Hu Tian's wings have a long future and a new career in the grand exhibition
New Year Painting: Town House God Tiger
Year-old painting: Hokichi Ko-ja
Tiger figure in ancient Yi literature Photographed by Li Yongxiang
Yi embroidered tiger pattern Li Yongxiang photo
The tiger in Chuxiong's "Chinese Yi October Solar Calendar Cultural Park" promotes the earth sculpture Photo by Li Yongxiang
Shuangbai County Fabi Town Wheat Land Chong Yi Nationality Tiger Sheng Festival costume National Day photo
The Spring Festival is coming, the years are in Nongyin, and the zodiac sign belongs to the tiger. In the Lunar New Year, people place new hopes on the tiger, the "king of the forest", and are full of expectations for the Year of the Tiger. Tigers have a variety of symbolic meanings in Chinese culture, and also produce a variety of idioms related to tigers, such as: fierce tiger out of the mountain, such as tiger wings, dragon leaping tiger leap, living dragon living tiger, hidden dragon Crouching tiger, tiger tiger shengwei, etc., showing the Chinese culture's preference and respect for tigers.
Yunnan tiger culture and tiger worship are rich and vivid, among them, the Yi tiger culture has a long history and has formed a tiger cosmology. There is a branch of the Yi ethnic group in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province called Luo Luopo, who calls itself a tiger and takes a tiger as a totem, and not only sacrifices tigers, but also tiger festivals and tiger dances. Of course, the peoples in Yunnan who have tiger culture and tiger worship are not limited to the Yi people, almost all ethnic groups in Yunnan, including the Han nationality, have customs and cultures related to tigers, and all have myths and legends related to tigers and animal stories, which have great similarities and reflect the historical exchanges and blending of various ethnic groups.
The Tiger Cosmology and the Origin of All Things
In the rich and splendid tiger culture of Yunnan, the Yi tiger culture has formed a systematic tiger cosmology. Tiger cosmology is an important key to interpreting the historical and cultural phenomena of the Yi people, the famous Chinese history and ethnologist Professor Liu Yaohan's "New Exploration of the Source of Chinese Civilization", is to explore the history and culture of the Yi people with tiger culture as the core, he believes that Taoism, yin and yang theory, etc. are derived from the tiger cosmology, and the tiger culture of "one of the remnants of the ancient Qiangrong Tiger Fuxi clan" is put into the larger civilization threshold for discussion, which has had a profound impact on the academic community.
The tiger cosmology in the Yi epic Mei Ge. The Epic of the Yi recorded the systematic evolution of the tiger into all things. According to the "Mei Ge" (Yunnan People's Publishing House, 1978 edition) collected and translated by the Chuxiong Investigation Team of Ethnic Folk Literature in Yunnan Province, it can be seen that the Yi cosmology believes that the reason why heaven and earth are stable is because the tiger's backbone is used to support the tianxin and the tiger's foot bone to support the surrounding area. Not only that, everything in the world evolved from the body of the tiger, and after the formation of heaven and earth, there was no sun, moon, stars, clouds, etc. in the sky, and there were no rivers, seas, trees, or animals on the ground. Later, various organs on the tiger's body were used to make all things, such as using the tiger's head as the heavenly head, the tiger's tail as the earth's tail, the tiger's nose as the heavenly nose, and the tiger's ears as the heavenly ears. Use the tiger's left eye as the sun, the right eye as the moon, the tiger's whiskers as the sun, the tiger's teeth as the stars, the tiger oil as the clouds, the tiger's gas as the fog, the tiger's heart as the heavenly heart, the tiger's belly as the sea, the tiger's blood as the sea, the large intestine into the river, the small intestine into the river, the ribs as the road, the tiger skin as the ground, the hard hairs into the forest, the soft hairs into grass, the fine hairs into seedlings, the bone marrow into gold, the small bones into silver, the tiger lungs into copper, the tiger liver into iron, the tiger kidneys into grindstones, the big lice on the tiger into old buffalo, the small lice into black pigs and black sheep, the lice eggs into sheep, The scalp becomes a bird finches. The account in "Meg" shows that the tiger became everything in the universe, and vice versa, the origin of everything in the universe is closely related to the tiger.
The Yi people of Nanhua County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, are the holders of the tiger cosmology, and they call themselves "Luo Luo" (meaning "Tiger Tribe"). In the ming Dynasty Chen Jiru's "Tiger Hui" volume III: "Luo Luo, the barbarian of Yunnan, huhu is Luo Luo, and the old man is transformed into a tiger." The Loro man is called "Luo Luo Po" and the woman is called "Luo Luo". They believe that everything in the world evolved from a tiger, and not only that, but the rotation of the earth is also driven by a tiger.
