Dong customs and habits

The Dong people in Zhaoxing Dong Village in southeastern Guizhou (Gaeml in Dong language) are said to be descendants of the ancient Yue people. They have a history of more than 2500 years and are also a minority in China. In the Tang Dynasty, it became a single ethnic group recorded in history. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Dong people have been called "Liao people","Dong Liao","Dong people","Dong Man","Dong Miao" or "Yi people". During the Republic of China period, it was called "Dong Family", and after the founding of New China, it was called Dong Family. It is mainly distributed at the intersection of Guizhou Province, Hunan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Hubei Province. In addition, the Dong population in Jiangsu Province, Guangdong Province, and Zhejiang Province each has tens of thousands.

The Dong people also have their own language, Dong, which belongs to the Dong branch of the Zhuang Dong language family of the Sino-Tibetan family, and is divided into two dialects: southern and northern. Due to long-term contact with the Han nationality, most Dong people can speak both Chinese and use Chinese. In the past, the Dong people did not have their own national script and all used Chinese characters. In 1958, the party and government helped create the Dong language based on the Latin alphabet.

Since ancient times, the Dong people have believed in multiple gods and worshipped natural objects. Ancient trees, huge rocks, wells, and bridges are all objects of worship. With the female god "Sasui"(meaning the ancestral mother who founded the village) as the supreme god, each village has established a "Sasui Temple". Use chicken divination, grass divination, egg divination, snail divination, rice divination, and hexagram divination to determine good or bad luck. Some places are influenced by the Han people and still believe in some Han gods. Believe in the immortal soul. Buddhism is also spread, including nuns and temples, but not many people believe in it. Christianity and Catholicism have also been introduced, but there are not many believers.

The Dong villages in Zhaoxing Dong Village, southeastern Guizhou, are surrounded by mountains and rivers. They live together as families. There are 300 to 400 households in the big village and 300 to 50 households in the small village. There are very few single households. The southern region is the most distinctive. There are many ancient trees at the head and tail of the village. The "Wind and Rain Bridge"(commonly known as the Flower Bridge) spans the stream, and fish ponds are spread across the village. People live according to their clans, and the drum tower stands in it. Live in a "dry fence" house, live upstairs, and house livestock and clutter downstairs.

The Drum Tower is the hope and spiritual sustenance of the Dong people, and is also the political, cultural, entertainment and social center of the whole village. The first is the symbol of the Dong Village; the second is the symbol of the Dong surname (such as the five drum towers of the five houses of Zhaoxing); the third is the place for the Dong people to relax; the fourth is the occasion for young people to socialize; the fifth is the place to receive guests; The sixth is the important place for meetings and discussions; the seventh is a tool for transmitting information or alarming (climbing the building and beating the drum).

Chengyang Bridge, Fengyu Bridge (commonly known as Huaqiao) of the Dong people in Sanjiang County. Every Dong village must have a drum tower. According to the introduction of the Dong elderly, the Drum Tower is referred to as the "shade tree" of the Dong Village. If there were no "shade tree" in the village, the village would have no cohesion and would not develop and prosper. Fengyu Bridge is a stone dunn wooden bridge, long corridors, bridge roads, bridge pavilions, heavy buildings and pavilions. It is majestic and magnificent. Chengyang Bridge in Sanjiang County is the most famous and has been listed as a cultural relic unit under national key protection.

There are very few existing Drum Tower and Fengyu Bridge in Rongshui Dong Village. The original Drum Tower in the Danian area has been destroyed by fire, and only the rebuilt Guihe Drum Tower. Whenever night falls, the Drum Tower is brightly lit, and night school students concentrate on learning culture here. Every festive season, villagers gather in Gulou Ping to celebrate and dance, men and women sing, making it very lively. The world-famous "Dong Song" is often sung here. The vast number of young men and women also regard the Drum Tower as a paradise for spreading the seeds of love. They "sing and sit on the moon" here, sing and dance gently, and confide in their love to each other.

The rice field scenery of Zhaoxing Dong Village in southeastern Guizhou The Dong people are mainly engaged in agriculture and also engaged in forestry. Forestry is famous for producing fir. Focusing on the production of japonica rice, the country's unique and high-quality rice strain-"Kam Sweet Rice" is selected and cultivated; making good use of fish farming in rice fields, it has created and inherited the characteristics of "rice, fish and duck symbiosis". Dong rural organic agriculture cultural heritage.

Therefore, most of the Dong people in most areas to rice as the main food, Pingba area to japonica rice-based, mountainous areas are more glutinous rice. And a wide variety of glutinous rice, such as red glutinous rice, black glutinous rice, white glutinous rice, bald glutinous rice, dry glutinous rice and so on, among which Xianghe glutinous rice is the most famous. They will be made of all kinds of rice white rice, flower rice, light porridge, flower porridge, zongzi, Ciba, etc., eat without chopsticks, with the hands of the rice into a group of food, known as "eat rice."

