Funeral customs in Gaomiao Township, Wancheng District:
1. Beginning and ending
When an elderly person is dying, his children and other immediate family members will guard him and listen to him. Last words until the death of a loved one, which is called "final farewell" in custom. Farewell is a big event. Being able to bid farewell to the elderly shows that the children have fulfilled their final filial piety. Failure to bid farewell to the elderly often becomes a big regret in people's lives.
1. Wrapping
After the old man dies, he must first be wrapped in his shroud. Shrouds are commonly known as "wraps" and "old clothes". They are usually made before death, mainly cotton jackets, cotton trousers, cotton robes, and skirts for women, who wear cotton no matter what season. The shoes must be made of cloth, and the soles are not allowed. Some even make lotus patterns on the uppers, which means that the feet are on the lotus platform and have achieved positive results. Hats, men used to wear hats and helmets, but now they wear felt hats. Women don't wear them, or they wear temporary hats sewn from black cloth. There is a taboo that you must not use leather goods or wear sweaters. It is said that if the deceased wears leather clothes, sweaters, leather shoes or leather-soled shoes, he will be reincarnated as an animal in the next life. There are no buttons on the tops, because "button" and "twist" are homophonic, and they are afraid of violating the taboo of being detrimental to their descendants. The belt is a piece of black cloth or a strand of white thread, which can be placed on the waistband of the trousers. In recent years, some public officials have died wearing suits and woolen coats. Putting on the shroud is the first step in burial, and some people put on the shroud before dying. On the one hand, this is done because the body becomes rigid after death and is difficult to dress; on the other hand, it is based on common belief. Folks believe that dying without having time to put on clothes means "walking away naked", and relatives will feel very guilty.
2. Calling the soul
Calling the soul means summoning the soul. After the person dies, the son immediately goes to the house and pats the cave (chimney) with the soles of his shoes, and shouts the name of the deceased by the name of the soul caller, and shouts "put on shoes" three times. Then comes the "first cry", because family members are not allowed to cry loudly before the old man dies. When it is confirmed that the old man has passed away, the relatives waiting beside him will burst into tears. This is also the first mourning for the deceased.
3. Removing the corpse
After a person dies, the family immediately burns the "head paper" and moves the body of the deceased from the kang to the main room (commonly known as the outer room, also called the main room) ), the funeral bed was made of temporarily removed door panels, and then the funeral preparations began. After a person dies, the body must be moved as soon as possible. Do not lie on the Tukang for a long time, because it is considered that the deceased is carrying the Tukang.
4. Crying Street
Crying Street was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. If someone died the night before, the eldest son of the deceased would cry loudly along the street in the early morning of the next day. Its purpose is to inform the neighbors of the death. If a person crying on the street meets a passerby, he must kowtow on the spot, which is called mourning. Because it was early in the morning, people had not yet gotten up, the streets were quiet and sparsely populated, and the sound of crying in the street sounded very scary. Nowadays, whether in villages or towns, dead people no longer cry in the streets, but fire cannons (mostly two-shot paper cannons - two kicks), one to indicate that the deceased has returned to the west, and the other to report the funeral to the neighbors.
In rural areas, when an old man dies, members of the family will come to help with the funeral arrangements. A popular saying is that "when a person is old, the head of the family and family will take advantage of it." Some neighbors, relatives and friends outside the clan will also take the initiative to help. Usually, a general manager (the one in charge) is elected, and some senior people in the clan work together to discuss specific matters and divide the "busy" tasks, such as arranging funeral reports, setting up mourning sheds, purchasing funeral items, and preparing tobacco, alcohol, and meals. wait. At the same time, accountants and reception staff should be arranged to receive subsequent condolences.
2. Announcement of death
After the deceased dies, the family should notify relatives and friends of the death as soon as possible so that they can come to express their condolences in time. In the past, filial sons who reported funerals had to wear mourning clothes and hats. You are not allowed to enter other people's homes. When someone comes to greet you, you must kowtow, no matter how old or young you are. The time of death and burial should be informed. For those close relatives and those with special relationships, filial sons are especially required to go to report the funeral in person, otherwise it will be considered disrespectful. Special attention should be paid to informing those who often visited or stayed with the deceased during his serious illness. A married woman has to go to her husband's house to pay homage to her parents-in-law, as well as the elders in the clan. Otherwise, when the funeral is over and the woman returns to her husband's house wearing white shoes and "enters the house wearing a mourning hat," her husband's family will be unhappy. Later, many people reported funerals without refusing large gifts. Young people in the clan (commonly known as heads of the family) or even those who were "busy" could go to report the funeral. Some people notified relatives and friends by phone or by sending messages.
