The Zhuang tribe calling itself "Min" is located in the mountainous area of Napo County, Guangxi, which is adjacent to Vietnam. Living in a remote and barren mountainous area for a long time, the Zhuang people in black clothes follow the primitive national customs in marriage, religion, production and life. Worship black, regard black as clothing color and national symbol, this "black is beautiful" nation is praised by anthropologists as a "living fossil" of Zhuang nationality for its unique folk customs.
According to legend, in ancient times, Buao people and Bumin people lived in dense forests with fertile land and lived a self-sufficient life.
One day, the Buo and Buo nationalities were suddenly invaded by foreign enemies. A leader named Nong Lao led troops to resist and was forced to retreat into the dense forest because he was outnumbered. At a critical moment, he dreamed that he had been instructed by his ancestors: let his people collect indigo dye, blacken their hands, faces, clothes and knives and guns, and sneak into enemy lines when it was dark. In the end, the Bumin won the war. Since then, he has made all his people wear black clothes dyed with indigo, which has been handed down from generation to generation. When people see black paintings, they can turn misfortune into luck and save the day. They also regard this kind of black as auspicious and beautiful, and are proud of it, hence the name "black clothes are strong". The people who call themselves "Min" (also called "Buzhuang") are called "Heizhuang". Anthropologists call the Zhuang nationality in black a "living fossil" of the Zhuang nationality.
Napo County, Guangxi, which is adjacent to Vietnam, is one of the counties and cities with the highest proportion of Zhuang nationality in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Zhuang people in this county are divided into two ethnic groups: Buzhuang, Buyang, Immortal, Bunong, Bushui, Buyi, Buao, Busheng, Bujue, Buyong, Longan, Zuozhou, etc. 12. Most of the Heiyi Zhuang people are located in 377 villages in 82 villages in Napo County, with more than 9,900 households, with a total population of about 5 1.08 million, accounting for 33% of the local Zhuang population.
The change of men in black is related to wars and ethnic migration in history. In the Tang Dynasty, a peasant uprising led by Huang broke out in Guangxi. A peasant uprising led by peasants broke out in the Song Dynasty, and the "Nantianmen" was established. These uprisings dealt a powerful blow to the feudal rule at that time and forced the rulers to make various concessions. However, the uprising finally failed, and the rulers wantonly exterminated the rebels and their families. Many Zhuang people hide their families in deep mountains and forests, and are isolated from the world for generations in a closed environment. From another point of view, this also makes the ancient traditional culture and customs of the black Zhuang nationality continue to this day and remain intact.
The strong man in black thinks that the graves of ancestors can't be moved, and they should be with future generations forever. Approaching the entrance of Heiyizhuang village, you can see the tomb covered with tiles near the house or vegetable garden. From a distance, it looks like a hut buried underground, with only the roof exposed, which is very conspicuous. A rectangular tile-covered tomb in Nongwentun is Li's first ancestral grave, which has a history of more than 200 years. It is only about 5 meters away from the house, and fresh vegetables are planted around the grave. The cemetery of men in black was chosen to ask wizards for divination. When divining, an egg is set up, and the direction in which the egg falls is used as the cemetery. No matter whose land it is, the owner gives it to him enthusiastically. This is called "the living don't argue with the dead".
In the mountains, mountains are one after another, and black stones are everywhere. "Nine points of stone and one point of soil" is a true portrayal of their living environment. Men in black live in a dry wooden building, which is generally divided into three floors. The first floor is used for raising pigs and cattle, the second floor is occupied by people and the third floor is used as a warehouse. Gan Lan's buildings are mainly made of stone and wood structures, and the technology is simple and rough. The bottom is supported by polished solid stone pillars, and the building is concave with wood.
There is no inn in the village to entertain outsiders, but warm men in black welcome you to live in any one. It's cool to sleep at night, and it's like installing "natural air conditioning" all year round. When I get up in the morning after the rain, I can see that the clouds have flooded the whole village, and the tiles and corners on the wooden building are hidden in the surging clouds, which is charming and moving.
Black clothes are strong and kind. They are friendly to guests, children and the elderly. Thinking for the elderly is not only reflected in diet and daily life, but also in all holiday activities, the elderly are particularly respected. The youngest child should give the oldest person a "golden belt" symbolizing auspiciousness and happiness.