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areas have three meals during the solar eclipse, and some places have the custom of having four meals during the solar eclipse, that is, two tea and two rice. Liangteas refer to Camellia oleifera unique to the Dong people. Camellia oleifera is a soup-like thin food made from tea leaves, flowers, fried peanuts (or crispy soybeans), glutinous rice, meat or pig water, salt, chopped green onion, etc.(in some places, spinach and Artemisia are also added). It can not only quench your thirst, but also satisfy your hunger, so it is often called "eating Camellia oleifera". In the minds of the Dong family: glutinous rice is the most fragrant, sweet rice wine is the most mellow, pickled cabbage is the most delicious, yeziyan is the most refreshing, wine songs are the best, and banquets are the most jubilant.

Dong farmer Feng Xingchao and his family are making glutinous rice cakes with guests. Dong guests have to make "tung cake" at a banquet. The craftsmanship is complex and meticulous, and there are many varieties. For example, those with perilla juice are called red Dong cake, those with poplar leaves are called black Dong cake, and those with stuffing are called bean paste Dong cake, jujube paste Dong cake, etc. When making tea for guests, you should add candied flowers carved from grapefruit peel and wax gourd peel; the popular "five-flavor ginger", the fragrant "Camellia oleifera", the clear and soft glutinous "black pearl rice", the "sour dragon meat" made from water buffaloes, and the famous "fermented grass carp" are prepared for the guests and guests to gather together and enjoy together. Dong girls in western Hunan are good at carving fish, birds, flowers, etc. into various shapes, such as grapefruit skin, wax gourd skin, etc., and dipping it into candied fruits with white sugar. When serving guests, they use small pickles and large ones on plates to feed guests.

Rongjiang Dong Township has a roadblock wine to welcome guests. Adult men of the Dong nationality generally like to drink alcohol. Most of the drinks they drink are home-brewed rice wine, which is not high in intensity, light and mellow. The most distinctive thing is the special welcome ceremony for guests when entering the village-"blocking the road wine". When entering the stockade, the Dong family set up "roadblocks" beside the gate to block guests. They drank and sang, and each sang and answered. The lyrics were witty and funny, and they were hilarious. After singing and drinking, the obstacles were removed to welcome the guests in. After taking a seat, they change wine and "hand in cups." Neighbors either automatically come to accompany the guests, invite the guests to their homes, or "gather together" to have a banquet together in the Drum Tower, regardless of each other. There are also rules on the banquet such as "chicken head serving guests","camellia oleifera serving guests","pickled cabbage bitter wine serving guests","eating closed meals", and "drinking wine". However, the Dong people are very taboo to sit on the threshold to eat and watch others eat. They are not allowed to make fires on the first day of the first lunar month; outsiders are not allowed to enter the village during the sacrifice period; filial sons are forbidden to eat meat and vegetarian food during the funeral period, but there is no limit to fish and shrimp.

Dong girl is embroidering Dong embroidery has become one of the famous embroidery products in China due to its unique production craftsmanship, patterns rich with national characteristics, rich and profound cultural connotations, bright and harmonious colors, elegant and dignified quality and distinctive national style. At the expo, the making skills of Dong brocade and Dong embroidery, and the exquisite weaving and embroidery craftsmanship attracted tens of thousands of visitors to visit the Guangxi exhibition area. There are also many works of art for Dong embroidery, including headscarf patterns, baby straps, women's chest pockets, cloth flowered shoes, insoles, cigarette bags, satchel embroidery, etc. The horsetail back fan is the best embroidery. It has an ancient shape and exquisite embroidery., precise patterns and rich colors, fully demonstrating the intelligence and superb skills of Dong women.

In the first China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of China and the Shandong Province Government, two autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage projects, Dong embroidery and Dong brocade in Sanjiang County, participated in the expo and won the "Excellent Organization Award". Shi Dongjuan and Shi Hanqun from Sanjiang County won the "Inheritor Display Award."

Because of Dong embroidery, most of them like to wear self-spinning, self-weaving, and self-dyeing Dong cloth, which is generally mainly blue, purple, white and blue. Black and cyan are mostly used in spring, autumn and winter, white is mostly used in summer, and purple is mostly used in festivals. Dong men near the towns dress no different from the Han nationality, except for slightly different differences in remote mountainous areas. They wear collarless short clothes on the right lap, tube trousers, and large bandages. Some have hair on top.