However, as mentioned above, if the deceased is a woman, you must not call or send a message to your natal family to report the funeral. Even if the filial son does not go there in person, you must send someone to report the funeral solemnly and do not neglect it. In Gaoling County in the county, there is a custom of "bringing mourning" to married daughters. That is, if the daughter's parents-in-law dies and someone is sent to announce the funeral, the natal family immediately sends the sister-in-law and others to deliver mourning clothes. The mourning clothes must be "brought" by the natal family. This is called "bringing filial piety".
3. Mortuary
The burials in ancient rituals are divided into small coffins and large coffins. The small coffin means that the shrouds are put on and neatly arranged, while the large coffin means that the coffin is put into the coffin. There are coffins after a small burial, and there are coffins after a large burial.
1. Small coffin
The deceased is wrapped and moved to the coffin bed, covered with a yellow mattress and a white sheet embroidered with the Eight Immortals, which is called "covered with gold and silver" , now mostly blue sheets. A sheet is placed over the body to cover the head and feet. The pillow is made of black cloth sewn into the shape of a big rooster, decorated with red beak, red crown, eyes and tail. There are also barrel-shaped pillows made of black cloth. The pillow should be filled with plant ash and a handful of seed cotton should be placed at the seams. Nowadays, saddle-shaped pillows with colorful paintings are often purchased from shroud shops. A copper coin tied with a rope is also placed in the mouth of the deceased, commonly known as "pukou money" (also called lip money, and in some places, it is called pressure money). The face of the deceased is covered with yellow paper. In order to prevent "corpse fraud", the feet of the deceased should be tied up with linen straps, which are called "trip wires", and at the same time, a tile with talismans on the drape should be fastened. At this point, the burial is completed.
2. Mourning hall
The setting of the mourning hall in ordinary people's homes is relatively simple: the funeral is held in the main room after the burial. If it is in the north room, the head of the body faces west and the feet face east. A temporary offering table is placed in front of the coffin bed, with an "everlasting lamp" lit by a bowl filled with oil and a wick placed on it to illuminate the underworld of the deceased; a bowl of "taotou rice" (dried millet rice fished in a bowl) is placed, with five straws inserted on it. The upper part of the stick is wrapped in dough and grilled, which is called "dog beating stick" (it is fashionable in Guocun area to make seven dog beating sticks, the deceased holds one in each hand, and the other five are inserted into the bowl on the memorial table in the mourning hall); Some dried and fresh fruits were made as offerings, a spiritual throne was set up, and the portrait was arranged. In addition, an "incense basin" must be placed in front of the soul, that is, a basin where paper is burned and turned into ashes. Drill holes into the bottom of the incense basin, five holes for the dead man and seven holes for the dead girl. Later, people often found a clean tile flowerpot as an incense pot.
There are two types of mourning halls for funerals in the county. One is as mentioned above, that is, the main room serves as the mourning hall, and the body is buried and the wake is held in the room. A mat is spread outside the door for mourners to pay their respects and kneel down. This custom is popular in the villages in and around Wangdu Town, as well as in Guocun. Another custom is that the mourning hall is set up in the courtyard, and a shed is temporarily built with reed mats, tarpaulins, etc., so it is also called the mourning shed. If you are sitting in a house facing north and south, the mourning shed will be erected on the east side of the yard, with the entrance of the shed facing west. The corpse is parked in the mourning shed, and the door panel is propped up with a bench, in the north-south direction, with the head facing north and the feet facing south, that is, the feet are facing the door, which means "going out". A bamboo curtain is hung in the center of the entrance of the mourning shed, and an offering table is set up in front of the curtain. Offerings are placed, the ever-lasting lamp is lit, "rice dumplings" are placed, "beating sticks" are inserted, and bows and arrows are placed. Place an incense basin in front of the table. There is a spiritual tablet written on white paper on the curtain, and the portrait of the deceased is also hung on the bamboo curtain. A reed mat or tarpaulin is spread in front of the offering table. The shed is covered with firewood, commonly known as "Woling grass". Filial sons and daughters are divided into men on the left and women on the right. In some places, there is no distinction between men on the left and women on the right. The filial sons kneel on both sides of the firewood, which is what the common people call "lying on the grass with the spirit." Nowadays, most of them squat in front of the funeral bed, while the filial daughters sit on the support. On the bench of the coffin or on the inside of the coffin.
