Investigation report on Miao culture

Miao folk houses are not only places for daily life, but also places for concentrated expression of national culture. Miao architectural art. Like other Miao arts, there are many pure Miao cultural elements. Ordinary life, productive labor, gatherings of relatives and friends, and religious activities, such as knitting, embroidery, breeding, wedding banquets and sacrifices, are all held here. These cultural elements are directly presented on the surface of architectural forms. Or implied in the architectural form. Due to the long-term influence of these customs and natural conditions, these cultural elements constitute the content of Miao architectural artistic characteristics.

First of all, interesting architectural customs

Building a house is a very solemn thing in the life of Miao people, and the choice of foundation and date of the house is very particular. Miao people generally live in villages, and their homesteads choose to avoid shade and face the sun. Some choose to be in the rolling peaks around, some choose to be on the mountainside surrounded by peaks or in the mountains backed by cliffs, and some choose to be under pines and cypresses or on the mountains with overlapping mountains. The rich also specially invited Mr. Feng Shui to choose the standard and the homestead.

After choosing the homestead, it is very important to choose the date. First of all, we should speculate from the age of the previous generation: whether there is a genus, if there is no gram, it is a good omen. Generally, the Miao family likes ugly, ugly, old, unfinished, unitary and old days as auspicious days. After the auspicious day was set, the master invited a skilled carpenter to go up the mountain with wine, meat, horn, glutinous rice, scented paper, axe, saw and ruler, and chose a lush, stout and tall Chinese fir as the central pillar of the new house, which was called "riding a horse". Before cutting down the tree, the carpenter caressed the wine and pinched the meat at the root of the fir tree as a sacrifice, saying, "Which tree is the biggest?" Which tree is the tallest? This tree is the biggest! This tree is the tallest! There are nine people holding nine clouds. Today, I will cut you down and build a house. "After reading the concubine, the carpenter master cut three axes in the tree with an axe and gave it to his master to cut three axes. Then give the axe to the helper to cut down the tree. The direction in which the tree falls is very particular. You must try to fall the tree to the east as a sign of good luck. Then saw off the cut trees, peeled and shaved according to the size of the pillars, and transported them home. Carpenters also have to burn incense and light candles, kill chickens to worship Lu Ban, and carefully put an ink line on the stigma, which is called "hair ink", indicating the start of the new house.

It is a great event to put beams after a new house is built. Liang Mu's choice is also very particular. Generally, Chinese fir, Toona sinensis and Catalpa bungeana are selected. This kind of tree is very renewable. After the main tree is cut down, many new branches will be sent out from the roots in the next year, which indicates prosperity. The local custom is that Liang Mu was given by Uncle Lang. On this day, Uncle Lang's family cut the beam, made it into wool, wrapped it in red cloth, and had it carried to the host's house. The host should prepare firecrackers to meet Liang Mu at the entrance of the village.

After the beam is carried to the owner's house, the carpenter will finely process it according to its size. Set a good time, set up the upper beam stairs, and prepare for the upper beam. When you climb the beam, you should sing the song of climbing the beam At the beginning of boarding the beam, the carpenter sang in the new house: "As soon as I entered the room, my family invited me to board the beam, step by step on the ladder and board the new house. Xiantao Hall is full, and my family has been rich for thousands of years. One step is popular, two steps are Sun Qiang, three steps are rich, four steps are champions, five steps are five, six steps are six. " After putting the beams on, the host made baskets of colorful beams with Confucian rice and sprinkled them down. Adults and children swarmed in and grabbed the beams, laughing and beaming.

When Miao people's houses are built, they usually hold a traditional "dragon-catching" ceremony, which is the attachment and yearning of the ancient people for the homeland of the Yellow River.

Installing a shrine in a new house is also a very serious matter. The requirements for installing shrines are higher than those for doorframes. As the saying goes, "the shrine is higher than the door of the hall, and children and grandchildren are born at their own door." The shrine is lower than the door of the house, and the glory is destroyed. " The installation of the door in the new house is also very particular. On an auspicious day, the carpenter installed the gate, and friends and relatives came to congratulate him. The respected people in the village always wear new clothes, shoes and hats. And prepare a plate with rice, coins, silverware and colored silk thread on it, as well as a new suit for adults and children, which is called "rich plate" locally.

