Author Fucha Baoren
On the fifteenth day of the first month, when the Lantern Festival is full of lanterns, songs, and lanterns, young Manchu men and women also dance the traditional "Hedge Aunt Dance" and "Please Fence Aunt Bu Nian Cheng" folk activities that integrate sacrifice and entertainment.
"Fence" is a northeastern dialect, is a kind of wicker or amaranth woven into a handle, oval type and with gaps in the kitchen utensils, manchus often use it to catch rice, vegetables or sorghum rice, bud rice dumplings and so on. Why do the Manchus dance the Hedge Aunt Dance and sacrifice the Fence Aunt God? There is also a beautiful legend here.
According to legend, it was when the old Han king Nurhaci was young, once hunting in the mountains, and accidentally saved Li Chengliang, the ming Dynasty Liaodong general who was chased by tigers. Li Chengliang, in gratitude, took Nurhaci under his account to follow. Later, on the fifteenth day of the first month of the first month of the year, Li Chengliang saw that nurhachi had seven boils growing at his feet, such as the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, and thought that he had the image of an emperor who would seize the world of the Ming Dynasty, so he wanted to kill him.
When Nurhaci learned the news, he fled into the wilderness, but on the way to escape, he also had ups and downs, first the big yellow dog saved his life, and then there were crows and magpies to save his life. Who knows, Nurhaci has just escaped two disasters, and he is blocked by a big river in front of him. Nurhaci patted his thigh and thought, "This is really over!" ”
At this time, a girl dressed in white and plain clothes suddenly appeared by the river. But the girl smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll send you a boat across the river." After saying this, he threw a wicker fence in his hand into the river, only to see that the small fence suddenly turned into a large boat.
Nurhaci thanked the white-clad girl and jumped on the boat. With a wave of her hand, the fence boat sped forward to send Nurhaci to the other side of the river. Nurhaci looked back and saw that the girl in white was gone. At this time, Li Chengliang's soldiers and horses also arrived, and looking at the raging and wide river, they had no choice but to go back.
Nurhaci escaped several disasters and did not die, and with the later Qing Dynasty, he became the Qing Taizu. Because people did not know the name of the girl in white, they called her "Aunt Fence"; because Aunt Fence was dressed in white, people thought that she was surnamed Bai. Aunt Fence rescued Nurhaci, the king of Laohan, so every fifteenth and sixteenth day of the first month, people danced the Aunt Fence Dance to reward the gods to sacrifice Aunt Fence.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, the favorite entertainment of Manchu young men and women is to dance the "Hedge Girl Dance". The "Hedge Aunt Dance" has strong Manchu traditional cultural characteristics. People first use freshly picked wicker to twist a "fence" for fishing for food, and then use white woolen paper or white Koryo paper to put the drum batter on the fence. After that, paint a girl's beautiful face on it, paint it with red rouge, black hair, glue it with five-colored paper, and then bring a Manchu silk flower to aunt Hedge.
Holding up the "Fence Aunt" is a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, because she symbolizes the Fence Aunt, so it is a beautiful and decent girl that everyone has chosen in advance. The little girl painted her face red, smeared her lips, dressed in a new white dress, and danced with her hands holding up the mask of the sacred aunt of the fence. The young men and women and children in the village sometimes gathered around Aunt Fence, sometimes followed behind Aunt Fence, dancing wildly while clapping their hands and singing "Song of Aunt Fence":
Aunt Fence's original surname is Bai,
Wearing flowers and carrying firewood,
Singing and dancing up the hill,
Twist Dada down the hill.
You shoot, I shoot,
Clap your hands and jump up.
……
Every time they shouted and sang a paragraph, everyone would shout in unison: "Aunt Fence is coming!" "There is the intention of asking aunt Toru To be a god." In this way, everyone danced wildly, shouted and sang, and when they were tired of dancing, they were tired of shouting and shouting before it was over, and sometimes they had to dance until the campfire was extinguished. The wild songs and dances of the Manchu young people vividly displayed the rugged and unrestrained pride of the northern fishing and hunting peoples; the Manchu people's worship and gratitude to the goddess of the fence aunt expressed both piety and enthusiasm.
