Chapter 6 Part I Shaman Cultural Memory of the Oroqen Nationality-3

Among the women in Baiyinna is Guan Koujie, who is 68 years old.Unlike others, she is not so enthusiastic, very quiet, always half-closed her eyes, quietly listening to other people's lively discussions, appearing a little absent-minded.She didn't seem to have any desire to express herself in group conversations. We asked her for advice several times. Her answers were very short and she didn't say much, but as long as she spoke, she spoke very clearly.It can be seen that, unlike ordinary women, she knows more about shamanism. Following the women of Baiyinna, we came to the Township Ethnic Exhibition Hall to visit, and Guan Koujie was far behind.Letting others go, I slowed down and waited for her on purpose.

Although this exhibition hall is not big, it has collected a lot of traditional Oroqen cultural relics, including a complete set of shaman costumes, shaman drums, shaman puppets and many other things.Standing in front of some woodcut idols of shaman gods, I pointed to a pair of woodcut idols with black background and white eyes, hoping she would tell me what they represented.Guan Koujie didn't answer right away, she pondered for a while, obviously she wanted to give me a complete answer, instead of discussing each case one by one like other people.Pointing to the various idols in the exhibition cabinet, she told me: the gods of Oroqen shamans are called Seni, and they are divided into upper and lower.The gods belonging to the top have the two birds, the boa constrictor, the sun, the moon, and the Big Dipper; the one in the middle has none;Dalpur is the night, and also the Ksitigarbha.These two gods are painted in black and carved in black wood. They represent snake spirits and can transform into nine men and nine women.The python also belongs to the bottom, it has nine heads.Its portrait is not big, half a foot square. (9)

I was amazed by her answer, which was very knowledgeable. Shaman taught the upper, middle and lower worlds and the gods and ghosts belonging to each world. She explained it clearly in such a clear language, which is incredible.However, her knowledge does not stop there. There are some god puppets in the exhibition hall, collectively referred to as "Burgan".Guan Koujie told me that "Burgan" is a god that ordinary people can pray for. There is no need to dance to the gods. .When offering sacrifices to Bulgan, the tunes sung are similar.There are many kinds of Bulgan, including Anilan, a god who runs errands and reports.There is the God of Grass. There are three people on the portrait of this god. The one in the middle is the leader, and the two sides are men, who are running errands.The man in the middle has 4 hands, two up and two down.The top row has the sun on the left and the moon on the right.There is a tree under the sun, and two horses are tied to the tree.Pointing to a statue of a god, she continued, the god is called Ongulu Burgan, and there are four people in this portrait, including the sun and the moon, a bird and a python.You can ask them for help when you are sick, and you can ask them for help when you are hunting.Heaven, Earth, and God are called "Enduli" (gods), and there is no such god when dancing to the Great God.

Do the Oroqen people have regular sacrifices?Guan Koujie said yes.Oroqen people are used to offering offerings in spring and engaging in sacrificial activities.At that time, all the migratory birds came back, including wild geese, swans, and wild ducks.In the third month of the lunar calendar, when the river melts, the grass and trees turn green, it is time to worship the gods.In a spacious place, build a chuluozi, inside the chuluozi, place the Maru god tablet, which is facing the door.The men sat on either side of Maru, and the women sat near the door.Little girls can sit where men sit before menstruation.The offerings are portraits of gods, and you can hang the image of whichever god you ask for, not necessarily the god of the mountain.The offerings include roe deer, deer, wild ducks, and swans, not pigs, but incense.The tune sung during the sacrifice is the same as that of the dance gods. There are a few who can sing, and they are invited to sing during the spring offering.

