Gaoshan custom (Thank you for your help, sister and brother, hurry up! )

This is an ancient country. Due to the oppression of the reactionary ruling class in the past dynasties, the development of Gaoshan society is relatively slow, some of them are still in the primitive state and still live in poverty. According to records, during the Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi dynasties, there was a sea ban, which forced the residents of the southeast coastal areas of China to move inland and prevented them from contacting the people on the coastal islands. In this way, the Gaoshan people who live alone overseas have a different development process from the mainland people of the motherland. However, their ethnic origin, culture, production, life and other aspects are still inextricably linked with the mainland, and since the Qing Dynasty, they have given up their original surname "Fan" and changed to the same surname as mainland immigrants. They have their own language and customs. The place where they live collectively is called a village society, and each village society includes several different families and clans. These villages occupy a certain amount of land, which outsiders cannot occupy.

Gaoshan people generally live in thatched wooden houses, and some roofs are covered with bark, slate or bamboo. Until now, Yamei people living on Lan Yu Island in Taitung still use the method of digging cellars to build houses. The indoor space is much lower than the ground, and the excavated mound becomes the wall of the house around. They live on taro and sweet potatoes. Usually, men only wear a "thong" around their waist, while women only wear a square towel around their chest and waist. With the development of tourism in Taiwan Province Province, Lan Yu has become a tourist area in Taiwan Province Province, and some Yamei people have also got rid of the bad habit of ignorance and backwardness.

Gaoshan people respect the elderly very much and love to drink. Because I often hunt, I especially like my hunting dogs, just as the Han people value their cows.

Gaoshan people also have traditional culture and art, especially like dancing. The famous pestle music is a kind of folk song and dance extracted from their life practice.

Gaoshan people are divided into many branches according to geographical distribution and language. Gaoshan people can be divided into ten ethnic groups, such as Atayal, Bunun, Zou (Cao), paiwan, Ami, Beinan, Yamei and Shao, besides Pingpu, who settled in the plain and merged with Han people. 1* * More than 400,000 people, accounting for 1.7% of the population of 23 million in Taiwan Province Province, belong to the disadvantaged ethnic group, but represent the most typical performance of the local culture in Taiwan Province Province. The first six of the top ten ethnic groups mostly live in mountainous areas that cannot be cultivated, the Ami and Bonan ethnic groups live in the eastern plain, and the Ami ethnic group lives in Lan Yu Island in the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly, for a long time, it seems inappropriate to call these ten ethnic groups Gaoshan, but after a long time, they become accustomed to it.

Like other ethnic minorities, Gaoshan people have their own unique customs.

Festivals and customs

Gaoshan people generally have two major festivals every year, one is sowing festival and the other is harvest festival. The scale of the latter is particularly large, almost equal to the Spring Festival of the Han nationality. At that time, all families would slaughter livestock, make wine and make cakes. Sacrificing ancestors and having fun generally lasts about 10 days. They especially worship their ancestors; Believe that the soul is immortal, that everything has a soul, and that the soul has good and evil. Hang calamus on your chest when you go out, and draw ashes on your forehead at night to avoid evil spirits from approaching. If you are sick, touch the affected area with Ye Mao, eggs and animal teeth. They are also superstitious about signs and divination, and often decide what to do according to signs. Such as solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, comet appearance, rooster crowing at night, dogs barking, snakes coming out of holes, birds crossing the road, people being stung, falling down, sneezing and so on. Are ominous signs. A child's head should not be touched casually. Shovel for women, kitchenware, loom, etc. Don't touch men's bows and arrows, farm tools, weapons, etc.

Women have high power.

The grass-roots social organization of Gaoshan ethnic group is "She", and several She ethnic groups form a tribe. In some tribes, women's power has always been higher than that of men, retaining the legacy of matriarchal society. In tribal affairs, their elders, priests and even leaders are mostly women, and they are in power. In Ami and Ami, married husbands almost give their wives the best food and supplies. Women not only enjoy the treatment of their masters at home, but also have higher social status than men.

Exquisite clothes

The clothes of Gaoshan compatriots are the most eye-catching Their clothes are mainly made of linen and cotton, and the clothes in different regions are different. But most men have vests, jackets, shorts, headscarves, leggings and shawls. Women wear sleeveless or sleeveless dresses, aprons, trousers or skirts. Women also like to embroider exquisite patterns on skirts, sleeves, headscarves and aprons.

