One of the most common ways for people to ask for children is to fake gods and idols in charge of fertility, such as Bi Xia Yuan Jun, Songzi Guanyin, Lady Jinhua, descendants and Zhang Xi 'an, and build temples and shrines for them. Children who are sent to beg by others. For example, ask a local mage to be a child finder, hoping to pray for his son from his master's desk. Qiu Zi Yike has a long history. Taoism has spread to this day, and there are various factions. The most representative one is the yellow museum of ancient secret arts.
Another common custom is that relatives or special people symbolically "bid farewell" to families and women who are looking forward to having children. The first thing is to send something. It is said that women can get pregnant soon after eating it. For example, Guizhou Mid-Autumn Festival has the custom of stealing melons to send children. Secondly, send some mascots with the meaning of having many children and grandchildren, such as "children's lanterns", "Kirin sending children pictures", 100 grains in pockets, melons and fruits, etc. Sexual reproduction worship and sexual behavior imitating witchcraft
That is, in a sacred time, place and occasion, worship a certain reproductive symbol and imitate coitus. For example, there is a custom of throwing stones at children in many parts of our country, that is, women begging for children throw stones at caves in the mountains. It is said that if you leave them, you will get pregnant, and the cave is regarded as the vulva where the baby is born. Swimming in the lamp looking for a child.
There are lantern-watching activities in Chaoshan in the first month, especially midnight snack. "Deng" is homophonic with "Ding" in Chaozhou dialect. Therefore, people don't know how many wishes they have placed on the "lamp", because it is a question of whether a family incense can be passed down. Chaoshan proverb "there are lanterns, and thousands of people are born at home;" Without running lights, the family would be extinct. "That's what I mean. Therefore, every time there is a "hot day" in towns and villages (when the old man is born), people will take the initiative to March all the way to the ancestral hall when the old man walks at night, and hold the lantern high after the old man sits down, in order to prosper. Especially families that have never given birth to boys are more keen on this.
Pray to God.
Boys are preferred to girls in Chaoshan area. If the wife is a girl or there is no boy, the husband will build an "old man" in the new palace temple in the village. After entering the palace, he will try his best to fight for the "old man" in order to get the pity and love of the "old man" and give it to his son as soon as possible. Some husbands volunteered to sign up to carry a sedan chair for the gods when they were in the village, paying attention to the gods, hoping to get their mercy and give birth to boys.
Mazu was born on March 23rd of the lunar calendar. In many places in Chaoshan, villagers will go to the mother palace (Tianhou Palace) to worship, and then carry Mazu for a trip. At this time, those who are married and childless are the most enthusiastic. They think that if they can make a sedan chair for Mazu, they can get Mazu's blessing. Those who can't afford to help Mazu's sedan chair just stand by and wait for Mazu's sedan chair to pass by, feeling Mazu's sedan chair, thinking it was stained with light. People think that Mazu is not only a god of the sea, but also a god who gives children.
Guanyin is also a god for children to worship. Because it is said that Guanyin in Chaozhou Biefeng Ancient Temple and Lufeng Xuanwu Mountain Temple is very effective, many infertile women go there to worship every year.
Besides praying to the gods in the temple, the kitchen god at home is also the object of prayer. For example, in Da Lian, Tuwei and other villages in Jieyang City, after the Dragon Boat Festival, young men who are married but have no sons will come forward to take some dragon boat beards home and let "Si Gongming" (the kitchen god) come out as soon as possible. A red note "Kirin is here" is often hung on the bedside of Chaoshan folk newlyweds, which also means early birth. The ancients believed that Kirin was a kind beast and a symbol of good fortune. They think that if people are kind, they can have children by worshipping Kirin.
Tuomengbuzi
The annual Double Ninth Festival is the birthday of Xianweng in Lianhua Mountain, Chenghai. On this day, in addition to Chenghai, there are good men and women in Raoping, Chaoan and other neighboring places who go to worship devoutly and tirelessly. Sleep at the top of the mountain at night, hoping to get a gift from Xian Weng in the dream and fulfill his wish. These loyal men and women, many of whom are infertile after marriage, dream. There are also some interesting legends circulating among the people. Legend has it that there are two village women who have been married for many years and have no children, so they went up the mountain to dream. As a result, the two men dreamed that Gong Xian would write a word "nothing" for them. One of the literate women was very depressed when she learned that she had no children in her life. Another illiterate woman, although she didn't understand the meaning, understood it from the glyph. Gong Xian drew her an autumn melon shed with four autumn melons hanging under it, indicating that she would have four children, so she was very happy. The literate woman laughed and said that she misunderstood fairy tales and made wild guesses. But it was later discovered that literate women had no children all their lives, while illiterate women had four children. Visiting temple fairs is a large-scale folk ritual activity for children and grandchildren in Heilongjiang Province.
Throughout the year, on the eighth, eighteenth and twenty-eighth day of each month, people go to Laoye Temple and Niangniang Temple to burn incense and kowtow, begging for children and grandchildren, but the day with the largest number of participants and the most solemn and lively scene is April 18 every year.
On this day, men, women and children get up early, cook, eat and freshen up, then make an appointment with their neighbors, find a western house, form a gang, bring their wives and belts, and go to the temple fair.
People think it's best to visit temple fairs by visiting big temples and famous temples. And famous temples are not everywhere. In order to visit famous temples, some people go to famous temples from dozens or hundreds of miles away with incense, so as to realize their wishes for their children and grandchildren or other aspects. Of course, some people don't want children and grandchildren, just want to be happy.
Go to the old temple first, because there is a custom of son preference in the necromancer, and there must be son preference in the underworld, so they dare not go against the sky. If the order of worship is wrong, the effect may be bad or even counterproductive. But people think that visiting temple fairs to ask for children and grandchildren is to ask for children and grandchildren from the empress, not from grandpa, who will not have children. Therefore, when visiting the temple fair, on the surface, it is a respect for grandpa, but in fact it is more pious to the empress. Why do you see it? Because although people went to the old temple first, they seemed to report there. After burning incense, ringing bells and kowtowing, they hurried to Niangniang Temple. Some people go to the old temple without even lighting incense, so they ring the bell and kowtow and leave. Therefore, although people came and went in front of the old temple, it was soon deserted and not lively at all.
The Niangniang Temple Conference is very lively, with traffic in front and children outside the temple. People burn incense, kowtow, make wishes and donate money, which is both pious and emotional. People think that only in this way can the queen be happy, manifest herself, bless herself and get her wish. People think that worshipping God and worshipping Buddha is spiritual, so they dare not fool the immortals.