Traditional customs of the Daur people
The Daur people are one of the 56 ethnic groups in China. They are mainly distributed in the Moridawadaur Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Meris Daur District of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, and the Ewenki Autonomous Banner; a few live in Tacheng, Xinjiang, Liaoning Province and other places. The earliest recorded place of residence of the Daur people was Taowuer River (now Taoer River), which was moved north of Heilongjiang in the early Ming Dynasty. In the mid-17th century, due to the Sino-Russian border war, the Qing government initially moved to the Nenjiang River Basin in order to consolidate the rear area, and a small part of the Daur people still remain in the present-day Outer Baikal area. Later, the Qing government recruited young and middle-aged people to garrison border towns in Northeast China and Xinjiang, gradually forming the current distribution situation.
The Daur people have their own language, and the Daur language belongs to the Mongolian family of the Altaic family. The original script has been lost and Latin alphabet based scripts are now used. The Daur people were able to fight well. In order to enter the Pass and consolidate the rear, the Later Jin Dynasty attacked Sauron three times. Therefore, there is a saying that "Sauron rides and archers dominate the world." Daur generals participated in the internal and external wars of the Qing Dynasty. During the Anti-Japanese War, he made outstanding contributions to the Anti-Japanese War in Northeast China. The Daur people are a people who are good at singing and dancing. Folk music has many forms such as folk songs, lip singing and dance lyrics.
Like other Altaic ethnic groups, the Daur people mainly believe in Shamanism. In the long-term historical development, although the Daur people were influenced by Lamaism, Taoism and Catholicism, and some people also worshipped gods such as the God of Guandi and the God of Niangwu in the Han Dynasty, foreign religions and gods were not enough to destroy the integrity and independence of Shamanism, and did not shake the original position of traditional Shamanism in the spiritual culture of the Daur people. Until around the founding of New China, Shamanism was still the common religion believed by Daur people living in different regions.
The traditional surnames of the Daur people are "Hale" and "Mokun". "Hale" originated from the clan society and was often named after the mountains and rivers where their ancestors first lived in the Heilongjiang River Basin. For example, Enon Hale originated from the Enon River Basin where they lived, and Jingqilihale originated from the Jingqili River where they lived. "Mokun" originated from the family and was often named after the names of their ancestors or the names of their places of residence. For example, Sebuqi Mokun originated from the Sebuqi Peak in Jiangxi Province, Jingqili, where they lived. In addition, Mo Kun is divided according to the village where he lives.
Documents from the Qing Dynasty record that the Daur people originally had more than 30 "hala" and more than 60 "Mokun". The latter part of "hala" was merged into the larger "hala", and some were merged into "Mokun". Coupled with incorrect writing of Chinese characters and historical reasons, most of them disappeared. As of July 2015, there were more than 20 main "hala" and more than 30 "Mokun". Because the Daur people in Xinjiang have not been simplified and there are no accurate statistics, the simplified surname is unknown.
The traditional houses of the Daur people mostly use pine or birch beams as the frame, adobe or soil manure as the walls, and several layers of yellow mud are smeared inside and outside, and the roof is covered with grass. There are two, three and five rooms. The west room of the two rooms is the bedroom, and the east room is the kitchen; for the three rooms or five rooms, the middle room is the kitchen, and the two sides are bedrooms. Houses generally face north to south and pay attention to lighting. Most windows are a major feature of Daur houses. On the south, north and west sides of the room, or on the south, east and north sides, there are connected three-paved kang, commonly known as the "Manzi Kang". Manzi kang has good thermal insulation performance and is an indispensable heating facility for Daur people in winter.
The rooms of Daur people are expensive in Westinghouse. The West House is based on the south kang and is mostly inhabited by elders. Most sons, daughter-in-law and their children live in the north kang or east house. The west kang is dedicated to guests. Most kang surfaces are covered with reed mats or felt. Nowadays, with the development of the economy and the improvement of living conditions, brick and tile houses are increasing day by day. However, daily customs such as using fire kang are still deeply loved by Daur people.
In and before the Qing Dynasty, the Daur people maintained a traditional costume culture dominated by leather clothing. Men's clothing is highly seasonal, and people change different types of clothing according to changes in seasons and climate. In the winter, the leather robes worn by men are mostly made of animal skins or livestock skins from around the beginning of winter to the Spring Festival. In the spring and autumn, men wear a kind of leather robe that reaches the knees, called "Harimi". This leather robe is made of roe deer skin from spring, summer or early autumn. Due to the lack of cloth, men wear leather pants all year round. There are many types of hats on men's heads, including leather hats worn in winter, felt hats worn in spring and autumn, straw hats worn in summer, top hats worn when meeting guests, official hats worn on solemn occasions, roe deer scalp hats worn during hunting, etc. Wear "Chikami"(boots made of robe skin or deerskin),"Oroqi"(casual boots with cloth soles or leather soles) or wyu.
