May I ask about the specific funeral customs in Ningbo?

Funeral

In the old days, funeral rituals were complicated and superstitious.

Making a longevity field

In the old days, elderly people from wealthy families often chose a place to build a longevity field. There were two "longevity bricks", two teapots and two oil bottles (called "longevity oil") in the field. The words "Shouyu" on the tombstone were painted with red paint to show the holes. Later, when the coffin was entered, it was painted with black paint. Doing the longevity field must choose even days, the tenth day of the lunar month is an auspicious day, and you are not allowed to be present.

Funeral

Farewell - when the patient is dying, family members surround the bed to watch him off, and the younger ones should kneel in front of the bed. There are also eldest sons who help their fathers to sit on their backs. As the saying goes, "if you know how to die, get up and sit down." At the end of the day, it is considered "good luck" to have all the children together. If there are sons who are still on the way and have not arrived, some ginseng soup is poured into the dying person to extend the time. Once the person dies, which is said to have swallowed the last mouthful of "seabed phlegm", the family members can cry and mourn. Immediately, they burned the tinfoil money, which was called "giving money away".

Bathing the corpse - when an old man dies, a filial son holds an umbrella and a bucket to a well or river, burns paper money and draws water, and wipes the deceased with a new towel, which is called "buying water to bathe the corpse". Generally, sons bathe the corpse of their father, and daughters bathe the corpse of their mother. There are also those who drop a copper coin at the river dock or into the well, pretending to fetch water or bathing the deceased. After bathing, the deceased is combed and groomed, nails trimmed, and put on a shroud. Some even put on a shroud before death.

Removing the body - the eldest son holds the head and the younger son carries the feet, and the body is moved to the wooden bed in the middle hall or in the front room. The area around Yin County is called "Yibantou", Cixi is called "Xie Bantou", Ninghai is called "Hanbantou", and Yuyao is called "Tanbantou". When moving a corpse across the patio, one must hold an umbrella to cover it, as this means that the corpse will never see the light of day. When the corpse is moved, the family members kneel down and are not allowed to cry, to prevent tears from dripping on the corpse. After moving it properly, a piece of white cloth is placed on the face of the deceased, which is commonly known as "covering the face with white cloth". Lighting an oil lamp behind one's feet is said to provide illumination to the deceased, commonly known as "the lamp behind one's feet". In the Hongtang area (today's Jiangbei District), a millstone was placed behind the feet of the deceased, and a large scale was inserted into the grinding hole. A sack was hung on the scale hook, and grains were placed in the sack. Only after the body has been mortued can the family members cry and burn the mat and other sundries on which the deceased slept at a three-way intersection or a river pier, commonly known as "burning the recommendation bag".

Announcement of funeral - also called news of death. The sign of a mourner is to hold an umbrella upside down and walk with his head down, without talking to anyone on the way. When he arrives at the home where he wants to report, he puts the umbrella handle down outside the door to show the bad news, informs him of the brief situation and the date of burial, and then leaves. In some places in the countryside, as soon as the mourner leaves, a bowl or a tile is smashed at the gate, which means "all diseases will disappear".

Watching the mourner - hanging filial piety in the filial piety hall, setting up a sacrificial table, placing the memorial tablet (sacred tablet), burning incense and candles, making "rice soup in front of the soul", and the nuns chanting sutras, accompanying them with prayers, and Same everywhere. The filial son and other family members lay on the straw mat beside the corpse, which is called "accompanying the corpse", and went to the "big coffin" (falling wood); then they took turns to keep watch until the "mourning".

Breaking filial piety - the family members of the deceased make filial piety clothes, which is called "breaking filial piety". White cloth is given to relatives and relatives who come to express their condolences to make mourning clothes, which is called "Sanbai". There is a difference in filial piety. Filial sons and grandsons wear linen clothes, cattail slippers, a straw rope around their waists, and "three-beam straw crowns" on their heads. Filial sons and grandsons tie a round red cloth on the brim of their hats to show their good fortune in filial piety. Nephews wear "two-beam straw crowns." For direct relatives, the male's "white hat" has a rounded head, while for distant relatives, the head is square. Women's families wear filial piety pockets, which are shaped like cloaks and can be long or short. Daughters and daughters-in-law wear the longest ones. Women's families generally also wear white buns. The younger members of the clan wear linen clothes, while their peers wear white clothes.

