Jingning She Nationality Sacrificial Ceremony

Zhejiang
🎧  Listen to Introduction

Jingning is the only She Autonomous County in China. For a long time, the She people have created and inherited a series of traditional sacrificial rituals, such as doing meritorious deeds, passing on the master's teachings, and other folk activities, which are an important part of the She people's life rituals and folk customs. It has a profound cultural connotation and has become a very individual national art. Doing meritorious deeds is a traditional sacrificial ceremony held by the family members after the death of an adult of the She nationality to "supercharge the soul of the dead". It mainly commemorates the She ancestor Long Qi through singing and dancing, and uses it to educate future generations. Passing on the master's teachings is also called doing yang, doing gathering, Shoulu, and worshipping ancestors. The ceremony is presided over by a master and usually lasts for three days and nights, expressing the She people's feelings of respecting their ancestors and their desire for close unity and praying for blessings and eliminating disasters. The long couplet "Gaohuang Song" that records the origin of the She nationality records: "Long Qi volunteered to be an official and didn't love it. He came to Lushan to learn the law with all his heart. He learned the true law and passed it on to his ancestors. He learned from his master Pan Lanlei Zhong, and learned from his master to catch ghosts. He held a thousand-pound net in his hand, and the evil spirits ran away." As for "doing good deeds", it is recorded in "Panhu Shikao": "Panhu jumped over a big tree while hunting and was injured by the tip of the tree. After the funeral, there were long-waisted wooden drums, long flutes and short blows, and men and women sang continuously. The graceful jumping, kicking and dancing were beyond the reach of others." The She nationality's "Zutu" has images of "Lüshan learning the law", as well as many people holding props, and one person holding a wooden sign with the words "Super Soul and Transcendence" and dancing. It can be seen that "passing on the teacher and learning from the teacher and doing good deeds" are closely related to the origin and evolution of the She nationality. According to research, She people have settled in Chimu Mountain and Dachigang in Jingning since the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, a large number of them moved in, and they continued to grow and prosper. Therefore, the "She Nationality Sacrifice Ceremony, She Nationality Master-Student Transmission and Merit Making" has been passed down from generation to generation in the She Nationality settlement area in Jingning, Zhejiang, and gradually formed a relatively unique cultural character and life ritual form.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

China tourist attractions related to the heritage