The bizarre folk customs of snakes
Snakes are smart, flexible, mysterious and fierce animals that have appeared in people's lives since ancient times. Due to the poor living conditions and weak preventive capabilities of the ancients, they were often harmed by poisonous snakes. Snake infestation makes people afraid of snakes, and the snake's super ability makes people respect them and regard them as an object of worship. People's complex feelings of awe and awe towards snakes interpret the bizarre folk customs of snakes.
The custom of worshiping snakes that is proud of snakes In my country, worshiping snakes has a long history as one of the folk beliefs of nature worship. In ancient times, some tribes used snakes as their totem. Some ancient heroes in mythology were also given the image of snakes. For example, Pangu, who created the world, was the "dragon's head and snake's body" and "Guang Shu Zhi"); Fuxi and Nuwa, known as the ancestors of mankind, were the "snake's body and human face, the head of an ox and the nose of a tiger" and "Liezi"); and the Yellow Emperor, the original leader of the Chinese nation, was the "human face and snake's body, and the tail meets the head" Sutra of mountains and seas. Overseas Western Economics). Although these heroes have high prestige and magical powers, they all have the bodies of snakes, which reflects the highly respected status of snakes in ancient times.
Another carrier for the ancients to worship snakes was to build a snake king temple to sacrifice to the snake god. Because snakes are widely distributed in our country, there are also a large number of Snake King temples. By the Song Dynasty, the Snake King Temple had spread all over the country. In order to further show respect for the snake god, various places also attached a historical figure to the sacrificial snake king. For example, the Snake King Society in Fujian is a monk, and the many affiliated societies in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are "Fangzheng Studies".
Zhengxue was Fang Xiaoru who resisted King Zhu Di of Yan in the early Ming Dynasty. He was dismembered in the city because he was loyal to Emperor Jianwen and did not draft the imperial edict for King Zhu Di of Yan to ascend the throne. Hundreds of relatives and friends were killed as a result of his involvement. Zhejiang people regard the highly respected Fang Xiaoru as the Snake King. Although it is somewhat nondescript, it further reflects the lofty status of the Snake King.
Although the snake worship trend is widely distributed, the southern region with many snakes is far better than the north. Especially in Fujian, many snake worship customs have always been preserved. In Zhanghu Town, Yanping District, today's Nanping City, a snake temple dedicated to Lord Lian Gong has been built since the Ming Dynasty. The statues of the three snake kings of Xiao, Lian and Zhang have been sculpted. They are all dressed as emperors. In the old days, spring festivals and snake lanterns were held around the Lantern Festival every year, and autumn festivals and snake gods were held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. They were both very grand.
According to "Min Zaji","Outside the south gate of Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian, there is Nantai Temple, commonly known as the Snake King Temple. Its god is a monk statue." It is said that if a city person is bitten by a snake, he can go to the temple to complain and eliminate the disaster. He can also see a dead snake with a broken waist or head behind the temple. This is the punishment of the snake god to the perpetrator.
"wonderful way" to avoid snakes is a strange way. People admire snakes largely because they are afraid of snakes. In order to avoid being harmed by snakes, many people have adopted the method of "avoiding snakes", which has given rise to the custom of "avoiding snakes".
Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Taoist priests often went into the mountains to cultivate, and avoiding snakes became particularly important, so they paid special attention to methods of avoiding snakes. To this end, Ge Hong, a famous Taoist leader in the Jin Dynasty, wrote "Baopuzi. The book "Deng She" introduces several "wonderful ways" to avoid snakes: When a Taoist priest enters the mountain, he must first focus on the sun and the moon and the images of the Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, Qinglong, and White Tiger, let these gods protect his body, and then come to the forest and grass. In the middle of the trees and trees, take three breaths from the left, hold your breath, and blow it into the mountain grass. Imagine that this breath has spread for dozens of miles like red clouds, so that it is not easy to encounter snakes when entering the mountain.
If you encounter a snake, face the sun, take three breaths from your left, hold your breath, then find a wooden stick to press the snake's head, turn the snake's body, draw a prison on the ground, and put the snake into the "prison". As long as you don't blow on the snake, the snake will never get out of prison.
Sun Simiao, a Taoist priest and "King of Medicine" of the Tang Dynasty, is in "Thousand Gold Wings." In "Prohibition of Snake Venoms", the methods introduced to avoid snakes are even more magical. He said that in order to prevent the appearance of poisonous snakes, on the night of March 3, he burned incense facing north and held his breath and chanted the following mantra: "The sunrise is in the east, and it is glorious. I tell you that snakes and insects have fled far away and hidden deep. If you don't hide, storks and magpies will eat your snake's head and swallow you into your intestines. When the big snake dies, the little snake dies. Be as urgent as the law!" Does the poisonous snake really "escape far and hide deep" after hearing this curse? That is unknown.
Among the people, there is also a saying that "seeing a snake will lead to disaster". It is believed that seeing a snake is a "bad omen" and should be avoided as much as possible. If you see a snake that is mating or molting, it is even more unlucky. In addition to not telling others casually, you should also quickly pull a hair from your head, twist a button off your clothes, and spit., in order to resolve the disaster. If a snake is found on the beams, under the eaves, or in the swallow nest at home, it means that a person is going to die in the home, the only way to resolve it is to burn incense and pray and ask the snake to leave quickly.
There are "reasons" for fighting and protecting snakes. Some people, influenced by the "bad omen" when seeing a snake, are extremely afraid of snakes. After seeing them, they will want to get rid of them quickly. This gave rise to the custom of "fighting snakes."
In some places in northern my country, proverbs such as "If you see a snake, you will be punished if you don't hit it" and "If you hit a snake, don't kill it." Some people will hit a snake when you see it, and they will be killed. They believe that as long as you kill the snake, the "bad omen" can be resolved. If it cannot be killed, the snake will come back for revenge. The best way to fight a snake is to smash the head of the snake. Otherwise, if only the snake body was broken, a new snake body would soon grow on the snake head, and they would come to seek revenge. Therefore, it is said: "If the snake is not killed, it will harm everyone, and if the tiger is not killed, it will be the root of trouble."
Of course, snake hunting is mainly about hunting snakes in the wild, while "domestic snakes" living in people's homes are under protection. It is said that the domestic snake is a symbol of wealth and controls the wealth of the family. With domestic snakes, the rice in the rice store will never be eaten, and the domestic snakes will continuously transport rice from outside.
In fact, whether it is to kill snakes or protect them, it is all feudal superstitious thoughts that cause trouble. Because anyone with a little common sense knows that it is nonsense for snakes to smuggle food, and it is absurd to see snakes as a "bad omen". However, it is an indisputable fact that snakes can kill mice and eliminate pests and are a good helper in agriculture. Therefore, today, snakes have become protected animals and are not allowed to be killed casually. However, fighting against snakes has also become a harmful and vulgar custom and should be resolutely eradicated.