Why bury the soil and dig?
Due to the different living environment of different nationalities, many different funeral customs and ceremonies have been formed. This burial ceremony reflects people's worship of the soul. The Han people mainly practice burial. Cemetery is the ultimate destination of the deceased, so the choice of cemetery is the most important thing to bury the deceased. The cemetery should be chosen in a place with broad terrain and beautiful scenery, so as to find out the auspicious points of life cohesion, let the deceased sleep underground and protect future generations.
This burial ceremony is very special and complicated. The person who carries the coffin is called "Eight Immortals", and the cave where the coffin is dug is called "Construction". Before the start of construction, there is a ceremony to break the mountain, and the dutiful son will burn incense and light candles. In some places, fairies should be invited and Tai Sui should be painted. When you start a mountain, you must avoid the direction of Tai Sui, otherwise it will be "Tai Sui's head is broken" and the family will be ruined. When cutting a mountain, put a stake in front of and behind the grave, and then let the dutiful son dig with a hoe three times within the range of putting the stake. Then the Eight Immortals made a cave, and then burned the traditional portrait when it was finished. This kind of tomb is to push the coffin in. At the bottom of the tomb, two bamboo trees or small unlined upper garment trees with smooth skin are laid. Put the top of the coffin on it first, then push it in with a crowbar, then remove the bottom after pushing it in, and finally shovel some turf to seal the hole.
There are many interesting customs after the coffin stops on the mountain. In some places, the filial daughter-in-law should bow before the spirit, then hold the loess in her arms and run home to scatter it under the pigsty and bed. It is said that this will be blessed by the dead. If there are many daughters-in-law, we must strive for the first good luck, and some even take off their shoes and take a shortcut to go home by boat. After paving the loess, the daughter-in-law has to rush to the kitchen to eat a few dishes. This is called "Jinbao", which means good luck.
In the past, people attached great importance to offering sacrifices to graves. Kill a rooster at the time of sacrifice and use its blood as a souvenir. The rooster doesn't die immediately, but flutters repeatedly in the grave. According to the old saying, where the rooster dies in the grave, which part of the offspring will flourish. The chicken feathers shaken off by the rooster are called "phoenix feathers" and must be taken off.
Before burial, the dead son will store the grains made of miscellaneous grains in the grave. There is a small pancake on the top of the storage. Put a ceramic pot in front of the grave, and put a soybean oil lamp on the pot, which is called the ever-burning lamp. In some places, a bronze mirror is embedded in the grave to symbolize the sun. In ancient times, rich people had to stay away from graves, shoot three arrows, and then retreat immediately. I dare not go near the coffin, because I am afraid that if I can't suppress the evil spirits, I will suffer. When the coffin is put into the grave, it must be shot, saying that it is for the dead to go to the underworld.
According to the old rules, the burial time should also be paid attention to, and the coffin must be buried at sunset. When the soil fell, the Eight Immortals slowly put it down by pulling the brown rope. After safety, relatives should grab the soil and throw it on the coffin. This is called "adding soil". After the coffin goes down, it should be covered with a thin layer of soil, and then the soil swept out of the grave should be sprinkled on it, and then a bowl called "rice bowl" should be placed on it. This is to move the tomb lighter in the future, so as not to disturb the dead and bring misfortune.
According to folk custom, the soul after death may run out of the grave at any time and follow the living to go home. So people who are buried must go around the tomb three times, and it is forbidden to look back on the way home. Otherwise, it is not good for both sides to see the traces of the dead in the underworld. In fact, this is also a measure of mourning. Otherwise, it is difficult to convince the relatives of the deceased to keep looking back and not want to leave.
After burial, people must wash their hands, and some even wash their hands with wine. This means that no one will die in the future, which is used to drive away bad luck. Then you have to thank the trumpeter and the guests who held your funeral. After that, a ceremony will be held to worship the spirits of the deceased. In some places, as long as they are relatives, they have to eat together, which is called "grabbing the inheritance meal". Drinking "longevity soup" and eating "longevity beans" are customs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. That is to say, after the death of an old man over 70 years old, a big barrel of meat and bone soup, that is, "longevity soup", and a big pot of boiled soybeans in Huang Cancan, that is, "longevity beans" should be prepared on the day of the funeral. Send the mourners back to drink a small bowl of longevity soup and eat some longevity beans at will, which means "adding happiness and prolonging life". In some places, fragrant glutinous long-lived beans are distributed to children in the neighborhood. It is said that eating longevity beans will lead to longevity in the future.
These traditional folk customs and habits reflect the wishes of the living to the dead and the good wishes for a prosperous life. Of course, the situation is different in different regions.