Tiger worship of the Wa people. In addition to the Yi people, many ethnic groups in Yunnan have the cultural content of tiger worship, for example, the Wa people also worship tigers, they believe that the soul of tigers (and leopards) can drive away evil spirits and avoid disasters, guard the gates of the village, clean the cottages, and have strong abilities. Therefore, once upon a time the Wa people hunted tigers and leopards, they had to hold a solemn sacrifice. There is a "tiger and leopard forest" outside the village, and the garbage removed from the village should be dumped in the "tiger and leopard forest", and the tiger and leopard soul will suppress them and prevent them from harming people and animals. Among the Wa customs, there are a series of rituals for the sacrifice of tigers and leopards, as well as scriptures for sacrifice. After the sacrifice, people would put the tiger and leopard skin on the tiger and leopard frame made of wood, stand outside the gate of the village, and become the guardian deity of guarding the gate of the village (Wei Deming, "Wa Cultural History", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House). From the case of the Wa people, it can be seen that the tiger, as a cultural symbol, can ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts, it can not only suppress various evil spirits, but also be the patron saint of Wa villages. The content of tiger culture of various ethnic groups in Yunnan shows that there is a very close relationship between tiger culture, tiger belief and human social life.
Descendants of the Tiger Clan and the Tiger
Some ethnic minorities in Yunnan consider themselves descendants of the tiger. There are many tiger clan legends in their mythological stories, believing that humans were passed down from tigers, and their father was a tiger. The Yi, Lisu, Bai, Achang, etc. all have similar myths and legends.
Legend of the Yi tiger clan. Guo Sijiu's "Tiger Clan (Yi Clan)" (in the first volume of "Chinese Folk Tales Integration yunnan volume", published by the China ISBN Center), records the legend of the Tiger Clan of the Yi people: after the flood, only two brothers and sisters hiding in the gourd were left, and they were married under the guidance of the gods and gave birth to seven daughters. However, there is no one in the world, and the daughters cannot marry. One day, a big tiger came to propose to him, and of the seven daughters, the eldest six daughters were unwilling to marry the tiger, and only the seventh sister was willing. The tiger took the seventh sister back to the cave in the forest. In the cave, the tiger suddenly transforms into a handsome young man. They later gave birth to 9 sons and 4 daughters and continued to reproduce. Later, 9 sons became 9 ethnic groups, and 4 daughters also married to different places. Their descendants are all descendants of tigers, known as the Tiger Clan.
Legend of the Lisu Tiger Clan. YuCai, Guangmin, and Xin Wen collected and sorted out the "Origin of the Tiger Clan" (in "Folk Tales of the Lisu Nationality", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House) and said that in the past, there were scattered people living on the mountains along the Nu River, and tigers often appeared on the mountains. A girl lived alone in a wooden room, and one day, when she went up the hill to cut firewood, she suddenly saw a tiger coming at her, and she turned and fled. Running under a big tree, she couldn't run, and she looked back, and it wasn't a big tiger that was chasing her, but a handsome young man. Later, the girl became related to this young man who changed from a tiger, and the descendants of the children were called the tiger clan.
Legend of the Bai Tiger Clan. Zhou Tianzhong collected "Clan Origins (Bai Clan)" (in the first volume of "Chinese Folk Tales Integration Yunnan Volume", published by the China ISBN Center), in which "The Second Girl and the Tiger Clan" tells that after the flood, only AbuTi and Ayoti brothers and sisters were left in the world, and they married and gave birth to 5 daughters with the permission of the gods, but no sons. Their eldest daughter married the old bear, the second daughter married the tiger, the third daughter married the snake, the fourth daughter married the rat, and the fifth daughter married the caterpillar. During a hunt, the second girl's father, Abu Ti, shot a tiger to death, and the daughter cried and said, You shot your son-in-law to death. The children of the second girl gradually developed into a large clan, known as the Tiger Clan.
Legend of the Tiger Clan of the Achan Clan. Zhang Yaping's recording of "The Legend of the Blind Lady and the White Tiger" (edited by Cao Rong in "Achang Folk Tales", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House) tells the story of an official who gave birth to a daughter and was rejected because he was blind. After the girl grew up, the official put her on the bamboo raft, drifting down the river, the bamboo raft was blocked, the girl's eyes could not see and did not dare to go ashore, there was a white tiger living in the cave on the shore, it came to the edge of the bamboo raft, knowing that the girl could not see, he went to the mountain to find medicine to give the girl eyes, after the eyes were healed, the girl married the white tiger. The girl gave birth to three sons, and the sons knew that their father was a white tiger, found their father, and knew the reason for the incident. Later, these descendants became the Tiger Clan of the Achan clan.
