Chapter 13 The second part of Xinjiang Qapqal Xibe folklore - 3

For more than 200 years after Xibe moved westward, she has been exposed to the cultural atmosphere of Turkic ethnic groups. Compared with other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Xibe people have a clear sense of difference.The Xibe people regard the eight Niulu where they live as their homeland, and in this homeland, they inherit and cultivate a unique cultural phenomenon and cultural psychology.Shaman activities are part of the traditional cultural phenomenon of the Xibe people.Out of nostalgia for ancestors, the ancestral awareness and national traditions of the Xibe people have very important symbolic meanings. They serve as the basis for national self-identification and are people's spiritual pillars.It should be said that within the scope of the eight Niulu, all cultural practices that include the traditions and psychological characteristics of the Xibe nation have emotional significance. It connects the kinship between people and maintains the spiritual tradition among members of the Xibe nation.According to historical records, the local government did not give much encouragement and support to the Shaman culture of the Xibe people, but the nostalgia for the ancestors and the recognition of the ethnic way of life made the Shaman culture in the Xibe people follow the progress of their own social history. It has been preserved and changed, and has become an important carrier of its traditional culture.Therefore, it is far from enough to simply understand the Shaman culture of the Xibe nationality from the aspect of belief, and we should fully realize its national psychological value and significance.

Like many ethnic groups, shamanism has become synonymous with the "past" in the eyes of many Xibe people. As a memory of past life, it is preserved in the word of mouth of the elderly.So understanding those lost Xibe shamanism is one of the main tasks of our trip. 1.Yiltu Shaman and Butu Shaman On September 29th, Qi Cheshan and Zhao Chunsheng and I came to Yiniulu to interview the shaman Yong Fuqing. Although he was not rejected, Yong Fuqing's attitude was obviously resistant.It is said that he is the only person who has been a shaman before the "Cultural Revolution" and has an authoritative master (that is, he is an apprentice of the famous Hehe shaman).But he is just a Buddhist shaman (hidden shaman or apprentice shaman, not famous shaman), not Yiltu shaman (public shaman, famous shaman).This latter kind of shaman is recognized only after going up the knife ladder ceremony.He posted a complaint in the village library, (4) half in Chinese and half in Xibe.After two accompanying translators, I roughly understood what he meant.Many people have interviewed him over the years, and some of them just took a look at his things and left, not taking the national heritage he preserved seriously; he hopes to donate his things to cultural relics management offices or museums, and does not want to sell them to others.But no one paid him any attention.

Although I was very urgent, but seeing his emotions at that time, I decided to wait.So I just briefly stated my intention of coming here and hoped that he would cooperate.But whether to cooperate or not is up to him to decide.He gave me a serious look, and then hesitantly said: Can I receive you, I have to ask the master, and I will answer you.Saying goodbye.Someone told me that the master he was talking about was not the master in the world, but the master in the soul world. Then, we interviewed several old people to learn about the situation of some shamans in the past. It turns out that Yongfuqing's master Shaman Hehe (hehe means "female") died in 1976. She is a well-known great shaman. In 1927, she passed the ceremony of going up the knife ladder, which is said to have 17 floors.Hehe Shaman's master is Phra Shaman, who passed away in 1956.Phra Shaman's reputation spread far and wide. It is said that when he was young (early 20th century), he climbed the knife ladder with 47 floors.He can cure all kinds of strange diseases, subdue demons and eliminate demons.Yong Fuqing was an apprentice with Hehe Shaman. Some people said that he did not study shaman for a long time. Others said that he wanted to build a knife ladder by himself the year before last, but he cut his foot.

The ceremony of going up the knife ladder is called "Chakulan" by the Xibe people. It is mainly a ceremony for the Xibe shaman to lead the gods, or a qualification examination for the shaman.The ceremony of going up the knife ladder among the Xibe people is the key test to determine the "Butu Shaman" to become the "Yiletu" Shaman. He is the messenger of the powerful gods. "Chakur" means birch in Xibe.During the ceremony, trees and ropes are used to set up a shaman activity field.I think the knife ladder should be a variant of the universe tree, and the rope is a symbol of the passage of the soul, which are very typical things in the symbols of world shamanism.

