Explore the mysteries of the ancients

Standing under the steep cliff in Qiubei, Yunnan, looking up at the coffin left on the cliff, the mysterious impression of the ancient Gelao people seems to have solidified.

Bo people, an ancient ethnic group that people thought had disappeared, now appear mysteriously in Qiubei. They retain the ancient language, costumes and magical cave burial customs, and reveal profound cultural connotations and historical details. ...

Bo people have disappeared?

The Gelao people, an ancient people who have lived in China for more than two thousand years, have lost their trace since the first year of Wanli.

According to historical records, Bohai people are adherents of Xia Dynasty, prisoners of war of Shang Dynasty and nomadic people. During the week of Zhou Wuwang's attack, eight foreigners were recruited from the southwest to take part in the war, including Bohai people. Due to their outstanding military achievements, the Gelao people established the Gelao regime in Yibin, Sichuan. Since then, this nation has entered the most prosperous period.

When Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty, he saw the goods sold by Afghan and Indian Bohai people, only then did he know that there was a Southern Silk Road leading to Southeast Asia, which was at least two centuries earlier than the Northern Silk Road opened by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty learned about it, he immediately sent people to develop southwest Yi, so the Bo people expanded to the surrounding areas, thus forming three major river basin branches, namely, Nanguanghe branch centered on Gongxian County, Sichuan Province, Hengjiang branch centered on Hengjiang River Basin in Yunnan Province and Nanpanjiang branch centered on Nanpanjiang River Basin in Guizhou Province. At this time, Bo people have developed into a farming nation, with rich culture and special emphasis on education.

The Gelao people live in the wild thorns. Because they are born in honest and frank and violent, they are not allowed by the past dynasties and have been conquered many times. In a.d. 1 century, Ruodou, the leader of the Yi Bo people, and Meng Qian rose up against the tyranny of Wang Mang. Wang Mang sent more than 200,000 troops three times to suppress the people of Bohai, and listed Ruodou and Meng Qian as unforgivable people. There were 1 1 wars between the Ming Dynasty and Bohai State in the past ten years. In the first year of Wanli (1573), the governor of Sichuan sent by Zhang, the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, conquered the Bo people on a large scale, which lasted for one year. The commander-in-chief led the army 140000 and wiped them all out. Since then, Bo people have lost their trace.

Some people say that Bo people were killed; It is also said that Bo people have been assimilated by other ethnic groups; Others said that Bo people fled to parts of Yunnan and Guizhou. But these are just legends and speculations, and there is no clear historical record. Up to now, no one has found the written records of the Gelao nationality's national history. Numerous rock paintings and amazing hanging coffins left by the Bo people on the hard stone walls have also become eternal mysteries.

Did the monks reappear in Qiubei?

Qiubei County is inhabited by Bo people, and their stockade is deep in the mountains.

"Ancestors on the cliff, master in the cliff hole. The old man is on the altar and his friend is on the wine table. " This is a folk song sung in Bainitang Village, Shede Township, Qiubei County, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. In the moonlight, whenever a bonfire is lit, men will sing this primitive, simple and desolate folk song, as if telling a little-known secret in the village.

Some people say that this is an ancient song sung by the Gelao people. Qiubei County is inhabited by Bo people, and their stockade is deep in the mountains.

The Bo people in Qiubei County described their origin like this: "Our ancestors crossed the river from' outside the river' to escape the war. In order to commemorate the history of our ancestors crossing the river and fleeing, our babies should be put in cold water after birth to let them cross the river once. " This narrative reveals the migration track of ancient Bo people more or less.

From 1997, the author visited many villages of Gelao nationality in Shede Township, Qiubei County, such as Yezhutang Village, Baishiya Village, Bainitang Village, etc. 10 to learn about the basic situation and magical customs of Gelao nationality.

The Bo people in Qiubei county call themselves "Guo Po" and "Bo people", while other ethnic groups call them "Bahai" and "Bo people". 1956, when China identified ethnic groups, they were classified as Bai Yi branch of Yi people. At present, there are 6,894 people in 1557 households in Qiubei County, which are distributed in 44 natural villages in six townships (towns): Shuanglongying, Shede, Guanzhai, Yuezhe, Nijiao and Bark. Among them, 19 Chunbo Village. Most Bo people live in remote rocky and semi-mountainous areas, and a few Bo people live together with other ethnic groups. Due to inconvenient transportation and blocked information, the Gelao people are less influenced by other national cultures, and still retain relatively complete traditional customs and national cultures.