In Heilongjiang Province, when the funeral procession arrived at the cemetery, they first put the coffin into the pre-dug grave, calibrated the orientation, lit a lamp in the center of the cave, called the ever-burning lamp, and put food and a pitcher in front of the coffin. After everything is in order, the dutiful son will cover some soil before others seal it into a grave. Then, the filial sons will hold a ceremony to change their filial piety in the cemetery, "take off their filial piety clothes, throw them out of the grave and bring them back."
When Beijingers are buried, Yin and Yang teachers first measure the "mountain direction" with a compass. At the auspicious moment of burial, the barman slowly puts the coffin into the grave with a big rope according to the "mountain direction". At this time, the dutiful son knelt down and mourned the drums. After burial, sacrifices were placed at the head of the tomb, and monks chanted Death Mantra, Great Compassion Mantra and Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra. Later, the grave builder went down to the pit, leaving the coffin back and the pit gang, and reported to the bereaved family after coming up; "The treasures of the old man (old lady) have been stamped!" Then the Yin and Yang master calibrated the "mountain direction" of the coffin. Then put the flame jar (Aquarius) on the coffin base, usually male left and female right, and put an apple in every corner of the grave. After the eldest daughter-in-law handed over the "Aquarius", she immediately grabbed a handful of loess in every corner of the tomb pit and put it in a handkerchief. This is called "grasping material (wealth) soil". He can go back after grabbing wealth. But don't look back until you leave the cemetery a hundred steps. When I got home, I scattered my wealth under the kang mat, saying that I could "make money".
After the vase is placed, put a sacrificial table or offering in front of the tomb. The dutiful son knelt at the table to offer sacrifices, and the monks chanted sutras, saying "Amitabha Praise", "Peng Chi Hai Hui, Amitabha Tathagata, Guanyin sitting on the lotus platform", and then led to the golden platform. Swear big, everyone wants to leave the dust. Mahasa, the Bodhisattva of Nanwu Lianchi Society, was praised.
Then, recite "seven buddha's Classic of Eliminating Crime" and take "Hui Gui" as an example: "May there be a pure land in the west and nine lotus flowers as parents. It is a kind of praise to see the Buddha realize that flowers bloom without life and not retreat from the bodhisattva as a companion. At this time, the monk handyman "paved the way" shouted: "The dutiful son invites you! The dutiful son is waiting to get up Then, all the paper products such as the spiritual figures, flower pots, ruler-headed tables, wreaths and elegiac couplets were incinerated in the cemetery, and all the paper money left on the funeral path was held high. Paper money was scattered in the flames and floated in the air for a long time.
After that, it was followed by covering the soil. First of all, Master Yin and Yang shook the coffin three times on the pit of the tomb and murmured, "Qinglong, Tang Ming, Tianpai, Suzaku, Jingui, Tiande, Baihu, Yutang, Tianlong, Xuanwu, Siming and Gouchen" and other six great stars. Then, the waiter shouted, "It's time! Or acupuncture! " The person carrying the paper money holds the coffin, pokes the shoulder pole in the center of the coffin cover, and holds it with his hands to prevent lodging, so that after covering the soil, the shoulder pole can stand on the grave. During the three-day round grave, the filial family pulled out the banner and burned it, or used it as a "tomb door", thus leaving a round hole with the banner hanging in front of the grave. It is said that the cave and the "tomb gate" were designed to facilitate the entrance and exit of the dead. When burying soil, the shoulder pole head or the grave keeper shovels the soil with the shovel, so that the eldest son can grab a handful and carry it in the pit. The second son and other filial family members and close relatives can also grab a handful of soil from the shovel and carry it into the pit, mourning loudly while carrying it. After Yang, the grave robbers crushed the soil with a spade, filled up the pit and piled up the grave. After the grave was piled up, the dutiful son kowtowed to the sacrifice in turn according to his seniority again. After the ceremony, the dutiful son knelt down and asked his relatives and friends to put on "floating mourning", take off their mourning clothes and kowtow to all their relatives and friends. All relatives and friends bowed to the deceased, and then the deceased and the guests returned separately.