I searched for some materials about the "Ceremony of Climbing the Sword and Ladder" ("Shamanism Research" edited by Qiu Pu, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1985 edition; Xinjiang People's Publishing House, "Xibe Research" published in 1990), combined what I saw and heard, In general, we can see the ins and outs of the ceremony of climbing the knife ladder. (5) Preparations for the ceremony of climbing the knife ladder generally start 20 days in advance.First, four wooden stakes are erected at the four corners of the courtyard of the person who climbed the knife ladder, and they are pulled up with ropes to form a square ceremony venue. Strips of cloth and paper of various colors, bows and arrows are hung on the ropes. Add some feathers.In this way, this courtyard is a sacred place, and no evil spirits can intervene.At the same time, people are reminded not to enter the house at will, so as not to violate the ban.In addition to warding off evil spirits, it also indicates to outsiders that someone in the family will hold a "Chakur" ceremony to lead the gods, and it plays the role of spreading news and convening villagers.

At the same time, the old shaman master almost every day came to the home of the apprentice who climbed the knife ladder to teach chanting, dancing, spells, technical movements and precautions for climbing the knife ladder.On the altar where the god statue is hung in the home of Juyi, incense is burned day and night, and offerings are displayed for sacrifices, praying for the blessing of the shaman. Until seven or eight days before the ceremony, people began to erect knife ladders in the center of the circled area.Two straight wooden rafters with a height of nearly ten meters and the thickness of the mouth of a bowl are erected, and two pieces of red and green cloth are wrapped on each of the two poles. The two stand east to west with an interval of about two feet.Turn the sharp guillotine blade up, and tie the handle of the knife horizontally to the two rafters step by step, with a distance of about one foot between each step.The guillotine cannot be tied casually. If the tip of the first guillotine is to the left and the handle is to the right, then the second one is just opposite, and the rest are changed in turn.Each knife must be wrapped with a piece of yellow mounting paper.A horizontal wooden pole is tied to the highest level of the knife ladder, and it is used as a handrail after the climber reaches the top.The number of stages of the knife ladder depends on the specific situation of the person on the knife ladder. Generally, there are 25 steps, the most is 49 steps, and the least is 17 steps.On the north side of the knife ladder, dig a square pit about three meters long, five meters wide, and one meter deep. Put a thick hemp rope net for use when the person on the knife ladder falls.

The knife ladder set up must be made by the relatives of the person who climbed the knife ladder.Once the knife ladder is erected, the relatives of the family must take turns guarding it day and night to prevent the enemy from plotting.It is said that as long as the dog's blood is smeared on the knife ladder, the life of the person on the knife ladder will not be in danger. Climbing up the knife ladder is done at night.Bright oil lamps were lit everywhere in the courtyard, shining like daylight.Almost all the people came out to watch, but pregnant women, menstruating people and those with filial piety were forbidden to go.Shamans from neighboring villages were invited to watch, and relatives of the same family also assisted.

Before the ceremony begins, the families of those who climb the knife ladder will bring a male goat and a bull to the scene, and burn an oil pan a few meters northeast of the knife ladder. A high table will be placed in front of the knife ladder, and incense will be burned and food will be offered on the table. At the beginning of the ceremony, a male goat and a bull were pulled into the arena and stopped aside; the shaman master holding a divine spear led the apprentices who were on the knife ladder into the arena, and a pair of young men with leather drums accompanied them into the arena. Man apprentice wearing a shaman hat, bare feet, standing on the other side.At this time, the old shaman prayed to God, to the effect that he praised how pure the blood, how loyal he was, how strong his skills were, and how sincere he was to the gods. Allow him to become "Yiltu Shaman".When the shaman sang, he was suddenly excited, and with a sound of "haga", he stabbed the goat with a spear, and the blood of the goat spurted out (a male relative of the person who climbed the knife ladder also used the shaman's "Ji Da" to short stab a spear in the neck of the he-goat), the apprentice bent down to drink a mouthful of blood, came to the bottom of the knife ladder, faced south and turned his back to the north, grasped the two rafters of the knife ladder, with enough energy, carefully stepped on the knife steps with bare feet, and went up And climb.

