Folk culture of tombs of ethnic minorities in Taiwan
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The folk culture of ethnic tombs in Taiwan is restricted by the development level of social productivity and mainly expresses its primitive and decentralized characteristics. This paper mainly analyzes the historical situation of the evolution of Tomang folk culture of Taiwan's ethnic minorities during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and even modern times from the perspective of cemetery selection, and understands the development laws and characteristics of Taiwan's ethnic minorities from this perspective.
Funeral folk culture is another important part of China's traditional folk culture. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the gradual development of Taiwan, the political, economic and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and the mainland have been continuously strengthened, and the evolution and development of folk culture in Taiwan have become more civilized and open. However, due to the limitations of social and historical development conditions and the constraints of the natural ecological environment, the level of productivity development of the scattered ethnic minorities in Taiwan was still very low until the Ming and Qing Dynasties and even modern times, and the folk culture still retained greater originality and dispersion.
Tomb customs reflect the style and characteristics of Taiwan's ethnic minority folk culture from one aspect. The cemetery, that is, the place where the dead are buried, has a strong mark in ancient China folk culture. The ancients attached great importance to the selection of cemeteries. After long-term practice and summary, they gradually formed a set of feng shui theories full of superstitious colors. When choosing a cemetery, you need to observe the terrain, landscape and landscape, so as to avoid evil and protect future generations. For ethnic minorities in Taiwan, the choice of cemeteries is relatively simple.
Although the ethnic minorities in Taiwan also have a set of methods to choose cemeteries in their long-term production and living activities, at least they appear to be relatively crude and casual. The cemeteries of ethnic minorities in Taiwan mostly take the place where the deceased died as the burial place, so indoor burial is often implemented, which is a relatively unique burial custom.
Indoor burials popular among ethnic minorities in Taiwan have important folk and cultural significance. For example, the Atayal people in Nantou County believe that indoor burial is a sign of a good death. They claim that the meaning of death is that the soul leaves the body and never returns, and divide death into two categories: a good death and an evil death. A good death refers to the death of the deceased at home with relatives by his side. Generally, people who die well are buried indoors. After the burial is properly completed, male relatives dig a round hole under the bed where the deceased died. The hole is five or six feet deep enough to place the body upright, and there is still one or two feet above the back of the body. Then the body is buried. The deceased's commonly used knives, pipes and other objects are used as burial objects. Finally, a stone slab is covered and soil is covered to level the hole. The remaining tomb soil and the clothes left behind by the deceased were transported out of the wilderness together with the clothes left behind by the deceased. Those who participated in the burial washed themselves in the stream after the burial and abandoned their clothes in the wilderness to return.
Vicious deaths include deaths in the wild, unnatural deaths caused by victims, suicides, dystocia and other deaths. The so-called evil dead cannot enjoy this treatment. The Atayal believe that all unnatural deaths, including deaths in battle, suicide, and childbirth, are unlucky, and they are generally buried in the place where they died. After childbirth, the family abandoned the house and left to build a new home. After the funeral of a fierce death, you must ask a wizard to exorcise the evil spirit before it can return to normal. This is actually a reflection of ghost worship. It is superstitious that ghosts have superhuman power, so it is necessary to exorcise evil spirits by dodging or using religious power to protect the living person.
In some areas, ethnic minorities may not be able to sleep indoors even if their families belong to the category of good ending. They must also be superstitious about natural phenomena to determine whether it is appropriate to bury the deceased indoors, such as the ethnic minorities in Changhua County. Outdoor burials are prevalent among ethnic minorities in some areas, even for people who die well. For example, the Ami people in Hualien County buried some so-called people who died well outdoors. Generally, the body is moved to the main family, and the elderly of the main family choose the burial place in the vestibule.
These are all different customs and habits of different ethnic groups and tribes. There are not strict standards, and the selection of cemeteries is the same. The selection of cemeteries for ethnic minorities in Taiwan is obviously quite messy. There are still great differences between ethnic groups and tribes, but it also shows their unique local ethnic funeral folk cultural significance. On the one hand, the choice of cemeteries is used as a means to protect future generations and avoid evil. For example, there are many taboos in the selection and processing of cemeteries. For the Ami people in Hualien mentioned above, the selection and production of cemeteries reflects many taboos and rules, expressing their fear and worship of the ghosts of the dead. On the other hand, the selection of cemeteries serves as an identification and symbol of the nature and category of the deceased's death. For example, ethnic minorities in many areas of Taiwan often practice indoor burials, while other dead people who die due to various accidents are generally buried anywhere. Even if someone buried a person who died an evil death indoors, the whole family would move elsewhere. They believe that similar so-called evil deaths will bring bad luck to future generations.
To sum up, it can be seen that the choice of cemetery for ethnic minorities in Taiwan has unique social, ethnic and cultural significance. Although compared with the Han people in the Central Plains, there is still a lack of a relatively complete theory of feng shui, but it is more manifested in the customs of the nation, it once again proves that the development of social productivity is an important foundation of material, spiritual culture.
The author is a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Department of History at Jinan University)
Editor: Yang Xi) .