In some places, young Manchu men and women also dressed up and carried their aunts to the streets, dancing happily like the Yangge team. At this time, the aunt dance has gone beyond the scope of sacrificing the gods, and has become a kind of Manchu singing song, with singing and dancing, singing and dancing, singing and dancing, and folk entertainment activities. And the lyrics of the "Song of aunt fences" are also beautiful and warm:
Aunt Fencer came down the hill,
Fifteen or sixteen look at the lights.
Melon face cherry mouth,
High nose apricot core eyes.
What powder to rub?
Rub the old official powder.
What red smeared,
Smeared brute red.
Green satin coat flower shawl,
Pink skirt rolled gold edges.
On the embroidered Mandarin duck double play water,
Goldenfin carp and Tilian.
When the time comes, hurry up,
Twist and turn to attract love.
Feed, up,
A large plate of white flesh and blood sausages.
Miller, drizzle,
Glass leaf cake sticky bean bun.
Comb what head, scattered head;
What oil to wipe, osmanthus oil;
Dragon and phoenix hairpin, left and right inserts;
Ruyi hook, with beaded flowers;
Safflower, jade, honeysuckle;
There are also fluffy feather flowers.
What car you're in,
Mules drive a sedan.
Qingjiang Water, Xiuhe Mountain,
Big red top quad chain;
Green car fence red car roof,
Four streamer embroidered golden dragons;
Double set of horses, racing dragons,
Four hooves pedaled away a slippery wind.
Down the hill, what to do?
Follow everyone to see the song.
On the fifteenth and sixteenth days of the first month, the Manchus still have the slang custom of kneeling to the aunt of the fence, asking the aunt of the fence and predicting the harvest of the year. There is also a beautiful legend about this slang. According to legend, Aunt Fence was a beautiful and dignified person who was also intelligent and industrious. She saw that it was difficult for people to fish for vegetables such as small roots of garlic, shredded potatoes, turnip pieces, etc., and it was difficult to fish for rice such as sorghum rice and large steamed porridge, so she invented the kitchen utensils such as braiding fences with wicker. This fence seems simple but it is very practical, and it solves a big problem for the women who work in the kitchen every day.
Later, the men who went to the field to cultivate saw that the wicker fence was very light and suitable, so they used it to choose seeds in spring ploughing. Unexpectedly, the seeds selected with the fence were harvested year after year, so the Manchus left behind the custom of using wicker fences to select seeds. Sometimes people have already selected seeds, but they must also use fences to go through them again, so that the wind and rain will be smooth, and the insects will be free of pests and more grain. People chant ancient folk songs while choosing seeds:
Fences are round, fences are long, and Aunt Fences comes to help.
Aunt Hedgehog chose it again, and the Hashi house (warehouse) was full of grain.
Because the fence was invented by Aunt Fence at the fifteenth hour of the first month, people worship her on this day. Since Aunt Fence was a young person, the Manchu grand master thought that it was not suitable for her to worship, while the older women thought that it was not appropriate for Aunt Fence to be young and lively, singing and dancing. Therefore, on the fifteenth day of the first month, worshiping Aunt Fence, dancing the Aunt Fence Dance with her became a matter for young Manchu men and women. They were also very happy to get together on this day, and indulged in singing and dancing, that is, they thanked the hedge aunt god for playing lively and lively again.
In the early years, after the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, young Manchu men and women set up bonfires outside the village and made beautiful hedges with fences made of new wicker knots. A girl holds up a mask to dress up as a hedge aunt, followed by a big girl and a young man who is in line. People may sing and dance around the campfire or change formations, dancing until late at night.
At this time, an ancient prayer ceremony will be carried out, the girl who holds the mask of the fence aunt in her hand, covers her face with a fence and is silent, everyone faces her in line to worship, divinates and predicts the harvest of the harvest of the year, and prays that the fence aunt will bless the wind and rain and the good year.