In the field of shamanism research, Western scholars are accustomed to classify the worship objects of shamanism from the aspect of the relationship between gods and shamans, such as the patron saint of shamans, assistant gods of shamans, ancestor gods of shamans, etc.; , it focuses more on the division of gods from the perspective of generation theory and social function, such as nature worship, totem worship, ancestor worship, and elf worship.These different perspectives lead to differences in the understanding of shamanism.We have seen that Western scholars attach importance to the mystical experience of shamanism, while ignoring the general worship objects of shamanism, which are quite closely related to the basic needs of human beings in terms of survival, disease, and reproduction, and represent the realistic basis of shamanism.Therefore, when scholars focus their enthusiasm on spiritual phenomena such as shamanic coma and spirit possession, they are actually replacing the study of shamanism with the study of shamanism, and replacing all gods with gods in shamanic technology.Such shamanism can even be personal, a religious experience that can be divorced from the basis of belief and the social environment.On the other hand, although the research of Chinese scholars overcomes the above-mentioned problems, they have little to do with the mystical experience of shamanism, and have not studied deeply how shamans and even believers view and divide gods, which leads to a superficial and one-sided understanding of shamanism.

Guan Koujie's answer gave me a very important inspiration.According to the national habits of the Oroqen people, it is possible to distinguish the categories of gods and elves according to the "wutong" of shaman dancing gods leading the gods and the "sacrifice system" of non-shaman ordinary people, although the relationship between the two is not very clear. Clearly, but such a distinction is a fact that exists.The gods of Shamanism are divided according to their religious functions. In the shaman dance and general sacrificial rituals, it is easier for us to distinguish its two aspects (that is, the shaman and the believers) tradition, so we cannot pay attention to one and ignore the other.Of course, there is no strict boundary between Jido and Umno, they are different expressions of a tradition.Guan Koujie reminded us that we should try our best to look at the problem comprehensively and holistically under the background of unified shaman culture.

In this way, Guan Koujie kept talking by my side. The shaman culture and customs of the Oroqen nationality are particularly clear, specific and vivid in her description. Her narration constantly touches my academic nerves, thinking about each The point became clear in her narrative. Guan Koujie believes that shamans use gods to cure diseases, and different gods cure different diseases.You? Zeleg God, it cures headaches, colds, measles and other epidemic diseases; the Fox Fairy God can change 72 times, can cure any disease, can find things, and can find them even if you throw a needle.Using gods to treat diseases is a characteristic of traditional shaman culture, but shamans from different families cannot cure all diseases because they cannot invite all gods.In this way, mutual shamanic assistance between different families is necessary.Guan Koujie said that when we were sick, each family helped each other.I have this disease, but my family does not have a god to cure this disease, so I will ask your family; your family is sick and cannot be cured by yourself, so ask my family for help, if my family can cure this disease, I will help.This way the patient gets better quickly.When the shaman invites the gods, he will encounter various difficulties, and the gods who help the shaman overcome the difficulties are also indispensable.The badger god is called Ang Nan, and there is this god when he dances to the great god.It popped out of a rocky mountain.If other gods come to bully you during the dance, ask this god to pull the stone mountain over to block the coming god so that it cannot come out or enter.

There is a birch bark box containing gods in the exhibition room. Some people want Guan Koujie to introduce the birch bark box. She half-closed her eyes and murmured: The birch bark box contains the little gods, which are usually hung in Maru (God). position), put it out when in use.The gods of each family are different, and the arrangement of the gods is also different, and each family has its own rules.The worship gods are basically men, and women who can dance to gods can sing sacrificial songs, but not to dance gods.When worshiping the gods, the Maru god's seat is represented by a wicker bent into an arc and a semicircle, and then several wicker sticks are inserted vertically from left to right to represent the god's case.Hang pictures of gods on it.An altar made of wicker is placed in front of the portrait.

Who can be a shaman?One of us asked.Guan Koujie still murmured: some people are sick and cannot be cured for a long time, and the shaman dances to the great god. After the patient makes a wish to become a shaman, the old shaman heals him, and then he will hold a shaman learning ceremony for him.The old shaman brings the new shaman to dance the gods, which is usually held in spring.We purposely built a large pinnacle, and they danced in circles in it. Whatever the old shaman taught, the young shaman would learn.At the end of the third day, the gods came.There are two tree poles called "Tuoruo" standing inside the Cuoluozi, and a horizontal pole is tied away from the ground between the two poles. It is the chair for the shaman to receive the gods and place the gods of Maru.When dancing the gods, the old shaman helps the new shaman greet various gods, and tells the gods, saying: The little shaman is your master, and he will dance the gods in the future, please help him.After the old shaman communicated and introduced, the young shaman got in touch with the gods.In this kind of dance, the little shaman usually needs to practice for three days. After this study, he can dance independently.Some old shamans dance with gods until they die; some don't dance when they are over 60 years old, but they know when the gods come, but they can't dance anymore, or they can't dance vigorously.