The story of the Tiger clans of the Yi, Lisu, Bai and Achang ethnic groups shows that humans had a close relationship with tigers in ancient times. In the Tiger clan tribes, like the bear clan, the snake clan, the monkey clan and other clans, the history of the nation is associated with a certain animal, and these totemized animals become the object of sacrifice and worship for future generations.
Festivals and dances of tiger culture and tiger faith
Tiger festival and tiger dance. Tiger culture and tiger beliefs are presented in many ways, such as tiger festivals and tiger dances. The Tiger Sheng Festival and Tiger Dance of the Luoluo people of the Yi ethnic group in Faluo Town, Shuangbai County are typical examples. This festival is generally held between the eighth and fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The performers of the dance must dress up as tigers, imitate the tiger dance a variety of dances related to tiger myths and legends and daily life, including: tigers open roads, tiger bridges, tiger nests, tiger kisses, tigers incubate eggs, etc., but also use tigers as "bison" to plough fields, harrow fields, as well as tiger back dung, fertilization, leveling the seedlings, sowing seedlings, pulling seedlings, planting seedlings, grass seedlings, harvesting grain, etc. Why hold the Tiger Festival, there are several legends among the locals. According to a legend, the seed buck sister was carried away by the tiger, but the tiger did not hurt her, but asked to be married to her, the seed buck sister agreed, they gave birth to children, these people became the descendants of the tiger, the tiger dance is to sacrifice the ancestor of the Luo luo people - the tiger. Another legend holds that the tiger carried away (or carried) a man and a woman, but instead of harming them, they silently walked away, and this man and a woman became parents and had children, and their descendants were the Luoluo people of Maidichong Village in Falu Township, who celebrated the Tiger Festival and danced the tiger to thank the tiger. In addition, the Yi people in Nanhua County also hold a tiger festival on the same day and dance the "Eight Tiger Dance". The Yi people of Nanjian Yi Autonomous County dance the "Tigress Twelve Beast Dance" every three years on the first "Tiger Day" of the first month of the first month (Tiger Month). These festivals and dances are closely linked to tiger culture and tiger cosmology.
Some scholars believe that the Yi Tiger Festival, the Eight Tiger Dances and the Tigress Dance are "a dance to please the ancestors" (Tang Chuchen, "Chinese Yi Tigers", Yunnan People's Publishing House). Some scholars believe that it is "a traditional Chinese culture originating from the ancient tiger totem belief" (Puzhen, "The Connection between Yi Culture and Chu Culture", Yunnan People's Publishing House).
The story of tigers and other animals and their cultural significance
Tigers are born "kings of the forest", but in the folk tales of Yunnan, there are various stories of wits and courage between tigers and other animals, for example, tigers and frogs, white rabbits, roe deer, gophers, crabs, pangolins, snails, fanbirds, etc. Have stories of fighting wits and courage, and most of these struggles or competitions end in the defeat of tigers. The tiger either gave his life while failing, or sneaked back into the forest, in short, the arrogant tiger failed. Of course, these animals that wrestle with tigers have their own advantages that tigers don't have, for example, pangolins and tigers race over hills, snails and tigers compete through quagmire, and so on. This also reflects that the ancient ancestors have fully realized the limitations of the strong and the strengths of the weak, and under certain conditions, it is entirely possible to defeat the strong with the weak.
A tale of tigers and frogs. In the competition between the tiger and other animals, the story of the tiger and the frog is very famous, a big tiger and a small frog compete, the tiger always loses, the winner is always the frog, not only makes the tiger's plan to eat the frog fail, but also makes the tiger run back to the mountains. For example, in the Yi folk tale "Tiger and Frog", when the tiger saw the frog when drinking water, he wanted to eat the frog, and the frog proposed to go to the long jump competition, and let the tiger eat it if he lost, and the tiger did not eat the frog if he won. The frog lay on the tiger's tail and jumped far away while the tiger flicked its tail to win the game. After that, they compete to spit out food, the tiger spits out a little raw meat, and the frog protrudes a tiger hair. The tiger asked how he could spit out tiger hair, and the frog said that he had eaten tigers for generations, and he ate tigers in the morning, so he spit out tiger hair. The tiger was scared away as soon as he heard it (Nian Shufa collected "Tigers and Frogs", in "Lanping Folk Tales Integration", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House).
