Folk taboos in southern Shanxi

Folk taboos in southern Shanxi

Taboos, the popular term among the folk in southern Shanxi is "taboo". It is derived from folk beliefs as its essential core and restricts the concepts and practices of social members’ actions and language. On the one hand, they regard respected things as gods and are not allowed to blaspheme or offend. On the other hand, they regard despised things as unlucky and are not allowed to touch them at will. Taboos abound, giving life a mysterious color.

Taboos on festivals during the year. On the first day of the first lunar month in southern Shanxi, it is taboo to say unlucky words and parents are not allowed to hit their children to avoid causing unpleasant troubles. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, every household in Xiangfen and other places competes to add water to the water tank. It is considered auspicious to be the first to pick up water in the morning and it is believed that it can increase wealth. However, it is taboo to go to the neighbor's house to pick up water. It is generally not allowed to visit patients on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. It is better to see patients in the morning. People in Pinglu area pay attention to "Don't go out for seven days, don't go home for eight days", that is, you don't leave home on the seventh day of the lunar calendar, and those who work outside should avoid going home on the eighth day of the lunar calendar. Good days to go out are generally the third, sixth and ninth day of the lunar calendar.

There are taboos in every aspect of life rituals. Pregnant women should avoid eating rabbit meat for fear of giving birth to a child with a missing lip. Married girls are not allowed to give birth to children in their natal family, saying that doing so will be detrimental to their natal family and will lead to bloody disasters. In Pinglu and other counties located on the banks of the Yellow River, women are not allowed to go out, let alone take a boat, less than 40 days after giving birth. It is taboo to encounter big trees, big rocks, temples, wells and other objects on the way to the wedding. If you cannot avoid them, cover them with red cloth and take them off after the bride has passed. When the bride and groom hold a wedding ceremony, they should not be surrounded by people wearing filial piety clothes to prevent "collision". People who observe filial piety should take the initiative to avoid it. "There is no big or small event for three days" in the wedding ceremony. Anyone can laugh and have fun regardless of their age. However, widows, pregnant women, and people wearing mourning are forbidden to participate. Otherwise, the newlyweds will be discordant or suffer disaster in the future. On the day of the wedding, it is considered a good deed to have someone listen to the house at night. It is taboo that no one listens to the house. On the one hand, it means that the house is not popular, and on the other hand, it is regarded as unlucky. As the saying goes: "People do not listen to ghosts." Therefore, When the parents-in-law found that no one was listening to the wedding, they put a piece of clothing on a broom and placed it outside the wedding room. The meaning was that if a sneak came and thought someone was here, they would consciously leave. There are also taboos regarding funerals. Anyone who dies in other places, whether due to illness or sudden death, is not allowed to bring the dead body into the village. Otherwise, it will be detrimental to the villagers. Therefore, we can only pay tribute and bury him outside the village. It is forbidden to post red couplets in the spring of the first year after the death of an old person. You can only write couplets on white paper. In the second year, use yellow paper to write couplets. Only in the third year can you resume using red paper.

Amusement taboos. Every village in Pinglu invites opera troupes to sing operas, and there are many considerations when choosing repertoire. There is a local jingle: "Don't sing "Golden Beach" in Dongyan, "Gaopingguan" in Xiyan, "Selling Tofu" in Yaotou, "Yuan in the Cabinet" in Zhangyu, and "Yuan" in Taiyangdu. "The water overflows the golden mountain". It turns out that most people in Dongyan Village have the surname Yang. The play "Golden Beach" by Yang family generals reflects the historical fact that the Yang family generals spilled blood on the battlefield in Jinshatan Beach and suffered heavy losses, so I couldn't bear to watch this play. Many people in Xiyan Village have the surname Gao. There is a plot in "Gaopingguan" where the head of Gao Yao, the master of Gaopingguan, was cut off. Therefore, it is considered unlucky for people with the surname Gao to perform this play. There used to be Xinglong Temple in Yaotou Village. The story of Zhang Dian selling tofu in Xinglong Temple in the popular legend "Selling Tofu" happened here, so it was forbidden to perform this play. "Li Bigou" in Zhangyu Village is where the descendants of Li Yukui took refuge in the late Ming Dynasty. The story of the romantic drama "The End of the Cabinet" took place here. Therefore, people in Zhangyu Village are prohibited from performing. Taiyangdu is located along the Yellow River. Historically, the Yellow River has flooded, and the people have suffered greatly. Floods are the most fearful of them, so the performance of "Water Floods the Golden Mountain" is prohibited. These taboos on drama performances just show that the birthplace of drama is in southern Shanxi. Folk opera performances have become popular in rural areas since the Yuan and Ming dynasties. When dramas put life prototypes on the stage through artistic processing, on the one hand, they reflect the ideals, wishes, and life interests of the people; on the other hand, they are consistent with the traditional concepts of the local people. If it is offensive or offensive, it will be classified as a forbidden play.

Construction, trading and daily life are taboo. When a farmhouse builds a new house, its height should be roughly the same as the roofs of neighbors living in the same area. It is taboo among the people that a house or courtyard wall of a certain family be higher than that of other houses. They think that it will take away the good luck of the other house and suppress the feng shui of the other house, which will cause bad luck. It can lead to disputes and even hatred for generations. The setting of the gate is also very important in building a house and courtyard. Folks regard it as a representative of the home. It is commonly said that starting a family and starting a business is "setting up a door". Therefore, when building a door, it is forbidden to have the center line of the door facing the wall or long alley, and it is forbidden to face the door and window of the neighbor's house. The folk saying goes: "Door to window, people will suffer; window to door, people will be hurt." Farmers go to the market When selling livestock, avoid selling bridles.

In daily life, if you are smoking and someone is fighting fire, avoid pinching someone else's cigarette pot, which means it will get stuck on someone else's neck. When boating on the river, the boatman should avoid putting his hands on his waist, because this means that the boat is broken down and there is nothing he can do. Words that are taboo when sailing are: "overturned", "sinked", "broken", "upturned", etc. It is taboo for boat owners to put the bowls and basins used for eating with their mouths downwards. Because this means that the bottom of the boat is facing up, that is, the boat has capsized. If the clothes are torn, it is taboo to wear them while mending them. If you do not take off your clothes and let others mend them, you should hold a broom or chopsticks in your mouth.

This is a taboo among human beings. It is a product of fear in the face of the unpredictable nature, but it cannot be denied that many taboos are derived from people's daily needs, such as seeing patients in the morning. , in line with people's psychological habits. The coffins of people who died outside are not allowed to enter the village, which is beneficial to preventing the spread of plague. Women are not allowed to travel by boat within 40 days after giving birth. The purpose is to protect the health of the mother. , relationships between people, and relationships between people and society, etc.