Sacrificial taboo
Sacrifice taboo prohibits participation in sacrifice. Many ethnic groups, such as Yi, Miao, Nu, Yeche, Dai, Wa, Hani, Oroqen and Han. Women are forbidden to participate in ceremonies offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods. Women are not allowed to enter the ancestral temple during the temple fair sacrifice, and women are not allowed to go to the grave mountain during the grave sacrifice. It is generally believed that when a woman goes to the grave to offer sacrifices to her dead ancestors, it means that there is no man at home, which will lead to childlessness. Those who commit crimes and are punished because of their physical disabilities are forbidden to bury their parents and offer sacrifices to their graves. Because it will "shame our ancestors." Those who are punished as disciples are ashamed to bear punishment and humiliation, and feel a great responsibility. They should not go to the grave to worship their ancestors.
Moreover, I am afraid that ancestors and undead will regret their sentimentality when they see their children and grandchildren punished, and they can't bear to be supervised and enjoyed. Therefore, it is forbidden for children sentenced to imprisonment to sacrifice their ancestors. Han people forbid any unclean person to participate in sacrifices, including menstruating women, pregnant women, lying-in women, widows, and even those who have sex during sacrifices. Women are not allowed to participate in ancestor worship, which reflects the low status of women in the death culture in the old society. According to folklore, letting unclean people participate in sacrifice will inevitably lose the sincerity and effect of sacrifice, and the souls of ancestors will also blame it and reduce disasters. In addition, when worshipping ancestors, it is forbidden to ask others to do it for you, and it is not allowed to change hands with others. Only by offering sacrifices to ancestors in person can ancestors enjoy the sacrifices happily.
When offering sacrifices, people are forbidden to die and be buried. When they return home, they should immediately offer sacrifices to the family gods to comfort the dead. The old man enters the tomb to sacrifice to the new dead, usually before the first wuyin in spring. It is customary for later generations to offer sacrifices to their dead ancestors, usually on New Year's Day, Tomb-Sweeping Day, July 30 and the anniversary of death.
At the first funeral, sacrifices are usually made for seven days, and sacrifices must be made once every seven days. However, for those who worship their ancestors at home, pious people can worship at any time in the morning and evening. In key places, sacrifice must be timely and persistent. After three days of fishing, the bad guys dry their nets. If you remember, you will sacrifice your ancestors' spirits. If you can't remember, you will not sacrifice your ancestors' spirits. It will offend the ancestors and be disrespectful and sincere to them. Zuling must be the culprit. At least, when you really have a patriarchal concept, and then ask the soul of your ancestors to bless you, your ancestors will not agree. Not only should we make sacrifices in time, but we should also make sacrifices on time. Traditionally, ancestors are worshipped on memorial day and memorial day. People think that time cannot be postponed. If you moved a few days ago, you can be flexible, but it is absolutely impossible to postpone it for three days. Otherwise, the ancestors waited for three days without food or drink, and they would be disappointed with their children and grandchildren and often left with a sigh. This air conditioner has poor air quality. At home, I may be poor by this air conditioner.
There are also many exquisite ceremonies on July 7th. In Henan, Shandong, Zhejiang and other places, "April 7th" is taboo, probably because it is taboo that "April 7th" is homophonic with "the 7th day of death". Henan and other places also have the custom of offering sacrifices to seven sons to avoid them. If the deceased has a son, there will be no sacrifice on 17. If you have two sons, then Erqi will not sacrifice; If you have three children, you will only sacrifice Sanqi when you are five or seven. Otherwise, it will be bad for future generations. There is also the saying of "seven deadly sins" in Shandong. About the day of the seventh sacrifice. Just in time for the seventh, seventeenth and twenty-seventh day of the seventh lunar month, or the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The custom thinks that this is unlucky, and when offering sacrifices, white flags should be inserted in the graves to ward off evil spirits. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a very important festival. No matter how busy you are, you have to go to the ancestral grave to sacrifice. In short, the sacrifice must be observed regularly, otherwise it will not achieve the purpose of sacrifice and will be punished by the concept of male chauvinism.
When it is forbidden to burn paper on the grave during the sacrificial ceremony, you can't stir the ghost money with a stick, for fear that the ghost money will be broken and the ancestral spirit will not work well. If some ghost money is burned in half and the rest is not burned, it is forbidden to throw it into the fire again. It is generally believed that the remaining half will become money, which is for the living, meaning that children and grandchildren are on their shirts. He also said that this half is called "children's board" and can only stay and can't be burned again, otherwise the children and grandchildren will be full. Burn paper on the grave, concentrate on it, and don't do anything else by accident. Otherwise, this document will not be sent to Zuling. For the first time, people who have just been buried must walk around the grave three times, and when they go home, they must return home from other roads to avoid the road they have taken. It is said that it is to prevent the soul of the deceased from going out of the grave and taking the dutiful son home. People's desire to respect their ancestors is completely modeled on the form of respecting others. If an act is disrespectful to the living, it can't be applied to the dead during the sacrificial ceremony.