The Lisu folk tale "Race to Climb" also says that tigers want to eat frogs, but frogs must climb hills through competitions with tigers and can only eat if they win. Relying on the advantage of large numbers, frogs have arranged a lot of frogs at various points, and the tigers have desperately climbed up, seeing that all the frogs are in the lead, and the frogs have defeated the tigers (Zhu Wenyong sorted out "Race Climbing", in "Folk Tales of the Lisu People", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House). Another story of the Lisu people, "Race Across the River", is about the river crossing competition between tigers and frogs, the frog proposes to cross the river with the tiger, the frog lies on the tiger's tail, and when the tiger flicks its tail, it throws the frog to the opposite bank, and the frog says that he was sent by the mountain god to eat the tiger, not only won the competition, but also scared the tiger to escape (Tang Shihua and He Ni collected and sorted out "Race Across the River", in "Folk Tales of the Lisu People", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House). There is also a story, "Who Has More Relatives", which tells the story of frogs and tigers competing with who has more relatives. The result of the competition was that the tiger's cry did not attract much response, and the frog's cry caused the companion to respond, shaking the valley, and the tiger saw too many frogs, afraid that his eyes would really be eaten, and quietly slipped away (Si Qing sorted out "Whose Relatives Have More", in "Lisu Folk Tales", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House).
A tale of a tiger and a rabbit. In the folk tales of the Yunnan people, the stories of tigers and rabbits fighting wits and courage are also very rich. Like frog competitions, tigers always want to eat rabbits, but rabbits always recommend playing first, and tigers can only eat rabbits when they win, and they can't eat when they lose, and the result is always that rabbits win and tigers lose. In the Lisu folk tale "White Rabbit and Tiger", it tells the story of the clever white rabbit who defeated the tiger three times, the first time was that the white rabbit fell into the whirlwind cave because he evaded the tiger's pursuit, and then used a strategy to let the tiger rescue himself from the whirlwind cave, and the tiger himself could not come out of the whirlwind cave, and the white rabbit not only saved himself but also let the tiger suffer and die (Mu Jinsong collected and sorted out "The Tiger Trapped in the Whirlwind Cave", in "Lisu Folk Tales", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House). The Lisu people also have "Little White Rabbit Fighting Big Tiger" and "Jumping Tree Branch", which tell the story of tigers and rabbits competing.
A tale of tigers and cats. In some folktales in Yunnan, the relationship between cats and tigers is reflected. The story says that cats and tigers were originally good friends, but they either parted ways because of conflicts of interest, or because cats did not teach tigers to climb trees, or cats persuaded tigers not to do bad things. The Bai story "The Story of the Tiger and the Cat" says that the cat and the tiger turned out to be a good pair of brothers, inseparable. However, they often quarrel over the problem of eating, and the tiger has a large amount of food and always does not have enough to eat. Tigers want to eat animals other than their accomplices, but the cats disagree, so they part ways (Wang Lei recorded "The Story of the Tiger and the Cat", in Lanping Folk Tales Integration, Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House). The Achang animal story "Cat and Tiger" said that cats and tigers are a pair of good friends, tigers let cats teach it to climb trees, cats teach tigers to climb trees, jump down and run, tigers do not know how to come down, they also beat their hearts hard, and as a result, the tiger's waist is broken, they have a grudge, they want to find cats to settle accounts, two friends parted ways (the original pastoral record "Cats Teach Tigers to Learn Skills", Contained Cao Rong edited "Achang Folk Tales Collection", Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House).
Stories of various struggles between tigers and other animals reflect the ecological views of various ethnic groups in Yunnan. The competition between tigers and other animals is the evolutionary relationship of natural ecosystems and the process of natural selection, there is no right or wrong, the ecosystem is interlinked, and all species have existential value. Although the tiger considers itself a king, it is inseparable from other animals, the environment it inhabits, and the ecosystem. For humans, the story of the tiger is equally important, and human beings are inseparable from animals and plants, inseparable from the environment on which they live. Therefore, the story of the tiger's association with animals can be considered a sublimation of the human cognitive system.
2022 is the year of the tiger, and people's daily topics are of course inseparable from the tiger. As an integral part of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation, tiger culture will attract much attention in the Lunar Year of the Tiger.
(Author Affilications:Institute of Ethnic Literature, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences)