Dai taboos you need to know about when traveling to Banna

Taboo is an ancient and very mysterious cultural phenomenon. In Xishuangbanna Dai society, taboos are like a web, almost everywhere. They not only involve people's clothing, food, housing, transportation, life, old age, illness, death, marriage, and funeral, but also cover farming, hunting, festivals, etc. There are restrictions and rich content.

1. Life taboos

Gender taboos:

In life and work, the Dai people have many taboos on gender. Men have the work that men do, women have the work that women do, women do the work of men, and men do the work of women are taboo. Men are not allowed to come into contact with small hoes, farm tools, and looms that are dedicated to women; men are forbidden to cross over pig troughs, otherwise they will lose their charm; women are forbidden to come into men's weapons and hunting gear, and cannot enter men's clubs. Women avoid climbing on the beams to pick up and put things; lifting the broom above the head of a man; walking over the pillow where a man sleeps. Dai people have a custom that women do not attend banquets. Women are forbidden to go upstairs; when they have to go upstairs, they must signal men to avoid them, otherwise it will be unlucky. In the old Dai people's beds in the middle hall also taboo women from sitting and sleeping. Women are forbidden to pass in front of men frequently. When women pass in front of elders or men, they must fold their skirts between their knees, bend down and walk gently, and keep saying "Suma, Suma, Tai transliteration, meaning" sorry ")". In short, I am afraid that if I neglect it, I will not be able to achieve happiness.

Taboos for entering the first village in China and Myanmar:

You must take off your shoes when you enter the Dai family's bamboo building, and you must walk lightly inside the house. After entering the door, you should sit in order according to your seniority and seniority. The elderly, male, sit above the main hall, facing the door; most people sit on the wall "Winter C" near the bedroom or sit on a bench in the hall; When sitting around the fire pond, you cannot sit above the fire pond or cross the fire pond, because that is the kitchen position where the hostess cooks; let alone move the tripod supporting the pot, or use your feet. Dai people taboo sitting on thresholds, believing that thresholds are the only way for people and ghosts. Dai people are accustomed to living upstairs, but the upstairs bedroom has only a partition separating it from the living room. There is no partition in the bedroom and it is divided into small rooms. Several generations have lived in it, separated by mosquito nets, with a certain gap in the middle, and separated by doors. They are not relatives of their own family) are not allowed to enter the inner room; at the same time, outsiders are forbidden to peep because they will offend the "family god"; In the past, customs stipulated that if a male guest peeped in the master's bedroom, he had to become the master's door-to-door son-in-law or go to the master's house to do hard labor for three years. If a female guest was a female guest, he had to serve in the master's house for three years. Therefore, never peek into the owner's bedroom because of mystery. Although the customs of the past have broken, it is always unpopular to peek into the Dai family's bedroom. Outsiders are not allowed to smoke a cigarette on the lamp, otherwise they will think that they have taken away the "divine light". There are generally three pillars in the bamboo building of the Dai family. The pillar in the middle near the Huotang is the Dai family's "top pillar" and must not be relied on. If you lean on the pillar, it means that you do not respect the owner; the outer pillar is the "auspicious pillar" and you can lean on; the one on the inner side is the "top pillar". Avoid leaning on or hanging things. It is used for people in the family to rest on this pillar, regardless of male or female) to bathe, dress, wrap the body, and wait for cremation. Avoid using stools as pillows, because stools are only for people to sit on.

Dietary taboos:

Dai people have many taboos in their diet, which can achieve certain goals or ensure the effectiveness of certain behaviors. In the past, after receiving a bumper harvest or hunting food, the Dai people had to sacrifice themselves to their ancestors and thank the gods for their blessings before eating them themselves. There are also some taboos in terms of hospitality and diet. Don't entertain friends at the same time, otherwise there will be invisible obstacles preventing the two from interacting. Even if they are in the same village or city, it is also difficult for them to meet each other, and this dietary taboo also exists for family members working in other places. The dining table cannot be placed under the main beam, otherwise it will collide with the main beam, which will be detrimental to the family god and the room. Children can't eat chicken feet, because they won't be able to weave baskets; they can't eat chicken waist, because they will break teeth and cause shoulder pain and headache; they can't eat chicken buttocks, because their mouths will grow after eating them. Sometimes it is forbidden to eat certain foods when offering sacrifices to ancestral souls and gods. When steaming rice, avoid the sound of rice dumplings, otherwise it will be an unlucky sign and you should ask someone to send a ghost away.

