Chapter 19 The second part of Xinjiang Qapqal Xibe folklore-9

Among the interviewed people who claim to be shamans, Yong Fuqing is quite special. He is the only person who became a shaman before the "Cultural Revolution".Although there are obvious doubts about his abilities, his shaman status is not questioned. The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is the Shaman Festival of the Xibe people.During the day, I followed in the footsteps of shamans and participated in three shamanic ceremonies non-stop. Just after dinner in the morning, Yong Fuqing came to me and said that today he was going to have an apprenticeship ceremony. (50) I rushed to investigate Guan Shumei's ceremony first, and when we arrived at Yongfuqing, the whole sheep sacrifice had already begun.The small wing room of Yongfu Qing's house was crowded with people.The newly recruited apprentice kneels under the edge of the Kang, facing the shrine on the west wall.The apprentice is in his 30s, male, I heard that he works in the county, and he is Uighur.He didn't want to say his name and experience, but silently followed his master's instructions.A round table was placed on the kang, on which was steaming freshly cooked mutton. The mutton was arranged in the shape of a whole sheep, and the head and tail could be distinguished, as well as the four legs.Yongfuqing has its own paper-cut, which is made of white paper, a pair of upper and lower, and the shape of the paper-cut is very beautiful.Yong Fuqing boasted that he was the only one who could cut this shape.I asked him, what is the meaning of this paper-cut?He said, just like the yin and yang diagrams of your Han people, this is our yin and yang diagram, and they represent the universe. (51)

Holding the paper-cut in one hand and the burning incense in the other, Yong Fuqing explained the reason for the sacrifice and the situation of the visitors to the god in a low voice, and prayed for the gods to teach and bless his disciples.Then burn the decoupage. Yong Fuqing asked me to pay homage to his master, and I obeyed.Seeing that I was sincere, he asked me to wear his red belt and hang his bronze shaman mirror on my chest.For a while, I seemed to be a shaman too. The ceremony is over, and all the participants gather around the table to eat mutton.I watched them from the sidelines.Some people ask me, "Why don't you eat?" I tell them, I don't eat meat.They all said "Oh" in unison, and one person told me that Yong Fuqing told them before the ceremony that one of the people who attended the ceremony today did not eat meat.It turned out to be you.

The next morning Yong Fuqing held another ceremony for a patient.In the afternoon, he held a shaman god adoption ceremony for four-year-old Pengli. We also participated in Yongfuqing's ceremony for Changming.Chang Ming, male, 25 years old, he had been ill for three years, he asked a shaman to heal his illness, and now he recovered, he asked a shaman to perform a vow ceremony.This ceremony is also the ceremony of offering sacrifices to goats and receiving gods for Changming shamans.Yong Fuqing said that the best age to become a shaman is 13, 25, or 37 years old.What he said was false age.

Chang Ming’s family had shamans when they came from the northeast, and now there are gods enshrined on the west wall.The family said that this god was brought from the Northeast. The host family lit incense and made offerings on the altar on the west wall.Yong Fuqing put the incense burner he brought on the table by the west wall of Chang Ming's house, burned incense, and worshiped. Chang Ming and his family bowed down to the family shrine.Then bring a goat. Yong Fuqing washed the sheep one by one.After washing, the sheep does not shake, which means that the gods do not accept the sacrifice.

Yong Fuqing washed it again, but the sheep still didn't shake and pooped all over the place.It can be seen that the host family is very anxious. Yong Fuqing washed the sheep for the third time, and finally, he said, the head of the sheep shook.The master hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to the shaman god.But Yong Fuqing said that God only received half of his heart, and if he waited a little longer, he might be shaken again.After waiting for a few minutes, it still didn't shake.So he decided to kill the sheep. The host set up a pot stove in the yard, with several pot stones under it, set up a large iron pot, filled it with firewood, and cooked the meat in the pot without covering it.There are no seasonings in the meat, only some salt, so the broth is very white.The pot in the kitchen does not boil the sheep.This may be a holdover from a primitive ritual.

Yong Fuqing told Chang Ming that you offended the gods by doing two things wrong.First, people who learn shamanism should not go to the home of someone who has just died, so you go.Chang Ming's mother said that he did go to two or three families where the dead were.Yong Fuqing said that the second reason is that the gods in the family are not in the right place.The current god position is the position of Mama and Mafa, not the god position of shaman.It is necessary to re-establish a shaman god, and then hold the ceremony.After today's sacrifice, they still need to go to Yongfuqing to ask them in detail what to do.

After slaughtering the sheep, the family puts gallbladder, liver tip, heart side, genitals, and bladder on a plate and puts them on the table.Throw it on the roof after offering. Put the boiled sheep in the shape of a whole sheep to offer, and the host will withdraw the offering after kowtow.Those who participated in the sacrifices ate meat.Yong Fuqing said that the sheep bones should be kept intact and buried.It is best to bury it on the same day, generally no more than three days. Yong Fuqing explained the reason why the gods of Chang Ming's family did not receive sacrifices during sacrifices.One is that the gods in his family belong to Erqi, not the shaman; the other is that the previous ceremony of receiving the gods was done in the same way, not by the shaman.Similarly, shamans cannot be given rituals.So the gods do not receive sacrifices.

Looking at Yong Fuqing, whose family is completely destitute, he is really poor, and it is really pitiful.His son with big shining eyes was much thinner than other children, and the clothes he was wearing hadn't been washed for a long time, and the original color could no longer be seen clearly. (56) A kind of belief made him suffer a lot in reality. I somewhat believe what shamans often say: We don't want to do this, but there is no way.Sending him 50 yuan is considered condolences.