The marriage system implements monogamy. Usually arranged by parents, engaged since childhood; Aunt doesn't get married, and the same family doesn't get married. "Appropriate" classes have become a habit. Hiring money often requires a few cows and a lot of money.
Dress
In terms of clothing, women wear a bun at the back of their heads, tie them with bone needles, embroider headscarves, unbutton their clothes and open their chests. In some places, they wear "halter tops" and skirts. Most women like to wear earrings, collars and bracelets, and some still keep the habit of tattooing and tattooing. Men wear manes, some on their foreheads, some on the back of their heads, wrapped in their heads, and their coats are open to their chests without collars.
"Release squatters"
The custom of "letting squatters live" is widespread in Li nationality areas. Every village has one or several "squatters", which are called "Bulong boudoir" in Li language, and the daughter will live there when she grows up. Men of different blood types can "bloom" to find lovers, play flute and sing, and pour out their love, which embodies the social freedom of unmarried young men and women of Li nationality; On the other hand, however, there is an abnormal relationship between men and women in the activity of "Let people live in the countryside". At the same time, married men and women also take part in the activities of "letting out the squatters", which has great influence on production, family harmony and health. The custom of "staying in the husband's family" after marriage is quite common in Li nationality areas. Children born out of wedlock are generally not discriminated against, and divorce and widow remarriage are relatively free.
Most Li people live with the same surname. Houses in harmonious areas are mostly "boathouses", and houses in general areas are gold-shaped.
Appellation and surname
The kinship terms and surnames of the Li nationality are very distinctive. Li people call each other according to their religious relations. For example, no matter how young their uncle's children are, no matter how old their uncle's children are, they should call their uncle's children brothers or sisters. Therefore, in Li society, it is often heard that the elder is called 12-year-old brother or sister. When addressing someone in society, you can only call him by his first name, not by his first name.
The Li nationality in Dongfang County was originally five blood clans, each with a surname. Each blood type is divided into Dagong, Zhonggong and Gong Wei, which are called five surnames and fifteen surnames. Five surnames can be married, but fifteen men can't. After several generations, you can get married in cycles. The same Li surname group belongs to several Han surnames in different regions. Although Han people have different surnames, they can't get married.
Residential characteristics
Li people choose small plains, valley terraces or flat slopes in the valley as village sites. The principle of land selection is; Close to cultivated land, close to rivers and streams; The terrain should be high and the terrain has a certain slope; The place should be "clean", that is, there should be fewer wild animals and not too close to the main roads. The geological surface layer is mostly sandy clay layer and the bottom layer is mostly gravel layer. The soil quality is generally good, and the bearing capacity can meet the building requirements.
Most of Li's villages are surrounded by tall broad-leaved forests and shrubs. Therefore, there are no folk houses outside the village, but there are subtropical village scenery, which is the same scenic feature as the folk houses of Li compatriots.
"boathouse"
Boat-style residence is a traditional residence of Li nationality and a "dry fence" left over from ancient times. Before the "pyramid" houses of the Han nationality were introduced into the Li nationality area, the boathouse was once the main living form of the Li nationality in Hainan Island. Because most of these houses tend to be semi-overhead or low-overhead, they can also be called the derivative type of Gan Lan architecture, which is a traditional residential type of Li nationality with national and local characteristics.
The boathouse is characterized by a vertical rectangle, and the whole house consists of a front porch and a living room. The whole roof is shaped like a boat, bamboo frame, rattan, thatched, and connected to the ground. There is no compartment in the house, but the opposite door is open, and the eaves on the door are lengthened. There are usually no windows. It is said that when you open the window, "evil spirits" will enter the house, causing trouble to people and animals and causing diseases. So the whole room is dark, and the ventilation and lighting are not good. In a word, the boathouse has the advantages of windproof and rainproof, warm in winter and cool in summer, and slightly ventilated. At present, boathouses are still popular in parts of counties such as Baisha, Changjiang, Dongfang, Ledong, Baoting and Qiongzhong.
Pyramid house
Not the primitive Li nationality, but the Li nationality learned it from the Han nationality. Its advantages are labor and material saving, good ventilation and lighting, easy drainage and so on. It is characterized in that the whole room is rectangular, the roof is replaced by a dome-shaped ship roof, the eaves are very high, and the main entrance is in front of the house, with single room, double room, three rooms, four rooms and courtyard style.
The golden house consists of front porch, living room (also called hall or living room), bedroom and kitchen. After entering the door is the hall, and on both sides of the hall are the bedroom and kitchen. The lobby is the largest room, generally about 15 square meters, the bedroom is about 10 square meters, and the kitchen is about 8 square meters. The lobby is the center of daily life, and there are many shrines or shelves dedicated to ancestors in the middle of the back wall. There are wooden or bamboo beds in the bedroom, and the kitchen is equipped with stoves, water tanks, cookers, clothes racks and so on.
In addition, Li people also live in brick houses, which are similar to family dormitories in the mainland.
