Where is there a funeral custom like a celebration? Is there a place where funeral customs are very pompous? Is there a place where funeral customs are very lively? If you want to say that there is, let me tell you, there is such a funeral custom in Shaoyang, Hunan.
Funeral customs vary from place to place, but there are some forms of funeral that are simply incomprehensible to people today. The funeral customs in Shaoyang are indeed mysterious, cumbersome and magical, generous and grand, extravagant and pompous. The general manifestations and procedures are roughly like this::
When a person just died, the whole family such as the filial sons and grandsons of the deceased's family suddenly became busy. The first step is to inform the funeral supervisor and ask him to arrange all funeral matters.
When it comes to major events, the first thing to do is to put a cannon battle, which means: first, to send the deceased to the underworld on the road, and second, to report bad news to the people of the same clan and clan in the neighborhoods and village yards. At this time, it is also necessary to quickly invite the earth immortals, that is, Mr. Feng Shui, Mr. Kanyu, and the people who often say the locals say to watch the land, to see a piece of land, and the earth immortals will determine the time for closing the eyelids, moving the coffin and leaving the funeral. If the deceased is a little older or very old, the earth immortals generally decide that the deceased will carry out and carry out the funeral at home for a longer time, mostly about a week, and some for more than ten days.
While the earth fairy is looking at the ground, the deceased is to put on his shroud and move from the bed to the door panel (which is now placed on the coffin cover) and stay for about ten minutes. This stay for 10 minutes is for fear that the deceased will not really die, and leave 10 minutes to observe whether there is a possibility of suspended animation. The deceased is then moved into the coffin, and a lamp is lit on the ground opposite the outer floor of the coffin, which illuminates the deceased's way to the underworld.
At the same time as dressing the deceased, it is necessary to burn the deceased's artemisia shop, that is, the deceased's clothes, trousers, mats, quilts and other supplies should not be too far away from the deceased's bed (usually dozens of meters away). Strike the gong three times when burning. While doing the above things, the monk will enter the funeral hall (usually placed in the hall) to make a way for the deceased, and the filial sons and grandsons will wear linen and wear filial piety to kneel and bow around the hall.
At the same time as doing the above things, people of the same clan and clan basically rushed to help, some dug graves, some bought vegetables, some cooked, some bought all the necessary items for the funeral, some invited bands, some invited singing, some invited lions and dragons, some invited paper houses, some arranged mourning halls and entertained guest tents, all walks of life, there must be everything, a busy scene, and the development was tense and orderly.
During the funeral period, the relevant teams and teams mentioned above to be invited to do the funeral are put in place by the supervisor every day, and most of them are doing their best to implement the funeral at the same time or not at the same time, to do it solidly and completely, for fear that something will go wrong.
In particular, the day before the funeral, the evening of the day and the official funeral of the next day are the climax of the funeral. At this time, relatives and friends from all walks of life gathered at the funeral venue to do the memorial rites, there were five or six monks or even seven or eight monks who came to do the dojo, there were one or two bands playing trumpets, there were singing, dancing, telling jokes, playing fishing drums and other funeral personnel all appeared one after another, and they all quickly took on their own affairs, as if they were fighting, with full firepower, and the scene, the momentum, and the fiery atmosphere have radiated a great shock (the above people are like actors singing opera). At this time, coupled with the wandering of the villagers and nearby idlers, there are a large number of people who play cards and rub mahjong to set up a position (the above people are like the audience watching the play), in this way, the "actors" and "audiences" have entered the role, the funeral venue has been noisy gongs and drums, the music has been continuous, it has been suona in unison, it has been fireworks, it has been a loud salute, it has been crowded with wreaths, it has been all kinds of flags fluttering, and the audience has applauded and shouted. The entire funeral venue was full of people, crowded and lively.
When eating, drinking, and eating, there are dozens of tables, and hundreds of tables, which are laid out in rows and pieces. The table is full of delicious food and wine, and the meals are complete. Hundreds of pairs of chopsticks stretch in and out of their respective tables, coming and going freely; Hundreds of wine glasses are drunk and drunk, and the glasses are changed. Anyway, there are hundreds of hands raising cups and chopsticks, anyway, hundreds of mouths drinking and chewing together, the whole scene of the funeral is grand and grand, the scene is vast and lively, and it seems that it is no more.
From time to time, there are crying (the cry of the filial son and daughter of the bereaved family) and laughter (the laughter of others), and people talk and joke, each with its own theme; gongs and drums, all sound fortimate; The lights flickered and were colorful; There are all kinds of funeral activities in various dimensions and forms, and the scene is no less than a grand temple fair or celebration ceremony in the city and countryside.
In this way, for three or five days, seven or eight nights, and then the drunken and full funeral procession was mighty, locks, gongs and drums sounded in unison, firecrackers and fireworks were in full swing, colorful flags were flying, and the deceased was sent to the cemetery, and the funeral was declared to end.
Ladies and gentlemen, what kind of funeral form do you say this is, is it a bit like the celebration mentioned at the beginning of this article? Could you please comment on whether such funeral customs should be reformed?