Banna's cleanliness taboos with Buddhist beliefs:

The Dai people are a people who love beauty and cleanliness, and they also have some taboos on environmental sanitation. The garbage in the room cannot be poured out after noon; the food that falls after dinner cannot be swept away. It is considered unlucky to sweep it. The top of the fire pond and the entire roof cannot be swept in 15 or 30 days. It is considered unlucky to sweep it. The rule for using river water inside and outside the village is to use water upstream, it is forbidden to take a bath and wash clothes, and it is not allowed to take a bath at the mouth of Sancha River. Taboo cutting nails at home; taboo for outsiders to enter the stockade with their hair unkempt.

2. Production taboos

The Dai people in Xishuangbanna are a farming people. In ancient times, the quality of agricultural production mainly relied on the "gifts" of nature. Therefore, various sacrificial activities are held regularly and irregularly. When offering sacrifices to the village god, the god of Meng, and the god of family,"Da 'ao" signs woven from bamboo strips are placed outside the village or the courtyard door to prevent outsiders from entering. Buddhas and monks are not allowed to participate in the sacrifice to the village god of Meng. During the Guan and Kaimen Festival, commonly known as the "Summer Festival", they are called "Hawasa and Owasa" in the Dai language. They are called "Gangwasa" or "Naiwasa", which means that the rain is peaceful. Therefore, during this period, they do not marry, do not move, do not go to new houses, or go out to do business. Villagers only specialize in agricultural production. The Dai people believe that millet has a soul. The soul of the millet is scared away when picking millet. A religious ceremony called the millet soul must be held to call the millet soul back so that the millet can be eaten. "Maiga" Street Zitian) prohibits pounding rice and tilling cattle into plowing fields. When plowing, people cannot eat pickled cabbage because the plowing season is the rainy season for fear that eating pickled cabbage will cause diarrhea). The cow must be tied to summon the soul after plowing the field, otherwise the cow will dream and get sick.

When cutting wood into the mountains, you must first sacrifice to the mountain god and tree god, otherwise the machete will hurt people; when cutting bamboo, you can only cut it standing and cut it on your knees, thinking that the tiger will bite people. You can't take firewood or cut wood in the dragon forest, otherwise you will offend the mountain gods and kill people. When camping in the wild, it is strictly forbidden to bring back branches or dry firewood when you go to fetch water. When going hunting and fishing, avoid meeting pregnant women. Avoid pheasants and scorpions breaking into the village. They think it is unlucky and disaster will occur in the village. It is forbidden to see snakes mating. It is forbidden to domesticate cattle with broken horns or tails. It is considered evil. It is forbidden to slaughter sows with children. It is forbidden to bring looms out of the stockade, and it is forbidden to bring looms from outer stockade into the stockade, otherwise there will be ghosts. Don't say bad things about others in public; when there is a funeral at home, you are forbidden to go to any house without a funeral. It is forbidden to whistle at will. When shopping for vegetables on the street, it is forbidden to use your toes to bargain for vegetables.

It is forbidden to have two forks in the wood used to build houses by the Dai people, otherwise it will catch fire when thunder; only two strands of wood with three forks can be cut off, otherwise there will be ghosts. If you change a fire pit in your home, you must change the stairs, and if you change the stairs, you must also change the fire pit. The stairs can only be made with seven, nine or eleven levels, otherwise you will die of illness. There are no beams opposite the stairs, otherwise ghosts will enter the house. The side of the stairs can only be empty, otherwise it will be the same as the collar and you will be fined.

3. Clothing taboos

There are also taboos about the way you wear clothes. Dai people should avoid dressing casually, especially wearing clothes in reverse. There is a Dai proverb: "Everyone can see what you wear on the outside, but people will not cut open what you eat in your belly." In terms of dressing, it is also forbidden to distinguish between men and women, and it is forbidden for men to wear women's clothes, or for women to wear men's clothes. There are also taboos in mending: If clothes are broken, they need to be mended immediately, otherwise it will be bad luck; when mending clothes, it is forbidden to wear them on your body to mending clothes; cloth from torn pants cannot be used to mending clothes. If you make repairs, you will have bad luck, and you will not make money in doing business, and no one will want to sell things; Avoid using white line to mending clothes. When you go up the mountain to hunt, you will be beaten as a deer.

Taboos for clothing placement: It is forbidden to dry in inappropriate places at inappropriate times, and it is forbidden to dry women's and children's clothes outdoors at night, for fear that thieves may be contaminated with evil spirits; when drying clothes, tops should be dried high, and pants and skirts should be dried low; Men's clothes, hats or headscarves are forbidden to cross over; Men are forbidden to walk under women's clothes and trousers that are drying, as if women are crossing over men's heads. It is a shame and misfortune for men. In order to avoid this happening, women's dresses are forbidden to be dried to places where people pass by. People cannot pull the clothes line where they pass; Women's dresses are forbidden to be sunned very high; It is forbidden to step over or step on or damage clothes. Avoid using clothes as pillows.

Taboo for characteristic bamboo building ornaments in Xishuangbanna: Dai people should not use the blade inward when hanging a sword. Otherwise, they will think that they have bad intentions and are "assassins".