Large coffin - also called entering wood, entering coffin, and falling wood. The morgue time after a person's death is divided into three days, five days, and seven days, commonly known as "several days of arrogance". Generally, a single day is chosen to carry out the burial when the tide is high, so it is said to be "watching the tide and falling wood". Generally, straw ash is used to lay the bottom of the coffin. Rich families use lime, and the top is covered with crushed wick foam, commonly known as "wick eye". A mat is spread out, and a headrest and footrest are placed, which is called "Yuanbao pillow". With the filial son holding the head and feet, the four helpers grabbed the four corners of the quilt and put the body into the coffin, which is commonly known as "falling wood". The corpse's feet must touch the coffin board and the corpse must be said "down to earth". 24 or 32 packets of lime are placed around the corpse, commonly known as "Baotou". The utensils and toys that the deceased loved during his lifetime, as well as the fingernails and toenails that were cut when bathing the corpse, are wrapped in paper and included. Avoid placing mirrors.

Then the "re-quilts" sent by family members and friends are piled up one after another, and the two deacons call and answer each other. They need to cover one piece to say that it was sent by someone (just like the list of those who submitted wreaths today). One person holds a liter (meter liter) in one hand and a bucket (meter bucket) in the other hand, and pretends to pour something into the coffin. While "pouring", he shouts: "One liter of gold". The other person replies: "Yes!" and then shouts "Wujin". "One liter", "one liter of silver", and then "one dou of gold" and "one dou of silver" are all represented by "you, you, you", commonly known as "gold, wood, water, fire and earth, three buckets and three liters" "Sufficient" means that the deceased can sleep peacefully. It is said that the Ningbo slang "deceiving a farmer into falling into a coffin" originated here. The last quilt is given to a filial son or a filial grandson, commonly known as the "children and grandchildren quilt". Before the coffin is closed, the "white cover" is lifted, which is said to be "seeing relatives", so that relatives can see them for the last time. When the coffin lid is closed and the tips are hammered and nailed to seal it, relatives must touch the coffin, which is said to relieve the "pain" of the deceased. After the coffin was laid, the family members howled and formed a circle around the coffin for several weeks. Finally, "Wood Soup Rice" is cooked, and filial sons, relatives, and friends kneel down in batches to pay homage. The poor family will carry out the coffin on the same day or the next day, while the rich family will choose a day to carry out the funeral, and tie the ropes and prepare the coffin pole, commonly known as the "peace bar" (it can be lifted out in case of fire). Accompanying spirits and offering sacrifices are the same as in other places.

