The unique customs and habits of the Yao people
Customs and habits of the Yao people
The costumes of the Yao people are rich and colorful, and vary from region to region and branch. Men's and women's clothing is mainly made of dark green and blue homespun cloth. Men like to wear collarless shirts, long trousers or knee-length shorts, and usually wear a belt. Men from Nandan County's "Bai Ku Yao" like to wear embroidered shirts that reach to their knees. White trousers with hemmed edges; women generally wear collarless tops with a belt to tie the waist, and trousers, short skirts or pleated skirts. Some also wear knee-length skirts that are long in the back and short in the front, with colorful lace embroidered in conspicuous places. Young people usually wear Han costumes, but only change into ethnic costumes during celebrations. Women's headdresses come in many styles with unique styles. They often wear earrings, bracelets, silver medals and other silver ornaments, with colorful ribbons. Some women in Dayao Mountain wear large curved silver hairpins that weigh about 1 kilogram. The headdresses of Yao women have been It can distinguish between girls, unmarried women, married women and which branch of the Yao ethnic group they belong to.
Food: The Yao people’s diet mainly consists of rice, corn, sweet potatoes and taro. “Oleifera tea” is popular in some areas. The Yao people in Dayao Mountain like to pickle “bird vinegar” and “animal meat vinegar” as a food. Treat guests to the best, and some marinate smoked pork, pastrami and other unique flavor foods.
Residence: The Yao people’s houses are made of bamboo and wood, usually with three rooms in a house and are rectangular. Some are built as stilt-style buildings, mostly built against the mountains, and the tribes live together.
Marriage customs: Unmarried young men and women of the Yao people are relatively free to fall in love. They use festivals, gatherings and leisure time to travel from village to village, establish feelings through antiphonal songs or other ways, give each other tokens, and get married on their own; some of them must go through their parents. Agree and ask a matchmaker to get married. The phenomenon of recruiting sons-in-law is relatively common among the Yao people, and they generally do not marry outside the clan. With the development of the economy, their interactions with the outside world have gradually become closer, and exogamy has also begun to increase.
Funeral: The rural Yao people mainly practice burial in the ground. Some areas and branches practice cremation, cliff burial and hanging burial.
Taboos: Women do not like outsiders to visit before giving birth; the wedding date cannot be chosen on the anniversary of the death of their parents; men and women cannot sit on the same stool when singing duets; they cannot use foul language in front of women; spitting is not allowed in the main room. ;Men are taboo about sitting in front of the cupboard. Men and women of the same generation are called brothers and sisters, and titles such as "brother-in-law" and "brother-in-law" are taboo
The rich and colorful living customs of the Yao people are an important part of the Yao culture and are a key factor in the Yao people's living conditions, living environment, and The reflection of historical encounters, sanitary conditions, lifestyle, production and development level, religious beliefs and aesthetic tastes are the norms and norms for the Yao people's common life and thoughts and behaviors.
Household Customs
Most of the houses of the Yao people in mountainous areas are "thatched cottages", with the four walls made of small wooden strips, commonly known as "thousands of stigmas on the ground". Cover with fir bark or thatch. There are a small number of wooden houses, most of which are three rooms in a building, called "Sanjian Hall". On both sides of the main house, fir strips are often used to create two additional rooms, which are commonly known as "Pishan". The east room is used as a pile of debris or used as a livestock pen and toilet; the west room is used as a kitchen and bathroom. The Yao people are accustomed to taking hot baths once a day regardless of the cold or heat. There is also a "diaolou" type wooden house, half of which is on flat ground, and the other half is supported by trees according to the slope of the mountain. People live on top and things are placed on the bottom. It is commonly known as "Yaojia Diaojiaolou". Nowadays, the number of "thatched cottage" houses is gradually decreasing.
The houses of the Yao people in hilly areas are mostly brick and wood structures, with blue tile roofs and "three-room hall" buildings with second-story windows. Although the upper floor has windows, it is relatively low and uninhabited, and is used as a storage room. The central hall has a large door and side doors on both sides.
Production customs
The Yao people who entered the mountainous areas at that time practiced slash-and-burn farming because of the vast land and sparse population. They "planted this mountain and planted that mountain." Later, as the population increased, the feudal ruling forces gradually penetrated into the mountainous areas. The Yao people's land was gradually occupied, and they were forced to borrow land for farming in order to make a living. The conditions for borrowing soil: "Plant trees and return them to the mountains." That is to say, when the Yao people sow crops on the borrowed land, they must plant trees for the "mountain owner"; when caring for the crops, they must also care for the trees. When the trees grow and the land can no longer grow crops, the land and trees will be planted. Return it to the "mountain owner" and borrow soil for farming elsewhere. Afforestation, customary "cuttings" and forest-grain intercropping.
The main food crops are corn, sweet potato, upland grass, millet, arbor wheat, and potato, with tung trees, palm flakes, tea leaves, medicinal materials, etc. interplanted. The fertilizer uses humus and humus in the soil of newly cut land. Ashes from burned vegetation. The main production tools are hoes, sickles, and axes, supplemented by bamboo and wood tools. Transportation mainly relies on manual carrying and lifting. The backpack is the most common means of transportation for the Yao people. The form of labor is based on household units. Men and women work together. When help is needed, the person who is hired must help no matter how busy they are. To cultivate large areas of mountain land, collective labor is carried out in the form of shares by household or labor force, and dividends based on shares after autumn.