Women's clothing varies from place to place, with tube pants, shoulder-mounted clothes, large buttons with silver beads, braided heads; There are knee-length clothes, hem cuffs and trouser legs with piping or lace, and hair tied up; There are large-breasted clothes, large trousers, cambodian belts, baotou scarves, and hair bun; There are double-breasted clothes, chest lining cloth, pleated skirts, waistbands, foot covers or leggings, and silver spines inserted into the bun; There are wide-sleeved large breasted clothes, embroidered with dragon and phoenix flowers, long skirts over the knee, and hair tied up; There are also Han clothes. And generally like to wear silver jewelry.

Guangxi Sanjiang Dong women's costumes In Sanjiang Dong women like to wear long skirts. The long skirts are in the style of large collars and pairs. The collars and cuffs are beautifully embroidered. The pairs are not buttoned. The middle is open, exposing an embroidered bib. Under them are a blue cloth pleated skirt, embroidered leg wraps and floral shoes. They wear a big bun on their heads and are decorated with flowers, wooden combs, silver hairpins, etc. Luoxiang women like to wear blue collarless clothes during the Spring Festival, surrounded by black skirts, lined with lace dresses, a sky blue bib tied in front of their waist, and blue and white streamers behind them, complemented by red ribbons. Men's clothing is a blue cloth head, a standing collar and a double-lapel coat, a belt, and a buttonless short waistcoat on the outer cover. Wearing trousers, wearing leggings, wearing straw sandals or bare feet, and embroidery on the skirts and other places.

Dong people send their bride back to their door. Dong people's marriage is monogamy. Cousin marriage is more popular, and siblings and people of different generations cannot marry. After marriage, a woman has the custom of "sitting at home"(i.e."not leaving her husband's house"). Before liberation, the basic social unit of the Dong people was a small patriarchal family with feudal patriarchy. Women's status in society and the family is lower than that of men, and women are not allowed to touch copper drums; men or elders are not allowed to go upstairs when they are downstairs. Only after marriage can Dong girls enjoy the "private houses" accumulated by their parents and themselves, as well as the small amount of "girl fields" and "girl land" they receive. A man inherits the family business, but if he has no heir, he can hire an adopted son.

Dong weddings are very strange. They are usually held around the Spring Festival (weddings cannot be held in ordinary months). The strangest and most solemn part of Dong weddings is to send the bride back to the door. "Returning to the door" means sending the bride back to her mother's home. When sending the bride back to her mother's home, the groom is not allowed to accompany her. Instead, the brothers, sisters and relatives and friends of the groom's family carry the betrothal gifts to form a vast escort team. The longer the escort team, the more prosperous the groom's family business.

Dong people send their brides back to the door with the betrothal gifts, including sour fish, sour meat, sour ducks, etc. unique to the Dong people. The bridesmaid was a young girl from the groom's camp. In the long line of sending off the bride, the bride walked at the back, holding an umbrella in her hand for outsiders to identify her. On the way to send off, in order to show the groom's family business, the sending off team often deliberately detour and find crowded places to pass through. Fireworks are set off for every village you pass along the way.

Moreover, there are many taboos in Dong weddings, such as: (1) Avoid marrying with the same surname. (2) The five elements suppress each other but not marry (especially water suppresses fire). (3) There is a saying that sheep are afraid of mice, snakes are afraid of tigers, dragons are afraid of tigers, horses are afraid of oxen, and the golden rooster communicates with dogs when they see tears). (4) Avoid marrying or engaging in the first month, March and May. (5) Avoid getting married in the year of Yin. (6) Avoid meeting pregnant women or funerals when picking up relatives. (7) Newly married wives should avoid talking halfway. (8) When the bride enters the groom's house, she should avoid meeting the groom's family. The whole family should avoid it, otherwise there will be discord. (9) Don't leave the boxes, buckets, and basins for the dowry empty, and must be filled with other things or rice. (10) If a married daughter returns to her mother's home, she should not open a grain warehouse or take cooking utensils.

The totem symbol of the ancestors on the Dong nationality embroidery "Three Fish Share the Same Head" The Dong nationality also admires dragons and fish very much. If a rainbow appears in the sky, it is called "Dragon Drinking Water", no one can carry water or use a finger rainbow. When identifying with a family or identifying relatives, you must first ask the other party if you know that the three fish share the same head (the totem symbol of their ancestors). If you can answer, you will be considered to be of the same kind. Moreover, whenever weddings, funerals and other major events, guests and gifts are inseparable from fish.

The culture and art of the Dong people are also rich and colorful, and are known as "the hometown of poetry and the ocean of song." Dong poetry has strict rhythm, wide themes, healthy and clear sentiment, and vivid metaphors. Among them, the lyrical poems are beautiful, delicate, sincere and enthusiastic. Narrative poetry is euphemistic and tortuous, and has profound meaning. It is an extremely precious cultural heritage of Dong folk literature.