Second, the daily life of Miao families

The daily life of Miao people is related to living customs. The middle is slightly wider than the second room on both sides, generally divided into two rooms, the front room is spacious, which is a hall, a place for the whole family to eat, warm up and entertain guests, and a shrine is installed. In the past, a square barrel-shaped fire pit was usually installed in the middle of the hall, and three feet of iron was put in it, so that the fire would not go out all year round. Put a bracket or hook above the fire pit to put food and hang things. There are dead corners at the foot of the central column on the left side of the hall, and some even erect a small bamboo as a "longevity tree" at the edge of the central column. When offering sacrifices to ancestors, pour a few drops of wine and pinch a little meat by the fire pit or outside the door. The small room at the back of the hall is reserved for men and the elderly, and married sons or daughters-in-law are absolutely not allowed. The left and right rooms are divided into front and rear rooms, the left front room is the son's bedroom or guest room, and the rear parents' bedroom or fire pit pigsty and toilet are near the foot of the building or the house.

Some Miao people's bedrooms and beds can't be placed horizontally with Liang Ping. The local mourning is commonly known as: "Jiangxi provides the head, Huguang provides the feet, and Miao Man grabs the water." It means that the Han people in Jiangxi died, with their heads facing outward and their feet facing inward, and stopped in the main room. The Han people of the same nationality died, with their heads facing inward and their feet facing outward, and stopped in the main room. The local Miao, Buyi and Shui people died and stopped in the hall beside the girder. So the bed can't be placed horizontally along the beam like a morgue. In the same way, wooden furniture such as pot covers and grab covers should not be placed horizontally.

There are certain customs about the location of ancestral houses. Generally speaking, the middle of three rooms is called "Cao Bei". Which is the lobby. There is a multi-storey room on the left and right sides of the main hall, which is called "Ramming Gong", that is, the location of ancestors. It is the most sacred part of the house, and it is also the concentrated place of the ancestors and gods of the host family. Therefore, the seats in this direction belong to the elders and the elderly, and young people-except ancestors-are not allowed to sit in this place, which is different from the activities of the whole family in the main room of the diaojiao building. The rammer in the ancestral home is the center of family activities. Other facilities are similar to the planning of the second floor of the diaojiao building, that is, there are fire ponds, bedrooms, stoves and so on.

The hall and fire pit house of the Miao family are the central space of the Miao family's folk houses, which fully shows the Miao family's national concept and devout belief. The Miao family has special feelings for the fire pit. According to Phoenix Hall, "At that time, the Miao people were forced to move to the deep mountains and forests, and there was no room to live, so they had to live in caves or build sheds to shelter from the wind and rain, because the poor had no bedding. So use a fire pit to burn the fire to keep out the cold. " So no matter what style of house Miao people live in, there are fire pits, which will not go out all day long and all year round. It symbolizes the prosperity of the Miao family and cultivates the unique kindness, friendship and security of the Miao family and the psychological characteristics of the group spiritual space.

The triangular iron frame placed in the pond symbolizes ancestors and cannot set foot; The family sat around it. Under the protection of ancestors, it fully embodies the warmth of home. I am also very particular about the setting of the pit. Usually it is inlaid with strips of stone, surrounded by Toona sinensis, and then hardwood is laid around the fire pit to form a "ground floor" about ten feet from the ground. Miao people call it "Lazong" or "Central Station". Translated into Chinese, it means "bed" or "cold bed". Some also use tung oil to oil fire pits and underground buildings once, which usually prevents glare. The location of the hall. Compared with the roof of a column, it is not appropriate to lean forward and backward. Below a row of pillars on the edge, is the position of the family god. Miao people call it "ram". Usually at the time of sacrifice Burn incense paper and drink a libation everywhere, so when warming up around the fire pit, the host and guest are different. Ethics and order. Establish rules to follow; That is, one side of the central column is the elder, sitting in the lower half of the main house, regardless of the other two sides. The ancestral temple next to the fire pit is a sacred place. So strangers are not allowed to go up casually.