Gaoshan men and women like barefoot, and both men and women like to wear headdresses, earrings, bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Paiwan's male crowns are even more complicated and beautiful than women's crowns. Ami people like to put thin colored lace on the sleeves, collars and hem of clothes, and tie a half-waist skirt and black cloth around their waist, or make headdresses or earrings with leopard teeth, hair, shells, copper, silver and antlers to dress themselves up. Atayal and Xia Serb men often tattoo ink on the middle of their foreheads and under their lips to make blue records. Tattoo ink is in the shape of longitudinal stripes, about the size of a little finger. A woman's face (with a needle, she pricks complicated patterns on her face) forms a "V" shape from the cheekbones on both sides of her face to the corners of her mouth. Traces of women, thin and wide lines, noble; Those with thick and narrow lines are ordinary civilians.

Tattooing on the body is very common among Gaoshan ethnic groups, among which both paiwan and Beinan ethnic groups have the custom of tattooing. Some Peinan and Ami men living on the coast of the East China Sea also have the habit of burning scars. Paiwan and Ami people like to use the tail feathers of birds as decorations. People in paiwan often put two or three eagle's tail feathers on the top of fur hats. Ami people use the tail feathers of pheasants, and there are more than 20 white feathers, which are arranged in a fan shape on their heads as headdresses. Atayal and paiwan like to wear ring hats, and some wear garland hats, bowl-shaped rattan hats and bearskins. Yami and some Amis often wear a single wooden hat, which is hollowed out from the wood to become a sun-proof and rain-proof hat.

When the Gaoshan compatriots go out, whether traveling, hunting, fishing, going to the market, etc. It has become a custom that they almost always carry net bags with them. Some women in paiwan dress up and go out, often with a long belt hanging over their shoulders, which goes down to their knees. Men often carry shawl bags when they go out to hide betel nuts and other utensils. Atayal and Bunun people like to hang leather bags.

Entertain guests with nose gifts

Ami compatriots on Lan Yu Island sometimes use a strange etiquette-nose-pointing ceremony when receiving tourists from outside the island. This nose-pointing ceremony means that the elders of the tribe gently rub the tip of the guests' noses for a while in the crowd holding torches, and then give a welcome speech to show their friendship to the landing guests.

Beautiful "best"

Gaoshan compatriots are sincere and generous, and generally can sing and dance well. They have their own beautiful folk songs, ancient ballads and myths and legends. Musical instruments include harpsichord, bow, bamboo flute, nose flute and so on. Every festive festival, compatriots will sing and dance in groups. Among them, "Pen-pestle Dance" is a unique folk dance. Women around the stone mortar, holding long pestles and rice, made a sonorous sound on the stone day. Rhythmically, the woman, accompanied by crisp and melodious songs, took graceful steps, which was simple and moving.

Binglang taste

Taiwan Province compatriots love eat areca, while Gaoshan compatriots love eat areca more, especially the elderly. If there are friends or guests at home, inviting eat areca is considered a good way to entertain guests. They think that betel nut is an evergreen tree, and betel nut is an evergreen fruit, which is a precious and auspicious embodiment. Dedicated to the old man to show respect and wish him a long and healthy life. Give it to the girl to express her love and wish her a happy and harmonious love life; Give it to the young man, congratulate him and wish him strong, hardworking and brave. Send it to the guests to express welcome and wish them good health; All the best. Therefore, Gaoshan villages are often built in the evergreen betel nut forest, aiming at seeking their shelter and eliminating disasters and diseases. Every year when the betel nut is ripe, they climb the tall betel nut tree to pick the fruit and cut it into small pieces with a waist knife to dry for later use. Then we go to the seaside to find oyster shells, calcine them with fire and grind them into fine powder, which is the "seasoning" in eat areca. They also like to chew with oyster ash and betel nut wrapped in the leaves of a plant called Fu Wei, which makes it more tasty. It is said that betel nut not only has the effect of expelling insects, but also protects teeth. Because they are often in eat areca, their mouths are all dyed red, especially young girls. Their lips are like rouge, which makes them more elegant and charming.

