The origin of the Maguai Festival
On the banks of the Hongshui River in western Guangxi, during the Maguai Festival in the first lunar month, the Zhuang people of Bama indulge in the ancient celebration of the Maguai River. to the sound of drums. According to legend, the goddess Maguai is the daughter of the King of Thunder, who controls rain and makes the earth smooth. One year, there was a young man named Dong Lin in the Zhuang family who was in great pain because of the loss of his mother. He heard the frogs outside the house chirping "croak, croak, croak" and became irritated, so he poured hot water on the frog until it died, was injured, and escaped. From then on, the frogs stopped crowing and it never rained again. Then disaster began to come to the world. Donglin was frightened and went to seek help from Luo Jia, the goddess of the Buluotuo River, the ancestor of the gods. He received instructions from the gods to apologize to the frog goddess. So Donglin hurriedly beat the bronze drum on the first day of the new year, invited the frog goddess to return to the village to celebrate the New Year, and invited thousands of people to bury the dead frog. Later, the world was blessed by the frog goddess, and everything went smoothly. From then on, the Zhuang people in Donglan, Bama, celebrate the Maguai Festival every year and worship Maguai.
Customs of the Maguai Festival
Whenever it dawns on the first day of the first lunar month, people beat bronze drums and go to the fields in groups to look for hibernating frogs. It is said that the one who finds the frog first is lucky and is known as the son-in-law of the Thunder King "Maguai Lang" and becomes the leader of Maguai that year. The leader will lead everyone to light up the fireworks to report the good news of the human sacrifice to the King of Thunder. People took the frog back to the village and put it in a sedan chair. From the first day of the Lunar New Year to the end of the first lunar month, children carry frogs around the village during the day to congratulate each household; at night, they carry them to the Maguai Pavilion, where people dance Maguai dances and sing Maguai songs to show their vigil for Maguai. . After the 25th day of wake-up activities and village tours, the Maguai Festival reaches its climax. On this day, people choose an auspicious time, carry a sedan chair to the place where the frog is buried, and open the treasure coffin where the frog was buried last year. If the frog's bones are golden, it indicates that this year will be a good year. The whole audience suddenly cheers with bronze drums and drums. . If the frog bones are gray or black, it means a bad year, so people burn incense to pray for disaster relief and good fortune. Then the burial ceremony of the new frog is held. After the funeral, men, women and children sing and dance around the bonfire to send Maguai's soul to heaven. That night, people caroused all night long.
The process of the Maguai Festival
1. Find Maguai. After breakfast on the first day of the first lunar month, adults and children go to the fields in small groups to look for ants. As usual, they pick two, one male and one female. The person in charge of the event was asked to put the maguai into a cut bamboo tube (called the "maguai coffin"), close it and tie it tightly, and paste the surface with colored paper. The next day, young people carried the "Maguai" around every household in the village and recited congratulatory messages. I wish you all the best in the New Year, may your livestock be prosperous, and your crops may be plentiful.
2. Sacrifice antguai. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, five or six-meter-high colored paper flags were erected next to the fixed grave of Maguai, sacrifices were placed, and bronze drums and skin drums were beaten to worship Maguai.
3. Bury the antguai. The dates for burying maguai vary from place to place, and the customs are also different. Take the most solemn ceremony of Bayingtun in Bachou Township as an example. Before burying Maguai, first take out the old bones of last year and observe their color. It is said that yellow bones indicate good weather and a good harvest this year; white bones indicate drought, poor grain harvest, but a good cotton harvest; black bones indicate diseases and disasters for crops, people and animals. . Then, an old man recited the sacrificial words and buried the new maguai.
4. Costume performance. Before the burial of Maguai, people from other villages came to join the fun. At this time, two old men wore masks and wrapped themselves in rags and mosquito nets, pretending to be "Mamaguai Gong" and "Maguai Po". Under the escort of "Maguai Zai" wearing ugly masks and holding sticks, he walked into the crowd, and everyone voluntarily gave way to a three- to four-meter-wide aisle.
