In Yaozhai, a Zhuang township in Funing County, Yunnan Province, there are some old banyan trees or other big trees around almost every village, all of which are over 100 years old. Up to now, these ancient trees have thick trunks, lush branches and leaves, and are called "sacred trees" and "dragon trees" by the masses. The place where it grows is called "social god". Some trees are covered with small temples, some have three smooth stones, and some have only one incense burner, which is also called "Tree God" or "God", which is called "Mei Exhaustion" in Zhuang language, "Sa You" in Yao language and "Ye Bei" in Yi language. A mountain forest around Zhai Shengshu is called "Zhailin, Longlin and Fengshui Forest". People living in the village should choose an auspicious day to worship under the tree at the turn of spring and summer every year, in order to bless the whole village with abundant crops, prosperous people and livestock and avoid disasters. ...
This custom of totem worship is a primitive religion that combines the worship of nature and ancestors. Plant totem worship originated from ancient primitive natural religion is also the beginning of forest protection tradition. Legend has it that dragons have a great influence on totem worship. According to "Tongzhi", "Fu came from the end of the river because he was negative about the dragon and the horse, so the official remembered the dragon, but he was a dragon teacher ... He ordered the amphibious family to be a navy division, rich in vegetation and dredging the source, and firewood was not idle at that time." The "amphibious division" may be an official who managed forestry in the legendary Dragon Totem era. With the changes of society, clouds, fire, water, dragons and birds are symbols of totems. These totem worship not only have signs, but also have a set of worship rituals and taboos.
Totem worship is a conscious activity of human beings. Ancient people loved nature. They believe that trees shed their leaves in autumn, sleep in winter, revive in spring, their roots extend to hell, and their crowns rise to the sky, connecting heaven and earth with the underworld. They are the embodiment of gods beyond nature and the symbol of mankind and the universe. Therefore, in order to worship the sacred tree and bless peace, every village holds one or two sacrificial activities every year. Han people call it "offering sacrifices to Longshan" and "offering sacrifices to the village head"; Zhuang people call it "waves"; Yao people call it "offering sacrifices to the gods"; Yi people call it "karma". Most of them are presided over by the elders in the village and take turns to be responsible. Each household raised funds to buy livestock, wine and vegetables, and led the whole village (some yards only went to one person) to clean the forest land under trees, slaughter livestock, offer wine and meat, and kowtow to worship. Participants shouted and prayed with the elders in the village: "Tree God! Your head is in the sky, your feet are on the ground, so that everyone in this village can be safe, the weather is good, the crops are abundant, and the six animals are prosperous, avoiding disasters ... "After the sacrifice, the slaughtered pigs and chickens are distributed according to households, and then symbolically eaten under the tree to show their reunion with the tree god. Everyone thinks that if we can taste the food sacrificed to the tree god, we can avoid disaster and be safe. It is also stipulated that during the three days of sacrificial activities, it is not allowed to burn a fire or break ground on the mountain. If there is any violation, it will be responsible for all the animal and food expenses of the sacrificial activities.
Not only that, in the long river of history, people of all ethnic groups in the county have formed some unique customs in the forest during thousands of years of farming and mulberry activities. These customs not only have sincere blessings, but also have feelings of planting trees and loving forest protection.
Planting "fruit trees" and "wedding trees": In some villages, planting "fruit trees" and "wedding trees" has a long history. When a woman is pregnant with a child, the family carefully cultivates several fir, pine or Chinese toon trees in front of the house or in the corner of the field. These trees will belong to the children after they are born. May trees grow with people. Men marry women and cut down a few trees to make cabinets; When building a new house, cut it into "red beams"; When you get old, cut it into a coffin for later use. Raise a "life-saving tree": Some cottages also raise an evergreen forest near the village as a "life-saving tree". When anyone gives birth to a child, the midwife will bury the "mother cell" (placenta) under the tree to show that the child and the tree share the same fate and grow up and live together. Everyone cares for this forest, and every family manages and nurtures it. Worship the "michel platini Tree": Some cottage customs, when raising children, in order to eliminate disasters and take refuge, live a hundred years. Parents prepare sacrifices, take their children to Longshan Woods, worship a big tree for michel platini, and pray for the holy tree to protect children from disasters, relieve pain and illness, and live a hundred years like a big tree. Planting "cool trees": Some cottages are at mountain passes or fork roads, protecting or cultivating one or several trees with shady green leaves as places for walking, working, tying horses and grazing to rest and enjoy the cool. Planting "village trees": planting one or several evergreen trees beside the village or in the center of the village as a place for gathering elders, discussing villagers' affairs or auspicious and festive festivals in the village, or chatting in the morning and evening.