Hunting is one of the productive activities of the Yao people in the mountainous areas. The main purpose is to hunt wild boars. As long as wild boars are found harming crops, they are hunted collectively until they are captured or driven away. When hunting, 1 or 2 people lead hounds to look for traces, while the rest guard the area. Even a child on his back can get a share of the captured beast. Individual hunting mainly involves placing lasso and loading crossbows.
Marriage and Love Customs
Dating Before Marriage Historically, young men and women of the Yao family have been relatively free to make friends and fall in love. In production work, visiting the fair, and festival gatherings, singing is often used as a medium to express love. Once both parties agree, they can communicate with each other without parental interference. This kind of behavior is called "making friends" by the man and "taking care of the offspring" by the woman. When it comes to the official marriage, if the groom is not his first friend, the boyfriend must prepare a basket of gifts (candy and toiletries) for his girlfriend, which is called "getting the basket". The woman prepares a bag containing cloud shoes, belts, etc. as a reward, which is called "throwing the baggage".
In mountainous areas, people with the same surname, Pan and Zhao, can intermarry, while other surnames generally have intermarriage with different surnames. However, intermarriage between Yao and Han was generally not allowed. During the Republic of China, this was slightly relaxed. After liberation, there were more ethnic exchanges, unity and harmony, and the ban on intermarriage was basically relaxed.
The main form of marriage is "bringing a son-in-law" (that is, recruiting a husband), which is called "Jiu Qian" in Yao language. When a man settles in a woman's family, he usually has to write a "brother's letter", which contains provisions such as the man's obligations and rights, the inheritance of his children, and the inheritance of property. The bride-to-be usually has to change her name and surname, according to the seniority in the bride's family. There are also a few couples who change their surname. There are two other forms of son-in-law. One is called "walking on both sides". The man still uses his original name, and the couple takes care of both parents. The first of the children born takes the mother's surname, and the second takes the father's surname. By analogy; the other type is called "open and covert marriage". This kind of marriage is often caused by the woman's parents being old, her siblings being young, and the family having no labor. Once the above conditions change, the man will bring his wife back home, and the children will follow their father. surname. When a woman marries her husband's family, it is mainly in Pingdi Yao. The wife keeps her original surname and the children take their father's surname.
For the wedding ceremony, if a man goes to the bride’s family to marry into his wife, the marriage will be arranged by the bride’s family. The groom will be escorted by a group of unmarried young people on foot, and the bride’s family will greet him halfway with drum music. A worship ceremony will be held in the evening, and relatives and friends (some of whom are not married) will be picked up. Please come) and sit in the singing hall all night long. When a girl comes to her husband's house, she will "sit in the singing hall" before getting married. On the wedding day, the bride will be carried out by her father, brother or uncle. Then, the girl from the village will accompany her and walk to the groom's house with an umbrella, hold a worship ceremony, and accept congratulations from relatives and friends.
Divorce and remarriage (parentage) In Gaoshan Yao, Lingdong, women have a higher status, and both parties work together after marriage. If the relationship is not compatible, either party can file for divorce. Generally, the elderly in the village are invited to "drink tea" and put forward the reasons for divorce. If mediation fails, the divorce is "judged". The couple took a piece of bamboo tube to the mountain, cut it in half with a knife, each held one half, walked away from each other, and then they broke up. If a married man violates the marriage contract, the woman can "divorce" her husband and all the property will belong to the woman. There are no restrictions on the remarriage of widows, but marriage unions in which a brother succeeds his brother and a sister succeeds his sister are strictly prohibited. After liberation, the Yao people went through the procedures in accordance with the "Marriage Law".
Crying for Marriage Before a girl gets married, she gathers her relatives, friends and sisters from the village for a party at home for two consecutive nights. They treat each other with tea on the first night and a banquet on the night. After the banquet, everyone gathers in the hall to sing "women's songs", talk about personal affairs or laugh and make fun, and "sit in the singing hall". The bride "crys to marry" to relatives and friends in order of generation, and relatives and friends give "red envelopes".
Hitting the groom Three days after the wedding, when the groom returns to his wife’s house, women from the bride’s village come together and fight to beat the groom to show that they will not abuse the bride in the future.
In some villages, during the first Spring Festival after marriage, the groom goes to his in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings. The young men and women in the village beat gongs and drums (sometimes performing dragon and lion dances) to congratulate the groom, and the groom gives "red envelopes" in return. This is also called Beat the groom. Later, it gradually evolved into the whole village's women and children asking for "happy lottery" money. Otherwise, they would not give up, sometimes making the groom greatly embarrassed.
Funeral customs
The Yao people all practice burial in the ground. When the elderly are dying, they comb their hair, take a shower, and wear shrouds, while relatives watch over to "send them off". After death, the deceased is moved to the hall (men on the left and women on the right), the whole family mourns, and the children go to relatives and friends to express condolences and choose an auspicious burial. The coffin usually stays for three days, and the master is invited to do the "dojo". For poor people, a bowl of water will "open the way" for them. If the deceased is a master, a master of the same level should be asked to recite a mantra, tie the body with a red cloth on the stool and stairs, and only put it into the coffin after the ceremony.
When there is a funeral, the master only leads it to the door, and a filial man or daughter leads the way up the mountain holding a torch or a kitchen knife. Gao Shanyao doesn't pay attention to any "feng shui" treasure land. He just needs to choose a place at the foot of the mountain not far from his house and bury him.
Now, the Yao people have implemented funeral reforms and have begun to experiment with cremation.