Whenever there are foreign tourists, the brave men in black wear black clothes, step on drums, walk out of their wooden houses and run to the simple playground at the head of the village. This scene is like a flock of black butterflies flying out of the Woods and pouncing on the brilliant blooming flowers. The whole village became beautiful and magical. They perform red dance, birthday dance, black gun dance, cloth dance and unity dance for tourists. These dances originated from their lives, and some reflected their war against foreign invasion; Some reflect their manners in dealing with people; Some show respect for the elderly; Some reflect their joy in making new clothes with perforated cloth and preparing to meet their lover. Although the actors have not received professional training, they express a simple feeling with skillful dance steps, and the charm of the mountains is vividly explained through their ingenious dance movements.
Love is defined as a "romantic festival" for life. Men in black still live traditional festivals such as February 2nd, March 3rd, May 5th and June 6th. In traditional festivals such as "Romantic Festival", young men and women in "Seeds of Love" will meet under a century-old tree or on the lawn. The red ribbon is an important token and mascot for young men and women in black in Zhuang nationality. Throw the red ribbon with your birthday on it into the dustpan, stir it, and draw one for yourself. The name written on the red ribbon is your dream lover. Young men and women sing love songs and give each other tokens through "red line love" and make a lifelong commitment. The songs reflect the life ideals of men in black, their splendid history and culture, and their excellent qualities of perseverance, optimism, simplicity and diligence.
Black clothes Zhuang has strictly implemented the system of intermarriage, but consanguineous marriage is absolutely forbidden. The main reason is to abide by the tradition of ancestors, in order to maintain the pure tradition of pure "black" of ethnic groups. For thousands of years, the almost isolated living environment has also been the reason for the long-term existence of intra-clan marriage. Up to now, young men and women dressed in black like to find partners in Bentun Village. Although young men and women can freely fall in love through singing concerts and other occasions, they must obtain the consent of their parents and go through a series of etiquette such as media employment, appointment and payment. Weddings are strange and interesting. The wedding is held in the evening. Father and brother can't watch the bride go out. After the bride goes out, she can't look back at her family, let alone go back. Otherwise, it is regarded as a bad omen. When the bride arrives at the man's house and enters the bridal chamber, she can only eat a little symbolically for the food sent to the bridal chamber. At midnight, when the rooster crows for the first time, the bride must quietly return to her parents' home with her maid of honor (no matter how far the journey is). After that, every month, the man's elder sister or elder sister goes to the woman's house to pick up the bride and go to the man's house to help for two or three days. Two or three days later, the bride returned to her family and lived with her parents and brothers. If it is three or five years, the bride will not settle down in the man's house until she is pregnant and gives birth to a child. At this point, the husband and wife will get along day and night.
On the third day of March every year, the Zhuang people in black clothes will hold activities to worship their ancestors and worship the mountains. On this day, all villages and villages, old and young, go to the graves of local ancestors to pay homage. Before people take part in the activities of offering sacrifices to ancestors and mountains, they go to the land temple to worship the land god, which is called "An Temple" locally. They believe that the land god can dominate the village's peace and prosperity, abundant disasters, sadness and joy, the prosperity of six livestock, the bumper harvest of grain and the good news of people, so among the land gods, the land god is the most popular. The land temple that bombed the village is a low and crude flat-topped temple built of stone. It is one of the local traditions that the wizard who presided over the sacrificial ceremony (locally called Shi Gong) "mysteriously appeared" only a few minutes before the ceremony began. After a series of programs such as chanting and exorcism, people dispersed one after another. After "An Miao", people flocked to the hillside on the other side of the village to participate in the main activities of ancestor worship. The locals called it "Anlong". The highest-ranking clan leaders and wizards usually spend half a day presiding over a whole set of activities such as chanting, exorcism and sacrifice in front of their ancestors' graves. Many people attending the ceremony came from dozens or hundreds of miles away, which shows that people attach importance to this traditional religious activity. This is also one of the important ways to strengthen clan and family unity and enhance the concept of respecting ancestors.
The most intuitive traditional culture of the magical tribes whose beauty is black is their costumes and accessories. According to scholars who have been studying black clothes for a long time in Napo County, black clothes are a symbol of dress and nationality. First of all, it is related to the provisions of the toast system in history. During the reign of the Ming and Qing Tusi, it was stipulated that all natives were only allowed to wear blue and black. Secondly, the legend of the origin of men in black also determines the formation and continuation of men in black; Black clothes still retain the tradition of wearing black, mainly because the aesthetic view of "taking black as beauty" is deeply rooted in people's hearts. At the same time, the practicality of wearing is organically combined with the generous, simple and beautiful style, which enhances the connotation of black clothes and strong clothing culture.
