The customs of the boat people on the Huaihe River in Bengbu
"Taboos in daily life" are a major feature of the life of the boat people on the Huaihe River in Bengbu. The taboos of each gang are similar, but some are completely different. When "plating a ship" (building a new ship), it is generally believed that the front seam cannot be connected to the rear seam, and the two seams must be broken (avoided). Otherwise, it is believed that the money in the front cabin will flow away, and the rear cabin will flow away. auspicious. Sell ??the boat, not the springboard, otherwise you will sell your way of making money. Do not sell the "offspring door" (the hatch in the middle), otherwise you will be childless and cut off future generations. One cannot sit on the "jumping" head, otherwise business will be hindered and the business will not go smoothly. Women are not allowed to cross the bow of the boat, as it is considered bad luck (the Beihe Gang does not taboo this), so the boats of the Nanhe Gang use "side jumps". When buying a pot, you cannot put the pot on the boat empty, you must put tofu and other things in the pot. When Nanhe helps buy pig heads, toilets, pots, etc., they cannot pass directly by other people's boats. They must float over on the water or use their own boats to paddle across. Carrying an oil pot on someone else's boat means that you often encounter storms when crossing the lake and cannot get out of the lake. The "oil" is in the "lake". When washing or setting quilts, you cannot dry them or put them on other people's boats. "Quilt" is a homophone for "carry", which will make others unlucky when they carry it. A boatman does not lend money to others to gain fame or fire, for he is afraid that his family's "momentum" and "prosperous fire" will be borrowed by others. The big mast is called the general and cannot be excavated near the big mast. Some people believe that there is a "Mr." (i.e. Bai Daxian, Vixen) living in the big mast, and they even pay special respect to "Mr." on New Year's Eve. They are usually very cautious. If a child accidentally urinates next to the big mast, the adults must immediately burn incense and kowtow and pray to "sir" for forgiveness, otherwise the child will have a fever. If the big mast is broken, it indicates that the leader of the ship will be in trouble. If this happens, even if the head of the household kowtows, burns incense and makes wishes, he will still be worried all day long. The boatman believes that the needle is something that pokes the God of Wealth's eyes, and the needle cannot be touched on the seventh, seventeenth, and twenty-seventh day of each lunar month. It is also believed that scissors are a prodigal turtle, and the scissors cannot be touched on the sixth, sixteenth, and twenty-sixth day of each lunar month. On the eve of the New Year's Eve, the elders on the ship always tell the younger ones to seal the scissors with red paper and wait until the Sixteenth New Year before they can be opened and used. Syllables such as "fan" and "shen" are especially taboo for boat people. For this reason, the person surnamed Chen is called "can't move", "to hold rice" means "to hold rice", "sail" means "canopy", "capsize" means "transfer", and "capsize the ship and break the mast" is the boatman's curse. The most powerful language. For good luck, the dumplings are called "Wanwanshun" and the noodles are called "Qian Chuanzi". If a "taboo" is violated on the ship, it is considered to have closed other people's wealth and luck. The violator must "open the wealth" by setting off cannons, burning incense, or "hanging red" with a red rooster. While sailing on a foggy day, a carp jumped onto the bow of the boat. The boatman thought it was the Third Prince of the Dragon King coming to the boat, which was a good omen. They kowtow and burn incense, tie a red rope around the carp, and put it back into the water according to the rules of jumping on the port side and releasing it on the starboard side, which is called "releasing". Some gangs often buy live carps from the market and release them. Some people don't eat carp or snakehead fish. It is said that when the female snakehead fish gives birth to her offspring, she sinks under the roe day and night and does not swim to protect the safety of her offspring. After the young snakeheaded fish are born, the old snakeheaded fish will suffer from short-term blindness due to overwork and will be unable to find food. At this time, the small snakeheaded fish are surrounding the old snakeheaded fish and around its mouth for him to swallow. The little black fish left after the old black fish regained his sight. For this reason, boatmen call snakeheaded fish "filial fish". Not only do they not eat snakeheaded fish, they often buy them at high prices and release them free. As the symbol of each boat gang, a flag or a fish (wooden) is raised on the boat. The Beihe Gang's flag is called "Wai Mao Zi", and the Nanhe Gang's flag is called "Daying Guan". The flag is on the bow and the tuna is on the stern. The colors and specifications of the flags of each group are different, and the height of the flagpole is more than 12 meters. Other gang members must pass under the banner, otherwise it will be considered disrespectful to the gang. There are often a group of boats together, with flags flying and hunting sounds, which is very spectacular. The concept of male superiority and female inferiority has different effects on