Maguai, the belief of the Zhuang people, the Maguai Festival is a very distinctive custom and an important part of our country’s traditional national culture. It is also a symbol of the Zhuang people’s understanding of nature in ancient times. The cultural products derived from the situation are the expression of a culture.
The New Year customs and romantic festivals of the black Zhuang people
Every year, the Spring Festival comes, and we Zhuang people, like all other ethnic groups, attach great importance to the Spring Festival, a traditional national festival. Today, when I recall the unique New Year customs of the Zhuang people, I still have endless aftertaste.
Unforgettable New Year customs
In the rural areas where the Zhuang people live around Nanning, villagers purchasing annual loans can be seen everywhere.
The Wuming Zhuang people in their hometown are the same as the Han people: every year, the period from the 23rd to the 30th of the twelfth lunar month is called "Dust Sweeping Day". According to the folk saying of the Han people: because "dust" and "chen" are homophonic, sweeping dust in the New Year has the meaning of "removing the old and spreading the new". The purpose of the Zhuang people is to sweep away all the bad luck and bad luck of the old year. This custom expresses the Zhuang people's desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayer to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new. When the "Dust Sweeping Day" comes, every household of the Zhuang people will clean the environment, wash various utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the courtyard, brush away dirt and cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and ditches. The joyful atmosphere of welcoming the New Year can be seen everywhere. The Zhuang people's "Dust Sweeping Day" is a tradition that continues to this day.
Although the Zhuang people’s Spring Festival celebrations are influenced by the Han Spring Festival, the form and content of their activities have the characteristics of their own nation. When New Year's Eve comes, the Zhuang people around Nanning are busy killing pigs, chickens and ducks, making rice dumplings, making rice cakes, sewing new clothes, posting Spring Festival couplets, etc. For example, in the reporter's hometown of Wuming Yiling Village, Zhuang villagers celebrated the New Year's Eve in a special way.
When New Year's Eve comes, some villagers will use pig heads, capons, candies, etc. to solemnly worship their ancestors; the adults gather around the fire pond and talk about ancient times while keeping watch on New Year's Eve; the children play happily, and the adults stay up all night. put one's oar in. At around 11 o'clock at night, villagers of every household hang long firecrackers in front of their doors and set them off when the rooster crows. Since ancient times, villagers have observed this rule: cannons can only be fired when the rooster crows for the first time that night. When lighting firecrackers, whoever lights the firecrackers in sync with the crowing of the rooster will be considered the most auspicious. Villagers call this custom "cock-pressing cannon". After that, every time the rooster crows, a burst of firecrackers will be set off until dawn. This custom of burning cannons is very common in Zhuang areas.
The first day of the Spring Festival is the most solemn day of the New Year. At dawn on this day, the elderly in the village will put new clothes on the children. After the children say Happy New Year to the elderly, the elderly will put the new year's money into the children's pockets and call the children to the altar table in the living room. After the children face their ancestors, the old man will give the children inspirational education for the New Year. The old man also wanted to make a special statement: When you go out today, you must say auspicious words to the villagers you meet, and you must not say unlucky words, etc...
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, in many Zhuang mountain villages in Wuming , you can see Spring Festival couplets posted on the door of every house everywhere, you can see people dressed up, everyone is beaming, and they say auspicious words to each other when they meet. Around 9 a.m., villagers will invite a lion dance team to perform a lion dance. At this time, these Zhuang villages were immersed in the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers. At about 10 a.m., villagers and neighbors will visit each other to pay their respects to their seniors, and adults will give money to children who come to pay New Year greetings. At this time of year, after the villagers who usually have conflicts with each other pay New Year greetings to each other, the conflicts will disappear, and everyone will reconcile and drink together. According to elderly villagers: In the old days, on the first night of the Lunar New Year, many villages would invite Nanning opera troupes to sing operas; young men and women from village to village would often express their love with antiphonal songs, and there was a joyous scene everywhere.
