The role of cattle in folk customs

The role of cattle in folk customs

The poet Yuan Zhen of the Tang dynasty's "Shengchun" poem: "Outside the gate of Niu County, contend for soil to cover spring silkworms." First "whip" and then "struggle" are two parts of the ancient custom of sending winter cold and welcoming the new spring.

Whip spring cattle, also known as whip earth cattle, have an earlier origin. "Zhou Li·Yue Ling": "A cow was unearthed to send cold air." Later, it has been retained, but it was changed to spring and flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties. Especially after Song Renzong promulgated the "Tu Niu Jing", the custom of whip cattle was spread more. Wide, and even become an important content of folklore culture.

Kangxi's "Jinan Fuzhi · Sui Shi": "The day before the beginning of spring, the government led the people, with spring oxen and awn gods, to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs. He made a five-single plate, commonly known as a spring plate, drinking spring wine, and hairpin spring flowers. Xinghu pretends to be the drama of fisherman, woodcutter and farming, and the colorful decoration is the spring tower, while the children of the city, wearing colorful clothes, wearing ghost masks, dancing to and fro, are also the legacy of the ancient hometown Nuo. At the beginning of spring, the officials have their own colorful battles, and the cattle hitters Third, it is called the whip spring, to show the intention to persuade the farmers. For the little spring cows, we will send them to the family of the gentry, and the door drum music to offer, so that they will send the spring. "The meaning of the whip spring is not limited to sending cold air and promoting spring ploughing. There is also a certain witchcraft meaning. People in Shandong want to smash the cattle into pieces, and everyone scrambles for the spring cattle, which is called the spring cattle, and it is auspicious to grab the cattle head. The characteristic of the Spring Cattle in Zhejiang is that when the Spring Cattle is greeting the Spring Cattle, they will bow their heads to the Spring Cattle in turn. After the worship, the people cradle up to break the Cattle, and then take the snatched Spring Cattle back home and spread it in the cattle pen. It can be seen from this that the whip spring cow is still a breeding witchcraft, that is, after the spring cow soil, scattered in the cow pen can promote the reproduction of the cow.

The ethnic minorities in our country also have the custom of cultivating cattle, which is called "the king of offering cattle." The Buyi people in Litchi, Luodian, Anlong and other places in Guizhou celebrate the new year of the ox on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. On that day, let the cows rest for a day and let the cows eat glutinous rice. The Gelao Nationality’s Ox King Festival is also called "Bull God Festival", "Bull King Bodhisattva Festival", and "Null King Festival". It is held on the first day of October in the lunar calendar every year. On that day, people stopped letting the cow work, and made two glutinous rice cakes with good glutinous rice, hung them on the horns of the cows, and then took the cows to the water to look after the shadows, in this way they wished the cows longevity. Among the Dong people in the Rongjiang and Dongjiang areas of Guizhou, the "Owl Washing Festival" is held on the sixth day of June every summer. By that time, spring plowing is over. People take the cows to the river to bathe and insert a few chicken feathers and duck feathers next to the cows . It means that the cattle are listening to the dust and praying for the safety and health of the cattle.

Funeral is a relatively grand project in the life rituals of the Buyi people. The ceremony is Zhuan, and an important part of the Zhuan ritual is to chop cattle. Dong Zhenzao, a recent man, has this record in "Miaocheng in Guizhou": "When you die, you choose one or several cows, and relatives and friends bring chickens to sacrifice. Replace them with cattle). After the offering is completed, the cattle are slaughtered and eaten and scattered." The Naxi people who are popular in central Yunnan and the mountainous areas of Lijiang have the custom of jumping and consuming cattle during funerals. After the old man died, he was cremated to get his bones. The owner set a fire in the courtyard. The guests gathered around and performed funeral dances. The dancers sang elegy. After the singing and dancing, everyone bowed to the ashes in turn. Then he brought a cow, lifted its ears, and poured a bowl of milk into it. It is a good omen if the bull is used to jump and hoof; if you don’t jump and fill a bowl again, you think the undead doesn’t want the bull, and you have to replace it with another bull, and then tie up the four hooves of the bull. Please be a strong man with both parents. Slaughter cattle. Usually, the beef heart is taken first, and then the skin is peeled to divide the meat. The beef heart and beef are presented in front of the ashes bag, which is called a "life sacrifice." The meat is cooked and sacrificed again, which is called a "cooked sacrifice". After the sacrifice, the bones are buried in the soil.

In the communication customs of the Han nationality, there is a saying that “knitting cattle and wealthy relatives” is popular in Hunan. In the local area, a cow used by several households is called the “Jie Niu Caiqin” and is regarded as a relative. Once the ownership of the cow is changed to someone else, the “relative” relationship will also end. The “cattle” popular in Liuba County, Shaanxi Province, etc. "Wang Hui" is the title for the old people's longevity, because the ox ploughs the fields, which is good for people, and ranks in the forefront of the zodiac. The ox is used to celebrate the old people's birthday in order to show respect. ( Chinese Zodiac http:///shengxiao/)

The Miao people have a marriage custom of snatching oxtails, which is popular in northwestern Guizhou. After the man and woman are engaged, the woman will feed a scalper, and bring the ox to the scene on the day of the wedding, and use two z-ropes to trip the corbel. Then the bride will cut off the oxtail with a knife, and the groom will immediately go up and snatch the oxtail. If the oxtail can be captured before the wife’s parents arrive, he can get married immediately, otherwise the marriage will fall.