Women wear long robes without girdles or short clothes, and the color is mainly blue. Wear "chickami" in winter; wear white cloth socks and flowered shoes in summer. Wear embroidered satin clothes of various colors on New Year or festive occasions, and the slanting placket on the outside is called "Ole Qing". It is basically the same as the Manchu style of the Qing Dynasty, with leather on the inside and satin on the inside.
After the late Qing Dynasty, the traditional hunting economy of the Daur people shrank day by day, the local land transportation and commodity economy became increasingly developed, cloth and satin were transported in large quantities, and the dominant position of leather products in the traditional costumes and customs of the Daur people no longer existed. Cloth, satin, and cotton and wool products gradually replaced leather clothing. At the same time, the style of clothing has also changed with the development of the times. After the founding of New China, the Daur people wore daily clothing, shoes and hats that were roughly the same as other local ethnic groups.
Daur people regard respecting the elderly, mutual assistance and hospitality as their best practices. For the elderly, whether they are walking on the road or entering or exiting the door, young people must make way; when their children come back from going out, they must pay their respects to the elderly; whenever there is something delicious or food that the elderly like to eat, they must first respect or leave a part for the elderly. When guests visit, the host will hand cigarettes, toast, and serve out dairy products enthusiastically. If a distinguished guest comes, he will also add delicacies such as "Wachi"(pork knuckle) and "hand-braised pork" to entertain them warmly. No matter who kills the animal, the meat must be selected and distributed to neighbors, relatives and friends. Even passers-by can get a share after returning from hunting or fishing. When guests come to the house, even if they live in poverty, they are happy to try to entertain them.
The early agriculture of the Daur people mainly grew early-maturing crops such as millet, buckwheat, oats, and barley, so the staple food included rice and pasta food. The rice food is mainly millet rice, which is divided into two types. One is to steam millet seeds in a pot and then dry on the kang and grind them into rice called "Aosumo". It is cooked millet rice. The rice grains are large and do not adhere. It has a paste aroma and is the main meal of the Daur people. The other is directly ground into rice called "Hikemo". It is raw millet rice. The grains are small and slightly sticky. In addition to making dry rice, it can be made into sticky porridge, and it can also be pressed into flour to make cakes.
Pasta is mainly soba noodles. After the buckwheat is ground into flour, the traditional way to eat it is to press the buckwheat flour (mix)(mix)(each)(each) and pour game broth (each). It is the best diet. You can also bake the buckwheat flour cakes filled with perilla seeds. Buckwheat is ground into flour, and the grains left behind by the basket are called "Nikki", which can be eaten as sticky porridge. Buckwheat is steamed and dried and ground into rice called "Alamo", which can be used as rice.
Since the Republic of China, the Daur people learned to grow millet, corn, wheat, soybeans and other crops from Han farmers. Early-maturing and low-yield crops are gradually decreasing, and new grain varieties are increasing. Fundamental changes have taken place in the varieties of staple foods of Daur people. Millet, corn, rice, and white flour have become staple foods, and more pasta such as oil cakes, noodles, steamed buns, and dumplings have been eaten. Traditional millet rice, buckwheat noodles, oats, perilla seeds, etc. have become scarce foods. The Daur non-staple foods include meat, dairy food, vegetables and collected food.
Daur people attach great importance to the marriage of men and women, and have formed traditional marriage customs with rich content and unique characteristics. Monogamy marriage originated very early among the Daur people and has been passed down to this day. Historically, the Daur people practiced loose intra-ethnic marriage, and the scope of intermarriage was mainly within the ethnic group, that is, members with different surnames were intermarried. Later, due to long-term living adjacent to the Ewenki, Mongolian, Manchu, Oroqen and Han ethnic groups, intermarriage with other ethnic groups was also allowed. Exogamy among the clans is another basic system in terms of marriage customs of the Daur people. Men and women from the same Hara (clan) and Mokun (family) are strictly prohibited from intermarrying each other because they are related by blood and are descendants of the same patrilineal ancestor. In order to maintain stable ethical relations among relatives, although the Daur people allow some related people to marry, they require that both parties must have the same seniority and strictly implement peer marriage. At the same time, mutoral marriages are more common. After a man marries into his wife, the children he gives birth to still belong to his father's "hala". The son-in-law only engages in labor in his father-in-law's home and has no right to inherit the woman's property.
Before the founding of New China, the Daur people's feudal etiquette and moral concepts were deeply rooted. Arranged marriages by parents were regarded as a matter of course. Young people did not have the right to choose their own spouse, nor could they engage in free pre-marital social activities. Its traditional marriage customs usually include procedures such as choice of a spouse, engagement, ceremony, and marriage. People choose spouses that are of equal age, appearance, and family background. In terms of age, both men and women are required to be roughly similar. The man and the woman can be of the same age or one to three years older than the woman. After the founding of New China, with the promulgation and implementation of the Marriage Law, the feudal arranged and sold marriages in traditional marriage customs were completely abolished. Young men and women could choose a satisfactory spouse for themselves through free love.