Introduction to the Ewenki people

Introduction to the Ewenki

The Ewenki mainly live in the Ewenki Autonomous Banner of the Hulunbuir League in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Others are scattered in Chenbalhu Banner, Ergun Zuo Banner, Molidawa Banner, Arong Banner, Zhalantun City and Nehe County in Heilongjiang Province. Most of them live together with Mongolian, Daur, Han, Oroqen and other ethnic groups. Ewenki means "people who live in the mountains and forests". Most of the Evenki people make a living by herding, and the rest are engaged in farming. Reindeer were once the only means of transportation for the Ewenki people and were known as the "forest boat".

The Ewenki have their own language but no writing. Most Ewenki herdsmen use Mongolian, while farmers widely use Chinese. The Ewenki people believe in shamanism and Lamaism. They create oral myths, stories, songs, riddles, etc. They are also good at carving and cutting birch bark into various handicrafts.

History of the Ewenki people

The Ewenki people call themselves themselves, meaning "people who live in the mountains and forests." Historically, the Ewenki people who lived in different places were called "Solon", "Tungus", "Yakut", etc. In 1957, according to the wishes of the ethnic group, the unified ethnic name was Ewenki. The ancestors of the Ewenki people originally lived in the mountains and forests east of Lake Baikal and the upper reaches of Heilongjiang, engaged in fishing, hunting, and reindeer raising. Later, they developed eastward, and now the Ewenki have a small population but are widely distributed. They mostly intermingle with Mongolian, Daur, Han, Oroqen and other ethnic groups and live in the gentle slopes and grassland areas on the west side of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, a very small number of Ewenki people living in Ergun Zuo Banner were still in the patriarchal family commune stage at the end of primitive society. They lived in primitive forests and simple tents - Tuoluozi, often wandering. Because they raise reindeer, they are often called the "Ewenki people who use reindeer" and live a primitive social life of equal hunting and equal distribution. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a number of new Ewenki villages were built to implement settled grazing, which completely changed the situation of living for water and grass.

Ewenki Music

The Ewenki are one of the ethnic groups with a small population in China, with about 19,000 people, mainly distributed in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. . The Ewenki language belongs to the Altaic language family and has no written characters. Mongolian and Chinese are commonly spoken. They believe in shamanism.

"Obao Hui" and "Nadam" are the main programs of the Ewenki people. On festive days, people sing melodious folk songs, which seem to make people feel the atmosphere of grasslands and forests.

Ewenki Etiquette

The Ewenki people are hospitable and pay attention to etiquette. When visiting an Ewenki home, the guest will sit wherever the host places the leather mat, and the leather mat is not allowed to be moved at will. After the guests were seated, the hostess served milk tea and then cooked the animal meat. After the meat was cooked, the hostess took out a hunting knife, cut a small piece of meat and threw it into the fire, and then gave it to the guests to eat. If the visitor is a distinguished guest, reindeer milk is usually offered as an offering. The Ewenki people must have wine when entertaining guests. In addition to drinking white wine, every family can brew wild fruit wine. When making a toast, the host should hold the glass high and pour a few drops into the fire. He should take a sip first before inviting the guests to drink. The Ewenki people believe that no one will carry their house with them when they go out. If they do not entertain others, no one will take care of them after they go out.

Ewenki Festival

Aobao Hui

The Ewenki folk traditional sacrificial festival is held every year from April to June of the lunar calendar. Aobao is usually located on the hilltop of the grassland. It is a conical altar made of stones or soil, with colorful cloth or paper hung on it.

According to legend, one summer night a long time ago, a woman came to the village in a car hitched to a mule. She caused a storm and caused disaster to the whole village; that winter, people When I went to dig an ice cave to get water, another woman's head with disheveled hair appeared at the entrance of the cave. At this moment, a strong wind suddenly blew and heavy snow began to fall, which made people panic. The villagers invited nine lamas to chant sutras to drive away the demon. The lamas relied on Buddhist teachings to catch the banshee and pin her under rocks and mounds of earth. People were deeply afraid that she would come out again in the future to cause trouble, so everyone who passed by there would automatically add a stone to increase the weight and prevent her from coming out again. Even so, people are still worried, so they offer sacrifices to her regularly, praying that she will not cause trouble and bless people's safety and prosperity for both humans and animals.

From April to June, most people go to add stones. As time goes by, it gradually becomes a traditional festival.

