When coming to Xishuangbanna, what are the Dai taboos that you need to pay attention to?

Taboos of the Dai people: If tourists want to interview the Dai people, if they encounter people in the village worshiping the village god when they walk to the village, they must not enter the village.

Xishuangbanna is the center of Theravada Buddhism in China. Every Dai village has a Buddhist temple. Tourists who want to visit a Buddhist temple must take off their shoes when entering. Buddhist temples are sacred and clean places. Wearing shoes into a Buddhist temple is tantamount to desecrating the temple and disrespecting Buddhism.

When visiting a Dai family, if there are many people in the guest room, they must not step over the tripod in the fire pit. Because the tripod symbolizes the marriage and establishment of a business for the Dai people, it represents a kind of gemstone, which is set up to bless the owner's safety and make fire for cooking, so it should be respected.

When visiting Dai areas, if you meet monks or young monks, be sure not to ask about killing. The country has strict Buddhist laws. Don't kill, don't drink alcohol, don't steal, don't lie, don't gamble, and don't talk about love.

Do not touch the head of the "little monk": Theravada religion in Xishuangbanna stipulates that men must live a religious life separated from their families in their lives. Only when they encounter difficulties in social life can they be relieved of their sufferings. From birth to adulthood There will be social status later. When boys are in their seventh or eighth year, they must enter a Buddhist temple to serve as a monk for a period of time and are called "little monks". The "little monk" has to take care of himself and work in the Buddhist temple, study Buddhist scriptures and carry out strict self-cultivation education. After two or three years, men can "return to the secular world" and then they can get married and start a family. Men who have never been a "monk" are regarded as strangers or savages, have no status in society and are looked down upon. When practicing self-cultivation in the temple, you are not allowed to talk or laugh with women, and outsiders are not allowed to touch the young monk's head (this is completely opposite to the Han people who like children to touch their heads). If your head is touched by outsiders (especially women), you will be regarded as an enemy. All the "little monk" and "cultivation" time are void and must start from scratch. Therefore, foreign tourists must remember this custom if they visit the temple.

Bedroom taboos: Dai people are accustomed to living upstairs, and the upstairs bedroom is only separated from the living room by a partition. There is no partition in the bedroom to divide it into small rooms. Several generations of people have lived here. Inside, they are separated by mosquito nets, with certain intervals in the middle, and separate entrances and exits. Outsiders are not allowed to peek into the bedroom. In the past, customs stipulated that if the owner found out that outsiders were peeking into the owner's bedroom, the man would become the owner's son-in-law, or work hard at the owner's house for three years. Even female guests would have to go to the owner's home. He served at home for three years. Therefore, whether tourists visit or are guests in a Dai family, they must not peek into the owner's bedroom because of the sense of mystery. Although the past customs are now broken, peeking into the Dai bedroom is always unpopular.

Taboos in the living room: There are three main pillars in the Dai family’s upstairs living room. Two are separated from the bedroom and the living room side by side, and one is next to the fire pit. There are two pillars in the bedroom. The outer one is called the "Auspicious Pillar" and can be rested on. The inner one is used after death and is called the "Ascension Pillar". When someone in the family dies, the family members put the deceased pillar People (regardless of men and women) lean on this pillar to bathe, dress, and wrap their bodies, waiting for cremation. You are absolutely not allowed to lean on the pillar beside the fire pit. It is the "Tiantian Pillar" in Dai people's life. If you lean on the pillar, it means disrespecting the owner.

Instructions for going to the Bamboo Tower: You must take off your shoes when entering the Buddhist temple. After entering the door, people should sit in order according to their seniority and seniority. The Dai people believe that the threshold is the only way for people and ghosts to pass through. Stools cannot be used as pillows because stools are only for people to sit on. They cannot step across the fire pit with their feet and cannot do it at will. Move the iron "tripod" used to hold the pot in the fire pit; when buying vegetables on the street, you cannot use your toes to bargain with the vegetables; you cannot step on the shadows of monks, let alone touch their heads. The Dai people believe that the "head" is the leader of the people; they should step softly when going upstairs and do not whistle at night; they should not speak ill of others in public; women who are less than a month old after giving birth should not go to other people's homes to play; if there is a funeral in the family, no one is allowed to go to the house before the funeral. People go.