Catching Galaha is a traditional game activity particularly enjoyed by the Xibo and other northern ethnic minorities. There are many beautiful and interesting legends surrounding this event.
You grab one, and I grab one. The rain at the beginning of spring thaws the frozen skin, and the Jingzhe River becomes a stream again.
You catch two, I catch two. I am busy planting wheat on the Spring Equinox and Qingming Festival, and I plow open the plows during Grain Rain.
You catch three, I catch three, the beginning of summer is closely connected with Xiaoman, and all the awn seedlings are out.
You catch four, I catch four, the summer solstice cotton clothes are removed, the small and big sun is poisonous.
You catch five, I catch five. After the Beginning of Autumn, the heat will end. After beating the indigo, the sword and sickle were moving, and the white dew was still warm.
You catch six, I catch six, the grain and beans will not be cut and lost at the autumnal equinox. It's getting colder in the cold open air, and the grass and insects are worried about the frost.
You catch seven, I catch seven, the north wind is strong at the beginning of winter, the light snow and heavy snow are cold and miserable.
You catch eight, I catch eight, the winter solstice is coming. After Xiaohan, it’s the Great Cold, and every family sets off firecrackers during the New Year.
The red headband and white rouge made the girl laugh.
Looking at the Qian Pier going up to the sky, looking down at the Galaha rolling around.
Suddenly she heard a crash, and the girl was so frightened that her feet fell into the air.
Don’t be afraid, don’t jump, it turns out that the money dock hit the copper basin, and the money scattered and the copper basin overturned.
Don’t be afraid, Galaha. If you lose, I’ll ask you to take a bath. If you win, you can jump a gantry gate for me.
A thousand bows, my uncle is happy.
The rich man glared, what a stinker you are!
This is the song of the Xibo people catching Galaha. Moreover, the Xibe people also have a folklore about the origin of catching Galaha, which is-
In ancient times, we Xibe people living in the Daxingan Mountains mainly relied on hunting and fishing.
Later, the tribe tamed the captured wild horses, bison, and wild sheep, and gradually there were herds of horses, cattle, and sheep.
As the population and livestock herds continued to increase, nomadic life gradually began. About three hundred years ago, our ancestors began migrating eastward—in search of more fertile lands. I don’t know how many mountains I have climbed, how many rivers I have crossed, and I don’t know how many years I have traveled. One day, I came to a place with mountains and water and stayed. Due to long hours of hard work, people heard someone shouting loudly outside before they got up the next morning. It turned out to be an old man with white hair and a white beard floating on his chest, standing on a high place and shouting to the people in the tribe. The people in the tribe gathered around to take a look, but they didn't recognize the old man and didn't know where he came from.
I saw this old man pointing to the mountains and water, and said to the people around him:
Look, the grass here is so fresh and tender that you can’t see the edge at a glance. The animals can't finish the food.
Look, there are so many roe deer and wild deer here that you can’t even fight them all.
Look, there are fish and shrimps everywhere in the water. It’s impossible to catch them all.
Please stay here, the mountains and clear waters are beautiful here; please stay here, this is a geomantic treasure land!
The words of the old man with the white beard reached people's hearts, and everyone shouted and reveled in joy. Suddenly, the old man with the white beard raised his hand, and a ray of white light flew towards the tree next to him. It turned out to be a white bag that fell on a tree branch. Then a small white ball fell out of the pocket. The ball was as big as an eyeball, and it was still bouncing when it landed on the ground. As soon as the young guys and girls saw each other, they all rushed to grab the little white ball. You grabbed it from me, and it was very lively. Later, a tall young man grabbed the white ball. He raised the ball and shouted loudly: "Don't grab it, this ball belongs to the old man with the white beard. We have played so much, so we should give it back to him!" "When everyone looked up higher, the old man with the white beard disappeared. They saw a lot of sheep Galaha on the ground where he was standing. The elders in the tribe said: "This was given to us by Abukainduli!" The young people saw the sheep Galaha and found it interesting, so they rushed to play with it again. The young people threw the white balls and grabbed the Galaha, forgetting their fatigue and fatigue and having a great time.
After this, whenever they had free time, people would throw the ball and play Galaha.
Nowadays, Xibo people hold friendly competitions to catch Galaha every new year. The gameplay has also improved a lot since then.
The Sauron ropes of the Xibe people are all tied with Galaha. There is a reason for mentioning this.
I heard from an old man that there used to be a Xibo man named Tukesili (surname "Tong" in Xibe language) in Fushun who had three sons. The eldest brother and the second child are on the right track, but the third child is out of tune.
As A Mou (Xibo: father), I was very angry about this.
One day, he called his third son to him and asked him to go to Changbai Mountain to find a teacher and learn skills. At that time, there were many wolves and bears in Changbai Mountain, especially Siberian tigers. The third son did not dare to agree because he was afraid of being eaten by wild beasts. Ah Mou angrily ordered him, "You have to go even if you want to go, you have to go if you don't want to go. If you learn how to kill the tiger, if you don't learn how to feed the tiger, you must go."