A strong man in black is wearing a jacket with a big front cover and trousers with wide legs and big bottoms. This kind of clothing is convenient for them to work and walk in the mountains. Traditional men's wear also has a black cloth headscarf wrapped several times, and a red cloth or HongLing belt is tied around the waist to show evil spirits, and also to show the mighty and brave spirit of men.
Women's clothes are more distinctive. People of all ages like to wear tight jackets, big right covers and gourd-shaped short-legged round necks. The lower body is matched with trousers with wide trouser legs and large trouser heads. Wearing a big apron made of black cloth around her waist and a big black cloth headscarf. Its apron is wide and long, which can be tied around the whole body for more than one lap, and the bottom of the skirt hangs down to the calf; Aprons can be used not only for decoration, such as tying a triangle to the front waist at the skirt corner to show chic and beauty; You can also turn up the bottom of the skirt as luggage. This is especially useful when visiting relatives and friends, catching up with songs and going to parents' home. At work, you can also make a bucket-shaped bag with some beans and miscellaneous grains in it. The headscarves worn by women are all long black cloth woven and dyed by themselves. When you wear them, first wrap them on your head, then fold them into the shape of water chestnut, cover them on your head, and then hang them on your shoulders at both ends, which not only looks simple and beautiful, but also can be used as a hat to shade the sun. Strong women in black get together, showing the beauty of Zhuang, stability and harmony in the dark. Their skirts, cuffs, skirts and headscarves are all cut into small bundles with red cloth or yellow cloth, while others are embroidered with red, yellow and blue silk threads into wavy lines, so that the red, yellow and blue thin threads are exposed in black, elegant and bright, with beautiful layers and exquisite beauty more prominent in color coordination. Women's clothes are all sewn by their own skillful hands.
A strong woman in black wears a silver collar with two ends shaped like fish, like a kiss between two fish. Kissing the silver collar in Pisces is a necessary thing for men in black to get married, which shows that men in black have the belief of fish totem worship. Historically, in the traditional rice-growing areas of Zhuang nationality, people believed that people became fish after death and then reincarnated as human beings. In the process of interviewing and filming Zhuang Hei, we saw that many little girls also wore silver kiss collars of Pisces, which showed that the inheritance of Zhuang Hei's worship culture has evolved into its own tradition.
The most beautiful ornament of a strong woman in black is a headdress. When a woman grows up, she should put a bun in her hair, insert it into her hair pin, head cage, head fork and headdress flower, and then wrap the headdress flower with Yuhuan beads. There are generally six kinds of headdresses, which can only be worn by unmarried young women or married women who have not yet left their husbands' homes; A woman who leaves her husband's house only wears a fork.
A strong woman in black has many accessories, such as earrings, earrings, jade beads, necklaces, collars, bracelets and rings. Most of them come from family heirlooms or "floating wealth" brought by parents when they get married. The most interesting thing is that most women like to set their front teeth in gold to show their beauty and status.
Nowadays, many young people who wear black clothes usually dress casually, and they have changed from "all black" to the so-called second-generation clothes with black and white headscarves on blue. However, during traditional festivals and celebrations or when outsiders visit, they are still very careful about clothing and accessories. Girls, in particular, should dress themselves or each other.
Today, Napo Black Clothes Zhuang still retains the traditional indigo dyeing and weaving process, and its cultural connotation is very rich. Black clothes are an out-and-out national culture, which is self-planted, self-woven, self-dyed and self-worn. In Nongwentun, there is a deeply buried natural stone. Ancient villagers cut stones into dye wells, which are the oldest indigo dye wells in Nongwentun. Every indigo harvest season, the whole village takes turns to soak the harvested indigo leaves in this dye well. Now this stone well has dried up, but there is still a thick indigo on the wall. In the long-term productive labor, Heiyizhuang summed up a whole set of indigo dyeing experience. Every family in Nongwentun has a textile machine and a dye vat carved out of stone. The woven cloth should be soaked with indigo for dozens of times, then boiled and dyed with cow glue and pig blood, and then dried into black cloth. Finally, it must be beaten many times with a wooden stick to make a solid, flat and black finished cloth. This process is full of the unique life flavor of men in black and the poetry of traditional customs. There are strips of indigo cloth hanging on the railing, and the space smells of indigo, and the atmosphere of indigo dyeing and weaving culture is very strong. The indigo dyeing and weaving technology of men in black is not only the cultural heritage of men in black, but also the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and even all mankind.