In the old days, Aobao was divided into types of different sizes, such as clan, Maohong, Suomu, flag and alliance. Different types of Aobao were worshiped in different scopes. For example, clan Aobao sacrifices can only be performed within the clan, and the sacrifices and expenses are allocated within the clan; alliance Aobao is sacrificed by the entire alliance, and the sacrifices and expenses must be allocated throughout the alliance. There are also voluntary donations, and wealthy families can donate several sheep at a time. The sacrifices that cannot be used up that year, mainly livestock, are designated to be put away by special people and reserved for use in the coming year.

On the day of the festival, people from all directions gathered in nearby Aobao to participate in sacrifices. At the beginning of the sacrifice, a horse race was held first, and then the offerings were placed, and the lama chanted sutras and performed the sacrifice. People participating in the sacrifice added stones to the Obo one after another. After the event, cultural and sports activities such as wrestling, singing, and dancing were carried out.

Ewenki marriage customs

Marriage among Ewenki hunters generally includes several stages: proposal, engagement, and marriage. As the wedding day approaches, the man's family must move to a location near the woman's home, no matter how far away it is. On the wedding day, the groom, accompanied by his parents, relatives and friends, took the 10 reindeer given to the woman to the woman's house, and the woman also came to the road with the same team to greet them. After the two parties met, the bride and groom hugged, kissed and gave each other gifts. Then everyone went to Luozi to drink wedding wine until the banquet was over in the evening and the wedding was held. Interestingly, their wedding was not held indoors but in the wild. At that time, they lit a bonfire called the "Happy Fire" on the cleared river beach valley, and then people gathered the bride and groom from their huts to the bonfire, and formed a semicircle with the fire as the center. , an elder who presides over the wedding announces the start of the wedding. The officiant fills two glasses of wine with birch bark cups and hands them to the bride and groom to pour into the fire to show respect for the God of Fire. Then they toast to their parents. Then the bride and groom hugged and kissed each other, held hands and formed a circle with all the wedding attendees, singing and dancing to celebrate the night.

Ewenki costumes

The Ewenki people mainly live in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang in my country. The Daxinganling Mountains in northeastern my country is an endless stretch of virgin forest, which provides the Ewenki with abundant natural wealth—timber and wild animals.

The Ewenki people engaged in agriculture south of the Daxinganling Mountains in Inner Mongolia mainly wear robes. Men's robes are simple and elegant, while women's robes are gorgeous. There are many lace decorations under the collar, shoulders, front and back chest, front breast, hem, openings, etc. The girl's cuffs and purse are decorated with flowers, stories, etc.

The Ewenki people of Aoluguya hunting in Inner Mongolia have special costumes. Men usually wear short leather robes with double breasts. Women have leather robes with large collars and front breasts. The large collars, front breasts and hems are decorated with leather strips of various colors. , ranging from first to second floors. They all wear long boots and soft boots. Women's soft boots are decorated with symmetrical antlers on the front, while men's boots are plain.

Herding Ewenki costumes are mainly Mongolian robes with different decorations. There are about 15 cm cloud scroll pattern circles under the collar, shoulders, and front and back chests. The Bihezhe ethnic group's cloud scroll pattern shoulder circles are decorated Dense and varied.

Both men's and women's clothing are embroidered and decorated with gold and silver threads. The slits at the hem of the robe are also decorated with cloud scroll patterns. The men are simple and elegant, and the women are gorgeous. Another type of clothing is similar to that of the Buryat Mongol tribe. The upper part of the women's robe resembles a cheongsam, and the lower part is a pleated skirt-style joint. There are wide belts on the front chest and front waist. Girls have their shoulders down, women have their shoulders up. Both men and women wear nearly diamond-shaped folding hats, which can be folded in various ways.

In the past, it was mainly animal skins, and the clothing styles mainly included long woolen coats, short leather tops, lambskin jackets, leather trousers, leather chaps, leather boots, etc. The long woolen coat has diagonal breasts, thick sleeves and a long belt. Short leather jackets and lambskin jackets are wedding or festival dresses. Both men's and women's clothes are decorated with decorations made of cloth or lambskin on the edges and collars, and they are worn with a belt. Like blue and black clothes. Leather trousers are carefully made and embroidered with various patterns on the outside. They are beautiful and elegant, and are cold-resistant and wear-resistant. They can be worn outside the leather trousers when the weather is cold. Men wear single cloth hats in summer and conical leather hats with red tassels on the top in winter.

