The Study On Folk Religion Of The Ba County Area

“The Ba county annals” compiled during the late Qing dynasty(when Qianlong and Tongzhi were emperors)and republic of China included abundant and fascinating stories of folk custome and traditions of worship.Through an approach of systematic analysis on the existing files,the current study intends to present vivid images of the traditional folk religion of the Ba area and to document for archaeological and other research purposes.The present study focuses on “LUO”(an ancient witchcraft ritual to expel ghosts and diseases,and an advanced stage of original witch cultural.)and draws on the descriptions in “The Ba county annals” about the geographical territory,(governmental and administrative)establishment,natural conditions and social customs or social etiquette.Through the analysis,we argue that the description of folk religion can be reorganised into three parts: the ancient social etiquette,festive celebrations and local worship of deities.Under the ancient social etiquette,we discuss: a.the crowning etiquette of wearing flowers in a “grown-up ceremony”,which symbolises the grown-up of a male,after which marriage is allowed;b.spousal vows in the wedding ceremony called “DianYan”-respect paid to the wild geese who only seek love only once in a lifetime and the etiquette to repatriate horse;c.praying for offspring and the health of the fetus;d.presenting silk wears as good wish for the dead and their spirits,commemorate the dead by writing their names.We then examine “festive ceremony” through seven main festivals: outing to the blessed places(directions)in New Year 's Day and on the day of the Beginning of Spring,inviting ZiGu in the period of ShangYuan,sending away the critters on the birthday of Buddha,praying for the mastery of skills on the seventh evening of the seventh month on the lunar calendar,the worship of Niuwang(the king spirit of cattles)in the tenth month in the lunar calendar and the worship of cooking stove god in a lunar year.To cover the local worship of deities,we investigate the development of worship of the five most known subjects: Bamanzi,the governor of Sichuan,the god of altar,restless spirits,and the god of the earth.The present study also seeks to better interpret the folk religion of the Ba county area by compiling the details from extensive and reliable sources.Our research discovered five main characteristics of folk religion of the Ba county area:First,some aspects of the folk religions are highly related to each other in terms of the generational heritage of cultural mentality,the awareness of the folks and the features of the religious practices.This have contributed to the special identity of folk religion of the Ba county area.Second,folk religion of the Ba county area was subjugated to minimal governmental or administrative influence and was therefore kept to its original nature.Third,folk religion of the Ba county area was largely shaped by Buddhism an Taoism.Fourth,folk religion of the Ba county area was closely knitted with the folk religions of the ethnic minorities in the surrounding areas.Fifth,half of the folk religion of the Ba county area were unauthorised by the government.Therefore,we conclude that the folk religion of the Ba county area was both progressive and limited of that period of time in history.