A Study On The Change Of Tujia Witchcraft Culture In Western Hunan Since The 20th Century

The witchcraft culture of Tujia has a long history and has gradually developed into the folk culture of Tujia.Before the founding of the People's Republic of China,Tujia witchcraft was closely related to the life of the Tujia people.Whether it was agricultural production or medical treatment or life-saving,it was related to witchcraft activities.After the founding of the People's Republic,Tujia witchcraft was dying out day by day.After a year's investigation and research in W area,the author divides the Tujia witchcraft into three categories: the first is the witchcraft of gods and spirits,which mainly consists of large-scale sacrificial activities,and also includes activities of respecting,coaxing and punishing ghosts;the second is the witchcraft of pharmacology,whose main purpose is to cure diseases and save people,besides having its own name and curses,they can be brought to cure people by means of objective medicine or massage.Thirdly,witches who are tired of winning can also embody themselves by means of objective existence.But unlike pharmacological witches,they can not rely on drugs,but on objects like peach wood that can inherit the Rune of witches.Since the twentieth century,all kinds of witchcraft in W area have changed differently,but on the whole,they have gone to extinction.The witchcraft of gods,pharmacology and victory-weary were still prosperous in W area during the Republic of China.Because of the difficult social conditions and the war era,the government did not care about the livelihood of the people,so people relied on witchcraft at that time.After the founding of the People's Republic of China,although witchcraft activities were prohibited by decree,the local people often resorted to the witchcraft of pharmacology when they were sick because of the imperfect medical infrastructure,so only the witchcraft of pharmacology was still secretly operating in this period,and other witchcraft activities were basically in a state of disappearance.At the beginning of reform and opening-up,witchcraft activities have rebounded.Later,with the improvement of medical and other infrastructure and the improvement of education level,people began to spontaneously disbelieve in witchcraft.The witch who is tired of winning can be said to have completely disappeared.The witchcraft of pharmacology can only be chosen after people chose the hospital to treat fruitlessly.Wizards,as forspiritual wizards,are mainly used in tourism culture,such as "waving dance".Since the twentieth century,the main functions of Tujia witchcraft are different in different periods,which shows the change of Tujia witchcraft from another aspect.During the period of the Republic of China,the function of the sorcery of gods was mainly to entertain gods,but after the reform and opening-up,the function of the sorcery of gods was mainly to entertain people.This change from entertaining gods to entertaining people not only reflected the progress of an era,but also reflected the change of the national ideology.