Ewenki diet

The Ewenki people in pure animal husbandry production areas eat milk, meat, and noodles as their staple foods. They cannot live without milk for three meals a day. They not only use fresh milk as a drink, but also use fresh milk as a drink. Fresh milk is also often processed into yogurt and dry dairy products. The main dairy products are: cream, butter, milk residue, dried milk and milk skin. The most common way to eat it is to spread the extracted butter on bread or snacks.

The meat is mainly beef and mutton. In the past, each household consumed an average of twenty sheep and two cows per year.

Before winter comes, the Ewenki people slaughter a large number of livestock to store meat. Methods of eating meat include: eating meat with your hands, stuffing blood sausage, cooking meat rice porridge and kebabs, etc.

The Ewenki people who live in the primeval forests of the Daxingan Mountains in the north completely rely on meat as their staple food in daily life. They eat handa meat, venison, bear meat, wild boar, ham, and chinchilla meat. The eating methods of dragons, pheasants, black-bone chickens, fish, etc. are also slightly different from those in pastoral areas. Among them, the livers and kidneys of handa deer, deer, and crocodiles are generally eaten raw, while other parts must be cooked.

Fish is mostly used for stew. When stewing fish, only wild onions and salt are added to pay attention to the original flavor of the soup.

The Ewenki people rarely eat vegetables. They only collect some wild onions and make pickles as side dishes. Since the early 1950s, staple foods have been gradually replaced by pasta such as noodles, pancakes, steamed buns, etc.

The Ewenki people all drink milk tea. When drinking, they add butter and milk residue according to their personal taste. In addition, they also drink noodle tea and meat tea. The Ewenki people in the forest area also drink the unique local reindeer milk.

Ewenki architecture

Ewenki customs

The Ewenki people are hospitable and pay attention to etiquette. When visiting an Ewenki home, the guest will sit wherever the host places the leather mat. Wherever you sit, do not move the leather cushions at will. After the guests were seated, the hostess served milk tea and then cooked the animal meat. After the meat was cooked, the hostess took out a hunting knife, cut a small piece of meat and threw it into the fire, and then gave it to the guests to eat. If the visitor is a distinguished guest, reindeer milk is usually offered as an offering. The Ewenki people must have wine when entertaining guests. In addition to drinking white wine, every family can brew wild fruit wine. When making a toast, the host should hold the glass high and pour a few drops into the fire. He should take a sip first before inviting the guests to drink. The Ewenki people believe that no one will carry their house with them when they go out. If they do not entertain others, no one will take care of them after they go out.

Before the mother is one month old, outsiders are not allowed to bring guns or keys into the house to prevent the mother from weaning. When parents are alive, sons are not allowed to grow beards; they should not have haircuts or shaves in the afternoon, especially if they are filial piety; they should not say "die". If an old man dies, he should say "he has become a Buddha"; if a child dies, he should say "he has a small life"; When moving, avoid leaving unclean things on the place where a deceased person has died, such as nails, hair, rag bags, foot wraps, etc.; avoid cursing livestock; avoid throwing milk food. If it is accidentally scattered, it should be thrown away. A small amount of milk is on the forehead; it is forbidden to slaughter or sell female animals that have not stopped breastfeeding; it is forbidden for couples to exchange clothes and hats, otherwise they will think that the hunt will be fruitless; it is forbidden for women to touch a man's head. It is believed that there is a Buddha on a man's head, and touching a man's head is Blasphemy against Buddha. In addition, this tribe also has many hunting taboos, as well as fire god taboos, entry taboos, etc.

Ewenki religion

The Ewenki people mostly believe in shamanism. Residents in pastoral areas also believe in Tibetan Buddhism, and most people believe in polytheism.

The Ewenki people respect fire as a god. No matter at home or outdoors, do not stir the fire with edged objects, do not pour water on the fire, and do not throw filthy objects into the fire. When eating meat or drinking alcohol, you must first offer fire.

Every year on December 23, the Ewenki people in pastoral areas also hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the God of Fire: a table is placed in front of the fire place and a variety of offerings are placed. Light lamps around the fire rack, hang five kinds of colorful cloth strips, use wooden strips to build a frame inside the fire rack, put the breastbone of the sheep on it, sprinkle with mutton oil, then light the fire, and put various offerings into the fire. At the same time, the woman who presides over the fire god has to kneel in front of the fire and pray to the fire god to forgive her family's disrespect for the fire this year. Afterwards, the whole family kowtows to the fire. It is prohibited to stir the fire or remove the ashes within 3 days after the fire sacrifice. The reason why they respect fire so much is not only because it plays an important role in their production and life, but also because they believe that the owner of fire is God, and the fire owner of each household is their ancestor. It’s hard to continue the incense.