bride's family will deliver the dowry one day before the wedding, commonly known as "passing the box", and the groom will go to the bride's family to express his gratitude.

When welcoming the bride, the groom, accompanied by the wedding team, drives a float to welcome the bride. When the two cars pass each other on the way, the bride's brother carries the bride onto the groom's float, which is commonly known as "car insertion" (due to different Manchu customs in different regions, there are also The groom and the welcoming team go directly to the bride's home to welcome the bride. In some places, there is a saying that "the custom is not to welcome the bride in person"). When the bride arrives at the groom's house, she changes cars and takes a sedan. When the sedan lands, the groom has to shoot three false arrows. The bride, wearing a red hijab, gets off the sedan, stands with the groom in front of the heaven and earth table that has been placed in the courtyard, and kowtows three times to the north, which is commonly known as worshiping the Big Dipper, which means worshiping the heaven and earth. After worshiping, the heaven and earth table is withdrawn, and the bride enters the temporary tent, which is called sitting in the tent. When sitting in the tent, "open your face" and change your hair style. After sitting in the tent, the bride steps over the saddle and enters the bridal chamber. The groom uses the scale beam to remove the hijab and throws it to the eaves. The couple drank a glass of wine, ate Hexi noodles and cakes for their children and grandchildren, and everyone had a wedding ceremony. On the night of the wedding day, the bride and groom have to pay homage to their ancestors. On the first day after the wedding, the bride packs cigarettes and serves tea to her husband's relatives, pays homage to the clan, and recognizes the seniority, which is called the distinction between big and small. Generally, three days after the wedding, the couple returns to the bride's house to meet her family and ancestors. One month after the wedding, the bride returns to her parents' home to live for a month, which is called living in the opposite month. By this time, the wedding ceremony was over.

These complicated marriage procedures have been simplified and integrated with modern forms in areas where Manchus live today. For example, jumping into a car has evolved into young men and women riding bicycles or motorcycles, each accompanied by a wedding team. They start from their own homes. When they meet on the way, they exchange bicycles or motorcycles and then go to the groom's house together. There is also worship of ancestors, and in some places it has evolved into the practice of newlyweds worshiping both parents. Although there have been changes, it still has strong national characteristics. In addition, the marriage rituals of the Manchus vary slightly depending on the region where they live. They are not completely consistent, but the main procedures are roughly the same.

The parenting customs of the Manchu people are quite special. A boy will hang a bow and arrow on the left side of the door, a girl will hang a colorful cloth on the right side of the door, and her family will give her a car. When a baby is three days old, relatives and friends send congratulatory gifts, commonly known as "breast delivery". And held a baptism, called "washing three". When the moon is full, guests should be invited to "make the full moon", and the bows and arrows or cloth strips should be removed and hung on the "descendants rope". On the 100th day, colored cloth strips obtained from each house are used to make a lock, called a padlock. When the child is one year old, a more solemn ceremony should be held to let the child "grasp the week". Generally, at the age of 16, boys shave their heads and girls wear their hair in a bun. To this day, traditional customs such as "breastfeeding", "washing three times", "making the full moon" and "catching the week" are still preserved in the Manchu-inhabited areas in Northeast China.

Funeral customs

Manchu funerals are mainly burial and cremation. Both burial and cremation have a long history. Before the Manchus entered the customs, cremation was the main method. This was mainly due to their frequent migration. In addition, many soldiers of the Eight Banners died in battle in the early Qing Dynasty, and it was inconvenient to send their bones back to their hometowns, so they were often cremated. After the Manchus entered the customs, changes gradually occurred, from the combination of cremation and burial to mainly burial. The funeral ceremony is that the deceased wears a shroud before death, usually a robe or a mandarin jacket, in odd numbers. The spirit is placed in the house, usually within 7 days. Make a funeral bed out of wooden boards, with the head to the west and the feet to the east. The spiritual flag is made of about 3 feet of red cloth, decorated with black tassels, and hung on a high pole in the courtyard. The coffins used by the Manchus have a special shape, with a raised upper part, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, which is called "flag material".

During the mourning period, the whole family mourns and holds memorial ceremonies. When the person is buried, gold and silver are placed in the coffin. For the poor, gold and silver foil ingots are used instead. Copper coins or jade are placed in the mouth. The spiritual tools are placed in the mourning shed in the courtyard. For funerals, a single day in the lunar calendar can be chosen. There are 16, 32 and 64 lines for carrying the spirit. After the funeral, thank those who helped and treat them to a meal. After burial, go to the grave and burn paper every 7 days, 7 times in a row. When it comes to a hundred days, it is necessary to burn the hundred days, and when it is an anniversary, it is necessary to burn the anniversary. Manchu burning paper is to fold paper into a pocket shape, commonly known as burning pocket. Tomb-sweeping Day involves visiting graves, burning bags and inserting Buddhist altars. In the past 30 years, Manchu funerals have been mainly cremated. However, many ancient traditions are still retained in the rituals of paying homage to relatives, such as burning pockets, inserting Buddhist altars, burning for seven days, burning for hundreds of days, and burning for anniversaries during Qingming Festival, etc., all remain the same.

Taboos

Manchus have many taboos. Blasphemy against gods and ancestors is not allowed. For example, the Manchu people value the west, and the ancestral box is placed on the Western Kang. No one is allowed to live in the Western Kang, no one is allowed to put debris there, and no disrespectful behavior is allowed. It is not allowed to beat dogs, and it is even more forbidden to kill dogs, eat dog meat, wear dog skin hats, and foreigners are not allowed to wear dog skin hats into the house.

Legend has it that Nurhaci once told his people, "There are many wild beasts in the mountains, and you can hunt them for food. However, from now on, you are not allowed to eat dog meat or wear dog skins. When a dog dies, you must bury it, because dogs understand human nature, can save the savior, and are righteous dogs." "From then on, loving and respecting dogs has become a Manchu custom. In addition, the Manchus not only do not eat the meat of crows, but also have the custom of feeding and sacrificing crows.