In the old days, the Zhuang people around Nanning still had this custom: before noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year, villagers generally refrained from killing, and did not use swords or fire; they would only leave the village after the second day of the Lunar New Year. Visit relatives and friends. After the second day of the Lunar New Year, on the village roads in Zhuang villages, you can see Zhuang villagers carrying gifts on their hands and shoulders everywhere. They are happily visiting relatives and friends.
In the past 20 years, the living standards of the Zhuang people have been greatly improved. When the Zhuang people celebrate the New Year, in addition to maintaining thousands of years of traditional customs, the New Year is more civilized and progressive.
During the Spring Festival, I saw people in Zhuang Township holding folk song performances, ball games, artistic performances, etc. to celebrate the Spring Festival. The content of the New Year was even more colorful. On Zhuang rural roads, Zhuang villagers driving cars and motorcycles to visit relatives and friends can be seen everywhere. The villagers regard visiting relatives and friends as an "exchange meeting" on how to get rich.
The life of the Zhuang people in black
The Zhuang people in black believe that the graves of their ancestors cannot be moved, and they must be together with their descendants forever. Approaching the entrance of Heiyi Zhuang Village, you can see graves covered with tiles near the houses or in the vegetable garden. From a distance, it looks like a hut buried underground, with only the roof exposed, which is very conspicuous. A rectangular tile-covered tomb in Nongwentun is the tomb of the first generation ancestor of the Li family, which is said to be more than 200 years old. It is only about 5 meters away from the house, and there are fresh vegetables growing around the tomb. Heiyi Zhuang's choice of cemetery is to ask a wizard to do divination. During the divination, an egg is used to stand up and whichever direction the egg falls will be used as the cemetery. No matter whose land it belongs to, the head of the family will enthusiastically give it to him. This is called "living". People do not fight to the death."
In the mountains, the mountains are connected to each other, and there are dark stones everywhere. "Nine points of stone and one point of soil" is a true portrayal of their living environment. Heiyi Zhuang lives in wooden buildings with stilts, usually divided into three floors. The first floor is used for raising pigs and cattle, the second floor is used for people, and the third floor is used as a warehouse. Ganlan buildings are mainly made of stone and wood structures, and the craftsmanship is simple and rough. The lower part is supported by polished solid stone pillars, and the upper part is built with wood in a "concave" shape.
There are no inns to entertain outsiders in the village, but the enthusiastic strong men in black welcome you to live in any home. It's cool to sleep at night, and it's like installing a "natural air conditioner" all year round. When you get up early in the morning after the rain, you can see the clouds and mist filling the entire village like a tide. The tiles and warped corners of the wooden buildings appear and disappear in the surging clouds and mist, which is charming.
The people in black are kind-hearted. They are kind to guests, children, and even the elderly. Taking care of the elderly is not only reflected in food and daily life, but also in all festival activities, the elderly are given special respect. The youngest child should present a "bonus belt" symbolizing good luck and happiness to the oldest old man.
Whenever there are foreign tourists, strong men in black clothes will walk out of their wooden buildings with wooden stilts and rush to the simple playground at the head of the village to the drum beat. This scene is like a group of black butterflies flying out of the woods and fluttering towards the brightly blooming flowers. The whole village becomes beautiful and magical. They performed dances such as red dance, birthday dance, black gun dance, thumping cloth dance and unity dance for tourists. These dances all originate from their lives, some reflect their war against alien invasion; some reflect their etiquette in welcoming people; some reflect their respect for the elderly; some reflect their beating cloth to make new clothes, preparing The joy of meeting a lover.
Although the actors have not been professionally trained, they use their skillful dance steps to express a kind of simple feelings. The charm of the mountains is vividly interpreted through their agile dance movements.