Especially the death of the elderly, we should respect it. If you don't draw a spirit tablet or portrait with your fingers, it's like pointing at the tip of your ancestors' nose, which is contemptuous and will constitute a crime of disrespect for ghosts. Don't make a noise, don't laugh and fart in front of your ancestors, and don't kowtow and burn incense and light candles to show silence.
Gifts that are taboo for sacrifice, if carried by a daughter, should be taken in, and it is forbidden to return part of them. When you meet monks, Taoist priests and nuns, you must eat and drink some sacrifices. People think it can alleviate the sins of the dead and make them ascend to heaven. Otherwise, it will be bad for the dead, or it will be sent to hell. Generally speaking, all meat, cereals, fruits, wine, etc. What people eat by themselves can be sacrificed to their ancestors, and most of what people don't eat by themselves is forbidden to sacrifice to the gods.
However, if it is known that the deceased did not like a certain food before his death, it should also be forbidden to be used as a sacrifice, so as not to affect the appetite of the deceased. Sacrifice should be "complete", with a head and a tail, with a scale, to show your heart to the dead. There are eel, eel, food with the word "bean", wax gourd, bitter gourd, eggplant and so on. Generally, only eight or six kinds of sacrifices can be placed, and it is forbidden to place five or four kinds. Because if you use five kinds, you will have a "reverse fetus" and if you use four kinds, you will have a "beggar", which is a disrespect for your ancestors. Sacrifice should be fresh, clean and complete. The meat of deformed and uncrossed animals and birds is considered unclean and cannot be used to sacrifice to the dead, otherwise, the dead will think that sacrifice is an insult to it. Sacrifice is expensive, generally need chicken, meat, fish. Some ordinary food or low-priced food can't be placed in front of the tomb or the spirit tablet of the deceased. Otherwise, the dead will blame the sacrifice for being stingy. Wild fruits and exotic fruits, such as poplars and tomatoes, cannot be sacrificed. Food sacrificed to the dead is forbidden to be eaten before sacrifice. The same sacrifice should be enjoyed by the souls of ancestors first, and then eaten by future generations. If future generations eat first, the undead will think that future generations will sacrifice with "leftovers", which is the greatest disrespect for the undead. The making of sacrifices must be done by housewives themselves, and the sacrifices made must be absolutely clean. Among the three animals, it is generally not said that chickens should be used alive, fish should be used with scales, and pork should be used with a few black pig hairs to show that "all three animals are used". In a word, there are all kinds of taboos in sacrifice, which not only add mystery to sacrifice, but also remind people to be cautious in sacrifice. It is in this superstitious atmosphere that the worshippers' minds are full of all kinds of fantasies, and their bodies and minds are anesthetized.
Taboos in Sacrificial Places Han and other ethnic groups are very devout to ancestral graves and ancestral temples where ancestral tablets are placed. Sacrificing ancestral graves is because people think that the quality of ancestral graves can directly affect the poverty and longevity of future generations. Worship of ancestral temples reflects people's belief of "praying for the happiness of ancestral spirits". There are ancestral spirits in these two places, so it is forbidden to talk nonsense, sit around, touch and move when offering sacrifices. Because of the patriarchal ideology and the concept of women's impurity, women are often forbidden to enter places where ancestors and gods are sacrificed. You can't just break ground, cut down or nail wedges. According to Feng Shui of the Han nationality, the ridges and slopes of the shrine are "earth veins" and the destination of the dead, which are sacred and inviolable. Otherwise, it will violate Long Mai, offend the ancestors and suffer retribution. As a place of sacrifice, the cemetery is not allowed to urinate here. Otherwise, you will get sick. There are many examples of the taboo of land for sacrifice, the purpose of which is nothing more than to ensure that the important place for sacrifice has a mysterious atmosphere and sacred dignity, to show the connection and communication between man and God, and to make the sacrifice activities in a pious and solemn atmosphere.
Taboo sacrificial utensils include the spirit tablet of the deceased, photos, sacrificial utensils, methods and utensils of the mage, and so on. These are all used when holding sacrifices, so they are sacred, that is to say, they have the meaning of taboo items. Generally speaking, they can't touch and collide at will. Ancestor memorial tablets enshrined by Bai people can't be moved casually if they are dropped at ordinary times, and can't be moved and placed until the first day or the fifteenth day. It is forbidden to touch and touch the spirit tablet enshrined in the homes of Han nationality, Manchu nationality and other nationalities, otherwise it will be regarded as an insult to the deceased. In Taiwan Province Province, it is forbidden to use Ku Ling wood to make sacrificial tables. People think that the name of Ku Lingmu has the word "bitter" to avoid the sacrifice being invalid.
