Why do women wear "Baotou" style mourning clothes (with a big bag in front of their foreheads) at Manchu funerals in Suizhong County, Liaoning Province? What is the origin?

It is a custom for Manchu funeral women to surround Baotou.

Manchu funerals

There used to be many forms in history of manchu, such as wild burial, cremation, burial, etc. In modern times, burial was the main form. Burial can also be divided into two forms: cremation and burial, and direct burial in coffins. Cremation first, bone colonization in a crock and then burial, which is mostly used for soldiers killed in the expedition. It is customary to cut off the braid of the deceased, put it with the ashes and bury it in a jar. Manchu ancestors thought that braids were the place where souls lived, so they cherished them. Another kind of direct burial is the most common form. Its ceremony is the same as that of the Han nationality. It is hard to say whether it is full of vulgarity or Han nationality. There are many similarities and differences, so I won't go into details. Only some unique features are recorded here.

First of all, before the old man dies, his children will stay with him, especially his eldest son. Put on the shroud before dying, and immediately cover the ancestor board and mirror with red cloth after dying. Legend has it that the soul of the deceased saw the mirror and thought it was a river, so he dared not leave home. Therefore, the mirror must be covered to cover his ancestors' board, so as not to let his ancestors see the unfortunate sadness.

after death, people park in the west room with their heads in the west and feet in the east, and put a copper coin in their mouth. Therefore, the west is the best, and it is not empty talk. After death, money and food are abundant.

Manchu mourning dress has slits at the front and back, horseshoe sleeves, white coarse cloth gown, white cloth mourning belt at the waist, no hemp Dai Xiao, no Dai Xiao hat, only white mourning belt around the hat, and women around the baotou, putting down the bun and braiding it. No matter men or women, shoes are covered with white cloth, and those who have one parent are not covered completely, leaving the true color of the upper at the heel. Grandchildren's filial piety clothes and red cloth strips.

Manchu funerals don't hang white "age paper" outside the door, but hang red banners in front of the gate or in the courtyard, with the common name of "inverted banners", that is, Dan banners. The banner is hung with a wooden pedestal and sent to the cemetery with the coffin at the funeral. After the deceased is buried, if one of the husband and wife dies first, remove the black head and black mounting of the red flag in the graveyard and take it back to the collection, which will be used when the deceased is buried later. When the deceased is buried, it can ward off evil spirits, avoid disasters, and make children grow up safely. The different texture of the red flag indicates the difference in status level. Officials are all silks and satins, and ordinary people mostly use red cloth (red cloth was used in Changchun area in the past). The banner is one foot or two long, and the whole red cloth is divided into four strips, with slightly shorter edges and black cloth at the head and tail. It is made of triangular black cloth with serrated black spikes at the bottom. In ancient times, Manchu people used red (blood color) as a fierce color, so it was used for funerals.

when the Manchu people are buried, they are covered with mats and are not allowed to see the sun. Don't go through the door, lift the spirit from the window, men go through the left window and women go through the right window. Opening light, hiding nails, etc. are the same as those of Han nationality.

Three days after his death, a ceremony of "seeing off three" was held in front of Guandi Temple, which was called "pulling the chain" in Manchu (that is, sending travelling expenses). Burning incense and offering sacrifices, burning paper, gold and silver foil, and burning bags (specify recipients and donors). The seventh day is the day of leaving the soul, and it is said that the deceased went to Wangxiangtai to visit their homes. It was the Japanese family who spread the used bedding in the bedroom of the deceased, put on the fruits and tables, and waited for the deceased's soul to enjoy, but the family kept absolutely quiet to avoid disturbing the ghosts, until the chickens crowed all over the place the next morning, and went to the west chimney to burn paper and cry.

Manchu coffins are called "flag materials" which are different from Han coffins "civilian materials". Folk materials are wooden trough-shaped with a wide top and a narrow bottom, and covered with a coffin. The flag coffin lid is ridged, with a (pentagonal) cross section, which evolved from the coffin under the tip of cremation. The coffin head is nailed with a wind and fire wing symbolizing the flame, or a five-finger longevity head. Around Beijing, this wood is gourd-shaped, because it is called gourd material. In short, the flag material is "thin and tall, like a cabinet, from bottom to top, the more deformed it is." The dutiful son stood on both sides of the coffin, but his face was not visible on his head, while the Chinese material was on his chest and shoulders, and the flag material was covered high, so knocking on the coffin was like the combination of two grooves, which was very consistent. The head of the flag coffin and the coffin are also paid more attention to, and pavilions, the sun, the moon and the stars are often painted to create an ideal realm for the dead. Unmarried dead people use "bottomless coffins". The so-called bottomless coffin, that is, drilling seven holes in the bottom of the coffin, also gives the soul of the deceased freedom to go in and out (find a mate). Flag materials have generally not been used since the late Qing Dynasty, and they are all made of Chinese materials.

after the deceased was buried, a guide chicken was placed under the coffin. At the funeral, the chicken was released to the cemetery or used to reward Mr. Feng Shui. When the Manchu people were buried, they were different from other people. They carried the coffin around the tomb three times (male left, female right) and then buried, in order to confuse the dead and not know where they came from, so as not to go home to make trouble.

"cooking" after burial means burning the offerings, pillows and clothes of the deceased, and not taking off clothes or shaving their heads for 1 days. Don't post New Year pictures or write couplets within three years, and stop getting married. In addition to the general memorial day and New Year's Day, the Qingming Festival sacrifice is quite special: Buddha's support is inserted on the grave, and five-color paper is pasted on the corn pulp, or gold and silver foil is pasted on the straw head, symbolizing that Buddha's mother is naked and dressed in colorful clothes as a sacrifice. Today, most Manchu people use cremation, and the complicated burial ceremony has become a thing of the past.