The most intuitive thing about the traditional culture of Heiyi Zhuang is their clothing and accessories. According to a scholar who has studied Heiyi Zhuang for a long time in Napo County: Heiyi Zhuang uses "black" as a symbol of clothing and nationality. First of all, it is related to the provisions of the chieftain system in history. During the period when the chieftains ruled the Zhuang people in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was stipulated that all lands People are only allowed to wear black and blue. Secondly, the legend of the origin of black Zhuang also determines the formation and continuation of black clothing. Black Zhuang still retains the tradition of wearing black. The main reason is that "black is the symbol of The aesthetic concept of "beauty" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. At the same time, the practicality of wearing and the elegance, simplicity and beauty of the style are organically combined to complete the connotation of Heiyi Zhuang clothing culture.
The strong man in black wears a front-covered top, paired with wide trousers and large trousers. This kind of clothing makes it easier for them to work and walk in the mountains. Traditional men's clothing also includes several circles of black cloth turbans on the head and a red cloth or red silk belt around the waist to drive away ghosts and evil spirits, and also to show the power and courage of men.
Women’s clothing is more distinctive. Both young and old like to wear tight-fitting short tops with a large right flap and a gourd-shaped short round neck. The lower body is matched with trousers with wide legs and large trousers, and the waist is tied A large apron made of black cloth and a large black cloth turban. The apron is both wide and long. When worn, it can be tied around the whole body, and the bottom of the skirt hangs down to the calf. The apron can not only be used for decoration, for example, tie the corners of the skirt upward into a triangle and tie it to the front waist to show chicness and beauty; You can also turn up the bottom of the skirt and use it as a baggage. This is especially useful when visiting relatives and friends, going to song fairs, or going to your parents' home. During work, you can also make a bucket-shaped bag to hold beans, grains, etc. The headscarves worn by women are long strips of black cloth woven and dyed by themselves. When wearing, they first wrap it around the head, then fold it into a large rhombus shape, cover the head, and then hang the headscarf on both ends. On the shoulders, it not only looks simple and beautiful, but can also be used as a hat to protect from the sun. When strong women in black clothes gather together, the beauty of solemnity, stability and coordination appear in the darkness. The edges of their clothes, cuffs, skirts and headscarves are cut into small strips of red or yellow cloth and bound together. Some use red, yellow and blue silk threads to embroider them into wavy lines to make the black stand out. The thin lines of red, yellow and blue are revealed, elegant and bright, and the color coordination highlights the beauty of layers and exquisiteness. Women's clothing is all sewn stitch by stitch by their own skillful hands.
The silver necklace worn by a strong woman in black has both ends made into fish shapes, like a pair of fishes kissing each other. The silver necklace with a kiss of Pisces is a must-have item for women in black clothes when they get married, which illustrates the belief in fish totem worship in black clothes. Historically, in the traditional rice-growing areas of the Zhuang people, people believed that after death, people turned into fish and then were reincarnated as humans. While we were interviewing and filming Hei Yi Zhuang, we saw many little girls wearing Pisces kiss silver necklaces, which shows that the legacy of Hei Yi Zhuang's fish worship culture has evolved into their ethnic group's own tradition.
The most beautiful ornament of a strong woman in black is the flower on her head. When women reach adulthood, they should wear a bun, insert a hairpin, a hairpin, a hair fork, and a flower on their head, and then wrap it with jade beads. The flower on the head usually has six flowers, and can only be worn by unmarried young women or those who are married but have not married yet. The women of the Luofu family only wear head forks.
Strong women in black wear many accessories, including earrings, earrings, jade beads, necklaces, collars, bracelets, and rings. Most of them come from family inheritance or "floating wealth" brought from their natal family when they got married. ". The most interesting thing is that most women like to have their front teeth set in gold to show their beauty and their status and status.
