Architecture
Zhuang people like to live by mountains and rivers. Between the green mountains and green waters, there are wooden buildings dotted, which is the traditional residence of Zhuang people. People live above the wooden building and livestock are enclosed below. No matter what house it is, the shrine should be placed on the central axis of the whole house. The front hall is used for celebrations and social activities, with people living in the wings on both sides and the back hall as the living area. Life in the house is centered on the fireplace, and three meals a day are carried out by the fireplace. ?
Clothing
Zhuang people mostly use home-made homespun as clothing material, with various styles. Zhuang women's clothes are generally blue and black, with slightly wide trousers, jacquard towels on their heads and exquisite aprons around their waists; Young men wear double-breasted coats and wear a belt around their waist.
marriage custom
artillery fire enters the bridal chamber
a marriage custom of Zhuang nationality. On the wedding day, the bride must be baptized by "gunfire" before she can enter the house. This marriage custom is popular in Zhuang villages such as Yufeng in Tianyang County, Guangxi. Before the bride comes to the groom's house, she should stop for a moment and get ready to "charge" into the house, because at the door, hall and bridal chamber, there are seven or eight "artillery" groups composed of young men, holding strings of firecrackers waiting for the bride to come over. When the bride is about to approach the door, the "gunners" light firecrackers to form a "fire wall" to block the bride's approach. If you are a timid bride, you have to retreat outside the door and wait for the second "charge". The "gunners" also summed up the experience of victory and prepared for the second "blocking". It can be said that the bride can't enter the door without two or three "charges". The onlookers, three floors inside and three floors outside, are very lively. After a hard struggle, the bride jumped over the door and came to the front of the bridal chamber. This is the last hurdle that is difficult to pass, because the "gunner" has to put "guns". At this time, the clever bridesmaids and bridesmaids "scout" around and jump into the bridal chamber with the bride in their arms when the "artillery fire" is sparse. Suddenly, the cheers thundered and congratulated the bride on "winning the flag". After the wedding banquet, guests will watch the bride go out in the dark to "carry water" under the guidance of the bride. The bride will fill the water tank, which is a test of whether the bride can bear the pain. In this way, the bride can't enter the bridal chamber until late at night.
memorizing characters
In some places at the junction of Yishan and Huanjiang County in Guangxi, young Zhuang people get married, and the custom of memorizing characters has become popular so far. "Reciting the word" is a transliteration of Zhuang dialect. In fact, it is not a word, but a broadband with a length of one foot four feet and a width of more than one foot, which is sewn by the woman's mother with a dark black (the best color) homespun woven and dyed by herself or bought. On the day of the daughter's wedding, ask the man to assign someone who can recite the words to take the cloth back to the groom's house in case the nephew is born as a baby. This custom is called "memorizing characters" in local Zhuang language. A person who "recites words" must have three conditions: both father and mother; Unmarried young men; Smart and courteous. The ceremony of reciting characters was held in the main hall of the woman's home. The person who presides over the ceremony must be an elder who is respected in the village and has become a grandfather. The elder first offered 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 gave the elder two cups in return, and both sides had to drink them at once. Then the elders tied the prepared tape around the shoulders of the person who recited the words, and then toasted each other and said auspicious words. After the word "reciting" is finished, firecrackers are set off to bid farewell to the wedding guests and return safely. The person who recited the word bowed to the elder and said goodbye, stepped out of the gate and opened the umbrella, which meant to shelter the "grandson" from grandma's house. Back to the man's house, the master burned incense and fired guns, welcoming the "back-word" people to return victorious. A ceremony of "removing Chinese characters" was held at a young age, which was also presided over by the elders. After toasting each other, the elders gently took off the cloth and gave it to my mother for safekeeping. The groom's parents should also reward those who recite the words. Soon after, the bride and her girlfriends came to the groom's house in droves, and the wedding day was even more lively.
Brides crossing the river
The marriage custom of Zhuang nationality is popular in Longsheng Autonomous County in northern Guangxi. In the mountainous area of northern Guangxi, there were only forty or fifty miles of mountain roads, but it was necessary to wade across the river five or six times and cross three or four bridges. Therefore, when getting married, the bride has to be carried across the river and bridge. People who carry their brides are called "sailors", mostly unmarried young men. When crossing the river, the guns are fired three times, and the horns are sounded in unison. The "sailor" holds his knees with two palms, bows down, and can only cross the river or cross the bridge when he has a good back. Bride-carrying pays special attention to civility and politeness, and can't be rude in action, let alone teasing. Therefore, people who carry brides are mostly the best in moral character. When crossing the river, "Ying Niang" (held by unmarried young women) gives the bride an umbrella for shade. On the river about 5 or 6 meters wide, the wedding procession is pulled into a line, which is very lively. After landing, the clever "Ying Niang" put the umbrella very low to prevent others from peeking at the veiled bride. Longsheng's Zhuang marriage has to go through "three customs" and "ten doors". Fall in love first, then get engaged, then you can get married, which is called "three customs". Greeting, singing, going out, crossing villages and villages, crossing rivers and bridges, getting started, singing, returning to the door, going home and entering the bridal chamber are called "ten doors". "Crossing the river" is only the fifth "gate" among the "ten gates", and only after the "ten gates" can you enter the bridal chamber.
Le Ra and Bu Ji
When a Zhuang woman gives birth to Le Ra (Zhuang language, that is, a baby), her housewife should personally look for a "wet nurse" to nurse the baby for her daughter-in-law. This is to let the postpartum daughter-in-law have a good rest and maintain her health. A "wet nurse" is usually filled by a woman who is five months after delivery, without remuneration. It is a great honor to be a "wet nurse" and have the reputation of "second mother". When children grow up, they should bring gifts to the "wet nurse's" home on festive occasions. If a four-or five-year-old child is sickly, parents should look for "Buji" (Zhuang language, that is, the second father) as their child's backer to ensure the child's health. "Buji" is very "professional". After taking office, he often discusses with his parents, asks for medical advice, and cooks in many ways to make his children grow up healthily. When children grow up, they will treat "Buji" like a "wet nurse" and do their best to be filial.
Walking on stilts into the village
In the Zhuang village in Jinlong, Longzhou County, Guangxi, people have to walk on stilts when going out or entering the village. Go out to the village entrance. Hang stilts on specific nails, and then work in the fields or go to other places. When entering the village, take the stilts off the nails and step on them, jump off the stone steps at the door, then hang the stilts by the door, wash your hands and feet, and then step upstairs. It is said that these shoes are handed down by ancestors. They are located in the subtropical zone, rainy all the year round, and the roads are muddy and inconvenient to walk. If they enter the house with mud feet, it is really unsanitary, so they invented this kind of "stilt shoes" in the shape of "non".
Social public sacrifice
is a social sacrifice ceremony for the Zhuang nationality in Huanjiang, Guangxi, to pray for the vigorous growth of the new year's seedlings and for the children to be healthy and the livestock to be fat and healthy.