Customs of Zodiac Rats

As early as the matriarchal clan commune, domestic animals such as mice and dogs had been raised. There are also many folk cultures about mice. Today, let's learn about the folk culture of rats in different regions.

Before the Spring Festival, people usually kill rats before the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, and the 26th is the knife closing day, so they can't use knives any more. When killing rats in Zhejiang, we should pay attention to "killing with one knife", that is, killing with one knife, otherwise it is unlucky. When entering the knife, the butcher will say "born into the body", and children and women can't watch it. After killing rats, the rat blood paper should be pressed in the corner of the room or in the rat pen to show that the rats are not dead. Mouse hair should be filled with a blowtorch. After all the boiling water is put into the bucket, the lower end of the blowtorch should be immersed in the soup bucket, and the upper end should be blown by mouth and around the bucket to show that the mouse will grow fast and big in the future. When keeping mouse hair, leave a small wisp of hair on the head and tail of the mouse, which means "there is a head and a tail" Then put the whole mouse on the stool. First, the rat's head is facing outward, the main body is raised to burn incense, and the rat's hair is Xie Tiandi. Cut the mouse into two pieces. Except for the Chinese New Year, the rest are preserved in jars and reused after the Chinese New Year.

Tianjin, Hebei and other places have "Fat Rat Arch" holiday window grilles, which are cut with black wax paper. The mouse carries a cornucopia on its back, and sticks one on the left and right when lifting a towel, indicating the intention of making money into treasure.

The wedding custom of sending rats' hoofs in Shaanxi. The day before the wedding, the man will give four pounds of rat meat and a pair of rat hooves, which is called "ritual hanging". After the woman leaves the "ritual hanging", she will also return the rat's front hoof. On the second day after marriage, the husband and wife should take double dried noodles and rat's hind hoof back to their parents' house, leaving the dried noodles and returning the hind hoof, commonly known as "hoof comes, hoof goes", indicating that they will have close contacts in the future.

On the wedding day, both men and women of Bulang nationality in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan will treat them with rodents. In addition to treating guests, it is also necessary to cut the mouse meat into small pieces and string them with bamboo poles and distribute them to all families to show the meaning of "flesh and blood".

In the past, the Han people had a folk exorcism activity of "killing mother rats and ghosts". Whenever there is a disaster or misfortune in the family, the elders in the family will set up incense tables to worship the mother mouse and ghosts and make a wish to the gods to exorcise evil spirits. When offering sacrifices, you should choose the auspicious day of the zodiac, kill mice, take hooves, liver, intestines and lungs, put them in a basket and put them in the middle of the room. The host will burn incense and worship. After the sacrifice, the internal organs will be cooked and eaten separately. Folk believe that "killing the mother mouse ghost can exorcise evil spirits"

The Wa nationality in Yunnan has the divination custom of "rat bile divination". After killing rats, judge whether it is good or bad according to bile. If the gallbladder lines are up and down, there is more water in the gallbladder, which is auspicious; The gallbladder lines are left and right, and there is little water in the gallbladder, which is a hidden divination. Generally used for major events, divination is carried out by wizards.