Author: Feng Zhijun He used to be the third secretary and second secretary of the embassy in Burkina Faso, the first secretary and deputy director of the cadres department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the deputy director of the Africa department, the counselor of the embassy in Niger, and the ambassador to the Republic of Burundi.
Burundi is a small, mountainous country located in the east-central part of the African continent. The customs formed in its unique natural environment are unique.
01 The folk style is strange
Residence
View of the Burundian countryside
Burundi is mountainous and is known as the "Land of a Thousand Mountains". Farmers are scattered across thousands of hilltops across the country. The farmhouse's house is called "Rugo", similar to the Chinese courtyard house. Each farm has its own yard, usually surrounded by plants such as tropical shrubs or cacti, and a conical hut in the courtyard, with a front yard for people and cattle and sheep in the backyard. When the children grow up, their parents build some small huts for them in a corner of the courtyard. When the boys grow up and get married, their parents build new "Lugo" on the slopes of the nearby hills so that they can set up a new portal to live in.
born
The birth of a baby is a great event, especially for boys, and the joy and joy of the celebration is expressed in the atmosphere and scale of the celebration. The first celebration is to introduce the newborn to the whole family, and the second is to name the baby. If twins are born, the celebration is even more lively. Celebrations usually take the form of inviting relatives and friends to the house for a drink (without eating). Guests congratulate the baby and congratulate their parents, but gifts are not required.
family education
Like many other African countries, Burundi's rural areas are mostly poor and backward, and children's education is mainly through storytelling and taboo talking. Every evening, the family sits around the fire, and the grandfather or father tells the child stories and taboos. In Africa, oral tradition is an important way to pass on the culture of ancestors. In Burundi, oral tradition, practiced from generation to generation, is a treasure trove for the preservation of traditional culture and an important means of social education. Its content is rich and colorful, describing historical changes, political scenes, production skills, religious beliefs, medical knowledge, customs and habits, dynastic etiquette, etc. Its forms are also diverse, with poetry, prose, aphorisms, riddles and other genres.
Marriage
In Burundian tradition, the marriage of children is generally carried out by their parents. But with the development of society, most people choose to tie the knot in free love, especially in large and small towns.
The marriage procedure includes a dowry and a wedding.
Dowry: After the marriage is basically completed, the man's parents will go to the woman's home to give the dowry. Both parents gather, and the man's parents announce the completion of the affair in public. According to the financial conditions of the respective families, the previous dowry generally included beads, cattle, sheep, hoes or other objects. At present, there is no legal provision for dowry, but the phenomenon of receiving dowry in the private sector is still widespread.
Weddings: According to convention, on the wedding day of men and women, some ceremonies and activities are generally held. First of all, both parties must register with the county and city governments and complete the legal procedures for marriage. Then, go to the church for a religious ceremony, attended by parents, relatives and friends on both sides. Finally, a grand wedding celebration was held in the groom's family. In the countryside, guests are entertained with banana beer and cold drinks, relatives and friends toast each other, and then the wedding attendees sing and dance, which is lively until late at night. During this period, the girls who gave the wedding hid the bride and quietly took her into the cave room. In the city, newlyweds first hold a wedding reception, inviting guests from all walks of life. At the reception, parents on both sides have a habit of speaking, and in addition to expressing congratulations, they also announce how many gifts to give to the bride and groom. It is customary for the woman's father not to attend the ceremony. This is followed by a dinner party to which a small number of close relatives are invited. After the meal, a dance party was held, and everyone was welcome to attend and danced until the early hours of the next morning. Drinks and food are not served at the prom.