Some ethnic groups need to use clothes and utensils when offering sacrifices to the dead and passing the dead, such as wooden fish and Taoist robes used by monks at seven o'clock. It is absolutely forbidden to be polluted by dirty blood and other unclean things, and it is not allowed for women to touch it, otherwise it will lose its efficacy. The gods' clothes and drums worn by the host of the Mongolian sacrifice in Northeast China should be burned before the sacrifice and incense after the sacrifice. These instruments can't be used at ordinary times and can't be taken out casually. When Han people do not wash their hands, it is forbidden to touch incense burners, candlesticks, vases, cups and other utensils on the sacrificial table, nor to touch the fasuo and sword symbols used by priests. Otherwise, the sacrifice is invalid. It is also forbidden to cross all sacrificial utensils. Otherwise, it is just like shitting, urinating, spitting and insulting ancestors in front of the gods, which is an insult and blasphemy to ancestors. Zuling will not only receive the feelings of sacrifice, but also blame others and punish the sacrifice.
In the first few days after the burial of the deceased, it is forbidden to sacrifice wine and food all day long before the coffin, and burn gold, silver, paper, foil and paper money, so that the deceased can have food and clothing in the underworld. According to legend, people can't reach the land of Yan immediately within three days after burial, and temporarily stay in the local land temple. During these three days, their family will send meals to the Earth Temple every night and burn more paper for them to use on the road, otherwise the undead will make their family restless. During the wake, you must sacrifice three meals a day and give each other wine and meat. When family members and relatives come to pay homage, they must take out a pair of chopsticks from the chopsticks tube, fold them into two pieces, put half of them back in the chopsticks tube, and put the other half on the altar, which means that they will be eaten separately from the deceased, otherwise it will be unlucky. Do seven, the first seven must pay special attention to, not careless, because this is the first large-scale sacrifice to the undead, everything depends on the beginning, the beginning is not good, the undead will blame.
Moreover, this day is the day when the deceased went to Wangxiangtai to see his hometown, so he was extremely pious and grand, and the deceased could find it with a little disrespect. Therefore, on this day, most of the families of the deceased stayed up all night, wrapped in hemp and Dai Xiao, trembling for fear that the undead would bring disaster. "June 7" should be made by relatives, in order to conform to the custom of "not eating at home on June 7" On this day, relatives brought all kinds of food offerings, gold, silver and tin foil from home and rushed to the funeral home to pay homage to the spirit. "July 7th" should be organized by children, and the protagonist should be a daughter. It is a great comfort to the deceased that the married daughter and her brother go home together to sacrifice their parents. Moreover, if it happens to be a daughter's wedding day, her daughter must make special sacrifices, otherwise she will be punished. In ancient Han dynasty, someone died in the family. During the mourning period, I can't go into politics, and the country is filial.
The man took off his crown, tied his hair in a bun, tied it with hemp rope, and held a funeral stick to ward off evil spirits, which could not be broken until the end of the mourning period and thrown out of sight to show his grief for the dead. You can only wear white mourning clothes, colorful clothes, get married within three years, post Spring Festival couplets, drink and eat meat, get close to women, have fun, visit relatives and friends and so on. This has become the normal state of mourning and sacrifice for relatives of the deceased. On the day of Miao's burial, the family members of the deceased could not move stones for fear of crushing people. On the third day, they had to cut meat to sacrifice the spirit. The son of the deceased was forbidden to farm, drive and cross the bridge for a month. In February of the following year, the deceased sacrificed at home and hid in the cave after the sacrifice. Baurgard people of Barrow nationality in Milin County, Tibet, after their parents died, their children could not get a haircut for one year, and they tied a red wool on their forehead bangs before they could get married for one year.
If Gaoshan women want to remarry after their husbands die, they must hold sacrificial ceremonies. Rich sacrifices should be prepared and placed in front of the memorial tablet of the deceased. With a silk thread, one end is tied with the memorial tablet of the deceased, and the other end is tied with the living. The living jumped in front of the monument with an umbrella and sang, "Don't wait for me, don't look for me, I have gone elsewhere;" Don't blame me, don't hate me, I went elsewhere. " Then, break the silk thread and run away, even if the engagement is dissolved, you can remarry. Otherwise, if you get married without a sacrificial ceremony, you will be punished by the evil spirits transferred from the dead.