The person holding the leather drum beats the drum with a strong rhythm to encourage the climbers; the old shaman dances and shouts to cheer for the apprentice, or keeps chanting scriptures to ask for the blessing of the gods.If the climber was hesitant, the old shaman poured spirits on him like a madman, and even threw a cup at him to make him unremitting.After reaching the top of the knife ladder, the climber stands on the highest level of the knife with both feet, holding the upper crossbar with both hands, and stands facing south.At this time, the old shaman asked him loudly: What did you see in the south (that is, in front)?He said that he saw "Isangzhu mother Yiboye" (meaning the shape of the female ancestor shaman); asked him what he saw to the east, and he replied that he saw "Yibahan" (referring to the monster); What did he see? He replied that he saw "Fu Qihe" (referring to gods and Buddhas); but he didn't ask him what he saw in the north, and he repeatedly reminded him not to look back to the north. According to the Xibe shaman, the north is the underworld. In the world, if you look back, you will feel dizzy and be in danger.

After answering one by one in this way, the apprentice calmed down a bit.At this time, the old shaman ordered him to fall from the top of the knife ladder to the ground with his back facing north. If the apprentice hesitated, he would force him sharply, urging him to let go of the pole and fall back on the net that had been stretched in advance.Since the bottom of the net is covered with wheat straw more than one meter thick, it is generally not likely to be injured.But others fainted.So two male relatives wrapped him in a net and carried him into the house where the statue was hung, and put him on the mattress on the ground.Those who climbed the knife ladder woke up after a short rest, and then went to the courtyard to scoop up fried oil cakes from the hot oil pan and distribute them to the people who came to watch.On that night, the family members will take off the strips of cloth and paper that were hung around the house 20 days ago, put them on the back of the ox and burn them outside the village, and then give the ox to the old shaman.At this time, the old shaman will take out a "Lady Tori" (heart shield) prepared in advance, dip it in the plate containing goat's blood, and give it to the successful person on the knife ladder.This action is called "Tori Shelvey" by the Xibe shaman, which means "mirror dipping".And those who climbed the knife ladder got this heart mirror, and then won the title of "Yiletu Shaman", and can independently engage in ritual activities.

