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Zhangjiajie Taboo Custom

Culture 2017/01/19 View:3277

As the saying goes: “Different wind in ten-li, different custom in hundred-li.” “Asking taboo, asking custom into countryside.” Every nation and even every family and every profession, has its own different taboo content, it can not only reflect a full of Platonic superstitious cultural mentality, but also infiltrate the times scientific connotation, and reflect the developing trend of the nations constantly marching towards progress and amalgamation.

In the morning, see the snake to call “long worm”, call tiger as “bog cat”, call ghost as “elf mule”. Many taboos have become the proverbs. For example, go out, to select a lucky day: “on Lunar 1, 14 and 23, Laotse does not descend to the nunnery”; “on Lunar 7, not go out; on Lunar 8, not return; on Lunar 9, go out and then empty-handed back”; “not pick up the eagle and fowling in spring, not pick up sweat towel in winter”; “not pick up muntjac on the mountain, not pick up carp in the river”; “at New Year's Eve, not wrangle, not beat the child, not put out the candlelights; on first day of the lunar year, not say “unlucky”; “father and mother mouth, endless bucket”; “person aging 36, some enjoy, some worry”, “person aging 36, turn a somersault”. So the people always avoid “36”, just like the foreign people taboo “13”. Person aging 36, Tujia people will congratulate on birthday and got rid of evil; children are not allowed to play bird, said that child’s hand cannot write the good font due to tremble after growing up (protect bird by this way); children are not allowed to pick the unripe Tung fruit, said to catch “phthisis” (protect the Tung forest by this way); do not sit in carpenter’s wooden bench, do not knock on blacksmith's anvil, do not bugle the cavel of wether person, do not lean against actor’s suitcase, and do not say “Chen” word by boat; the persons in the theatrical troupe call the umbrella as “Chengzi”, taboo “San” word; the word writer taboos a “Dao” word, avoid the word corresponding to house collapse.

The old society had many taboos for women, which is inequality to think that women are inferior to men in feudal society. For example, the woman is not allowed to walk ahead of man when going out; woman's clothes should be placed behind the man's clothes when drying; four eyes woman (Pregnant woman) is not allowed to pull the fruit tree, and to make the bed for the bride; when childing, not allow to hit the snake, to damage threshold, and to nail......

At the beginning of a year, if hearing the twitter from Yang bird (Cuckoo), it is unlucky if sleeping on the bed or going downhill; on Spring Festival, if the livestock enters into the house, the premonitory is “The family is poor due to pig, it is rich if dog entering, wears mourning dress if cat entering”; if wild raccoon dog entering house, chicken on the tree, dog on the house, no disaster but misfortune, not die but delaminated shell; if dreaming about clean water, tears wash face, if dreaming about white cloth, wear mourning dress, if dreaming about red flower, happy, if dreaming about child, prevent thieves; if dreaming about chicken, bird and small fish, altercate (Quarrel), if dreaming about water buffalo, make a pile, if dreaming about hurdle, catch a disease, if dreaming about soar, health, if dreaming about climbing up mountain, good, if dreaming about going downhill, unlucky, if dreaming about laughter, cry, if dreaming about misfortune, lucky...... 

Reading
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