After the ritual divination, young men and women gathered around the bonfire, and then sang and danced around the bonfire, clapping their hands and singing the ancient prayer ballad together:
Horse dung eggs, donkey dung balls, hedge aunts come to kowtow,
Donkey dung balls, horse dung eggs, hedge aunt count,
Big grain yellow, small grain strong, white bud rice ah red sorghum,
Nanshan beans, north slope grain, eastern vegetable watermelon red sand scoop.
The "Fence Aunt Dance" danced by Manchu young men and women hides a lot of traditional Manchu culture, as the lyrics sing, "The fence aunt is originally surnamed Bai, wears flowers, carries firewood; sings and dances up the mountain, twisting and turning to come down the mountain." The Manchus are the northern ethnic group of Shangbai, believing that "white" is the color of holiness, and Changbai Mountain is the sacred mountain in the hearts of the Manchus and the birthplace of the nation. In the early years, the Manchus even posted the Spring League during the New Year's Day, which was white, so the legendary aunt of the fence aunt god Bai Yisu was also surnamed Bai. "Singing and dancing up the mountain, twisting and turning to get down the mountain", showing that the Manchus are the hunting mountain forest people in the northeast. The Manchus believe that the gods they believe in, as well as the deceased ancestral gods and the god of the hidden ni (hero god), all lived in the mysterious mountain forest palace garden of Changbai Mountain.
The Manchu dance of the fence aunt must peel the newly picked wicker, weave the fence with white willow branches, and then depict the beautiful hedge aunt god MaHu (mask). The Manchu people who believe in shamanism revere Liu Liu, and there is a custom of taking Liu as the first grandmother god, calling Liu Shen a Fotuo mother. The use of wicker knots to tie the fence aunt also contains the ancient folk culture connotation of sacrificing willows.
The Dancing of the Fence Aunt Dance on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Manchus not only accepts the folk festival of the Han people in the Central Plains, but also integrates the folk culture of the Manchus themselves. The Manchus, the ancient northern fishing and hunting people, have embraced the culture of the Central Plains while preserving their own identity.
About the author Fucha Baoren: Mr. Fucha Baoren served as the director of the Greening Division of the Parks and Forestry Bureau before his retirement. At present, he holds the following social positions: Jilin Municipal CPPCC Researcher, Visiting Professor of Beihua University, Historical and Cultural Advisor of Shulan Municipal People's Government, Vice President of Jilin Manchu Culture and Economy Promotion Association, Vice President of Jilin Manchu Friendship Association, Director of Jilin Manchu Culture Research Association, Director of Jilin Folklore Society, Director of Jilin Changbaishan Cultural Research Association, Member of Jilin Writers Association, Jilin Taoist Xuandiguan, LingxianFu Restoration Consultant, Secretary General of Jilin City Landscaping Association, etc.
Mr. Fucha Baoren has written many books, especially books on Manchu history and culture, mainly including the series of "Manchu Past Events in the Great Northeast", which is a project for the development of local history resources in Jilin Province. The series of books is about 1.24 million words, and is divided into 5 volumes, including "The History and Culture of the Manchus in the Great Northeast", "The Old Events of the Manchus in the Great Northeast, the Culture of the Manchus in the Northeast", "The Old Affairs of the Manchus in the Great Northeast, the Culture of Slang Culture", "The Old Affairs of the Manchus in the Great Northeast, the Architectural Culture", and "the Old Affairs of the Manchus in the Great Northeast and The Shamanic Culture". Our platform is authorized to publish some articles. Those who wish to purchase this book can contact the author, Mr. Hosa Hohito.
Our platform has published part of "The History and Culture of the Manchus in the Great Northeast", and now Mr. Li has provided the "Manchu Past Events of the Great Northeast and the Culture of the Years", which we will publish one after another.
On February 5, he published "The Fifth Day of the First Lunar Month, the Manchu Sacrifice of the God of Wealth and the Breaking of the Fifth".
On February 6, "Manchu New Year Customs" was published,
On February 7, "The Festival of Manchus Receiving Aunts and Grandmothers" was published.
On February 8, he published "Manchu Ice Lanterns Have a Long Tradition",
On February 9, "Manchu Shaman Sacrifice" was published,
On February 10, he published "Little Snow Spreads over the Mountains, Manchus Catch Mink Busy".
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