Skin taboos: For example, there are also taboos. When Dai men reach the age of thirteen, four and twenty, they must get tattoos to show the acquisition of certain qualifications, including the blessings of the ancestral gods and their rights and obligations such as love, marriage, and participation in various social activities. Those who do not have tattoos have low personality and are regarded as cowards. Not only do they not receive the girl's love, they can only become wild ghosts after death and cannot meet their ancestors. Dai men usually started as monks and began to pierce the shapes or geometric shapes of natural objects on their whole bodies or parts. In the old days, Dai tattoos were distinguished between noble and humble ones. People avoided using red tattoos to tattoo their breasts and abdomen, but could only use black tattoos to tattoo their limbs.

4. Marriage taboos

Although marriage is an auspicious event, there are also many taboos. Among the people, there are many and miscellaneous taboos in terms of love, choice of marriage, engagement, marriage and even divorce. They are afraid that mistakes will occur in marriage, a major event in life and clan, and affect the development and prosperity of all aspects.

Love taboos: Dai people are relatively free to fall in love and do not need the help of a matchmaker. Young men and women can establish a love relationship in specific places or in public occasions. However, there are also some taboos that need to be observed. The closing festival on September 15th to the opening festival on December 15th in the Dai calendar every year is the busy farming season. During this period, young men and women are forbidden to fall in love because it will affect production. The taboo of marriage age is related to the ranking of brothers and sisters. In the old Dai people's taboo that a man could not marry a woman. According to Dai legends, it is believed that if a man works for three women, he will not be able to grow old together, or his family will be unlucky and have no children for life.

Taboo on hierarchical marriage: In the past, the Dai people practiced strict hierarchical intramarriage. Generally speaking, cross-rank marriages are rare: first, they are afraid that things will not work out and will be laughed at by others; second, one of their spouses will be discriminated against and abused by the other after marriage. Some marriage bans have also been included in laws and become systems. That is, officials intermarry among officials, and people intermarry among people. Marriage between people and officials is forbidden. This is to protect the interests of the rank and prevent low-ranking people from infiltrating through marriage. For example, Zhaopanling feudal lords (the head man) prohibited men from marrying women of the "Mengma Village"(a village where horses were domesticated and labored), because if a man from the "Mengma Village" lived with a wife other than the "Mengma Village", no one in Zhaopanling would raise horses for him. Dai people are forbidden to marry "pipa" families that release ghosts at the meeting. The children of families that are considered to be "pipa ghosts" are forbidden to marry the children of other ordinary people, but can only marry the children of another "pipa" family. There are reasons for this because of faith and differences in rank.

Taboos on intra-ethnic marriage: Due to differences in ethnic customs and beliefs between ethnic groups, or due to regional and language limitations, or due to intentional maintenance of the purity of ethnic species, taboos on intermarriage are often formed. Dai people rarely intermarry with other ethnic groups. Nowadays, due to factors such as the development of transportation, social progress, and improvement of ethnic relations, the taboo of intra-ethnic marriage has become increasingly diluted, and the Dai people have begun to intermarry with neighboring ethnic groups.

Marriage taboos: Every year, the closing festival on September 15th to the opening festival on December 15th in the Dai calendar is a taboo for marriage during the busy farming season. These three months are called the "entering the depression" period for the Dai people. During the three months, the elderly must worship Buddha every seven days. This period is the rainy season, production is busy and preparations are not easy. When getting married during this period, the masses will say that the newlyweds are like cattle and horses and dogs. They don't know the season and will turn into dogs after death. Although this taboo has changed somewhat now, some young men and women marry regardless of the limitations of traditional habits due to deep love or pregnancy before marriage. However, after marriage, they still have to use wine to sacrifice to the village and invite the entire village to have a meal. Otherwise, people will think that if they have violated the village god, the married person will be responsible for any disease or other disaster in the village in the future.

Taboo on marriage: It is popular for Dai people to recruit marriage to their homes. According to the economic situation and labor situation of both parties, if the woman has no labor force, the man will come to the woman's house first. The door-to-door period is uncertain. In the past, the man had to visit the woman's house for one to three years at least one year before he could bring his wife home or establish a new door. It is now agreed based on actual conditions, and it can be for three years, one year, or three months.

