Whenever you hear "Red Jujube Tree" composed by Qi Long and sung by Ren Miaoyin, you will have a different kind of feeling, and whenever you feel lonely, you will naturally think of the grass and trees in your hometown, including those "characteristic rural sounds" that were once very familiar, very kind, and can resonate with you at once.
Raise the rammer trumpet. In the 1970s and 1980s, the best way to build a house and lay the foundation in my hometown was to ram it. What is rammed, that is, a stone rammer shaped like a four-prismatic body. The rammed stone is made up of rammed heads, rammed handles and several thick hemp ropes. Rammed heads are usually chiseled from bluestone by professional stonemasons, and the four sides of the rammer are trapezoidal with narrow upper and lower widths. The square side at the top is about thirty centimeters long, the bottom square side is about forty centimeters long, less than one meter high, and the normal rammed stone weighs about three or four hundred pounds, and some large rammers reach five or six hundred pounds. A round hole is chiseled into the center of the rammed head to insert a wooden rammed handle. On the four edges below the rammed head, each chiseled a round hole, and on each round hole was tied a thick hemp rope of about one meter long with the same thickness and uniform material. Some of the more exquisite stone rammers are also welded into an angle frame with angle iron around the stone prism, and the iron ring of the tether is symmetrically and evenly welded around the bottom.
The so-called ramming is to invite strong laborers, generally more than nine odd numbers, to raise the stone rammer high in rhythm, and then smash it violently according to the rules, over and over again, step by step, and the process of ramming the foundation firmly.
Among the strong laborers who lift rammers, there is a more core figure, that is, the "rammer" who shouts the trumpet, and the "rammer trumpet" plays a unified rhythm, coordinates the action, infects the mood and boosts the morale in the whole process of ramming, and everyone accompanies the high-pitched, rough, passionate, and melodious rammer trumpet, with balanced force and consistent pace, and the stone ram is lifted up leisurely and easily, and the land is not biased.
"Rammer" is indeed not simple, not only to have a rounded voice, high pitched and loud, but also to be flexible and adaptable. The content of the shouting can not be the same, fixed, are the scene of the wording, mouth to pick up, usually witty and humorous, meat and vegetarian collocation, sound and emotion, just like the drum on the point, there is tension and relaxation, full of charm, the rammer and many rammers, will form a strong synergy. The rousing rammer trumpet can not only control the rhythm of the rammer, but also give heartfelt happiness, so that high-intensity physical labor is no longer boring and tedious.
The following is a very brief passage of "ramming the trumpet" for the reader to enjoy.
Leader: "Build a new house";
Leader: "Marry the bride";
Leader: "Oh, hold the grandson";
Leader: "So happy"; Crowd: Oh
Leader: "Daughter-in-law Jun"; Zhonghe: Oh Hi Hi;
Leader: "Daughter-in-law"; Zhonghe: Oh Hi Hi;
Leader: "Oh Husband"; Unity: Oh Hi Hi;
Leader: "Cat Scratches the Heart"; Crowd: Oh
Leader: "Lift up"; Crowd: Oh, Hey;
Leader: "Add a handful of oil"; Crowd: Oh hi hi;
Leader: "Lift a few rammed"; Crowd: Oh hi hi;
Leader: "Turn the corner"; Crowd: Oh oh
Leader: "Work harder"; Crowd: Oh, Hey;
Leader: "Work together"; Crowd: Oh, hey;
Leader: "There is wine to drink"; Zhonghe: Oh, hey, hey;
Leader: "Enough to drink"; Crowd: Oh, oh,
Since the early 1990s, with the popularity of the frog-type rammer, this kind of ramming scene and ramming trumpet has completely disappeared in the hometown, but the sonorous and powerful and joyful rammer trumpet has still reverberated in his heart for a long time.
Planting trumpets. It is a unique folk song in the rice cultivation culture of the Lixiahe region, which has a history of more than 1,000 years. It is a folk singing method that has been inherited from generation to generation by working people to invigorate their spirits, express their feelings, eliminate fatigue and entertain themselves. "Planting seedlings do not plant dumb seedlings", whenever it comes to planting seedlings, the sun is empty, the sun is like fire, women hunch over, facing the paddy field with their backs to the sky, bitter and tired and tired, they use the planting trumpet to express their hearts and drive away fatigue.
Its method of expression is usually in the form of lead singing plus harmony, that is, the form of "one singing crowd sum". The best planters of voice and eloquence, that is, the women who lead the trip, lead the song "Play the Trumpet", and then the crowd "shouts the trumpet". If you encounter a trumpet, there are also duets and solos. Most of the "lead singers" rhythm stretch freely, the tone is bright and melodious, the "Zhonghe" beat is regular and matched, the rhythm is sonorous, full of strong labor atmosphere, no one is not intoxicated by this "pastoral pastoral" style of moving scenes, the most impressive thing in my memory is that my mother is very good at singing "Dai Li Ge Dong Dai", that crisp voice, cheerful beat, still often lingering in the mind, but unfortunately now can not find the original score and lyrics, if the conditions at that time allowed, if the conditions at that time allowed, It's all recorded with audio and video, how perfect.
Planting the trumpet is a precious wealth of folk culture, it is rooted in the vast number of members of the masses, has a strong local atmosphere, is an indispensable part of the production and life of the members, but also reflects the spiritual pursuit of the working people an important carrier. The tune incorporates the joys and sorrows of the members of the society, and there are a large number of lyrics that reflect the rural folk customs and customs of different historical periods, and even life trivia, family ethics and historical figures. Among the many excellent works, there are many influential ones: "Uprooting Reeds and Firewood Flowers", "A Silk Thread Across the River" and so on.