More interestingly, in the area of Zhongtaidong County in Hualien County, betel nut has also become a token of love for young men and women of Gaoshan nationality. According to the Ami custom,' at the turn of summer and autumn every year, there will be a lively and grand' basket-carrying meeting'. It is regarded as a festival for young Ami men and women. They pursue pure love and happiness through the interaction at the meeting. Whenever August 15th comes, when the moon is the roundest and brightest, beautifully dressed Ami girls come to the "basket-lifting meeting" with delicate and elegant rattan baskets on their backs. These small rattan baskets are carefully woven by the girls' mothers. In order to pray for her daughter's happiness, many beautiful patterns were woven on the small basket. These patterns have many different meanings, some indicate good luck, others indicate love and happiness. At the beginning of the basket-lifting meeting, the leader of the tribe called boys and girls to the betel nut forest to wish loudly that every young man could find his sweetheart, get love and happiness, and make the tribe prosperous and strong. After the toast, the boys cheered loudly, rushed to the betel nut tree and began to pick betel nuts. Tall areca trees are generally more than ten meters high with smooth skin and no branches. It is not easy to climb them. At the same time, it is also stipulated that the stomach should not touch the trunk when climbing trees, which requires the young man to have a strong physique and strength. This is a method of survival of the fittest to keep the country strong. At this time, the girls gathered together, shouting for their sweetheart, while whispering with their girlfriends about the young man's agility and courage. At this time, boys are working hard to climb up, and they all want to show their skills in front of many girls to win their favor. Climbing to the top of the tree, I quickly picked the betel nut, put it in a bag embroidered with beautiful patterns on my back, quickly slipped down and ran to the girls. When the girls saw the young man running, they ran away with a smile. However, the young man had secretly chosen that girl in his heart, so he ran after his lover. In this way, the girl ran in front, giggling as sweet as a bell, and the young man chased after her, panting and cheerful. The young man caught up with the girl and threw the betel nut into the girl's basket. At this time, the girl recovered and looked at the suitor carefully with a smile. If she finds out that she is not the guy she likes, she will smile, wag her body, shrug her shoulders, shake out the betel nut in the basket and run away with a smile. If it is the right person, you will stop to hold hands, talk in a low voice and tell each other your love. If the two sides are harmonious, the girl will take out her carefully embroidered purse and give it to the young man to express her sincere feelings. Then they will walk hand in hand into the betel nut forest, tell each other their true feelings, and express their pursuit of pure love and yearning for a happy life. Such activities often stay up all night until dawn.

"cage" tryst

In some rugged villages and bamboo forests in mountainous areas of Taiwan Province Province, you can often see independent huts with unique styles, which are "cages" for young men and women of Gaoshan nationality to have sex and meet at night. When the girl reaches the age of 15 or 16, and becomes a graceful and charming girl, her parents will carefully build a hut-"cage" for her and let her live alone, which means that the girl has grown up and can participate in various activities of adults and make boyfriends. As a result, this "cage" has become a place where young men and women fall in love together and exchange feelings with each other. Whenever night covers the earth, the moon rises from the treetops, and the hut is immersed in silence, young girls and boys are ups and downs like Sun Moon Lake in a storm, eagerly looking forward to exciting and unforgettable moments.

The girl living in the "cage" lit a pine lamp early, lit a fire in the fireplace, and waited for the arrival of her sweetheart. The motor (young man) of Gaoshan nationality put on clean and tidy clothes, dressed like a groom, and quietly came to the "cage" by moonlight. According to the traditional rules, you can't knock at the door when you see a girl's motor in a "cage". It is considered impolite and incompetent, and the girl will look down on it and never open the door. It is a lifelong regret to see the beloved girl close at hand, but never meet each other. But this can't beat the clever motor. He took out a small mouthpiece from his arms and put it in his mouth. He touched it gently with his hand, and a melodious piano sound floated into the cage with the breeze. This piano is telling the girl that the motor has arrived. The motor played one song after another around the cage. However, the door of the "cage" is often closed, on the one hand because the girl is shy, on the other hand, the girl is deliberately testing the motor. Of course, the motor can stand this test, and he will get up the courage to play the lute again and again without being discouraged. The sweet sound of the piano struck the girl's heartstrings one after another. The girl finally opened the door and welcomed the motor into the room with a big smile on her face.

In the "cage", the fire in the fireplace burns brightly, making the girl and the motor blush. They sat around the fire, roasted peanuts and taro, and whispered to each other to express their pursuit of sincere love. With the deepening of feelings, the passion in my heart burns like fire, and the motor can't help but let go of his voice and pour out his love for the girl with a deep and rich singing voice; The girl looked at the motor with tears in her eyes and sang Love. On both sides, you can sing and I will appear, and the song will connect the two hearts closely.

This kind of tryst usually lasts until the cock crows for the first time. At this time, the motor often takes out betel nuts from her intimate head and gives them to girls. The girl gave her carefully embroidered tobacco pouch to the motor, and they waved goodbye reluctantly. After a period of "netting" tryst, men and women are congenial and can tell their parents to fix the marriage.