different gangs. In Nanhe Gang, Huanghe Gang, Huaipingzi and other gangs, girls have lived in the cabins of ships since childhood and are generally not allowed to appear in public. When they are older, they specialize in needlework and tea and food in the cabins. After marriage, the ship mast is used as a boundary and is generally not allowed to be crossed. Mainly in Cooking and sewing in the back cabin. Otherwise, girls are suspected of attracting bees and butterflies, and women are considered frivolous and despicable. But in the Net Gang, Gun Gang, and Mao Chuan, it is different. Girls wear silver collars and "nose ties" (gold or silver) on their noses since they are young. They learn to swim, fish, weave nets, hunt waterfowl, etc. from adults. Skill. After getting married, she wears a white cloth scarf on her head and a silver collar around her neck, and does fishing, hunting and other work before her husband. Due to the different status of women in labor and their different roles in life, these boat people are also called "Yanghan Gang". The women of the Yanghan Gang often stand on the outer shell of the boat and rock the oars. Their bodies rise and fall, their movements are light and powerful, and their postures are graceful and moving. They are listed as one of the beautiful sights of boatmen, especially the women of other gangs who envy and praise them. Each gang also has its own ship guardian. The Shandong Gang and the Subei Gang regard "Lao Guan" as the god of ship protection. There is an ingot-style incense burner on the left side of the large mast stone beam to offer incense all year round in the hope that he will watch over the ship. Many people from the Nanhe Gang and the Yellow River Gang pay respect to the "Big Prince", and there are many Dawang temples donated by boat people in towns along the Huaihe River. Each of these ships raises the "King's flag" in the morning and sets it at night on the first and fifteenth day of each month to pray for the King's protection in case of disaster. During the Spring Festival, a big ceremony for these boatmen is to honor the king. What is a big prince? It is said to be a small snake less than seven inches with a square head. It is often followed by a mop on the boat on foggy and cloudy days. Only snakes of this small size that board the boat during this period are called big snakes. Prince. The arrival of the prince on the ship is also a great joy for the boatman. When the boatman found out, he brought the prince up with a clean plate and covered it with a lantern shade.
Then they beat gongs and drums, burned incense and fired cannons. Holding the Grand Prince in their hands, they took a boat to nearby ships to inform them, and each ship donated incense. Finally, all the boatmen followed him up to the Dawang Temple to "send off the king" (there is no temple in the lake, but they send the king off in the water at the bow of the boat). Legend has it that when sending off the king, if you shout next to the king: "The king changes his robes," you can see the king change into black, red or flower colors. The boat people on the Huaihe River are divided into four types: Cat, Man, Kan and Claw, with different costumes and accents. There are two versions of cat boats: one refers to the boat people below Hongze Lake and the Lixia River area; the other generally refers to the fishing boats that make a living by fishing in the Huaihe River. There are two names for net gangs: one specifically refers to fishing boats, and the other generally refers to fishing boats and gun gang boats for hunting waterfowl. Internet gang worshiping gods is also called "burning big paper" and is a collective action of the entire gang. Usually dozens of boats are put together and covered with white cloth tents. White cloths with more than a hundred statues of gods are hung around the tents. It usually takes place for three days and three nights, in which people burn incense, kowtow, and ask Duan Gong (a divine man) to pray to "open the door to wealth." Duan Gong was naked from the waist up, wearing a red cross, and sang while beating the sheepskin drum. He performed the performance of touching copper coins in a frying pan and cutting his own arms and chest with a knife. Therefore, the saying goes, "Duan Gong lost his sheepskin drum - he lost his mind." The cost of "burning big paper" is shared equally among the boats, so the boatmen also say that "cat boats have nothing to do to make money, except lining up the boats to burn big paper." It can be seen that the ceremony is grand and the money is used. Most of the net-gang boats near Bengbu Port live a life of small fishing boats, where "the fish never closes its eyes until the fish dies, and the net-gang operators have no money", and there are few taboos. Usually during the off-season fishing season in spring, people go to the east of Changhuaiwei to worship the gods. It is said that there is a deep water nest there, and there is a "big old turtle" (big turtle spirit) living in the nest. If the fishermen don't sacrifice it, it will make trouble. If it is light, it will prevent you from catching fish, and if it is serious, it will capsize your boat and kill people. Fishermen go there to burn incense and kowtow at the bow of the boat, offering pig heads, pig trotters, pig tails (instead of whole pigs) or big carps, big red roosters, and five-color fruits to pray for the turtle to bring blessings. This ritual is called "burning the