Hanbin Folk Funeral Customs

Shaanxi
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Funerals in Hanbin are extravagant for the rich and frugal for the poor. The scale varies depending on the family's financial situation. The materials used for the coffin are cypress, fir, catalpa, and miscellaneous wood. The materials used for the coffin are roughly divided into "four tiles" and "twelve heads". Adding to the coffin is called "collecting the room". Relatives and friends congratulate and are happy about the completion but look at it as unused. The funeral clothes are seven on the top and four on the bottom, and they are worn in singles rather than doubles. After the old man dies, "inverted paper" is burned, that is, yellow paper is used to paste door gods, the deceased is given a haircut, dressed in funeral clothes, measured straw mats, "face paper" is covered, and "dog-beating cakes" are tied. A bowl of cooked noodles is placed next to it, which is called "crossing the bridge noodles". The descendants need to kowtow to relatives, friends, and neighbors one by one to report the death. After the coffin is put in, wait until the closest relatives arrive and open the coffin to see the deceased's remains. When the coffin is closed, children and relatives surround and say goodbye to the body. There is no fixed time for burial. The poor are buried quickly with thin coffins, while the rich are buried late with thick coffins. Go up the mountain within three to seven days. The funeral hall is arranged so that the day of a man's death is "a big event" and the day of a woman's death is "her voice and appearance are still there". The couplets on both sides are often "the sun sets in the west and we often meet, the water flows to the east and never turns back". The spirit tablet is placed on the altar. The male mourners wear mourning robes, straw ropes around their waists, and the female mourners wear mourning scarves, mourning shirts, and mourning skirts to show their mourning. Before the mourning, the mourners will come to pay their respects. The filial sons will run around the spirit and cry, and return the gifts to the mourners. On the day of the mourning, a banquet will be prepared for guests and a band will be set up. The mourners will send funeral gifts such as fire paper, curtains, and offerings. At night, they will sit around, beat funeral drums, and sing mourning songs until dawn. In the middle of the night, the coffin will be raised and cushioned to prepare for the funeral at dawn, which is called "raising the spirit". Rich people will invite protocol guests on the day of the mourning, hold funerals, recite scriptures and chant Buddha, and save the souls of the dead. The burial site and the date of the funeral are selected by the fortune teller. During the funeral procession, the eldest son of filial piety will beat the "road-opening bowl" to lift the coffin. The male filial piety will pull the rope in front of the coffin, and the female filial piety will follow behind to escort the coffin. The coffin is tied with two wooden poles and covered with a coffin cover. 16 people carry the coffin, and 4 people carry it in mountainous areas. The coffin bearers do not ask for directions, and no one will blame them for trampling crops or breaking trees. Paper money is scattered along the way, firecrackers are set off at the intersection, and music is played to send the dead soul up the mountain. The coffin bearers who like to play can still go back and forth and meander. At this time, the filial son kneels in front of the coffin, asking the coffin bearers to send the old man to the mountain safely. The male filial piety goes to the grave under the tomb, sprinkles the coffin cover with grains, looks at the yin and yang people according to the compass to locate, and buries the coffin with earth. The next day, the filial son kowtows to the mourners to "thank them for their filial piety". The grave is completed on the third day, and the funeral is over. Afterwards, the descendants will also observe mourning for the deceased for three years. During the mourning years, no red couplets will be posted every year. No couplets are posted in the first year, yellow paper couplets are posted in the second year, and green paper couplets are posted in the third year. The couplets are mostly about "Those who are in mourning do not know that the sun is near, and those who are loving only see the white clouds far away". During the mourning period, people do not drink or have fun, to show respect and miss the deceased. After three years, the spirit is sent to thank the deceased, and everything goes on as usual. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)

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