Sheep Totem of Qiang Nationality

The ancient Qiang people in Beichuan are a people mainly engaged in animal husbandry, especially shepherding. Sheep have a close relationship with the Qiang people since ancient times, and are influenced by some "sheep" cultures in economy, life and art, and the Qiang people in Beichuan have also formed the worship of sheep in the long-term historical development.

According to the research of zoologists, as early as 1 10,000 years ago, sheep lived on the grasslands of Gansu and Qinghai. Because sheep are docile and tame, the meat is delicious, and fur is a good product to keep out the cold, which has many practical values. The ancestors of Qiang people began to domesticate and raise sheep very early, and obtained the necessities of life from them, and gained the power to fight against nature. At that time, Qiang people thought that sheep not only provided the needs of daily life, but also had the soul to protect the members of their tribe. Therefore, among many natural objects, the Qiang people first choose the sheep that is closest, closest, most important and most influential to their own survival, put it in a special position, take certain special ceremonies and often worship it, hoping to get its shelter and benefits. This has produced sheep worship.

In the process of worshipping sheep, the Qiang ancestors in Beichuan gradually injected the sheep with a unique concept of consanguinity and kinship, and the sheep began to show its sacredness. Sheep developed with the legend of the origin of Qiang tribes, species reproduction activities and people's social organizations and systems, and gradually became the symbol and symbol of Qiang clans, and then evolved into a unique worship period-sheep totem worship stage.

The Qiang people in Beichuan have special feelings for sheep since ancient times. Sacrificing sheep to the mountain is an important ceremony of the ancient Qiang people. In some areas where Qiang people live, the gods worshipped by Qiang people are all "sheep body and sheep face" and regard sheep as their ancestors. In today's Qiang area, there are still many worships of sheep as a form of blood relationship. In the daily life of the Qiang people, they like to raise sheep, wear sheepskin robes and weave wool into thread, and often use sheep as sacrifices in sacrificial activities. When the Qiang teenagers come of age, Qiang wizards will tie white wool around the neck of the blessed people and pray for the blessing of the sheep god. The hat worn by Qiang wizards has two horns, which are made of sheepskin, and the instruments held by wizards are all made of goat horns, sheepskin and sheep bones. Legend has it that during the migration of Qiang people to the upper reaches of Minjiang River, Qiang wizards were overworked and fell asleep. Their scriptures fell to the ground and were swallowed by sheep. Later, the sheep told the Qiang people in a dream: "After I die, I can make the skin into a drum and knock it three times, and the scriptures will be exposed." It can be seen that sheep have been given a higher status than wizards by Qiang people, and even become a sacred inheritor of Qiang culture. After the death of Qiang people, they should kill a sheep to lead the way for the dead, commonly known as guiding sheep. Qiang people believe that the illness of the deceased can be reflected in sheep. After killing the sheep, they want to find the root cause of the dead, thinking that the sheep are half human. They spilled sheep's blood on the hands of the dead, meaning that people rode sheep to the west. In some Qiang areas, there is also the habit of divining good or bad luck with sheep bones and wool thread.

Sheep totem worship is a common form of worship of Qiang ancestors, and there are still many remains in Qiang settlements, which is an important part of Qiang's original religious belief.