What are the customs and habits of the Zhuang nationality?
The Zhuang people are one of the most populous ethnic minorities in China. The aborigines of South Vietnam evolved. Most of the Zhuang people live in Guangxi. Limestones are widely distributed in the Zhuang area. It is a karst area for people around the world. Stone mountains rise from the ground, and there are caves and underground rivers in the stone mountains, thus forming the scenic spots of "Guilin's mountains and rivers are the best in the world." Well, the Zhuang people also have many customs and habits. Let's take a look next! What are the customs and habits of the Zhuang nationality?
Construction
Zhuang people like to live near mountains and rivers. Between the green mountains and clear waters, wooden buildings are dotted. These are the traditional dwellings of the Zhuang people. People live on top of the wooden building and livestock are enclosed below. No matter what house it is, place the shrine on the central axis of the entire house. The front hall is used to hold celebrations and social events, with rooms on both sides occupied, and the back hall is a living area. Life in the house centers on the fire pond, and three meals a day are eaten next to the fire pond.
Clothing
Zhuang people often use self-woven soil cloth to make clothing, with various styles. Zhuang women's clothing is generally blue and black, with slightly wider corners of trousers, a jacquard towel wrapped around their heads, and an exquisite apron tied around their waists; young men usually wear double-prung jackets with a belt around their waist.
Wedding customs
It is a wedding custom for the Zhuang people to enter the bridal chamber with "artillery fire". On the wedding day, the bride must undergo "artillery fire" before entering the house. This marriage custom is popular in Zhuang villages such as Yufeng, Tianyang County, Guangxi. Before the bride comes to the groom's house, she has to stop for a moment and be ready to "charge" into the house, because a "artillery fire" group composed of seven or eight young men is held in three places: the door, the hall, and the bridal chamber. String firecrackers are waiting for the bride to come over. When the bride was about to approach the door, the "gunners" lit firecrackers to form "walls of fire" to block the bride's approach. If it was a timid bride, she would have to retreat outside the door and wait for the second "charge".
The "gunners" also summed up the experience of victory and made preparations for the second "blocking". It can be said that the bride cannot enter the door without going through two or three "charges". The onlookers, three floors inside and three floors outside, were very lively. After a hard battle, the bride jumped into the door and came to the door of the wedding chamber. This was the last hurdle that was difficult to pass because the "gunner" wanted to fire the "cannon". At this time, the smart bridesmaid and Yingniang "scouted" around and took advantage of the sparse "artillery fire" and jumped into the bridal chamber with the bride under her arms. Immediately, thunderous cheers were heard and congratulations to the bride for "winning the flag." After the wedding banquet and when the lights are on, guests will also watch the bride go out in the dark and "carry water" under the guidance of her mother. The bride will fill the water tank, which is to test whether the bride can endure hardship. In this way, the bride could not enter the bridal chamber until late at night.
Backwriting
In some places at the junction of Yishan and Huanjiang County in Guangxi, Zhuang youth get married, and the custom of "memorizing characters" is still popular. The "back character" is a transliteration of Zhuang dialect. In fact, it is not the "word" on the back, but a wide band 1.4 feet long and more than one foot wide. It is sewn by the woman's mother using a deep black (this color is the best) earthen cloth that she has woven and dyed or bought. On the day of the daughter's wedding, the man was asked to appoint a person to "carry" the cloth tape back to the groom's house in case his nephew was born and used as a swaddle. This custom is called "backbiting" in the local Zhuang language. A person who "recites" must meet three conditions: both biological and biological fathers; an unmarried young man; and being smart and courteous.
The "reciting words" ceremony was held in the main hall of the woman's home. The person presiding over the ceremony must be a highly respected and grandfather in the village. The elderly first toast two cups of local famous wine to the person who recited the word. The person who recited the word politely held the cup with both hands and respectfully returned two cups to the elderly. Both parties had to drink it in one gulp. Then the elders wrapped the prepared tape around the shoulders of the person who recited the word and tied it tightly, and then toasted each other and said auspicious words. After "memorizing the word" was completed, firecrackers were set off to see off the welcoming party's safe return. The person who "memorized the word" bowed to the elderly person goodbye, stepped out of the door, and opened the umbrella, meaning to protect the "grandson" from leaving his grandma's house. Back at the man's house, the head of the family burned incense and fired firecrackers to welcome the successful return of the "memorizer" person. Shaoqing held a "word removal" ceremony, which was also presided over by the elders. After toasts, the elders gently untied the cloth tape and handed it to their mother for safekeeping. The groom's parents will also reward the person who "recites". Soon after, the bride and her female companions came to the groom's house in droves, making the wedding day even more lively.