When buried in Danyang, Jiangsu, first "sacrifice to the earth god", the star family will stand out and the earth will sign. The buried woman took the soil to dry the trap, and the dutiful son washed the trap for the second time, which was embarrassing. "So," Chen Zhuan offered sacrifices and wept bitterly. After the sutra was released, he went to the Three Lengguan, and Osamu Tezuka was given a wife by the owner and returned home. . As for the funeral in Dinghai, Zhejiang, the "funeral head" collided with Ge, which is called chasing ghosts. The funerary wares have arrived, Chen is in the southeast of Guangxi, the hearse has arrived, and next to the south of Guangxi, Chen is sprouting. When the hearse arrived, the master knelt down to meet him, second only to the left. After a while, I was pushed into the cave, covered with inscriptions and placed on the silk of my soul. The master cried before counting, and remained motionless from side to side. "Then," Rukou, burn the funerary wares, and the master will thank Xie Bin. When the hearse is returned, the owner will cry. "After the Xuanping area was blocked, the Feng Shui master wanted to stand behind the grave in red and loudly" drink the mountain "and spread grain." The family members knelt in front of the grave in red and took it with shirts. After drinking, gongs and drums led, and the Kanyu family went home blushing. After putting the grain into the warehouse, they thanked Kanyu and their elders. "In the middle of Hunan, the coffin was carried to the grave, and the drum music stopped suddenly. The dutiful son and grandson knelt down together to mourn and thank their relatives and friends. Then, Mr. Geography calibrated the orientation of the tomb with a compass according to time, and held three wine ceremonies at the same time, and invited local gods such as Di Qing in the east, Chi Di in the south, Bai Di in the west, Hei Di in the north, the Yellow Emperor in the center, Taiyi in the east, the dragon gods in the square and the ground to sing, "A grain of rice fills a person and a grain of rice fills a grange. "When building a grave, the soil must be fresh loess that has just been dug out, and it cannot be mixed with a little scraps of paper and shells. It is said that if it is built with unclean soil, its offspring will be blind and lame. When building a grave, lay the soil layer by layer and cover it tightly layer by layer until a banana-shaped grave bag is built and a tombstone is erected in front of it. The tomb of a rich family can be as big as several abbots and rammed into the tomb wall with concrete. When burying in Jiahe area, first "smoke the hole with fat hemp straw, sprinkle lime and coal, and burn a little, which is called warm hole." "Sprinkle realgar and spray wine. This is called Jingxue." Later, "the earth teacher cut the rooster half to death and ran around the corner of the hole, which was called jumping into the golden well." It will be under the coffin, or mixed with sand and lime. When sleeping, filial piety calls relatives as soon as possible; I thank the mourners and executioners. "
When burying in Pingba, Guizhou, first "dig a well", that is, dig a grave. "Dig a well into a rectangle, surrounded by lime, realgar powder or charcoal chips, waterproof and ant-proof. Burn paper, silk or plant stems at the bottom to keep warm every day. " Then go down to the coffin, put the coffin in the well and put it away. In addition, there is a "grain jar" filled with glutinous rice, wine and medicine and sealed with red cloth next to the coffin, which is reserved for the dead. If there is an inscription, it will be covered on the coffin at this time. Then the accumulated soil forms a circular grave, and then a small semi-circular altar is built with clods in front of the grave. Its direction depends on wind and water. Put a tombstone in front of the grave. Around the grave, clods are built into the shape of Luocheng, which is called Riluo Circle. "There is a stone urn in the earth grave, called the stone tomb. Scholar's home, there is a graveyard, a stone Weng Zhong, a stone desk and chair, and a geomantic tree outside the stone tablet. There is always a field under the grave, and a grave often covers an extremely wide area. The inscription on the tablet reads' Tomb of XXX', the inscription on the right reads' year of construction' and the inscription on the lower left reads' name of worshipper'. "
After the funeral procession in Chengdu arrived at the cemetery, it began to dig a pit, which is called "opening a golden well". First, the Taoist priest took a compass, measured the position accurately, and then dug a hole. After the pit was dug, the Taoist priest did something and burned cypress branches and some paper money in the pit while talking about something. Then, he sprinkled some realgar wine in the pit, and then slowly put the coffin in, calibrated the orientation, and then put it in the funerary objects such as "Lu Yin Cylinder" and "Lu Yi Cylinder". At this time, the dutiful sons knelt in front of the grave and kowtowed. After the coffin was put away, they got up and took turns to pinch some soil and sprinkle it on the coffin. After that, others can build graves. After laying the foundation, a tombstone will be erected in front of the grave and a grave will be built. When the funeral procession in Nanchuan area arrived at the burial ground, they first offered sacrifices to the earth, then wrote down the title of God, "undertaker will be dissolved as soon as the road is finished", then disembarked, added an inscription on the coffin, and covered it with mud, "The dutiful son looks tired of the earth", and this day "returned to the earth". At the same time, because of god, the soul silk is useless and buried beside the tomb. In addition, after burial, one or two people need to stay in the cemetery for vigil, and the rest will go home and cry.