Funeral

Funeral - commonly known as mourning. Ordinary people's coffins are covered with red quilts or red felt strips. When a poor family went to mourn, two people carried it out and called it "Dulong Gang". The coffins of rich families are covered with coffins (the caskets are available in the qiu shop), with "lone crane facing the sky", "five cranes facing the sky", and "zhulong" (called "glass" pole) coffin cover, with the dragon's head extending forward and the dragon's tail behind. now. There are 4, 8, or as many as 16 people carrying the coffin, which is called "generous balance bar". Before the coffin goes on the road, the bereaved family asks a person of high status to "inscribe the title of the deceased". First, they use a red pen to add dots to the word "王" on the tablet of the god, and then use ink dots to blacken the word "lord". The ceremony is quite complicated. After the inscription is finished, the coffin is raised and carried out. Outside the door, the filial son must kneel down and drink three cups of wine. The deacon shouts: "Jiao-gong!" The crying suddenly stops, and the person who holds the altar chants the words "Jiao-gang". The old Jiao Gang poem in Baiyue Township, Yinxian County goes: "The sun rises a little red in the east, and the coffin is placed on the road; four relatives and eight family members gather together with vomiting (crying), and send the father and daughter off to the end." "Life is empty, and death is empty. , life and death are like in a dream; life is like flowers blooming in spring, death is like yellow leaves falling in autumn wind" and so on. Afterwards, they shouted: "Open your shoulders, raise the cannon!" Baizi cannons and firecrackers were fired together, and drums and cymbals were played, which was called "lead cannon". When carrying the coffin on the road, rich families usually use "Fang Xiang", the "God of the Way" as the guide, with two large lanterns and "guiding flags" on the left and right with the words "The soul returns to the home" and "The soul returns to the family hall" respectively. There are certain rules for beating gongs during funerals. The gongs are struck 9 times evenly, followed by 4 times in succession, which are collectively called the "Thirteen Gongs". One of them carried a small lantern, set off small firecrackers, and distributed "paper money". Then someone picked up paper and tied it into servant-like boys and girls and other underworld objects. The son-in-law holds the tablet of the God and the Lord and sits in the "soul sedan". Then there is the "Image Pavilion", where the portraits of the deceased are hung. Next is the coffin, with filial sons, filial piety, grandsons, filial piety, nephews, etc. wearing linen and wearing filial piety, holding a two-foot "mourning stick" in their hands, bowing in the filial piety tent, and some without placing a filial piety tent, bowing with the coffin. Funeral relatives and queens. When the coffin crosses the bridge, the filial son first crosses the bridge and kneels to greet it, and shouts "Crossing the bridge!" and then starts walking after the coffin has passed. On the way, when relatives and friends meet to offer sacrifices, it is called "road sacrifice". The coffin will be rested to receive sacrifices, and filial sons will kowtow thanks.

Entering the domain—carrying the coffin to the cemetery, first offering sacrifices to the mountain god’s land and praying for God’s blessing. The filial son led the mourners to circle the tomb three times from left to right, then opened the door of the tomb, and used sesame poles and snacks to warm the tomb, which is called "warm expansion". If the coffin is placed in the area and there is an epitaph (stone or brick) hidden, the door of the tomb is sealed, the top of the tomb is covered with earth, the grave burner and the straw crown are placed on the side of the tomb, and the mourning stick is placed in front of the tomb. The mourners usually return halfway, and their loved ones are sent to the gravesite. On the way back, follow the original route. When entering the funeral home, you have to cross the burning straw pile in front of the door, which is commonly known as the "burning straw horse". The mourner does not need to say goodbye when leaving the bereaved family, nor does the bereaved family say goodbye. After the funeral, the filial son will choose a day to ride in a plain sedan to go to the homes of relatives and friends to "thank his filial piety". They will send thank you notes and gifts based on their closeness, status, and relationships. Generally, they will not go to the home of the person being thanked.

Doing Seven Anniversaries

Counting from the day of death of the deceased, commemorative soup and rice are made every seven days, which is called "Doing Seven", among which the first seven, five and seven are Daqi, there is also a Daqi that is done on an odd basis. Wuqi said that the deceased was at the "Wangxiang Terrace" and that he would not eat food from his hometown, but his son-in-law would pay homage to him. When it reaches Qiqi, it is called "Duan Qi".

During the forty-nine days of "Qiqi", if the seventh, seventeenth, and twenty-seventh day overlap, it is called "Chongqi" and must be done again until the 100th day, the anniversary, and the third anniversary.

Doing Yin Shou

That means doing birthdays for the deceased father and mother, and also doing birthdays every tenth year from the age of fifty. The longevity hall is decorated with plain colors, and the longevity banquet of Yin Shou is called "making ten heads", which lasts until one hundred years old.

Soul-calling

If someone died in a foreign country or died of an "unexpected disaster", and there was no body to return to, the family would dress them in the shape of a human being, place them on a bamboo pole, shake them, and offer sacrifices in the distance. "Calling the soul". There are also those who make "graves".