Miao people's custom of planting rocks

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Miao people's rock planting custom

Applicant: Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province

Project No.: 1217

Project No.: Ⅹ - 142

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Guizhou Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province

Protection unit: Rongjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

A brief introduction to the Miao people's custom of planting rocks:

Applicant: Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province

Planting rock is a custom of Miao people, which comes from the implementation of customary law. The Miao nationality's system of discussing Lang is a kind of social organization of the Miao Nationality in history. The system of discussing Lang can be composed of a drum society, a village or several villages, and even the whole area. The Miao nationality's customary law is called "the Convention of discussing Lang". Before each meeting, the village leaders first discuss the content of the negotiation, and then hold a mass meeting to announce the agreed protocol, which will be passed by the meeting. In some cases, a stone was erected at the meeting site after the ceremony, indicating that the customary law was as firm as a rock and could not be changed. It has a long history in Miao society. It is the product of regulating people's behavior after the private ownership society. It has a strong legal binding force.

The purpose of negotiation is to maintain people's normal production and life, and the form of expression is to promulgate terms and regulations by means of incantation. After the promulgation of the terms and regulations, the implementation of the terms and regulations depends on the "magic" of the curse and the mutual influence, mutual restriction and mutual supervision of the villagers and the masses. Rock is the carrier of the regulations. In the past, there were no words for the rocks planted. The regulations and money were passed by the Langshi to the clansmen, village elders or groups. The regulations were naturally preserved in people's minds. In the future, there were cases of violations of the relevant regulations, and the clan elders or village people punished the relevant silver with light and heavy penalties, and the heavy ones were those who killed their heads to repair the nuts.

There are yizhai's Yilang, several villages' Union's Yilang, regional or ethnic group's Yilang, etc. There are also many people's and individual's discussion about the practice, friendship and protection, as well as exorcism and demarcation. For example, one village's Yilang, such as paibeizhaitou's Yilang planting rock; several villages' Yilang, such as Gaopo's Yilang planting rock, gaowufei temple's "Lang GUI" stele and Gaozhi's divorce rock; regional Yilang, such as ancient song's "Chen Lin Wu Guo" planting rock, "Pai Ye Ying Li" planting rock and Wugong planting rock.

Apart from its own legal function, it is also of great help to the study of the history of the Miao people, because the Miao people did not have their own characters in the past, and the history and many excellent cultures of the Miao people can only be reflected in ancient songs or customs. At present, the Miao people's ancient rock planting songs are well preserved among many old people in Rongjiang. The lyrics have been sung for a long time, and many place names are involved. Only after singing in Rongjiang can they vaguely correspond to the current address. Rongjiang can not find before, only mentioned in the ancient song, but I do not know where.

It plays an important role in the harmony and stability of Miao society and the development of Miao society.