Gently shake your elm cradle,
Sleep peacefully, the sun smiling for you,
Gently shake your willow cradle,
Sleep peacefully, Mom is by your side, ...
This is a lullaby that has been sung for a long time by the Daur people.
The Daurs used the "Darid" (i.e., cradle) when raising their babies, which most families used to have. Although the use of cradles is common, it is very deliberate in production. It is necessary to ask a carpenter with a kind heart, a decent person, and a skilled craftsman to make it, and think that the cradle of such a person's production can be used in a down-to-earth and safe heart. And cradle makers are better off having more brothers and sisters or more children. The material of the cradle of the zhou bang, pay attention to from the dense thick plum jungle, choose its trunk bent to the direction of the rising sun thick plum tree, a separate thick plum tree or a thick plum tree that has been struck by lightning and blown by the wind and fallen down can not be selected. It is believed that it is difficult for a single tree to shelter from the wind and rain, and with this kind of tree as a material, the children in the cradle will love to cry, and choose trees from the bushes as materials, and the children in the cradle will be healthy, and there will be many brothers and sisters, and they can take care of each other.
"Darid" is about 1 meter long, its weekly gang height of more than 6 cm, divided into "U" shape of the head part and limb part, the two parts of the weekly gang with deer tendons or leather fixed, the head part of the weekly gang tilted into a certain angle, convenient for children to lie down comfortably. The lower side of the head is sewn with "Darrid Heko", that is, the cradle head lining. It is to take several layers of thick cloth in a semicircle and a black deerskin (or black velvet cloth) cut out of the semicircle hole, sewn and nailed to the cradle around the gang, and then sewn on it, embroidered with flowers and grasses or ascending cloud curls, or with the symmetrical circular pattern of bats, the round symmetrical "Fu", "Xi" and other Chinese character patterns. The lower edge of the head lining hangs horizontally with a 3 cm wide soft deerskin tassel called the "Shaal". The limb part is underneath the perimeter with a wooden wedge nailed to a lighter poplar board as the base plate. After the cradle is formed, various patterns are painted on the outside of the cradle gang, among which the middle of the head circumference is a cloud curl pattern similar to the shape of the ear, called "Zik Ilga", and a continuous pattern slightly like a "bow" shape is painted on the upper and lower edges of the Zhou Gang, called "Horluu Ilga". The Zhou Bang also paints several diamond-shaped, circular and continuous individual patterns. Brush a layer of tung oil on top to keep the pattern from fading and wood antiseptic.
The cradle head part of the middle of the gang curved wicker, covered in gauze to prevent mosquito fly bites from falling on the child's face, on both sides hang three to five strings of ten jade beads, small shells, copper coin pimps, at the bottom hang horizontally there are more than twenty deer leg small bones or pheasant leg bones of the ringer, called "Kassler Vault". With the pull of the cradle, the ringer rhythmically knocks on the baseboard, and the sound is crisp, urging the child to enter the sweet dreamland. When using a cradle, hang it on a beam in the center of the house with a deer-necked belt. Pull the belt at the tail of the cradle, and the cradle is like a small boat, swaying back and forth in the air.
When the Daur people use cradles, they are also very particular about the things that wrap children. On the lowest level, a pillow with buckwheat skin is placed on the head and a thin cotton mattress is placed on the limb part. On a thin cotton mattress is a dustpan-like urine pad made of thin birch skin, called "Qiu Kuoqi". Put a cloth bag mattress with buckwheat skin on top. On top of it is a large cloth wrapped around the child, called "Ne ri carved". Place a double-layered long cloth about 20 cm wide and wrap your child's hands. Place a rectangular cloth about 60 cm long and wide in a diamond shape, wrapped around the child's legs and feet. Two thin layers of peach-shaped birch skin membrane are placed on top of it, which is used to pad the child's defecation. After wrapping the child, cover it with a long small quilt embroidered with a flower and bird pattern. Finally, a deerskin several feet long is worn through the five leather strips on the base plate of the cradle and the child is tied into the cradle. The child's bedding can be increased or decreased according to the season.
The Daur people generally put the cradle in the ten days after the birth of the child, believing that the hands and feet of the child who used the cradle would grow straight. During the day, the child should also be removed from the urine pad at the right time to let the child relax. Take the child off at night and sleep next to the mother. After the child can walk, the cradle is no longer used.
Some people's homes do not have a cradle for a while, and they can borrow it from relatives and friends. People are willing to borrow the cradle of many children's families. Before use, the cradle needs to be placed on a charcoal fire and smoked, called "Hotbe". When you use up the borrowed cradle and return it to the owner, you should put some soba noodle cakes, sugar cubes or two or three feet of cloth, and some tobacco leaves in the cradle to show your gratitude. The Daur people are very loving and loving of the cradle, pay attention to the generations, a cradle can be used for sixty years.
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Source: China Daur Network, Molidava Lecture Hall