Upper beam trumpet. Before the 1980s, when rural members built or renovated houses, they all had a popular "shangliang" blessing ceremony. The "upper beam" is the ceremony of masonry the gable of the house to the roof ridge, and then erecting all the wooden beams, especially the smooth erection of the middle beam. Although the customs vary from place to place, the "shangliang" ceremony is quite solemn, and the whole process can be divided into several procedures such as "sacrificial beam, upper beam, bag receiving, beam throwing, sunning beam, and hospitality".
As the name suggests, the middle beam is the beam of the roof ridge in the hall house, the selection of the "middle beam" is exquisite, the middle part of the beam of the "middle beam" should be slightly curved, and after the "middle beam" is erected in place, looking up in the hall house, you can see that the middle of the beam is slightly higher than the two ends of the beam, which means that the main family is holding his head high and standing tall, and the waist pole is hard to do things.
The date of the "Shangliang" ceremony must be selected in advance, and the main family will prepare a pair of ancient coins (usually five emperor copper coins), a pair of new red chopsticks, cut five colors of new cloth strips, and tie it to a piece of incense wood with red thread. Usually, a basket full of large steamed buns is ordered, and the steamed buns are covered with big red happy characters and placed on a bouquet. On the day of "Shangliang", the new room was pasted with big red prayers and blessings inside and out, including Zhang Shulian who wrote "Jiang Taigong is here without scruples." The "middle beam" was tied with incense wood and draped with a large red silk cloth, and the main family set up a table incense case in the new house, placed various sacrifices, and solemnly held a ceremony to sacrifice the beam. It is generally uninvited, especially those who are considered "unclean", even if they are their own families, it is absolutely forbidden to set foot in the scene of the sacrifice beam.
After the end of the sacrifice beam, the main family handed a pot of fine wine to the carpenter master fu, who poured it on each part of the middle beam, while pouring, while reciting the rhyme of the beaded cannon-like auspicious words, the main family was happy to smile, and quickly stuffed a large red packet, this ceremony is called chanting "big pouring beam". The content of the recitation of the trumpet of "The Great Pouring Beam" is basically local vernacular and colloquialisms, which are easy to understand, fluent in rhyme, and popular among the people, and a few of them are now excerpted for the reader to appreciate.
...... Pour the front eaves column first, and then pour the forbidden sorghum.
The wine is poured on both ends, and the princes are sent out from generation to generation;
Wine poured on the waist, generations of children and grandchildren wear dragon robes;
The wine pours the tail of the beam, and the generation of officials is as clear as water.
Pour it around, all the best,
Pour and pour, add joy and wealth. ......
At this time, the craftsmen use ropes to pull the "middle beam" sharply onto the gables at both ends of the hall house, and the carpenter master and the bricklayer master are separated from the two walls of the east and west of the hall house to cooperate, this procedure is called "upper beam". After adjusting the "middle beam" to the appropriate position, the main family should move the "five grain color bags" sent by relatives and friends to the middle of the beam, and drape the red cloth on the beam, which means that the grain is abundant. After that, the craftsmen wrapped the fruits, food, etc., in red cloth, shouted festive words while throwing the cloth bag into the basket held by the master's hands, this procedure is called "receiving the bag", which means to catch the treasure.
The most lively procedure of the beam ceremony is "beam throwing". When the main family "receives the bag", the craftsmen will throw candy, peanuts, steamed buns, copper coins, "gold dollar treasures", etc. from the beam to the surroundings, so that the men, women and children who come to see the liveliness compete, the more people the more the main family is happy, this procedure is called "throwing beam", which means "the source of wealth rolls in". In the "beam throwing", the craftsmen also have to say auspicious words: "Throw the beam to the east, and the east sunrise is full of red; throw the beam to the west, and the unicorn sends the son to hang the double happiness; the beam is thrown to the south, and the descendants will be the champion; the beam will be thrown to the north, and the rice hoarding will be full of wheat." After the beams are thrown, the people exit the new house and let the sun shine on the beams, a procedure called "sunning beams." Finally, the Lord's house hosts a feast for craftsmen, helpers, friends and family, a program called "hospitality."
In the 21st century, with the rapid advancement of urban-rural integration construction, there are fewer and fewer rural house-making families, and the "upper beam" ceremony and the "big pouring beam" number have gradually faded out of people's sight.
I still remember when I was a child, in order to please the candy, I was used by the adults who "did not have good intentions", taught us to use branches, smashed the red paper in the window of the newlywed marriage room, and while pounding hard, I also shouted with vigor and words, "Pound fast, raise fast, pound with a drag, and raise eighteen nests in a row." Haha, when these adults "lacked heart and eyes" didn't they?
As for the children crying at night, the adults will use red, green, and yellow paper to write the mantra of "Emperor, Emperor, Emperor of the Earth, there is a night cry in my family, passing gentlemen read it three times, sleep until the light of the sky", posted on a telephone pole or tree trunk, which is a cure for children's nighttime crying since ancient times, but whether there is an effect or not, this is unknown.
And no matter who gets the "needle stealing eye" (that is, stye swollen), it will be shouted in unison by the small partner: "Steal other people's needles, steal other people's threads, open a grocery store with your eyes", although this is just nonsense, but everyone's frolicking scene is still fresh in my memory and vividly remembered.
The sun and the moon are like shuttles, and time is like an arrow. Decades ago, the most common and popular of these "characteristic rural sounds" have gradually drifted away from us, until they will completely disappear, which is not subject to human will, we silently feel nostalgic and nostalgic at the same time, can only follow the trend, follow the trend, and strive to be a person who understands with the times.
(Some of the pictures come from the Network, infringement is deleted)
Completed on November 26, 2021