Nowadays, many young people wearing black clothes usually dress more casually. They have transitioned from the original "all black" to the so-called second generation clothing of "blue on top and black and white headscarf on the bottom". But whenever there are traditional festival celebrations or when outsiders come as guests, they still dress very seriously, and their clothing and accessories are meticulous. Especially girls have to dress themselves or each other carefully.
To this day, Napo Heiyi Zhuang still preserves the traditional indigo dyeing and weaving craftsmanship. Its cultural connotation is very rich. Hei Yizhuang grows, weaves, dyes and wears itself, which is authentic. Taoist national culture. In Nongwentun, there is a deeply buried natural stone. In ancient times, villagers dug the stone into a dyeing well. This is the oldest indigo dyeing well in Nongwentun. During the indigo harvest season, the whole village takes turns to collect the indigo. The branches and leaves soaked in this dye well. Now the stone well has dried up, but there is still a thick layer of indigo on the walls.
In the long-term production labor, Hei Yizhuang summed up a complete set of indigo dyeing experience. Every household in Nongwentun has a textile machine and a dyeing vat made of stone. The woven cloth must be dip-dyed with indigo and rinsed dozens of times, then boiled and dyed with cow glue and pig blood, rinsed and dried into black cloth. It also needs to be starched and beaten many times with a mallet to produce a strong, smooth, black and shiny finished cloth. This process is full of the unique flavor of life and the poetic and picturesque charm of traditional customs in Heiyi Zhuang. Strips of indigo cloth are drying on the railings. The fragrance of indigo spreads in the space, and the atmosphere of indigo dyeing and weaving culture is very strong. The indigo dyeing and weaving craftsmanship of Hei Yi Zhuang is not only the cultural heritage of Hei Yi Zhuang, but also the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and even all mankind.
The Zhuang people dressed in black celebrate the "Romance Festival"
Every year on the tenth day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar, the Zhuang people dressed in black celebrate the "Romance Festival". Young men and women who have just begun to fall in love come under a century-old tree or under a large tree. We meet on the lawn. The red ribbon is an important token of love and mascot for the young men and women of the Zhuang ethnic group in black. They throw the red ribbon with their birthdays written on it into a big dustpan. After stirring, each person pulls out one, and the result is The name written on the red ribbon is your dream lover. Young men and women sing love songs to each other and give each other tokens of love through "red thread" to establish a lifelong love. The song embodies the life ideals of Heiyi Zhuang, and also flows their excellent, splendid and colorful history and culture, reflecting their excellent qualities of perseverance, optimism, simplicity and diligence.
Hei Yi Zhuang still strictly enforces intraclan marriage, but marriage between close relatives is absolutely prohibited. The main reason is to adhere to the traditional legacies of the ancestors and to maintain the pure tradition of the ethnic group. For thousands of years, the almost isolated living environment is also the reason why endogamy has existed for a long time in this tribe. So far, most young men and women in black clothes like to find love partners in this village.
Although young men and women can fall in love freely through singing fairs and other venues, marriage must obtain the consent of their parents and go through a series of etiquette such as matchmaking, destiny setting, and payment of coins. The wedding is strange and interesting. The wedding takes place at night. When the bride leaves the house, her father and brother cannot watch her go out. After the bride goes out, she is not allowed to look back at her parents' house, let alone go back. Otherwise, it is considered a bad omen. When the bride arrives at the groom's house and enters the bridal chamber, she can only eat a token amount of the food brought to the bridal chamber. When the rooster crows for the first time at midnight, the bride must quietly return to her natal home with her bridesmaids (no matter how far the journey is).
After that, every month, the groom’s sister or elder sister will go to the bride’s house to pick up the bride and go to the groom’s house to help for two to three days. After staying for two or three days, the bride will return to her parents’ home to live with her parents and brothers. Life. This goes on for three to five years, until the bride is pregnant and about to give birth to a child, and then the bride settles down in the groom's house. From then on, the couple gets to live together day and night.