In addition, there are also customs that use trees as symbols to indicate taboos, directions, good luck, good news, unmarried, fixed objects, exorcism and so on. Insert a few branches in the corner of the field or in the middle of the field, indicating that the seeds have been planted and bred, and it is forbidden to spoil people, livestock and poultry; Place a branch at the fork in the road to guide the backward companions; Hang grapefruit branches and leaves on both sides of the door to ward off evil spirits and declare that there are parturients at home; Stick calamus and mugwort leaves on the door of the Dragon Boat Festival, and spray realgar wine inside and outside the house to ward off evil spirits; When a group of young people accompanied the suitors to propose to the girl, the unmarried people held branches on their heads, so that the women could get to know each other and meet tomorrow.
The "Tree Sacrifice to God" and "Longshan Sacrifice" in Yaozhai, Zhuang Township, Funing County are not only common, but also quite primitive. It is said that when all ethnic groups in the county first moved to remote mountainous areas to settle down, people relied on the forest environment to "build trees and nest" and "eat oak chestnuts" and used forest vegetation to thrive, which was the source of people's life and shelter. Therefore, people love and respect trees and have an indissoluble bond with them. They regard them as the patron saint of the whole village and a symbol of happiness and hope.
There are no trees in the village, people don't live long, food is not abundant, the family is not prosperous, and the village is restless for a long time. This is the basic reason why people love and worship trees. As a continuation of this tradition of offering sacrifices to trees, no one dares to cut down a branch even without firewood, and no one dares to use it as firewood when the branch breaks or withers. No one dares to pick up leaves, not a single plant or tree in Fiona Fang is allowed to move for hundreds of meters, nor do they dare to put pigs, chickens, cows and horses into the "sacred forest", let alone urinate and spit under the sacred tree. If you violate it, you will offend the "holy tree" and suffer misfortune. In this way, it has been handed down from generation to generation, and the custom of honoring "holy tree", "dragon tree" and "fengshui forest" has been handed down, adding various mysterious colors. People regard the age and lush foliage of the "holy tree" as a sign of the rise and fall of the village. The older a tree is, the longer it lives. Flourishing branches and leaves, wealth will flourish. This is a superstition, but it reflects the understanding and reverence for the importance of natural ecology, and it is a valuable insight.
Today, the reason why many villages still preserve the Feng Shui forest, which makes the villages tree-lined, beautiful scenery and fresh air is the result of this totem worship of village rules and regulations. Some trees are rare ancient and famous trees, which are the best in forestry in China and even in the whole province. For example, a tree growing in front of palestinian village River Village in Zhesambien is over 500 years old, with a height of more than 30 meters, DBH 1.86 meters and a crown width of1.4 meters. Because people protect it as a "sacred tree", it is still perfectly tall and dry, with lush foliage, beautiful, simple and robust. A Metasequoia glyptostroboides, 120 years old, 22 meters high and DBH 93 cm, grows next to Longshan Land Temple in Mengcun, Gui Dynasty, which is the highest in Yunnan. An octagonal tree, growing next to Xinhuapo Village, is 22 meters high, 64 centimeters in diameter at breast height and 63 square meters in crown. Although the age of the tree has reached 180 years, the yield per plant still reaches 250 kg, which is the highest among the Illicium verum trees in China and is known as the "king of Illicium verum". A flat peach tree growing in Monong Village, Guichao, with a height of 23 meters, a DBH 1.87 cm, a crown width of 483 square meters, a tree age of more than 250 years, and a yield per plant of 1000 kg, is the highest in Yunnan. These are precious heritages left by the sacrifice to the "sacred tree" in Yaozhai, Zhuang township.
The folk activity of offering sacrifices to the sacred tree and Longshan in Yaozhai Village, Zhuang township is a primitive religion that advocates nature. Although it is superstitious and idealistic, because the trees it worships are regarded as "gods", people are psychologically fascinated by this sacred tree, which has been passed down from generation to generation for a long time, adding a more mysterious color to the protected trees, objectively protecting these ancient trees and doing a good thing for future generations. This is probably the value of the forestry custom of "offering sacrifices to dragon trees" and "protecting Feng Shui forest". People should carry forward good customs and the spirit of respecting and protecting the natural ecology.