Sanshizao
The stoves (also known as Pinzi stoves and horseshoe stoves) in the Li nationality area are located indoors. The main reasons are as follows: Li nationality was backward in economy and culture in the past, and had to make a fire in the room to keep warm in winter; There are many mosquitoes and malaria diseases in Li nationality area, and indoor smoking can repel mosquitoes and avoid epidemics; There is also the need to control the fire. Li people's houses, no matter from which aspect, all belong to the same system and have the same origin, but there are some differences, and each dialect area has its own characteristics. scientific knowledge
In the long-term development process, the Li people in Hainan Island have accumulated rich experience and knowledge in production and life. In agricultural production, the Li people have mastered all kinds of knowledge about crop growth, soil identification, cultivated land selection and agricultural arrangements. For example, rice can be divided into more than 20 varieties in different places, and different suitable places and sowing dates can be selected according to its growth characteristics. In production practice, the Li people have also accumulated a lot of knowledge about weather forecasting according to the laws of local animal activities and natural phenomena.
Li people are good at hunting. According to the living habits of different wild animals, they can choose appropriate hunting methods, such as rounding up, tracking, ambush, digging traps, nailing bamboo tips, burying guns, hanging bullets, fire attack and poisoning, and the results are good.
Women are good at spinning, especially kapok. Pedal spinning machines use rotating wheels and conveyor belts. Li women can use wild plant dyes to make cloth. The yarn is dyed in various colors, such as cyan, black, yellow, yellow, red and so on. In addition, valine staining method has been created in some areas, and the process is complicated. The thin thread is tied into various patterns on the light yarn, and after dyeing, the thin thread is disassembled to expose the white pattern, and then woven into colored weft yarns to complete the fabric with exquisite patterns. These are the results of Li people's long-term observation and practice, and they have a good understanding of plant kingdom and weaving and dyeing technology.
Li people have mastered pottery-making technology for a long time, and can make pottery pots, pots, wine bottles, bowls, bottles, pots and so on. Li people near the Han area can also burn kilns like the Han people and make all kinds of pottery with smooth color and beautiful patterns. These pottery wares are loved by the people of neighboring nationalities, and foreign businessmen also buy them in large quantities from Li nationality areas and transport them to the mainland for sale.
Li people also have a deep understanding of medical knowledge. Many Chinese medicine practitioners know the properties of 100 herbs, and can use hot compress, sweating, fire moxibustion and other treatment methods according to different situations. There are many specific drugs for poisonous snakes and mad dogs. Li people have accumulated rich medical knowledge in the process of treating diseases and saving lives, and they have become the best in conquering the "land of boils", so Li medicine has become a part of the treasure house of Chinese herbal medicines. Li's basic method of treating diseases is similar to that of Han Chinese medicine, which can be divided into listening, hearing and asking questions.
Among the Li people, there is still a primitive calendar. Generally, the sun and the moon are calculated according to the "Twelve Earthly Branches" in similar Han areas, and the twelfth day is a cycle. Animals are called days, such as chicken day, dog day, pig day, ox day and insect day.
Most Li people use the weights and measures of the Han nationality, but the valley and Mu areas have always used their own calculation methods. For example, the smallest unit of rice is a bundle, six bundles are one, six bundles are one, and two pairs are even. The second law is a thumb. Save as many acres as you plant. When buying and selling cattle, the size is calculated by horn length or body length, regardless of weight. The concept of number is weak, and abacus is rarely used. Calculate complex numbers, often taking rice stalks or firewood as entities.
funeral
Funeral ceremonies vary from place to place. In harmonious areas, if someone dies, the whole village or cave will come to mourn, and they will not eat staple food or do heavy work for three days. Generally, a single wooden coffin is used, and the coffin does not stop. It is buried on the same day and no tomb is built. If the deceased is a man, he will be buried in the village's public cemetery. A woman married to a foreign village must be carried back to her parents' home to arrange a funeral and buried in her father's public cemetery. Other areas have the habit of superstitious geomantic omen, stopping coffins and fasting, and choosing sites to build tombs.
Diligence and thrift, respecting the old and loving the young are the virtues of the working people of the Li nationality. Whether old people or children, they can always find something they can do, and few people take time off to live. Li people are very hospitable. They warmly entertain guests with alcohol and tobacco.
taboo
Some festivals of the Li nationality have many taboos and belong to superstition. But it has a certain connection with production and life. For example, swearing and unlucky words are forbidden during the Spring Festival; It is forbidden to wash clothes and sweep the floor during the Chinese New Year, saying that it is afraid that all the money at home will be washed away and swept away. Li people in harmonious areas are forbidden to work in the fields from the first day to the fifth day of the new year, and they are not allowed to work in the fields on the days of cattle, insects and chickens, saying that they are afraid that the seedlings will be harmed by birds and animals. People who want to hunt in the mountains on New Year's Day should also avoid sweeping the floor, otherwise they will not be able to catch wild animals. Be sure to choose auspicious days such as Dragon Day, Horse Day and Rabbit Day to cut hedges, and you can't sleep during the day, otherwise the crops can't stand the wind and rain. It is forbidden to kill cattle during the festival on March 8, and give them a wine soaked in cattle soul stone to ensure a bumper harvest next year. People are not allowed to cross the stove, step on the stove with their feet, cut the stove with a knife, etc. If it is illegal, it is said that "Kitchen God" will get angry and make his family sick.