Traditional funerals in Xiamen are full of grief and filial piety for the deceased, ignorance and superstition. However, when we realize that our ancestors were so full of fear and hope for the unknown world, we can only forgive and regret them first ―― they really talked too hard.
When people die, they can't continue to sleep in the bed, but move to the main hall of the house and sleep on a temporary "waterbed" with two benches and three boards on it. If the deceased or their parents are still alive or their humble family members (such as concubines) cannot be placed in the main hall, they should also be moved to the straw mat on the floor in front of the bed, or put the "water bed" in the protection room at the back. This is called "moving stores". Folk superstitions say that when a person dies in bed, his soul will be trapped by the bedstead and cannot be freed. The "wooden bed" uses three boards, and its singular number means that the soul of the deceased will go on the road alone without a family member as a companion. The concepts of soul and ghost will come to people's minds before they die.
After moving the store, it is absolutely forbidden for family members to cry before death; Those who can't restrain their sadness can only turn around and hide their faces and sob. The person who was transferred to the shop, knowing that his time was up, arranged a funeral. When dying, those whose children and grandchildren can arrive together are regarded as "blessed". Relatives should not cry loudly until it is confirmed that the mover is dead. At this time, we should take off the shoes, hats and ornaments worn by our families. Women should keep long hair and take the good intention of "making thousands of tails" and prospering their children and grandchildren. Gorgeous clothes should be replaced with plain cloth. Men can't get their hair cut before the mourning period is over.
After the death of the deceased, it is necessary to "clean the mourning hall" immediately, that is, remove the long table with ancestral spirits (built-in ancestral spirits) and shrines (with straight statues inside) or cover it with cloth. Draw a curtain in the main hall to cover the waterbed. There is a sacrificial table in front of the door, with a pair of "table heads" on it and white candles and incense. Visitors to the store should worship first, and then go in to comfort the bereaved family.
The deceased was covered from head to toe by a white sheet with red silk sewn in the middle-"water quilt", and the pillow under his head was replaced by stone. White candles or oil lamps were lit at the feet of the deceased, illuminating the dark path of the underworld for him. Another bowl of rice is served at the feet with a pair of chopsticks. This bowl of rice is called "foot-tail rice". There are two paper maids at the feet to take care of the dead. A married family member knelt at the feet of the deceased, crying and constantly burning "silver paper" (paper money used in the underworld) for the deceased to use on his way to the underworld.
There is a long white note on the door, with father's funeral on the left, mother's funeral on the right, and parents on both sides; Some of them have a white X on the side, which means "losing two heads", which is called "hanging filial piety". There is also a paper sedan chair half a person's height outside the door for the dead to ride to the underworld, which is called "mountain sedan chair". There are paper bearers in front of and behind the sedan chair, and there are "bowl cakes" made of brown sugar next to them, and wired incense is used as a snack for the sedan chair bearers. To place a paper sedan chair, you should string a few strings of "silver paper" and hang them for the bearers as wages. The "sedan chair over the mountain" is the most obvious sign of bereavement, and it also shows the gender of the deceased. Men's mountain sedan chairs are green and red, while women's mountain sedan chairs are white and red. As soon as others saw the "cross-mountain sedan chair" at their doorstep, they knew that the family had a funeral and that the deceased was a man or a woman. After telling each other, the obituary of the deceased quickly spread.
In addition to putting up stickers and taking a "sedan chair" in the funeral home, people should be sent to report the death to the relevant relatives of the deceased quickly. If the deceased is a married woman, it must be reported to the woman's family-"my home". The woman's representative didn't arrive, or didn't allow it after she arrived, so burial was not allowed. As the saying goes in Xiamen, "When a dead father is buried, a dead mother invites her family." Ambassadors who report death usually walk very fast and in a hurry, so Xiamen people jokingly call those who leave in a hurry "reporting death". After reporting the death at the destination, you can't enter the family's house, you can only make a phone call outside, and then leave after the family goes out to report the death. The married daughter of the deceased should go to the funeral immediately after receiving the news. In the streets and alleys close to the house, she will burst into tears while walking, shouting "the head of crying."
Relatives and friends who have lost their families will know that they have lost their lives when they see the sedan chair over the mountain, and often send cash wrapped in silver paper or white paper. Let the bereaved buy their own paper money and help the dead go astray. The funeral home should be a piece of white cloth wrapped in red silk thread, and later it was changed into a handkerchief. Red symbolizes auspiciousness, and the handkerchief "sends a towel to cut off the roots", which means disconnecting from the dead. This etiquette of sending gold, silver and paper money. After the "mountain sedan chair" melted, it could not walk.