"Rice nourishes the body, and singing nourishes the heart." This is a saying often said by Dong people. They regard "singing" as something as important as "rice". Dong people regard songs as spiritual food and use them to cultivate their hearts and sentiments. The Dong people regard songs as treasures and believe that songs are knowledge and culture. Whoever has mastered more songs is a person with knowledge. In Dong areas, singers are recognized by society as the most knowledgeable and reasonable people, and are therefore very respected by the Dong people.

Chengyang Lusheng Competition in Sanjiang Dong settlement in Guangxi They have loved, learned and sung for generations. They enjoy singing and are proud of "being able to sing and singing more". They use songs to express their emotions and use songs to express their emotions. The song is closely related to the social life of the Dong people and is inseparable. Various folk songs of the Dong people, especially the Dong big song, have become an ancient song that they have sung for a long time. As the most essential part of the Dong songs, its singing content and expression form are closely related to the customs, character, psychology and living environment of the Dong people. It is a true record of the Dong history and a direct expression of Dong culture.

Dong Community Day (Spring Society Day in February) The custom of eating community food The Dong festivals are mainly Spring Festival, the third day of the third month of the third month of the lunar calendar), the sacrifice to the cow god (the eighth day of the fourth month or the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar), and the New Eating Festival (during the seventh month of the lunar calendar). In some areas, the Dong Year is celebrated in October or November, also called the New Year. Due to the exchanges between ethnic groups, the Dong people also have Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival. There will be song pairs and song competitions on festivals such as the "Dong New Year Festival","Eating New Festival", and "Spring Festival". What is more interesting is that song competitions are often held between villages and villages. Young boys and girls of the Dong nationality will also choose their partners through song pairs and song competitions, and they will meet each other for the first time until they have a good relationship.

The Dong people also have the custom of eating community food (Spring Society Day in February), but they do not hold any activities. Pick the fresh and tender Artemisia (Artemisia, Artemisia annua) from the fields, streams, and hillsides home, wash them, chop them up, knead all the bitter water, bake them, and mix them with wild garlic (shallot), ground rice vegetables, dried bean beans, dried bacon and other auxiliary materials mixed with glutinous rice (you can mix some sticky rice, but you need to boil the sticky rice until half-cooked and then mix it with glutinous rice). It has a unique flavor to eat. Its function is to prevent epidemic and eliminate plague and promote health.

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Guangxi Dong Ba Tuan Bullfighting Festival "Yueye" is a relatively distinctive social activity for the Dong people. It is a visit from one village to another village to play Lusheng or sing or sing opera together for fun. During the farming season, bullfighting is one of the most lively entertainments of the Dong people. At that time, people of old and young gather together, people are crowded with people, cheers can be heard everywhere, gongs and drums can be heard, and iron cannons shake the valley. If there are guests from outside the village passing by the village, they will block them at the edge of the village and answer with songs, which is called "blocking the gate of the village." Moreover, if a sacrificial activity is held in the village, outsiders are not allowed to enter the village during this period. The taboo sign is to tie four knots with mottled thatch grass, form a cross, and hang it at the entrance of the village.

The "fireworks grabbing" Dong people in Sanjiang County are commonly known as "singing and sitting on the moon", also known as "singing and sitting on the night". In the northern Dong area, also known as "playing mountains", young men and women meet in small groups to sing love songs on the hillside after working.In the southern Dong area, it is called "Zouzhai", or "Zougsi". At night, the girls work together in the house to do needlework. Young men from the guest village come with musical instruments to accompany and sing duet and confide in each other's love. When they are in deep love, men and women "exchange memories" with each other.(Give gifts) to make love and make an appointment as a couple. In Fulu and other places in Sanjiang County, the Dong people often gather on Guangping on March 3 or February 2 of the summer calendar. They use a special fire bag to punch an iron ring and fly into the sky. When they land, they are robbed by everyone. The winner will receive a heavy reward. It is called "grabbing fireworks".

The funeral customs of the Dong nationality are the same as those of the Han nationality. In some areas, there is also the custom of stopping the burial. After a person dies, the coffin is parked in the suburbs. Only when both the ethnic group and the deceased's contemporaries of the same year have died can they choose a day for burial together. Adults who died normally can be buried in ancestral graves, while people who died abnormally or minors who died prematurely can be buried in secluded wilderness. In the Congjiang and Liping areas of Guizhou, there used to be the custom of "stopping the coffin waiting for burial". After a person died and was put in the coffin, the coffin was parked outside the school and waited until both the Benfang tribe and the deceased's contemporaries of the same year died before choosing a date for burial together.