In the past, the indoor layout of Miao nationality was centered on the fire pond, and people's daily life, diet, ancestor worship, sacrifice and meditation were all beside the fire pond. The fireplace is made of slate, then made of Toona sinensis into a square, and then a layer of hardwood floor is laid around the fireplace to make the "ground floor". The "underground building" is about 30 cm from the ground. Miao people call it "La Zong" or "General Station", which means "Bed" or "Cold Shop". Usually the fireplace is always clean, and some people use tung oil to make it shine. Now the Miao family has more wooden beds, and they no longer lie by the fireplace to keep warm and keep out the cold at night, but the fireplace is still a place for Anling to worship their ancestors. Therefore, you can't sit on a stool by the fire pond of an "underground building" when you visit the Miao family without the invitation of the host. When the host invites you to sit down, you must go outside and wipe the mud off your shoes, and then sit by the fireplace.

Diaojiaolou is skillfully used in Xiangxi folk houses, which not only increases the use space, but also plays a shading role with the eaves above. The part of the diaojiao building is not large, within two meters. In addition to playing a general role in daily life, it also has a special purpose in Xiangxi: young men and women of Miao nationality in Xiangxi can fall in love freely, and girls can embroider here, so that they can clearly observe the crowd below and find the right young man. They throw handkerchiefs from upstairs to show their love, which is a unique custom of Miao nationality in Xiangxi.

Third, the decoration of Miao folk houses

The decoration of Miao folk houses is closely related to the unique customs of Miao families, and wooden boards are widely used for decoration. Because most of them are stilts with stilts, and the ground floor is very shallow, they can only shut cattle and pigs, grind flour, pile firewood and put grass, and few people live there. This kind of floor is mostly installed horizontally with wooden Fang or thick plate, which retains the legacy of dry well architecture. The second floor is the family activity center. The floor is half empty and half solid, which is called "half floor". By the truth, dig a fire pit and build a stove; It's empty outside, spread the floor, sleep on the bed and rest in the porch. The main room is located on the second floor. The threshold of the gate on the second floor is very high. It is said that "wealth and happiness" will not overflow. In fact, it is to ensure the safety of children living in diaojiao building. The wooden buffalo horn on the door and the door bucket on the waist door are also specially made into the shape of horns. Miao custom holds that buffalo is the most powerful in the world. It has its own door and is safe and sound. Seeing cows as gods shows that Miao compatriots who make a living by farming worship cows. Miao's door and door decoration are also different: the door is wide and narrow, and the door is narrow and wide. I think so, it is convenient for Bao to enter the house, which is beneficial to the mother.

Many important activities of Miao family, such as getting married, drinking full moon wine, holding funerals, bridging bridges, erecting monuments and other weddings and funerals, often hold a "family dance" in the lobby on the second floor, where the host and guest dance together and step on the light. This kind of dance has a strong sense of rhythm, and there are many people dancing. Often thirty or fifty people gather in the hall and dance "bang", and the sound is earth-shaking and resounds through the village. In order to meet the needs of this kind of folk activities, Miao folk houses have adopted technologies such as densified columns, floor pillows and thickened floors to enhance the firmness of the building.

On the second floor of the diaojiao building, the hall is usually empty. Between the two times, at the junction of the ground and the floor, the front and rear rooms are separated by boards. Some put the ancestral spirits on the east wall of the main hall or the partition wall between the east times. Many people put the patterns of the sun, the moon and some mountain gods cut out of white paper on the wooden board wall. People call them "Bao Ye", and God is the spirit of eliminating disasters. Articles such as "flower bamboo" and "flower tree" can often be seen next to the central column on the east side of the hall or the central column in the east room. This is left over from the activities of "planting flowers and trees" and "planting flowers and trees". If you have been infertile for many years after marriage, or if you have children but have no children, or if your children are ill, please invite a wizard to "plant flowers and bamboo" and "plant flowers and trees" in order to get what you want. Only when the child grows up can the "flower tree" or "flower bamboo" regarded as spiritual objects be removed.

Some people hang bamboo sticks, barbed bars, broken nets, scrap iron and other things at the front door, thinking that they can ward off evil spirits. The third floor of the diaojiao building stores sundries, and some people are used as bedrooms. The bedroom is located in the first half of the second room. No one lives upstairs, otherwise it will offend our ancestors.