There are vertical knife ladders of the Xibe people, and the shamans who climb the vertical knife ladders are also called "horse riding shamans"; This kind of shaman is called "walking shaman".So the big shaman is called "Yiletu shaman" or "horse riding shaman". 2.Memories of Old Shaman Walter Qinghua Qinghua, female, was 68 years old at the time. (6) Her shaman illness was judged and treated by Pa Shaman and Hehe Shaman, both of whom were shamans on the knife ladder.She was 30 years old when she became a shaman. Under the dim light, Walter Qinghua was immersed in distant memories.She said that when I was young, I was ill for 10 years in a row. Although I took medicine, I was not well.People who are sick now go to a doctor first. If they can't be cured, they go to people like us.When I got sick at that time, I always went to shamans. There are many old shamans in our place.After reading it, they said, you are a shaman, and you will heal others like us when you recover.Our Xibe people are divided into shaman, Erqi, and the same. The shaman master looked at me and said, I can become a shaman in the future.I didn't know what a shaman was or what it did. I was a shaman in 1949 or 1950.When performing the ceremony for me to accept the shaman god, I first need to determine what kind of god to set up and what kind of god to worship.Shamans are taught by shamans, Erqi is taught by Erqi; the same is taught by the same.The shaman's information comes from the shaman mandala, and he has to learn spells from shamans in the world. After three years of study, he has to go up the knife ladder.Erqi came from Erqi's mandala.What Erqi worships is Buddha, also known as Songzi Empress, who evolved from the god of acne.The same is from the fairy mandala.These three kinds of people come from different places.If you are a shaman, you have to take the shaman position. Although they are both shamans, the way of seeing a doctor is different, and there are many ways to see a doctor.My method is to cut the decibels, just like the paper symbols of the Han nationality, and sometimes use stones or chopsticks for divination to find out the cause of the disease.There is also a method of seeing a doctor that the gods entrust dreams.Although there are signs in the dream, they are not very clear. It is like entering an examination room. Only by analyzing it carefully can it be effective.For example, someone came to see me tomorrow, and I had a dream tonight.After the dream is over, the dream needs to be interpreted, and only then can the illness be cured.Only when the solution is correct can it be cured; if the solution is wrong and the treatment is treated with the wrong explanation, it will not be cured.Although I knew it was this disease in my dream, the master had to teach me how to cut paper to drive away evil spirits.This master is a concrete person in reality, not a person in a dream.No matter which way it is, it will not work without a master.For example, if you have a dream and see a Buddha, there are different types of Buddhas.The location and name of these Buddhas should be where they are all taught by the master and learned from the master.The master has high skills, and the apprentices he leads have high skills.It is hard to find a master with higher ability now.In the past, shamans could go up the knife ladder, but there is no such shaman now. There is no big shaman now, because without such a master, it is difficult to cultivate a capable shaman, only small shamans.Our family does not have a shaman on the knife ladder.There used to be a shaman statue at home, but not in our branch, maybe in another grandpa's house.There are no other artifacts in the house.At that time, before going up the knife ladder, you had to dance for 21 days. It was really not easy to do this.In order to get on the knife ladder, Hehe Shaman was too poor after doing errands at home.So learning shaman is a last resort. The young shamans that appear now are not as comprehensive as the old shamans.Why not comprehensive?According to the shaman's regulations, only the shaman who has climbed the knife ladder can reach that state, and it is impossible to reach that state if he does not go up the knife ladder.The shaman on the knife ladder is proficient in any disease.Compared with the old shaman, the new shaman is only half of his ability, so the new shaman makes a lot of mistakes in diagnosis and treatment.People who have just become shamans can't solve their dreams, so they come to us and ask us to help them solve them.Some things just wouldn't work without us.If we are gone, the next generation of shamans will not be able to emerge. Shaman Qinghua is very dissatisfied with the new shamans that have emerged in recent years, and often expresses her anger and accusations against them. She criticizes and criticizes them with the qualifications and standards of the old shamans.She said that some people who come out to be shamans now do things for others without a master and do whatever they want. These people will not do this for a long time, because if they can't cure the patients, no one will come to them again.It means he didn't learn well.Over the past few years, some excessive people have come out, they can do whatever they want, and they don't follow the rules.Now I think, since these people have developed to the point of casualness, I will take a step back myself.Some people come to ask for advice, of course we will teach him; but once I find that he will do whatever he wants in the future and ignore us, I will not teach him all the skills.Walking our path is the same as the doctors in the hospital. They are all saving people, and they don’t have bad intentions or want to harm people.After accepting the shaman, first of all, we should consider the patient, behave honestly, and do things honestly.Such people do it for a long time, otherwise, not for long.Now there are a lot of people who have just come out, and they can’t solve their dreams. Some people come, and I will explain it, and some I don’t explain it.There are so many people who come out, pretending to be fake, and no one accepts the other. If something big happens and it is pushed on my head, it will be troublesome.I'd be relieved if someone took care of it. I'm almost 70 years old this year, and I can't do it anymore. I'm not in good health.I seldom do anything, and I really can't get rid of it, so I go out.I don't go out in winter, but go out once or twice in summer.I'm getting older, and I can't say anything about shamanism, and if I do, I'll get sick.For example, when I dream, I can only talk about the general plot, not the details.If the patient who comes to me is sincere, the things in the dream will be clear; if he tries to test it, the dream will be blurred.So I know who came to test, I will drive away as soon as I enter the door.If you are an acquaintance, just tell a doctor, you don't have this disease.Actually I can't say anything.Doctors rely on instruments to judge, we rely on thinking, just like solving difficult