Bride crossing the river
Zhuang marriage customs are popular in Longsheng Autonomous County in northern Guangxi, Guangxi. In the northern mountain area of Guangxi, there were originally only 40 to 50 miles of mountain roads, but they had to cross the river five or six times and cross three or four bridges. Therefore, when getting married, the bride has to be carried even when crossing the river and crossing the bridge. The people who carry the bride are called "sailors", and most of them are unmarried young men. When crossing the river, three cannons were fired and the horns were sounded in unison. The "sailor" pressed his knees with both palms and bowed his waist. Only after he had his back could he cross the river or cross the bridge. The bride is particularly civilized and polite, and must not be rude in her actions, let alone tease her. Therefore, most of the people who carry the bride are those with the best moral character.
When crossing the river, the "Welcome Niang"(served by an unmarried young woman) was holding umbrellas for the bride to shade. On the river about fifty to sixty meters wide, the welcoming team formed a line, making it very lively. After landing, the obedient "YingNiang" put the umbrella very low to prevent others from peeping at the veiled bride. Long Sheng's Zhuang marriage requires going through "three barriers" and breaking through "ten barriers". You can only get married if you fall in love first and then get engaged. This is called the "three levels". Welcome, sing songs, go out, pass through villages and villages, cross rivers and bridges, enter the door, sing tunes, return to the door, go home, and enter the wedding chamber are called the "Ten Gates". "Crossing the river" is only the fifth "gate" among the "ten gates". Only after passing the "ten gates" can you enter the bridal chamber.
Lerehe Buji
When a woman in the Zhuang family gave birth to Lege (in Zhuang language, baby), her mother-in-law had to personally find a "wet nurse" to nurse the child for her daughter-in-law. This is to allow the daughter-in-law to have a good rest and maintain her body after giving birth. The "wet nurse" is generally filled by a woman five months after giving birth, without remuneration. It is a great honor to be a "wet nurse" and is known as the "second mother". When the child grows up, he will bring gifts to the "nanny" house to pay homage during festive seasons. If a four-year-old child is frail and sick, parents must find "Buji"(Zhuang language, second father) to support the child to ensure the child's health. "Bu Ji" did his job very well. After "taking office", he often discussed with his children's parents, asked for doctors and medicines, and took care of everything to help the children grow up healthily. When the child grew up, he treated "Buji" like a "wet nurse" and showed his filial piety.
Stepping on stilts into the village
In the Zhuang villages in Jinlong Prefecture, Longzhou County, Guangxi, people have to walk on stilts when going out or entering the village. Go out to the village entrance. Just hang stilts on specific nails and then work on the fields or go somewhere else. When entering the village, he took off the stilts from the nails and stepped on them. He jumped off the stone steps at the door of his house. He hung the stilts by the door, washed his hands and feet, and then stepped up the stairs. It is said that these shoes were passed down by their ancestors. They are located in the subtropical zone, where it is rainy all year round, and it is inconvenient to walk on muddy roads. It is really unsanitary to bring mud feet into the house, so they invented these "stilts shoes" with a "no" shape.
Photo location of the
of the social memorial service
The community ceremony is a community ceremony for the Zhuang people in Huanjiang, Guangxi, every year on New Year's Eve in the summer calendar, praying that the seedlings of the new year will grow vigorously and that children will not get sick and livestock will be fat and strong.
Taboo
Animals are killed on the first day of the first lunar month; young women in some areas avoid eating beef and dog meat; women avoid outsiders entering during the first three days (some are the first seven days) of giving birth; women who have not yet given birth to a child are forbidden to visit the house for a full month. When you climb a bamboo building of a Zhuang family, you usually have to take off your shoes. Zhuang people avoid entering their homes wearing bamboo hats and carrying hoes or other farm tools. Therefore, when they reach Zhuang's house, they have to put down the farm tools and take off their bamboo hats and hats. Huotang and Zaotang are the most sacred places in Zhuang families. It is forbidden to step on the tripods and stoves on the huotang with your feet. When Zhuang young people get married, it is forbidden for pregnant women to participate. Pregnant women are especially not allowed to look at the bride. In particular, pregnant women cannot enter the mother's home. If there is a pregnant woman at home, hang a sleeve branch or insert a knife on the door to show taboo. Anyone who accidentally breaks into the mother's home must give the baby a name and give the baby a set of clothes. A chicken or a corresponding gift to be the child's godfather or godmother.
The Zhuang people are a rice-growing nation and love frogs very much. In some places, the Zhuang people have a special "frog-respecting ceremony", so when it comes to Zhuang areas, it is strictly forbidden to kill frogs or eat frog meat. Whenever there is a flood or other major disaster, the Zhuang people hold an ancestral sacrifice event to Anlong and beg for the dragon to provide disaster relief. After the ceremony, a monument was erected at the entrance of the village to refuse outsiders to enter the village.