gods and Buddhas". In the lives of boat people, guns, incense, and yellow paper are their biggest expenses, and every boat usually has a large amount of these consumables. They spent a lot of money unjustly and kowtowed a lot, but most of the boat people were still miserable. Women on board generally have relatively strong fertility (according to modern science, it is related to the fact that they often eat fish), and they usually have more than 5 to 10 children in their lifetime. But not many of them grew up to be adults, and most of them died due to illness or falling into the river. In order to protect these young offspring, a set of parenting rules has been developed on board. Boys grow braids and lanugo hair from a young age until they are 6 or 12 years old. When a child is 3 years old, he uses red cloth to make a wide cloth belt more than one foot long, which is called "leading belt". One end is tied to the cabin, and the other end is made like a safety belt and tied to the child to prevent falling into the water. When children are four or five years old, a large red-painted gourd with a bell is given to the child, so that if it falls into the water, it will not sink to the bottom, making it easier to find and rescue. During festivals, parents often go to the boat to order some rice or noodles and some cloth of various colors to make "hundred families' rice" and "hundred families' clothes" for their children. others ask for it). The child eats "hundred families' food" and wears "hundred families' clothes", which means that he is raised by hundreds of families and can live a long and healthy life. When a child is slightly sick, the boatman usually prays to gods, makes wishes, and "makes jealousy." When the child is seriously ill, the child's mother calls out to the child's soul at night. Children born during the New Year are called "nian children" and are considered to be blessed. There is great respect for the elderly on board. If the younger generation is around 60 years old at home, a coffin is usually made for him. Those with money tend to make high-standard longevity materials such as "Four Great Happiness" and "Twelve Round Flowers". It is painted with raw lacquer and painted with patterns such as dragons and phoenixes. After an old person dies and is placed in a coffin, special attention is paid to the Feng Shui of the burial. Generally, a Feng Shui practitioner is asked to check the Feng Shui location and bury the deceased nearby. Sometimes, in order to find good Feng Shui, the sealed coffin can be kept on the boat for three or four years. On some ships, two people died in a row. When the coffins were taken out, the younger ones carried the coffins in front of them to bury the older ones. If an elderly person over 80 years old dies in the family, sadness will turn into joy, and the funeral will be treated as a happy event. The burial customs are the same as those in towns along Huaihe River. Usually the Huaishang boat people have no hometown. The hometown they talk about refers specifically to the place where the graves of their elders are buried, and they claim to be from that place.
Marriage Customs of the Boat People In terms of marriage, the Huaishang boat people strictly abide by the feudal ethics and "the orders of their parents and the words of the matchmaker." Free love is regarded as "seducing first and marrying later", and both the mother-in-law and the mother-in-law will be looked down upon by others and cannot hold their heads high. When a man and a woman propose marriage, the man first entrusts a matchmaker to negotiate a match. The man folds a red paper with the word "Qiu" written in the capital on the face and the man's birthday in small letters on the inside. The woman makes an origami with green paper, writes the word "Yun" on the outside, and writes the woman's birthday on the inside. That is to ask a fortune teller to calculate whether the two people's zodiac signs are a good match, which is called "combined horoscope". Usually, the two are incompatible with each other: two dragons can't sleep in the same bed; the dragon and the rabbit have a mismatch, so they can't get married, and the proposal of marriage will be considered a failure. If both parties are compatible, that is, a double-headed day will be chosen. The matchmaker will bring the man's calligraphy, several sets of clothes, and two pots of evergreen on top of which a small red flag will be placed (meaning that the two families will be in love for ten thousand years). At the same time, they waited on the woman's boat with rice noodle bowls and tea leaves, and exchanged letters, which is called "Guoshu Zi". After "passing the calligraphy", the two parties will decide on the wedding date and choose the so-called auspicious day of the zodiac. Three days before the wedding, the bride must go on a diet (the bride and groom are not allowed to meet before the wedding, otherwise it will be unlucky). On the day of the wedding, the man's boat is launching and the woman's boat is launching. In the morning, the groom goes to pick up the bride in a sedan chair (a sedan chair is made with a large table turned over, with the legs up on the paddle for arranging flowers, and tied with a red cloth), and the matchmaker acts as the man's plenipotentiary representative. The matchmaker's boat is in front, and the sedan chair is behind. In the sedan are the clothes, shoes, crowns and betrothal gifts of the bride and groom.