Someone asked: Who is the best of these shamans?Guan Koujie responded immediately, who is powerful depends on the god, not on the shaman.Whoever has the greatest god is the most powerful shaman.Some shamans can take out the guns in their stomachs.Meng Shuqing's mother was able to swallow the files and iron knives into her stomach, and only spat them out after three days.Even such a shaman is powerful. What should I do if the patient is not well after Tiaoshen?someone asked.Guan Koujie said: When a shaman dances to the gods to pray for healing, he first asks the patient to make a wish. For example, he said: If the patient recovers, he will offer roe deer within three days.After the patient recovers, he must fulfill his promise and make a confession, otherwise he will continue to be ill.If the patient has fulfilled his wish, but it is still not good, then he will dance again.

What skills and abilities does the shaman have?This question made Guan Koujie hesitate for a while, probably there are many questions in this area, and he didn't know how to explain it for a while.She said that before the shaman treats the patient, he takes something from the patient. When he sleeps at night, the shaman puts his pillow on it. The shaman uses it to guide dreams and divination.Shamans often meet with spirits through dreams.In the past, when we got up early to eat, we had to throw some food into the fire before eating, which is also the same reason.According to legend, a shaman slept for nine days and nine nights, and could understand the words of birds and animals, as well as the words of gods.He heard a conversation between a poor man's Vulcan and a rich man's Vulcan.The fire god of the poor family said that although the family is poor, they respect me and always throw food into the brazier to respect me.The Vulcan of the rich family said, the rich man never threw anything at me, so I was so angry that I had to burn his house down and make his family poor.The Vulcan of the poor family said, if you want to burn, burn your house, don't burn my house.The shaman woke up and told the rich man that your house was going to be on fire, but he didn't believe it.On the second day, his house really caught fire, and the saddle was covered with a big iron pot, and it was all burned.And there is no spark in the poor family near his home. This story comes from the mouth of Guan Koujie, which makes people feel that she is not always so serious. Her wisdom and humor are profound and unobtrusive, with a touch of historical playfulness, just like old wine exuding a refreshing fragrance. What kind of shaman do people admire most? "A shaman who can pass through the yin", several women replied in unison.When they were asked to explain, all eyes focused on Guan Koujie again.Guan Koujie recounted slowly: Sometimes the souls of the dead come back to find their children, like in this village after the death of a certain person's father, his father's soul came to him. At this time, the shaman made a straw figurine, stood it up, and made offerings to him.Then pray, let him go to the underworld instead of looking for his family members.One last shot to drive him away.To enter the underworld from the underworld to cross a river, the boat was crippled by an old man.You have to go through several passes, the pass blocked by horses, the pass blocked by dogs... Only after passing several passes can you go to the underworld.When the shaman goes to the underworld, he needs to take the dog with him. When the shaman passes through the underworld, a live dog lies beside him, holding the rope to tie the dog in his hand.The shaman also took two birds with him to the underworld, and when they encountered problems that needed to be negotiated, they would come forward.If it still doesn't work, please ask the bird god above to come and help.This bird god will fly over, snatch the soul and leave.Before the shaman returns from the underworld, others have to wake him up with a drum, and it is not safe until the shaman says "I am back".After the shaman came back, he took off a strip of cloth from the divine garment and tied it on the patient's head, and sometimes hung a bell from the divine garment on the patient's body.If a child loses his soul or gets sick, please ask the shaman to call his soul (Baburie).The main meaning of the song sung when calling the soul is: the soul of the child scared away, listen, your parents are looking for you, they are looking for you from the east and west, come back quickly.There are a lot of beautiful clothes prepared for you at home. Come back, go back to your parents.Then ask: "Have you come back?" Someone pinched the child, and if the child responds, he will come back. This day's discussion lasted until very late, and we seemed to have discovered the most precious mineral deposit, and Guan Koujie made us inexhaustible.We were reluctant to give up the conversation with her, until she said: I will go with you tomorrow to see my sister at the 18th station, and our inquiry will not stop.