Investigation And Research On The Belief Of Human Ancestor In The Villages Of Huaiyang

The belief of Fuxi and Nüwa is an ancient folk belief in China.Huaiyang,located in Central China,is an area where the belief of Human Ancestor is quite popular.The belief of Human Ancestor in Huaiyang mainly exists in various forms such as worship at temples,ritual activities,associations,folk literature and art.The reason why the belief of Human Ancestor in Huaiyang area is prosperous for a long time is directly related to the existence of Taihao Mausoleum in Huaiyang.Thanks to the worship of Taihao Tomb,a strong cultural inertia has formed,which has lasted from ancient times till now.The adherents of Huaiyang ancestral belief are mainly composed of peasants with obvious gender and age characteristics.The belief of Human Ancestors was carried out under the leadership of the pilgrim associations which was established spontaneously among the people.Its faith organizations adopts a structure of pyramid and a hierarchical management mode.The faith organizations take natural villages as its smallest unit,and there are differences in geographical distribution between central and peripheral areas.The central area is Renzumiao Village in Sitong town.The activities of the pilgrim associations are mainly held in spring.On the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month,there are regular religious activities,but the scale of routine activities is not as large as those in spring.The head of the congregation plays a key role in the activities of the local ancestral faith.The sacred status of the head of the congregation is mainly passed down from father to son,or from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law.Consanguinity and witchcraft are the necessary and sufficient conditions for the transfer of the guild leader status.The special status of the head of the association,who is both human and god,makes it have considerable influence and high social status in the local villages.The conflicts between the leaders often spread and affect the local people.The influence of human ancestor belief on local society has two sides.On the one hand,religious activities deepen the cultural cohesion and local identity of local people.On the other hand,it also brings conflicts and other disharmonious factors between villages.The belief of human ancestor is based on witchcraft thinking and belief of ghosts and gods,which is not conducive to the dissemination of modern scientific knowledge in contemporary villages.