The biggest feature of Miao folk houses in decoration is that a beautiful woman named "Dou Rest in Peace" is placed in the spacious and bright corridor on the second floor of Diaojiao Building. Beauty is also very particular about the setting of railings. It consists of dozens of small crescent-shaped wooden strips protruding outward at equal distances. The upper part of the batten is fixed on a long square crossbar, and the lower part is fixed on a wide bench. The bottom of the bench is connected with the floor by plane hardcover to form a wooden balcony. It is bright and comfortable, and you can enjoy the pleasing scenery of Miao Ling from a very high place. It is also the place where the population hangs around most. After work, men often smoke and drink tea here and talk about the past and the present; Women often wash, dye, dry and embroider skirts here: children often study and play here.

Miao's diaojiao building has cornices, cloisters on three sides and wooden railings hanging outside. The balustrade is engraved with patterns symbolizing good luck, such as ten thousand characters, happy characters and Chinese characters. The hanging column is octagonal, with drooping bottom, and often carved with hydrangea, melon and other shapes. The diaojiao building is generally divided into two floors, the upper and lower floors, and the wall paint is shiny. Choose ventilation upstairs and open the window to the sun. Embroidered windows have different shapes, including a pair of phoenixes rising in the morning, a magpie making plum blossoms and a lion rolling balls. The lower floor of the diaojiao building is mostly used as a barn to store grain or place furniture and farm tools. Upstairs is the master bedroom or guest room. The promenade outside the building is a place for women to embroider, pick yarns, brocade, tie flowers, dry yarns and dress. Unlike Tujia Diaojiao Building, the stairs of Miao Diaojiao Building are generally located indoors, unlike Tujia Diaojiao Building.

Fourth, the bridge and witchcraft culture.

Miao people love bridges because they believe that people come from another world and all come from bridges in their witchcraft cultural psychology. The bridge is the patron saint of children. It is said that the bridge is built to facilitate the reborn soul, and the bench is for the reborn soul to rest. Bridges are for reborn souls. If it is tired of walking, there is no bench to sit on and no bridge in the river ditch. If the "soul" cannot cross, it can't have children. So every family has its own bridge or bench. Every year, on the "Bridge Festival" on the second day of the second lunar month, every household spends a lot of delicacies, such as chicken, duck, fish, meat and wine, to worship the old bridge (bench) erected near the village as a symbol of fertility and protection, or erect a new bridge (bench) with peaches, plums and fir trees, which symbolizes the worship of both sexes. This day can be said to be the "Children's Day" of the Miao family. Parents dress up their dolls beautifully and are not allowed to beat and scold their children. What they want, as long as parents can do it, try to satisfy them. The ceremony of offering sacrifices to the bridge was held in the morning. A doll who sacrifices to the bridge must have at least two eggs to eat and a little twine on its head, indicating that fate has firmly "wrapped" its offspring and will not die.

The origin of the Miao nationality's bridging sacrificial bridge is said to be the rise of the ancient Miao beauty Yang Asha. Yang Asha and luna, a handsome man in the sky, have been married for many years and have no children. The fairy hinted that they could go to the bridge to get pregnant and have children on the second day of February. As the folk song goes: "Looking back on ancient times, who built the bridge first, who sacrificed first?" Singing for Asha, they are a couple. Several years passed, and there were no children or girls. They were in a hurry and discussed fortune telling. After crossing Jiupo and Jiuhe River, they met a fairy who advised them not to be excellent. Don't worry about you two; Three naked Chinese fir trees in Aoshang were planted in Jiang Yang. Go back and cut it down to build a bridge. Three rows of shelves, one row of backers and one row of backers; One end depends on the fire dragon and the other on the water pipe. It will be established on the same day. The children must come. Asha, slightly raised. Cut down three trees and build a bridge. Fortunately, on February 2, a boy was born. Kill the pig and sacrifice the bridge. Kill the duck and sacrifice the bridge, a big jar of rice wine, burn incense and paper. Since then, the Miao family has been passed down from generation to generation. Every year on February 2nd, every family comes to build a bridge and make sacrifices. "