While decorating the mourning hall, throw the bedding of the deceased on the roof, take apart the pillow of the deceased, take the buckwheat husk and pillowcase inside to the street outside the gate, and light them on fire slowly. Lose. The wisps of green smoke became a signal to passers-by to announce the death. Guocun Pian Kaoling Pian burned pillows when cleaning up the scene after the funeral.
3. Suspension of mourning
The coffin is placed in the mourning hall after the burial, which is called "suspension of mourning" as the folk saying goes. After the burial, the coffin is put into the coffin and placed there, which is called "stopping the coffin". Funeral and coffin suspension are collectively referred to as coffin suspension. In other words, the time from putting on clothes and wrapping clothes to the time before the funeral is considered to be suspended.
In the 1950s, during the early days of liberation, people were deeply influenced by old customs, and the suspension time was longer, at least three days, and some even required suspension for the "17th" period or even longer. Nowadays, except for certain circumstances, such as waiting for relatives who are far away to come to pay their respects and "see the body in person", the body has to stay for a few more days. If it is a hot season in summer, ice cubes must be piled next to the body or an ice bed must be rented for embalming. In addition, long pauses for ritual purposes are no longer common.
Nowadays, people's life pace is fast, and they no longer follow the old etiquette when doing things. They often die on the first day and bury the person the next day. Some people die in the morning and bury the person in the afternoon.
4. Mr. Yin-Yang
When holding funerals in rural areas, without exception, a Mr. Yin-Yang must be invited. The first thing Mr. Yin and Yang did was to "open the book", that is, write the "obituary". "Obituary" is commonly known as "disaster list" and "mourning list", which is a list of the deceased's birth and death. The "disaster list" is usually written on four- or eight-page white paper and posted on the screen wall inside the gate. At the same time, two obituaries should be written, "Four Aspects to Avoid" and "Things to Be Prohibited", and posted on both sides of the gate respectively. Then use white paper to make a spiritual tablet and place it on the spiritual table. Next, you need to cut a "seat sign", which is a bunch of white paper strips tied at the top. A sharp angle at the bottom of the note indicates the loss of a male, while a swallow-tailed note indicates the loss of a female. (Similarly, the lower end of the soul-guiding banner paper is also the same. The sharp angle indicates the loss of a man, and the swallow-tail shape indicates the loss of a daughter.) The seat sign is tied to a wooden pole and hung outside the gate of the bereaved family. The deceased man hangs on the left side of the door, and the deceased woman hangs on the right side. The number of notes depends on the age. The older ones have more notes, while the younger ones have fewer notes (it is said that one note is one for each year old). You can tell the age of the deceased at a glance. A bow tied with bamboo strips and three arrows pasted with reed poles are called "bamboo bows and reed arrows". Some people use mulberry branches as bows and reed roots as arrows, which is called "mulberry bow and reed arrows". The arrows were placed on the bow together on the spiritual table. The bereaved family finds five small stones, and Mr. Yin and Yang writes on them metal, wood, water, fire, and earth respectively, which are called "Five Elements Stones" and are prepared for use during the funeral. Mr. Yin and Yang should draw symbols on the blue cloth prepared by the bereaved family. At the same time, he should check the burial date for the bereaved family, whether it is a violation of heavy mourning, etc. Finally, according to the requirements of the mourner, they tie up the soul-inducing flags, mourning sticks, tie up the coffin cover, the cart and the horse, cut out the money for the road, etc. There is a saying about the coffin cover: if the deceased has children or daughters, the top of the coffin cover will have a gourd tip; if the deceased has children but no daughters, the top of the coffin cover will not have points. If a bereaved family with no children wants to complete the funeral, they can pay a papermaker to paste a gourd tip, but the color of the tip should be different to show the difference from the real daughter. There is also a saying about beating up carriages and horses: if the deceased is a man, only one horse will be beaten; if the deceased is a woman, not only the horse but also the carriage (horse-drawn sedan) will be beaten, because women cannot ride horses and can only ride in cars.
Society is developing, and the paper burial objects are also changing with the times. Some are no longer horses, but cars, color TVs, refrigerators, and video recorders. What is there in the world? There is something in the underworld.
In the early days of liberation, some families who had the conditions held funerals in a grand and elaborate manner. During the period of mourning, not only Mr. Yin and Yang are invited, but also papermakers are invited to specially paste various funerary objects, such as Wanshou Mountain, house, gold mountain, silver bank, golden boy and beautiful girl, etc., as well as strings of hemp lanterns (mourning lanterns). The categories are collectively referred to as hemp lamps). Semen lanterns usually have a blue light in front and a red light in the back, which means turning misfortune into good luck.