Taboos for pregnant women: Any society has a number of special regulations on the behavior of pregnant women, among which a number of taboos are prominent. From a modern perspective, some of these taboos are related to biology and some are superphysiological. The Dai people call pregnant women "Mi Man", which means a woman with a big belly), and believe that a woman's body is not good when she is pregnant. In the Dai language, it is necessary to avoid others 'eyes and ears everywhere. It is forbidden for pregnant women to accompany guests, and it is even more forbidden for pregnant women to swagger in front of guests; the exception is forbidden for pregnant women to visit their relatives and return to their mother's home). During pregnancy, women are regarded as an unclean period, so pregnant women are forbidden to go close to Buddhist temples, and they are forbidden to prepare holy Buddhist offerings and carry vegetarian meals for the elderly who are praying for Buddha. They are forbidden to peek at the eclipse of the sun and the moon. They are forbidden to watch others make the stove. They are forbidden to break into a wedding banquet and touch their new wedding clothes; The Dai people believe that the fetus is most vulnerable to evil spirits, and the gunpowder gun touched by a pregnant woman may not be able to hit, so it is forbidden to tamper with men's side weapons such as long knives, gunpowder guns) and labor tools such as plows and bullpens); it is forbidden to go down the river to catch fish, otherwise the fish will escape; it is forbidden to touch ripe fruits on fruit trees such as papaya, pomegranate, and grapefruit), and it is forbidden to dry clothes on fruit trees. Before giving birth, pregnant women should not move fast or carry heavy objects. For nearly a month before labor, sexual intercourse is prohibited. Generally speaking, a pregnant woman who violates the above taboos is considered unlucky. The mild case is scolded coldly, and the severe case is driven away on the spot. In fact, pregnant women should be reminded everywhere to act carefully, and try to limit the range of movement and labor intensity of pregnant women to protect the fetus from harm. In addition, during pregnancy, when hunting, her husband should avoid cutting palm trees, shooting monkeys, cutting rock bees, shooting black, red-black, yellow-white, or colorful birds, big mouth birds, hornbills, and birds with poor calls. Otherwise, it is believed that it will affect the baby's appearance and voice. In addition, the husband also avoids participating in certain social activities. For example, when burying people, avoid participating in carrying dead people; avoid participating in stretching drums; avoid fighting with knives; you cannot hit snakes; you cannot climb trees and pick fruits; otherwise, pregnant women will violate the fetal spirit when giving birth.

Taboos of origin: Dai people have many rules and taboos when giving birth. It is taboo to give birth in the original place. Three days before giving birth, pregnant women move from their dormitory to sleep outside by the fire pond, use bamboo leaves to pave the way, and move to the fire pond to give birth. First, it is to keep warm; second, it is convenient for relatives and friends to help and serve, because the dormitory is small, and according to custom, it is forbidden to enter the dormitory if you are not direct relatives; in addition, it is also said that fire indicates the birth and prosperity of the Dai people, so that when adding children, you must close to the fire pond closely, so that you can get the protection and favor of the Fire God. The pregnant woman lived by the fire pond for about a week before moving into the inner room.

Avoid littering placenta: Placenta, or placenta, also known as afterbirth. Dai people attach great importance to the preservation of placentas and are forbidden to throw placentas indiscriminately. The baby's placenta is packed in a bamboo tube, hung in trees or buried in the yard.

Forbidden door in the delivery room: After giving birth to a baby, both men and women must hang a star-like "Arrive" sign made of bamboo strips on the wooden pillars upstairs as a warning. They must tell people in the village or passers-by that the family has given birth. If the man in the village or outside the village wants to avoid, the man in the village will no longer enter. If the first man in the village or outside the village enters the home of the child, he will be worshipped as a godfather. The person who is worshipped can only bear the obligation and cannot refuse. Women are also forbidden to enter the family of the child, otherwise they will also be worshipped as godmothers and assume the obligations of godmothers. No one can sit on the stool used alone by the pregnant woman.

Dietary taboos for pregnant women: In order to ensure the health and normal development of pregnant women, fetuses and infants, Dai people try their best to avoid eating foods with "milk fork" and eat more foods with "milk" when arranging meals for pregnant women. Before giving birth, pregnant women should avoid eating spicy rice balls, ginger, garlic and other stimulating foods; it is forbidden to eat animal meat such as dog meat, snake meat, and cat meat, and it is forbidden to eat raw meat; it is strictly forbidden to eat crowing cocks, pheasants, and yellow-billed and yellow-footed chickens, otherwise they will develop mental abnormalities or deformities; during the "confinement" period after giving birth, you should not eat greasy food for five days. You should only eat roasted glutinous rice balls every day and drink water boiled by herbs called "Aden" and "Habin". This kind of grass can make pregnant women produce milk; After five days, you can eat some vegetables, chicken and pork; you should avoid eating beef for a month; you should not eat sour bamboo shoots and crab sauce before weaning; and you should also ban eating peanuts and loofah for a year after giving birth. The Menglong Dai people stipulate that they are not allowed to eat salt, chicken, or eggs within one week after childbirth, otherwise the baby will have diarrhea, and the wife will have numbness and pain in her hands and feet when she is old. The Dai people stipulate that women use a single pot alone.

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