How do the Lahu bury the dead?

Lahu condolences for the deceased are generally held for three days, but this is only for the elderly deceased. Generally, people are buried on the same day of death, but if they die in the afternoon or evening, they can park at home for one day and go to the next day for burial. When the deceased is left for the funeral, the "Mo Hachi" (shaman) leads the way for the deceased, and the coffin is carried by several strong men.

The Lahu cemetery is selected by throwing eggs, and before the deceased is carried to the cemetery, the deceased's family or relatives will hold an egg to find a cemetery for the deceased.

When looking for a cemetery, the egg should be thrown behind him, and if the egg is broken, it proves that the deceased liked the place, and everyone will bury the deceased there; If the egg is not broken, it proves that the deceased did not like the place, and the egg has to be thrown again to find it until the egg is broken.

The funeral rites of the Lahu people change with the historical development of their people. In ancient times, the Lahu people were in a state of turmoil due to constant migration, and there were no fixed funeral customs. It was not until they entered the agrarian society that the Lahu gradually settled down, and they gradually attached importance to funeral activities and had a fixed cemetery.

There are two forms of Lahu funerals: one is burial; One is cremation. The rules of burial are more complicated:

The first is to report the funeral, according to the custom of the Lahu people, all the adults in the village died, they had to fire a musket at the door of the house to report the funeral, and the people in the village and relatives and friends heard the gunshots, they knew which family died, and everyone would come to help take care of the funeral.

After the death of the Lahu people, they should invite someone with experience in dealing with the aftermath to help the deceased bathe and change clothes, put a little silver in the mouth of the deceased, called "mouth mouth", and the body of the deceased should be wrapped in a new white cloth and put into the coffin for burial, and then the coffin should be placed in the main hall for relatives, friends and people in the village to mourn. Some offerings should be placed in front of the coffin, and some people will kill pigs for the people who come to mourn to eat, and the people who come to mourn will generally bring chickens, cigarettes and other items to the family of the deceased to express their condolences to the deceased and support for the funeral.

The chickens sent by the funeral, the family members of the deceased will generally kill in front of the grave of the deceased, and some will also be placed near the cemetery of the deceased, the Lahu people call this kind of released chicken "ghost chicken", which means that the chicken is placed near the grave of the deceased, and the deceased will take the chicken to the underworld to raise, and all the things used in the funeral belong to the deceased.

Cremation is a traditional funeral method of the Lahu people, which is generally determined according to the family tradition, and the family is buried in the earth; If the family is cremated, there will be cremation. In Lahu cottages, some villages are buried with earth, and some are cremated. The village where cremation is used has a communal crematorium next to the village, which is regarded as a sacred place, and not a single grass or tree can be moved.

The method of cremation is to erect the firewood rack with dry firewood, put the body face down on the firewood rack, recite the sutras by grinding the eight sutras, and then light the fire until the firewood is burned out. After cremation, some collect ashes, some do not. For those who die unnaturally, funeral activities are generally not carried out.

If the old man in the family dies, the children must observe filial piety for three years, and they cannot marry their relatives and daughters within three years, and they cannot build a new house.

The Lahu people worship their ancestors and attach great importance to funerals. The traditional burial method of this ethnic group is cremation. There are also some places where the burial of scholars is adopted, and there is a collective cemetery in the whole village, and the stone is the grave.

Within three days of the new funeral, the family members should eat with chopsticks to show their condolences. The whole village should also stop producing for a day, and do not eat rice, which means mourning.

The Lahu people mainly live in the two areas of Simao and Lincang in the Lancang River basin in southern Yunnan Province. The population is small, but it has its own unique taboos.

Religious beliefs are taboo. On the night of sending fire gods and ghosts, outsiders should not enter the village; When sending a house ghost, avoid staying at home. On weekdays, guests are not allowed to approach or sleep in front of the shrine, and it is forbidden to touch the objects on the shrine or leave items and socks on the shrine.

Hang a pair of baskets on the west side of the stockade, avoid outsiders touching with their hands, especially avoid putting things inside. The road meets the soul and the valley soul (or the soul time is uncertain, and the valley soul is called the twenty-fourth of the sixth month of the lunar calendar.

September and October, when the grain is harvested), do not talk to them.

Dietary contraindications. Do not eat dog meat and do not kill dogs. Legend has it that after the birth of the ancestors, the ancestors of the clan Zha Di and Na Di had no milk to eat, and grew up by eating dog milk according to the will of the gods.

In later generations, dog meat was forbidden in order to report the dog's kindness. Those who also avoid eating dog meat can enter the house, and they must change their clothes after 3 days. Do not play the piano or whistle early in the morning or before eating.

The Banhu people who believe in Mahayana Buddhism should avoid seeing blood and eating at wedding banquets or other wedding banquets, otherwise they are considered unlucky.

Other contraindications. Sleep in front of the shrine with your head facing the shrine. Do not stay in the same room as husband and wife.

Do not chop on the threshold. Women should not go upstairs or climb onto the cattle pen. Often treat guests with chicken gruel, but avoid using white chicken, and cook porridge with white chicken to entertain guests, which means to break off friendship with guests.

Engagement and dowry gifts are taboo without tea, as the saying goes:"You can't get married without tea. "Maternal mothers should not go out for 3 days after delivery, and outsiders should not enter their rooms.

Avoid the rooster crowing to the west, thinking that the front side of the west leak is the underworld and avoid it. The chicken that violates the taboo is slaughtered immediately to make it ominous. Spotted horses are considered "god horses", cuckoos are considered "pheasants", and bald-tailed snakes are considered "dragons", and no one is allowed to kill or hurt them.

When killing pigs and chickens, you must look at the hexagram, the eyes of the chicken are bright, and the bile of the pig is mostly auspicious, which means that everything is auspicious, and you can let go of everything, otherwise it is a fierce hexagram, and you must be careful in everything. On the first day of the first lunar month, no one can say unlucky things.