When the wedding boat arrives at the bride's family's boat, the congratulators sometimes put the boat together with the bride's family's boat. The matchmaker must hand out red envelopes, which is called the "tie-off ceremony". The congratulators rowed all the boats aside and allowed the wedding boat to dock with the bride's family's boat. Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the newlyweds put on the new clothes and shoes brought by their husband's family and covered their heads. Women from the natal family help them get into the sedan chair. The dowry is also carried along. At the very least, the natal family must have a lantern, a horse, and a red cloth baggage (baggage belt). There is a copper coin on it), a blue apron, a rice noodle bowl, two sets of bedding, etc. Apart from this, there is no limit to the rich natal family. Therefore, the boat people have a saying that "girls are money-losing goods, and they can live without them." The bride gets on the sedan chair and a sieve is placed behind her. A mirror is placed in the sieve, which is called the "back mirror" (demon mirror), which means to ward off evil spirits. The bride carries a bronze mirror in her arms with the mirror facing forward. Before leaving, my mother's family gave me a sex show. The matchmaker's boat is in the front, the sedan boat is in the middle, and the wedding boat is in the back (it must be the woman's man sending the bride off). When the boat was halfway across the waterway from her parents' home, the bride's brother or nephew on the wedding boat began to shout: "Sister (aunt), please turn the mirror." The bride puts the mirror on her chest with her back to the front and faces inward, which means that the blessing will shine on her husband's family first and then her natal family. At this time, the boat that was used to send the bride turned around and headed back to her parents' house instead of sending her bride to her husband's house. The bride arrives in a sedan chair and a boat on her husband's family's boat, and her husband's family sets off cannons and beats gongs and drums to welcome her. The first thing the bride does after getting on the boat is to choose a hijab. There are two ways to choose: one is to be picked by the male cousin, who uses a weighing pole and sings while picking: "The small weighing pole is round and round, and the stars line up all the way to the end. Today, I hold it in my hand, and I will choose the hijab with the new couple." "When the hijab is picked, the blue sky appears, and there is a jade fairy sitting inside..." Every time it is sung, the people watching the congratulations say "Okay!" The other one is picked by the groom himself with a pair of chopsticks wrapped in red paper. The invited people sang happy words and the onlookers said well. After picking up the hijab, place it directly on the couple's bed. The second thing is to worship heaven and earth. The boat people put the port side at the top and the starboard side at the bottom, with the incense table placed at the top. There are memorial tablets for ancestors, and parents and relatives sit at the top in order. The master of ceremonies sings the ceremony and arranges the objects to kneel to. The new couple stand at the bottom and worship heaven and earth, their ancestors, then their parents and other relatives, and finally the two of them worship together. Each beneficiary, including parents, has a red paper envelope as a "meeting gift". After the ceremony, the master of ceremonies will give it to the couple for safekeeping. After that, the newlyweds sit together on the new bed and drink jujube soup, as a sign of handing over cups, which means they will have a baby soon. Relatives are entertained for lunch, the new couple sits at the table with them, and then the two sit on the bed, which is called "sitting on wealth and honor." Women sit there until they fall asleep at night, while men sit there for a while and then leave. In the evening, congratulatory guests are entertained, but the new couple does not accompany them. The banquet usually consists of ten dishes and ten bowls, which are called ten kinds of dishes (meaning real). When the groom starts to serve the first dish, the waiter calls out: "The new noble is standing." The groom then went to each table, took off his hat and bowed his head, and then left. After dinner, sending the groom into his room is called "showing off the room". ***There were four men seeing each other off. The first two men hold candles in their hands, and the last two men send them off. One of them sings auspicious words. Every time he sings a line, the other sender says hello. The person who sings the wedding ceremony must have certain eloquence and act according to the circumstances, otherwise it will not be easy for the groom to enter the new house. After the groom enters the room, the attendants often sing: "With candles in hand, the room is bright, and the bride and groom are shown the dowry, the high cabinet, the short box, the eight-step bed that is neither high nor short, the mandarin ducks are lying on the eight-step bed, and the mandarin ducks are in pairs." "Double..." Then began to spread the bed, singing: "A handful of chestnuts and a handful of dates, the children who