In the homes of villagers Lu Juzhen and Yang Guanghua in Baishiya, the author saw the unique costumes of Bo people. Bo people wear linen or cotton shorts and sleeveless linen jackets embroidered with patterns. Women wear condoms, which are shaped like cockscomb. People call them "soaring hats" and "cockscomb hats". Colorful beads and shells of various colors are neatly arranged around the hat, with silverware and bone ornaments. Women's dress has wide waist and big sleeves, beautiful and colorful patterns embroidered on the chest and red balls on the shoulders.

Gelao folk songs are generally short in structure, with a wide range and little change in melody. The main musical instruments are Qin Yue, Xiangzi, San Yan Ba Yu and Mao Shao. The most representative dance is "Tiaole".

Couples practice consanguineous exogamy. Young men and women can fall in love freely and get to know each other through singing and dancing, but the choice of marriage must be arranged by their parents.

The most magical custom of Gelao people is hanging coffins. In Bainitang Village of Shede Township and Yezhutang Village of Shuanglongying Town, the author witnessed the hanging coffin burial. There are four methods for hanging coffins: ropeway method, plank road method, support method and water level method. Hanging coffins can be divided into natural cave burial, artificial cave burial and artificial hanging coffin burial. This unique way of paying homage strongly conveys Bo people's sublimation of national spirit and their pursuit of the future world's otherworldly and ethereal purification.

Cave burial, a "secret" that only the ancestors knew?

The Gelao people in Qiubei were buried in caves. Cave burial is not to bury the body of the deceased in a coffin, but to bring the "soul" of the deceased into the ancestors.

The Gelao people in Qiubei were buried in caves. Specifically, when the deceased was about to die, the patriarch took a thin piece of copper and quickly cut a bust with a width of about 4 cm above the face of the deceased, engraved with eyes, nose and mouth. This process is called "taking the spirit", and the cut copper piece is like the "soul" of the deceased, commonly known as "soul piece". In order to maintain the relationship between the deceased and the descendants, the "soul membrane" should be stained with the finger blood of the filial son, kept by the filial son and buried by the patriarch. As for the body of the deceased, Bo people think that since the "soul" has been taken away, the body is not important. Usually buried in the wild, there are no tombstones and markers, and no more sacrifices.

Every family in Qiubei has ancestral coffins, which are carved from cherry trees or birch trees. It is the "sacred object" of the people and is managed by the most prestigious patriarch in the family. Usually, the coffins of ancestors are stored in natural caves. Before storing the coffins of ancestors, all the soil in the cliff caves should be cleaned up. After the coffin of the ancestors is put away, the hole should be sealed to avoid being moved or destroyed by outsiders. Qiubeibo people believe that the soul of ancestors can only be peaceful if it is not seen by outsiders and exposed to the sun and rain; Only when the coffin of ancestors leaves the soil and the earth can the soul enter heaven smoothly.

Every year, the first snake day of the tenth lunar month is the ancestor worship day of the Gelao people. On the day of ancestor worship, men, women and children in the family gathered together to kill pigs and sheep, and under the leadership of the patriarch, they took offerings to the place where the coffin of their ancestors was hidden. The patriarch took out the ancestral coffin from the cave and counted the number of "soul pieces" in the ancestral coffin in public. If the number of "soul films" increases, it proves that some people in the clan have "privately linked ancestors"; If the number of "soul films" decreases, it means that someone has stolen their ancestors. After everyone found out the reason in public, the patriarch restored or copied the "soul membrane" on the spot until everyone had no objection, and then "washed the spirit" with sake and put it on the table for worship. After the ceremony, the patriarch will wrap the "soul block" in a new white linen cloth and put it in the ancestral coffin, holding the ancestral coffin alone and choosing a cave for secret placement.

When the magical burial custom of Gelao nationality originated, there is no written record. According to experts' calculations, judging from the oxidation degree of the "soul piece" in the coffin, it has a history of at least 500 years. The whole process of cave burial has mysterious religious color, which reflects the unique beliefs of Bo people.