According to ancient tradition, newlyweds generally abstain from physical activity for the first month and are provided with food and drink by the bride's family. With the development of the times, these customs in the countryside have changed a lot. After marriage, the newlyweds do not work on the first day. From the next day, they will work in the fields with their families. In addition, according to custom, the bride generally returns to her mother's house after a certain period of time, and the general principle is to depend on the situation. In the short period of three or five months, if the bride has adapted to her new life in her in-laws' house, she can return to her mother's house to visit; It lasted for more than a year, and she did not return to her mother's house until she gave birth to her first child. When a bride returns to her mother's home for the first time, her parents give gifts, usually cattle in the countryside and money or other valuables in the city. Since then, through the exchange of gifts and frequent visits, the relationship between the two families has become more and more warm.
Funeral
Bereavement: In Burundi, mourning is generally done by neighbors and friends. When someone dies of illness or unfortunately dies, friends and neighbors come to help. Some reported the mourning to the relatives and friends of the deceased, some arranged the aftermath with the family of the deceased, and some accompanied the close relatives of the deceased to guard the soul.
Burial: Generally, the deceased is buried on the day of his death. In rural areas, due to economic difficulties, coffins are not used, and the corpse is usually wrapped in a cloth sheet, and then buried on a straw mat. In the city, people with the conditions have begun to practice coffin burial. According to custom, when encountering hearse on the road, oncoming pedestrians must stand upright, vehicles should stop, and cars behind should not overtake to show condolences to the deceased, and wait for them to pass before walking.
Bereavement: The mourning period is generally one week after burial. During this period, due to the excessive grief of the deceased's family, they generally did not work, and were sent food and drink by relatives and friends. A week later, the funeral part ended, relatives and friends came to visit, and Pingsu and the deceased had a good relationship to send some money to their families to show their support for their lives. Whether the funeral is over or not generally depends on the sex and age of the deceased, ranging from three or five months to six months or one year. After the funeral, the family of the deceased arranges a large gathering and invites the visiting relatives and friends to drink beer to express their gratitude. At the same time, everyone gathered to discuss and deal with the distribution of property and the debts left behind by the deceased. If the deceased is the head of the family, participants should also discuss and determine their successor.
02 Plain manners
The people of Burundi are characterized by hospitality. Whether in the town or the countryside, if a family holds a happy event, even if the passer-by does not know the owner of the family, if there is a sign of congratulations, you can be warmly received by banana beer. The person asked for directions will never encounter a cold reception, and the person asked always has to give a satisfactory reply, and sometimes even stops what he is doing, walks a few miles, and guides the seeker to his destination.
Burundians are sincere and helpful. To make the guests happy, the host is often able to give everything in the house, even sharing the last banana. Whenever foreign leaders visit, the host always arranges a warm welcome scene. In the cheerful drumbeat, a group of women dressed in full costume twisted their bodies, sang and danced, and danced enthusiastically, and the scene was suddenly lively, making the visitors feel cordial.
Burundians value neighbourliness and believe that "distant relatives are better than close neighbours". When something happens in the neighborhood, people generally help each other with all their might. During the New Year's holiday, people first congratulate their neighbors; If you have good sake, you must first invite your neighbors to taste it together. In Burundi, beer is drunk differently, using neither a cup nor a bowl, but several people sitting around a clay pot and sucking in it with hollow plant stalks. Immediately after each drink, the straw so that the remaining wine does not flow back into the can.
In rural areas, neighbors have the right and duty to discipline each other's children. If a child does something bad, the neighbor adults will teach him a lesson or even whip him, and he will not be blamed by the child's parents.
Burundians also have a habit of celebrating housewarming. Once moving into the new home, loved ones and neighbours greet and give gifts, and the host gives them a warm and friendly reception, and sometimes prepares meals for them.
Burundians are very polite. Once a collision occurs in a public place, both parties will say "sorry" and "please forgive" to each other, so spats rarely occur. As for the phenomenon of fights and brawls that occur in the streets, it can be said that it is rare. The greetings of Burundians are very interesting: there is a handshake with guests, men and women are not taboo; But when juniors shake hands with their predecessors, subordinates with superiors, and ordinary people with officials, in order to show respect, the former leans forward, supports his right elbow with his left hand, and gently shakes the latter with his right hand, appearing very humble and polite; If it is an acquaintance or close friend who has not seen each other for a long time, they gently hug each other and pat each other's shoulders and backs to show affection, regardless of gender.