spread the bed will run all over the bed" and so on. After spreading the bed, the task of the room attendant is completed. Relatives, mostly cousins, started making fun of the wedding and making more witty jokes. But no matter how much trouble is made, the newlyweds must not be upset, otherwise it will be considered unlucky. Many people in the house treat the ginkgo, dates, red peanuts and cakes on the bed of the newlyweds as disaster-proof items and rush to grab them first. Some gangs also like to play tricks on the husband. In these gangs, the husband must escape as early as possible before the trouble occurs. Otherwise, if he is caught by the troublemaker, his face will be smeared, and his new daughter-in-law will be dragged across the boat with a fiberboard on his back. The new house is located in the back cabin of the ship, and the newlyweds need a quilt and bed just like the people on the shore (a woman with parents-in-law above, a husband in the middle, and a woman with children below), but the method of making the bed is different. Some are looking for boys under 12 years old; some have been looking for big adobe beds on the shore for many years, hoping that their children will be as strong and long-lived as adobe; some are using big radish beds, hoping that their children will be like radishes. The same amount, the same freshness. When the newlyweds go to bed, the man's hat is placed on the woman's hijab, and the man's shoes are put into the woman's shoes. The above is the "big marriage". In addition, in order to avoid taboos, or the horoscopes are not compatible, or there is a patient in the husband's family, there is also the form of "little marriage". "Little marriage" usually means that the mother's family takes the initiative to send the bride to her husband's family's boat to marry the groom. After the situation changes, they will set a date to hold the wedding ceremony. "Little marriage" is simpler in form than "big marriage". During the "big wedding", on the morning after the couple gets married, the new couple will sit at the top of the table and have a reunion dinner with their husband's family. After dinner, the new couple will sit at the bottom of the table according to their seniority. On the morning of the third day after the wedding, the bride was accompanied by Quanfu people to the kitchen for the first time, and the couple was asked to make 8 pieces of tofu with 3 knives, which symbolized the couple's ingenuity. Then Quanfu took out a handful of chopsticks and spread them on the chopping board, and asked the couple to grab the chopsticks with their right hand to determine the gender of the child. If you catch the chopsticks in odd numbers, it is a boy, and if you catch the even numbers, it is a girl. If you return home in three days, brothers from your natal family will come to pick you up. When the new couple leaves the ship, they will first kowtow to their parents-in-law and elders, which is called "opening worship". Then go back to your parents' home with gifts. Some of the newlyweds come and go together, while others go back to their parents' home. The difference is that when returning to their parents' home, the bride takes a boat first, and the groom takes a second boat. When returning to her husband's house, the groom returns first, followed by the bride.
When the bridegroom arrives at the bride's house, the bride's two grooms get out of the boat to greet her, and they also have to say many auspicious words. After accepting the bridegroom, he stands on the bow of the boat, takes off his hat and nods to the bride's bride and groom to express his gratitude. Then board the woman's boat. The bride's family held a banquet at noon, and the new couple sat at the head, and the banquet was still "perfect". The difference is that the newlyweds must stand up and leave the table when the fourth dish is served, otherwise they will be considered greedy and worthless. When returning to the mother-in-law's house in the afternoon, the relatives of the mother-in-law's family entertain the new couple to eat Yuanxiao, which is called a reunion dinner. After the meal, the couple kowtows to their parents' parents and relatives, receives greeting gifts, and then returns to their husband's house. The new couple must rush back to their husband's house before the sun goes down, and they cannot live in their parents' house. The house must not be empty for a month, otherwise it will be unlucky. When the bride leaves her natal home, she must bring a set of close-fitting jackets that she has worn. As the saying goes: I can't bear to leave my mother and I, and I can't bear to leave my hot coat. Due to the busy transportation on the ship, the bride cannot return to her parents' home in time. In this way, the bride can only stay on the ship of her husband's family and cannot board other relatives' ships or neighboring ships. It is said that the bride has "evil energy" which will bring bad luck to others. If a taboo is violated, the husband's family has to "make money" for others by setting off cannons, burning incense, and hanging red (introduced in the boat people's festival customs) to apologize. The situation is the same as that of women under the age of one month, which shows the status of women.
It is the custom of the boat people to celebrate Laba during the Spring Festival on the eighth night of the twelfth lunar month. The boat people use vegetables, peanuts, soybeans, vermicelli, rice or noodles to make "Laba rice" as dinner for the whole family. From then on, we began to prepare items for the Spring Festival. As the saying goes: After eating Laba rice, it is time to prepare for the new year. It is said that offering sacrifices to the stove should be carried out according to social class. That is, "officials three, people four, emperors five and six" are held on the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th of the twelfth lunar month respectively. However, people on the ship still worship the stove twenty-three times as usual. This ceremony is mainly performed by the housewife on the ship. According to folklore, the Kitchen God will go to heaven to "report his work" on this day and return on the night of New Year's Eve. When cooking dinner, we take off the statue of the Stove God stuck on the back and burn it, kowtow, burn incense and pray, hoping that the Stove God will "say good things to heaven and keep you safe on earth." When burning firewood, you can only use fire shears and cannot hold it with your hands. Use stove-sacrifice sugar to spread on both sides of the pot cavity, which means that the Stove Lord's mouth will be sweet after eating the sugar, and God will not say unlucky words. Therefore, offering sacrifices to the Stove Lord is also called "sending Stove Lord." ". On the morning of the 30th day of the Year of Lighting the Ship, boat people scramble to get up early. It is said that whoever gets up early can meet the God of Wealth. After the head of the house gets up, he first lights a torch and walks around the boat, which means using fire to drive away bad luck, lest evil spirits attach to the boat and be unlucky, which is also called burning the boat. Hanging red is another ceremony after burning the ship. Hanging red is not only done on the 30th of the year, but also for making amends for taboos. To hang red, use a red rooster with a single crest and lifted tail, without any stray feathers. First, kowtow, burn incense and burn yellow paper, then kill the hanging red rooster on the bow of the boat, and pour the rooster's blood directly down the front wave board of the boat. Li means opening the door to wealth and bringing good luck. The longer the chicken blood stains on the front surf board, the happier the boat people are, thinking that they can do more long-distance business and make a fortune in the New Year. After hanging red, hang red chicken feathers. When looking for feathers, leave a handful of chicken feathers on the head, tail and wings (representing live chickens). Use them with carp and pig heads to honor the "king". Respecting the King Generally, after hanging up the red, you will start to pay respect to the King. An incense table is placed on the bow of the boat, offering red roosters, carps, and pig heads (including four hooves and a tail, representing the whole pig), placed in a copper basin, as well as steamed buns and candles. When poor boatmen paid tribute to the king, they often used eggs, tofu, trough meat and other items as offerings, also known as "little three animals". Many boats on the Yellow River are equipped with large gongs. When honoring the king, the gongs are struck three times, pausing each time to set off a big firecracker. Please be kind to the Queen and stop sailing for good luck. In honor of the queen, the boatmen began to have breakfast. Posting Spring Festival Couplets The boat people on Huaihe River posted Spring Festival couplets. The content is basically the same, but the time is slightly different. Some people put it on the morning of New Year's Eve to honor the Queen, some on the night of New Year's Eve, and some on the morning of New Year's Day. "The bow of the ship sails thousands of miles without waves" and "The wind behind the rudder sends the wind to the nine continents (ten thousand miles away)". The two couplets are affixed to the front and back waves respectively. Write three characters "福" on red paper and stick them on the bow of the boat, and write three characters "福" on green paper and stick them on the back of the boat. On the outside of the main cabin door, there is a sticker saying "Look up and see happiness", and on the inside there is a sticker "Bring me wealth". Some cabin doors have stickers that read, "Open the door to see the treasure in the river, and the bucket will bring you wealth." Merchant ships also called the big mast, second mast (two), and cable posts on the ship the "Four Generals." The main mast is pasted with the words "The general is majestic from all sides" or "The thunder of nine heavenly beings universalizes all living beings", the second mast is pasted with "The second general hangs his seal and becomes a marquis", and the general post (i.e. the cable post) is pasted with "The three generals are capable generals". wait. On New Year's Eve, the people in the back (the men on the ship are called the front people and the women are called the back people) cook New Year's Eve meals by steaming them from morning to night. Steaming steamed buns starts on the night of the 29th of the New Year. Children are put aside and it is taboo for children to talk too much. Women also did not cross boats with each other at this time. The steamed bun yeast should be grasped by hand, not cut with a knife, for fear of cutting off the noodle dragon. If the steamed buns are less, the steamed buns should be steamed in the first pot. First, put one on a plate and put it on the head as a sign. Others will not notice it when they see it. Come back to the boat. When women are steaming steamed buns, they are generally not allowed to talk. When they pick up the steamed buns, they repeatedly chant auspicious words such as "The cabin is full of gold ingots, buy and pack by yourself." On New Year's Eve, enough meals should be cooked for the whole family for three days. Eating leftovers from the first to the third day of the lunar month is called "eating and saving for the next year", which means that there is nothing to eat every year and there is more than enough. The rice crispy rice is so ingot that you can’t eat it at all. It is necessary to store enough water for the whole family for three days. Water from the river cannot be taken from the beginning of the year, and river water cannot be used until the third day of the lunar month after burning incense. At this time, a sewage bucket should be prepared, and the used water should not be poured into the river, otherwise it will be considered that the "wealth" has been poured out. On the eve of the Lunar New Year's Eve, people behind the scenes were busy picking up the Stove Lord.
The specifications of the ritual offerings are the same as those of honoring the king. The difference is that honoring the king is the responsibility of the person in front, and women are not allowed to participate. Receiving the Kitchen King is the sole responsibility of the people behind, and men cannot be around. According to folklore, the Kitchen God returns to the world on the 30th of the year and wants to welcome him. After the women hold sacrifices, they stick the statue of the Kitchen God they invited before the festival on the stern of the boat and pray: Kitchen God, you are the head of the family. You predict when things happen, eat first when there is food, and keep the whole family safe. At the same time, first put the cooked dinner into a bowl, cover it with red paper, and place it in front of the statue of the Kitchen God. Hanging couplet paper (hanging gallery) Hanging couplet paper is also an activity on New Year's Eve. The boatman cuts red and green paper into diamond patterns and joins them together to form a long strip. One side is glued to a sesame pole, and then hung on the main cabin door. superior. The sesame pole means "the sesame flowers are blooming steadily", and the couplet means "the business is continuous". It is not until the third day of the lunar month that the couplets are taken out, burned incense and then burned, which is called "sending couplets". As the saying goes, "After three days of burning the couplet paper, everyone goes about their old business." Usually, normal life begins immediately, but for wealthy ships, they don't burn incense and fire cannons until the fifth day of the lunar month, or even after the fifteenth day, before setting sail. The boatmen of the Chunshen Yao are equipped with statues of gods. Usually the small boats are rolled up and the big boats are hung up, but there are curtains on the outside. On the eve of the New Year's Eve, the rolled-up statue is hung up to "stretch the waist." For those that are usually hung, the curtains are opened. From the first to the fifth day of the lunar month, boatmen burn incense to the statues three times a day. On the night of the fifth day, they roll up or close the curtains. The Nanhe Gang, Huanghe Gang, etc. who raise the King's Banner often do this on the night of New Year's Eve. Most of the flags are rectangular red flags (there are also white flags). One person sings while raising it, and the others say hello. "One dragon flag, two phoenix flags..." But it only rose halfway and then stopped. At midnight, it will rise to two-thirds of the height, and on the morning of the first day of the new year, it will rise to the top of the flagpole again. The flag is not lowered until noon on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year (there is no ceremony for lowering the flag). Attached are the lyrics of the Yellow River Gang's Hoisting of the King's Flag as follows:
At the first watch of the flag, hundreds of birds look toward the phoenix, and there was a hero Qin Qiong in the Tang Dynasty; Guan, protect the emperor alone;
The third watch flag, the three elements are grounded, the Yellow Crane Tower's three qi Zhou Yu;
The fourth watch flag, the four seasons are safe, Li Yuanba hammers down Siming Mountain;
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Fifth watch flag, five sons won the championship, Yang Xiangwu stole the Kowloon Imperial Cup three times;
Sixth watch flag, Liu Liu Da Shun, Liu Bowen can count on him;
Seventh watch flag The flag, seven stars convey the Beidou, Yang Liulang guards the three passes;
The eight-shift flag, eight golden seals, beheads Jiang Ziya, the deity;
The nine-shift flag, the nine-lotus lamp, Yue Fei collected Yang Zaixing three times;
Ten more flags, ten levels of wealth, and Xue Rengui crossed the sea to conquer the east.