In this way, there are two ways to build bridges in Miaoxiang, one is to build bridges intentionally, and the other is to build bridges unintentionally. The former is infertile after marriage and deliberately seeks children. Pray for children to be healthy and sound; The latter refers to a bridge with convenient transportation and nothing else to ask for. The bridge needs constant maintenance, but the bridge for children can only be repaired by the bridge owner himself, and no one else can repair it for him. Any bridge. For maintenance only. Not for demolition. If the traffic conditions change, the original bridge may not be needed, and three boards or stones must be symbolically laid in the same place-usually three materials are used, but only one cannot be double, which is used for sacrifice. According to folklore, if you don't do this, it will lead to the destruction of the bridge and the loss of future generations. The custom of bridging and offering sacrifices to bridges complements and promotes each other, which is the source of the richness of local Miao township bridges.

V drum tower and lusheng art

Lusheng is one of the main musical instruments of Miao nationality, a symbol of Miao culture, a link to express Miao people's thoughts and feelings, and a spiritual pillar for Miao people to forge ahead.

Miao Lusheng has a long history. Some people say that Lusheng is a witness to the historical and cultural development of Miao nationality. The earliest collection of poems in China, The Book of Songs, contains the poem "blowing sheng drum spring, blowing sheng blowing sheng drum spring, drum spring drum spring". According to archaeological findings, two Hulusheng unearthed in Lijiashan, Jiangchuan during the Warring States Period are one of the earliest sheng instruments in China. From this point of view, Lusheng originated from ancient Miao ancestors, and formed a Lusheng cultural system due to the continuous migration in Miao history, occupying a dominant position in Miao culture.

The architectural art of the Miao Drum Tower, which is a veritable pavilion form, can only be used in festivals and festivals. Because it can store Lusheng, it is also called "Lusheng Building".

The drum tower of Miao nationality is generally built in the center of the stockade, with a multi-column polygonal pyramid-shaped three-dimensional spire, which is a three-section pavilion structure with the highest section. The bronze drum is stored in the inner building, and the stepladder climbs up from the inner wall.

During the construction of the Drum Tower, the huge stone pillars were firstly chiseled to a certain depth with a steel chisel and planted symmetrically around the site. Then, the outer edges of the huge wooden columns and cushions are placed on the chisel of the cornerstone, tilted inward, and penetrated through the inner upper part of the Hangzhou support column to form a conical pagoda building frame. The main body of the building is inlaid with thick planks into polygonal, rhombic and oval walls. There are all kinds of birds and animals carved outside the wall, butterflies and fish insects flying, farmers ploughing, Miao blowing sheng dancing, people and animals living together, peaceful and harmonious, with clear patterns and rough lines, which are quite life-like. The waist of each building is decorated with a circle of pavilions and cornices. The top of the building is covered with a pointed solid wood hat. The cavity of the floor is round and used to store the collective lusheng.

The Miao Drum Tower is exquisite and beautiful, with a unique national style, which is the crystallization of the aesthetic consciousness and wisdom of the Miao people.

In the architectural series of Miao nationality, besides the private houses mentioned above, there are many public facilities, such as Lushengchang and Tonggu Hall in blowing sheng. Young people's social activities include jumping on flower slopes and visiting squares (temporary structures such as sister sheds, public sheds, swimming rooms, flower booths and tea booths have also been built in Liuzhi in western Guizhou and Wuyunshan in central Guizhou); A bridge convenient for pedestrians. In addition, there are "Xiangxiang Hall" and "Xiangxiang Temple" in Xiangxi, which are dedicated to "Xiangxiang" and placed on the hull of the dragon boat. Although they are relatively simple, their special functions are irreplaceable by other buildings, and they contain rich custom codes and cultural information.

Miao folk houses are the materialization of emotional will. It reflects the Miao people's long-term accumulated aesthetic feelings and cultural awareness of social life, such as the piling of ancestral horns in the hall, the production of doors and windows, the layout of verandahs and handrails, and the installation of public fangs downstairs. All these reflect the established national style and become a popular lifestyle of the Miao people. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the Miao folk houses fully show the image of the Miao people as "hardworking and brave" and are the symbol and aggregation of Miao culture.

Culture and art all come from life, so does architecture. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, it can reflect the local living habits and moral sentiments at that time. The unique history, psychological quality, national character and aesthetic consciousness of the Miao nationality also cast the unique architectural culture of the Miao nationality.