Burundians respect elders. Most of the officials who settle in the capital return to the interior provinces to spend the festive season with their families on New Year's holidays or weekends. In rural areas of the interior, rural people always greet foreigners with friendly greetings and extend three fingers (index finger, middle finger, ring finger) to pay tribute, meaning "unity, labor, progress". Burundians have a habit of opening gifts from friends in front of their guests and then displaying them either immediately in the living room or wearing them on their bodies at the next meeting as a sign of courtesy and cherishment.
03 Song and dance
Burundians, like people in other African countries, love to sing, dance and have fun. It is common for one person to lead the singing, and everyone is harmonious, and more than a dozen young men and women dance and sing. The main dances are Drumming, Indore, Imisambi.
invigorate
Drumming is a traditional folk dance most loved by the Burundian people. Once upon a time, the drum was a symbol of the dynasty, and the drumming was designated as a court dance. With the decline of the dynasty and the progress of the times, this dance has now become a form of entertainment for the people. When holding a festival or welcome event, an inspirational performance should be organized. Africans love drumming, but the way Burundians play drums is different from other African countries and has its own characteristics.
The performers are old, middle, young, all male, dressed in white or green and white robes, wearing beaded belts on their heads and arms, and big drums on their heads, and trotting on the stage while beating. After taking the stage, the dancers form a semicircle, lower the big drum, and begin the performance. To the classical rhythm, the drummer takes turns performing in a variety of movements and postures, sometimes spinning and flying, sometimes volleying, sometimes accompanied by shouting or singing. The rhythm of the encouragement is strong, like thunder rumbling, shaking the earth, the agility of the performers, coupled with the bursts of joyful singing, added a cheerful atmosphere to the scene and made the audience very infected. The rough style of inspiration fully shows the joyful, resolute and bold character of the Burundian nation, which is very popular with the people and is regarded as the pride of the nation.
Indore
Indore, a transliteration of the local word "intore", is a "war dance". One or twenty male actors with thatched heads and beaded belts on their foreheads, bare or crossed ribbons on their upper bodies, animal skins or grass skirts around their lower bodies, bells tied around their chests and ankles, spears in one hand and shields in the other, perform dances to the whistle or password of an elder. The dance has a bright and joyful rhythm and sonorous movements, showing the heroic courage of ancient heroes before and after their expeditions.
Imi Sambi
Imisambi, also a transliteration of the local word "imisambi", is a light and beautiful dance. During the performance, a group of young girls dressed in full costume, accompanied by light music, flew into the stage. They imitate the movements of the East African pearl-crowned crane waiting for the bird, singing and dancing, elegant and moving. I was an actor in the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe who learned this dance and named it "Crane Dance" when I performed it.
Ancient African musical instruments
In general, Burundians are mostly able to sing and dance, and parties tend to be fun from late afternoon to late at night. Another cultural recreation for Burundians is to sit around a campfire at night in a quiet mountain village and listen to the elderly use the "indigiti" (a bow-shaped instrument made of wooden bars and gourds), the "inanga" (a musical instrument shaped like a lute made of wooden boards and ox tendons), the "indonongo" (huqin), "umvironge" (piccolo) and other national instruments, playing and singing. Just like the "commentary" or "big drum" in mainland opera art, it not only narrates ancient history, legends, myths, but also tells the philosophy of life, and also sings the scenes of people's life and production, showing the people's thoughts, feelings, wishes and demands. Burundians call this literature the "soul of Burundi" and are living materials for the study of Burundian society.
(Note: This article was originally published in the book "Chinese Ambassador Tells African Stories" published by World Knowledge Press in 2013.) ）
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Article Source |"Selected Essays of Old Diplomats"
Author | Feng Zhijun Picture | Internet
Edit | The diplomat said something Qingyan