Live Boat This is a collective activity for the entire crew on New Year’s Eve. A live boat doesn't really move the boat. To start building the ship, first knock the cabin gong and stack up the cabin planks. Then one person will play the trumpet, and everyone will jump on the boat with their feet while shouting "Yay yo". The leader of the live boat (usually the foreman) pulls the anchor chain and shakes it, and sings: "The golden anchor chain is stuck in a big way, it belongs in Laojun's furnace. Today it falls into the hands of the boatman, and the old dragon lifts it up." "Some people sing: "There are nine bends in the Yellow River, and the first one is not as wide as two. Horse racing can be done in three bends, and boats can be sailed in four bends..." Usually, boatmen love their boats as much as their lives. At this moment, But I am afraid that the trumpet is not high enough and the stamp of the ship's plank is not loud. Many boats come together, and the singing and jumping sounds of live boats come and go, forming a unique scene for boatmen celebrating the Spring Festival. The boat people receive the God of Wealth to stay up late on New Year's Eve, give their children lucky money, and play more cards, mahjong, etc. At midnight, two men in the family are responsible for picking up the God of Wealth. Put red dates, red peanuts, ginkgo nuts, and yellow paper in a brass basin, pour good wine, and light the fire, which emits a rich sweet smell. One person will carry the full cabin and run, shining everywhere, and the one behind will People specialize in saying auspicious words to welcome the God of Wealth. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the boatmen greet each other. The first sentence is: meet each other to get rich, and ordinary people bow to each other. The younger generation first kowtows to their elders when they see them, and the elders give them New Year money. Then the boatmen treated each other to a New Year banquet, talked about friendship, and played cards. During the festival, all supplies on the ship are collectively called "Yuanbao". For example, the bowl is called "Yuanbao Bowl" and the plate is called "Yuanbao Plate". Receiving the Five Gods of Wealth is an important ritual at the end of the Chinese New Year for boat owners. The time is on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. It is dedicated to Prime Minister Bigan, the Wen God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming, the Wu Wealth God, and other five gods and humans in "The Romance of the Gods". To receive the God of Wealth from the Five Ways, use the "Yuanbao Basin", that is, a fence, with the word "Fu" on the outside, put one or full of steamed buns inside, carry the boat full of money, and walk away, singing "Pick up the Yuanbao, it will bring good luck and fortune." , "The boy who attracts wealth sits at the door, and the five gods of wealth come in", "The front pole (port side) rushes to the back pole (starboard side), bringing good luck and fortune", and finally there is a sentence "When the ingot falls, it will make a lot of money." After receiving the Five Gods of Wealth, most boat owners start normal production and life.
The boat people’s experience in observing wind and rain. Long-term life on the water has enabled the boat people to form a set of experiences in observing wind and rain, which are basically preserved in proverbs, but are also mixed with a certain degree of feudal superstition. "The west wind does not last until noon, but it grows with the sun after noon." This means that when the west wind blows in the morning, it usually stops before noon. If it does not stop after noon, it will get stronger and stronger as the sun sets in the west. "The south wind is hard at the waist, and the more it blows, the stronger it gets." This means that when the south wind blows, it gets stronger and stronger. "Look to the southeast in the morning and the northwest in the evening." In the morning, look at the rising sun in the southeast. If the sun shines red, it will be basically sunny and it will not be windy or rainy; if it is pale white, it will be windy; If it is in the shape of a black cloud, it will rain. Look at the setting of the sun in the northwest at night. If there are clouds, it means "dark clouds will pick up the clouds and will fall if they don't blow." Stargazing at night, if the moon has a wind circle, it means there will be wind in the second half of the night.
Wherever the wind circle door faces, the wind will come from that direction. "When the stars carry water, it will rain", which means the stars are misty. The weather is hot and dry in summer, and midges and moths attack the lights, which means that the wind will blow soon. Sweating outside the earthenware salt shaker means it will rain soon. "March 3rd and September 9th, go up the river for anything." Legend has it that on these two days, the gods in the sky held a meeting, and the gods from all walks of life brought wind to the meeting, so there were often strong winds in the world. "On the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the old dragon visits his mother" and "On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Cowherd meets the Weaver Girl", which means that when mother and son meet, husband and wife are reunited, many people shed tears of joy, and the teardrops fall into the world and turn into heavy rain. "On May 23rd, Mr. Guan sharpens his knife." Sharpening a knife requires water, so it rains a lot in the world. "In March, we are afraid of June 7th, and in April, we are afraid of the first day of the lunar month. We are not afraid of June, July, or the first day of the lunar month, but we are afraid of the twelfth stroke of April." "On April 12th, if the old emu feathers are wet, the wheat will be fished in the water." "If the spring beetles are spoiled, the wheat will rot and the silkworms will die." It is said that if you catch Jihua fish in the Huaihe River in early spring, you can tell which month of the year the water is heavy from its body. This fish has 12 spines on its back, representing the 12 months of the year. Counting from front to back, whichever thorn is taller can tell which month has more water.