Home / Culture / Archaeology in China / Digs, Discoveries Developments Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Fresh hope for lost tribe
Adjust font size:

The religious seal handed down by Wang's ancestors.

The religious seal handed down by Wang's ancestors.(Photo Source: China Daily)

"The most important attribute for a Shibi is a good memory," says Wang. There are hundreds of thousands of words for the Qiang scriptures and he is one of a dozen Shibis well versed in most of them.

To make a living, villagers used to carry packs of tea across mountains to Dujiangyan. At narrow mountain passes, bandits would rob them and even push victims down the cliff.

Life was easier for Shibis. A ceremony for a deity's blessing could bring the shaman 35 kg of corn and six big pancakes. He also had a share of the sacrificial items. They would hold a dozen such ceremonies in a year.

But being a Shibi always meant more about status than material gain. Wang treasures a hat made of monkey skin and a religious seal handed down the generations - both are symbols of his high status. Whenever a Shibi enters a house, the most honored seat is reserved for him and in the past, Shibi was the de facto village chief.

Wang recalls joining his father in his first Grand Ceremony to pay tribute to the God of the Mountain. Torches blazed throughout the village, everyone dressed up in holiday gear and three shots were fired to welcome the father and son.

He was only 13 but Wang clearly sensed everyone's reverence for him, as they instructed villagers to set up banners, tie three white goats at a holy tree and each family putting two cocks in the cage.

At the beat of the drum of goat skin, Wang followed his father to chant the birth of heaven and earth, the deeds of ancient kings and the long, treacherous exodus away from their ancestral homes. They kept singing until dawn.

However, Wang has one lifelong regret: He did not have a formal ceremony, called gai gua, to introduce him into the Shibi culture. More than 20 senior Shibis from far and wide would sit in a circle, each chanting a passage of scripture but leaving a few sentences for his neighbor to complete. In the presence of the whole village, the Shibi who failed to finish would be in disgrace.

When the chanting ended, a senior Shibi would lead the young shaman into the mountains. Legends say Shibis descended from heaven and must offer their gratitude. Before they reached the peak, the guide would leave the young to go on until he heard a sound that meant "the Jade Emperor had approved of him".

And what if nothing is heard?

"The mountain is big. How can there be no sound!" Wang laughs.

The tradition has suffered greatly in recent years. During the cultural revolution (1966-76), religious practices were banned as superstitions. Nowadays, Shibis are no longer held in high esteem in the Qiangfeng village, whose focus has shifted to the outside world, thanks to the advent of a cement road and TV. Instead of singing old mountain songs, the young hum pop songs, rejoice over football matches and watch sitcoms on TV.

Wang's hopes of a proper gai gua ceremony faded until one day in the 1980s, a relative, who was also a Shibi, brought him to the statue of the God of Shibi. He said: "Please forgive us for not being able to perform the ritual. He who stands behind me is now introduced to our sacred realm."

That humble ceremony is not his greatest regret, though. During the "cultural revolution", he wasn't able to carry out rituals for his deceased wife and was forced to bury her in a hurry. Then, last winter, his elder daughter died when she rolled down the snow-covered mountain while gathering firewood. Now, his own home has been crushed and he has to live with his younger daughter.

     1   2   3    


Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
- China to protect threatened Qiang culture
- Sichuan Working to Protect the Oldest Stockade Village of the Qiang Ethnic People
- Invitation to a 2000-year-old Qiang Village
- The Qiang Ethnic Group
Most Viewed >>
- Tulou building added to World Heritage List
- Absent Chou biggest winner at Chinese Grammys
- Megan Fox: FHM's sexiest woman
- Hsu Chi: sexy baby in summer
- Kung Fu Panda evokes talks on creativity
>
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲人成黄网在线观看| 无码精品国产一区二区三区免费| 国产午夜精品久久久久免费视| www久久精品| 最近中文字幕高清字幕8| 亚洲精品自产拍在线观看| 蜜桃成熟时3之蜜桃仙子电影| 国语自产精品视频在线看| 一级做a爰片欧美aaaa| 果冻传媒app下载网站| 免费香蕉依人在线视频久| 黑人巨大精品欧美一区二区免费 | 亚洲成av人片在线观看天堂无码 | 国产午夜无码精品免费看| 欧美成人看片一区二区三区| 成人18网址在线观看| 久久99精品久久久久久| 欧美在线视频网| 再深点灬舒服灬太大了短文d | 王爷晚上含奶h嗯额嗯| 国产亚洲综合激情校园小说| 8x8x在线观看视频高清视频| 怡红院一区二区三区| 中文字幕日韩人妻不卡一区 | 777丰满影院| 好男人社区在线www| 久久国产乱子伦精品免| 日韩精品成人一区二区三区| 亚洲激情综合网| 精品哟哟哟国产在线不卡| 国产在线精品一区二区不卡麻豆| 88国产精品视频一区二区三区 | 日本一区中文字幕日本一二三区视频| 亚洲国产精久久久久久久| 精品一区二区三区四区五区| 国产大陆xxxx做受视频| 4444亚洲国产成人精品| 国内精品久久人妻互换| 一级做a爰片欧美一区| 成人久久伊人精品伊人| 三级视频网站在线观看|