The third child had no choice but to pack up and walk into Changbai Mountain. He walked around, crossing countless ditches and climbing over countless mountain ridges, but he still didn't meet a martial artist who could be his master. On this day, he walked to a mountain and met an old man with white hair. When the third child saw that the white-haired old man behaved unusually, he thought he was a capable person, so he talked to him and explained that he had gone to the mountains to find a teacher. Seeing that he was sincere, the white-haired old man agreed to teach him martial arts. The third child kowtowed to recognize his master, and then learned archery from the white-haired old man. What to shoot? An arrow shoots into the eye of money. Under the guidance of the white-haired old man, the third child learned quickly and hit the target with perfect accuracy, but his arm strength to draw the bow was insufficient. One day, the white-haired old man told the third child: "Little Mountain Eagle, go and shoot tigers. Shoot a hundred tigers to death and bring back a hundred tiger Galaha to meet me here." Bai After the old man said that, he disappeared. The third child knew that this was the guidance of the gods, so he really found the tiger in the deep mountains and dense forests. Every time a tiger is shot to death, a tiger Galaha is cut out with a knife. In a blink of an eye, a hundred Tiger Galaha were gathered together. On this day, he walked back to where he was, and sure enough, his master was waiting for him. The white-haired old man saw a hundred tiger galas and said with a smile: "Okay, you can become a military commander. Go to King Lao Han to join the army." After that, the white-haired old man disappeared again.
The third child listened to his master's instructions and traveled back to his hometown, saying goodbye to his parents and brothers. He really joined the army and attacked the Ming army with King Han. Later, he made countless military exploits, and King Han called him Brother Shanyin (Xibo: good young man). Later, the third child suffered misfortune when he rescued King Han's little Lihua. King Han tied a Sauron rope to Xiaolihua. To commemorate the third child, a Xibo hero, he tied a tiger Galaha to the Sauron rope. When the people of Xibo saw that King Han had done this, they also tied up Galaha. But the common people did not have so many tiger Galaha, so they used sheep Galaha instead.
Perhaps because catching Galaha is a game and entertainment that is very popular among men, women, old and children of the Xibe people, there are many related folklore. Another example is "The Legend of Catching Galaha".
According to legend, the old Han king Nurhachi led the Eight Banners soldiers to fight against the Ming army and won a great victory in Sarhu. King Han ordered the slaughter of pigs and sheep, and rewarded the officers and soldiers with large amounts of wine and meat. But when it came time to start the banquet, many flag soldiers had not arrived. Even among the officers and soldiers who came, there were still many officers and soldiers holding wine bowls, with their heads hanging down, staring at the mountain of meat and vegetables on the case. King Han was puzzled, what was going on? He asked Batulu, the steward next to him. Batulu cast his eyes around the tent, patted his shiny forehead, and whispered in the ear of King Han: "Your Majesty, the New Year is about to begin. Isn’t there a saying that you should miss your loved ones more during the holidays? I see that these flag soldiers who don’t eat or drink must be homesick and thinking about their wives and children.” King Han nodded and asked again. : "Then is there any way to relieve everyone's worries and boredom and make everyone happy?" Batulu rolled his eyes a few times, patted his forehead and said: "There is a way, I don't know what the prince sees. It’s over, can you let everyone play like this?” With that said, Batulu accompanied King Han out of the camp and rode towards Xibo Camp.
When I got off my horse outside Xibo Camp, I saw officers and soldiers lined up to greet me. I saw bright flags and numerous swords and guns, which looked very mighty. King Han signaled Batulu and the Xibo camp leaders not to disturb the officers and soldiers in the camp.
They walked through the two camp doors woven with tree strips and entered the tent.
I saw the officers and soldiers gathered in one place, forming a large circle on three floors inside and outside, as if they were watching some Western scene. The officers and soldiers were laughing and chatting, it was really lively, but no one noticed anything unusual. Wang and others come in.
King Han and the others crowded into the crowd of Xibo officers and soldiers without making a sound. On the felt spread on the ground, there were scattered large pieces of Galaha from slaughtering pigs and sheep. A Xibo soldier knelt on the felt and shouted "Qi". Following the word "Qi", he stuck it on the Throw the iron ball upwards from the palm of your right hand, then reach back to grab some Galaha scattered on the felt, and then catch the falling iron ball with your hand, and there are people beside it to calculate the winner and loser. The officers and soldiers of Galaha took turns to catch Galaha one by one. Their hands and eyes cooperated with each other, their waists twisted, and they danced as if they were dancing "Sama". It was very beautiful. King Han was attracted as he watched it. He thought this gameplay was quite fresh and interesting. He scratched his ears and cheeks, he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, and his heart was itching. Unknowingly, he squeezed in and started playing scratching Galaha with the Xibo officers and soldiers.
Nurhaci had a great time playing with the Xibo officers and soldiers. The more he played, the more he loved to play, and the more he played, the happier he became. He felt that once he started catching Galaha, he could get rid of all the unpleasant things. Throw it behind your neck. Therefore, during the holidays and during breaks in combat, he played the game of catching Galaha with the Eight Banners officers and soldiers in the camp. Give rewards to those who win, and rewards to those who lose. It's strange to say that since the Eight Banners officers and soldiers started catching Galaha for fun, during the New Year, they almost no longer missed their families and homes, wandered outside, and violated military discipline by flirting with women. From then on, the military morale was high and morale was greatly boosted.
Legends are not believed in history after all. The occurrence of folk game activities such as catching Galaha is predicated on the material conditions and practical needs on which it is formed, and is directly related to people's production and life needs.