problems, we need our brains to solve them.For example, the position of the gods in the house is not right, point to the table in the dream; if it is a coffin (funeral) problem, point to the cabinet.After a long time, I have this experience.It takes a lot of brainpower to treat diseases with this method.Except for the master, no one can ask. Qinghua's narration not only disclosed some professional skills and rules that shamans used to follow, but also revealed the status of old shamans as skill imparters.She opened a window for laymen to understand the internal situation of shamanism, and let us understand the principles and mysteries of it. 3.Shamanic Cultural Mental Habits Shamanic cultural traditions have left many imperceptible relics to people, especially the habits of psychology, emotions, feelings, thinking, etc., which often happen to people inadvertently.People in this culture are probably used to it, and they are used to reacting to many strange things.But these are very novel to outside investigators.This happens so often in my interviews that I document and understand it as a mental convention. The first time I met Shaman Yong Fuqing, his attitude was very conflicted, and he hardly wanted to discuss any issues with me.But the next morning, just after I had dinner, I was a little surprised to hear Yong Fuqing greet me outside the guest house.He said to me embarrassedly: "After seeing you yesterday, I had a dream at night. I saw you holding a big leather bag, as if you were hungry. The master told me that her bag was empty, what did she want?" , you can give it to her." He also said that when he saw me, he knew that we were friends.His cryptic explanation baffled me.He said that he was going to hold an apprenticeship ceremony today and invited me to attend.I asked him the specific time for the ceremony and promised to attend.Later, before the acceptance ceremony, Yong Fuqing told the guests that one of today's guests does not eat meat.I just don't eat meat.How did he know about my habit of not eating meat? Our interview with Shaman Sheng Sheng and Song Hua was also very interesting.When we arrived at Ba Niulu, we interviewed the shaman Shengsheng in the morning, and Song Hua who was able to see a doctor but did not receive the god's seat in the afternoon. Just after 8 o'clock in the morning, we were already walking on the streets of Ba Niulu.As he was walking towards Shengsheng's house, the old man who led the way suddenly said, "What a coincidence, look, the one walking ahead is Shengsheng." So he shouted loudly, "Shengsheng!" Hunchbacked old man.After hearing the guide shout.He raised his head, glanced at us, and walked back without looking back.We followed him and entered the door of his house.His wife, a cheerful old lady, laughed out loud when she saw the old man walking into the yard, followed by some of us outsiders.She seemed to be boasting, but also seemed to complain: "You old man, you woke up early in the morning and said that people from afar came to you and wanted to avoid them, but you kept dawdling. Didn't you just leave the house or let others come to you?" It's back. Haha!" Apparently Sheng Sheng tried to avoid us, but failed.Since Shengsheng wanted to hide from us, I feel that today's interview may not go well. In fact, just as I expected, you asked a question about Shengsheng and answered it with a short answer without further explanation. (7) The reason why he did this, according to his explanation, was that he had to abide by the rules, and he could not talk casually in this line of work, let alone talk about the gods, otherwise he would be punished.At the same time, it can also be seen that Shengsheng is usually a man of few words, very quiet and peaceful.The old man who led the way said that Shengsheng had taken care of many patients, and he was not a good braggart, if others were not like this, they would have made it public long ago. We didn't want to put too much mental pressure on him, so we had to leave Shengsheng's house.Then I went to several houses in the village, had a casual meal on the street, and went to see Song Hua in the afternoon. When they arrived at Song Hua's house, the family members said that she had gone to work in the field.We had to go find her where she worked.After walking a long way on the bumpy field ridge, I finally saw the shack where Song Hua lived.Song Hua's shack was built in the middle of an open space where the crops had just been harvested, and there were no people around. The place was flat, except for the crops, there was only open space, and there were sparse trees.In front of the shack, there is a shelf for drying hot peppers that is as tall as a person and more than two meters wide. The red peppers are like a wall covering the door of the shack.A large cart was placed 10 meters away from the shack. In the open field, this empty cart was like a majestic guardian, both lonely and powerful.An old woman, who lived in such a remote crop field throughout the autumn harvest season, really has the courage, I sincerely admire it. Song Hua stood in front of the shack to welcome us, her face was red and bright, just like her red pepper.As soon as we met, she said, I know you are coming.I was about to go back to the village to see you, but I realized that you were coming to me, so I waited for you here.Another man with a premonition! Song Hua said that she is not a shaman, nor does she hold any god positions, and has no master.But she can see other people's problems.There are quite a lot of people who come to see her, but she seldom goes to the patients' homes, just to give them pointers. "What's the difference between you and a shaman?" I asked. "Shaman sees things in dreams. I don't need to do this. I can see with my eyes open, and I can see everything. So I don't need to divination or guess anything. My method of healing people's diseases is not so troublesome. , very flexible. Some patients need sacrifices, and some people just need to do something." She said. During the conversation, Zhao Chunsheng found some empty wine bottles around her residence, so he asked her: "Do you often drink?" "I can drink." "How much can you drink a day?" "If you are willing to drink, you can drink a catty." "You are amazing!" Old Zhao praised. "Are you afraid of living here alone at night?" Seeing the setting sun in the west, I couldn't help asking her. "Don't be afraid." She said frankly. "Are you afraid to tell what the shamans know?" I asked. "This question is the same as in the human world. If you know the affairs of any family in the world, you can't tell them all, and you can't tell everyone you see. Do things with a sense of proportion, don't upset people, don't let people I hate it. Everything we do has a mark, whether it is good or bad, we all carry it with us." Her reasoning is quite profound. Later, I gave her the wine I brought, and she opened the bottle and poured it for us to drink.The arrogance Song Hua displayed while drinking really convinced me that she is not afraid of anything.