According to the tradition of China, there has been a saying since ancient times that once the coffin is landed, many bad things may happen, both to family members and people around them. Of course, there are many superstitious elements here, so in order to avoid this, we will try to find as many people to carry the coffin.
The second statement came down from the Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge Liang found four military advisers and told them that the broken rope was where he was buried. If the cemetery doesn't arrive and the coffin falls to the ground, there is no way out, so we can only bury it where the coffin fell. However, there is another possibility that it will be embarrassing to accidentally leave it at home, so from this perspective, finding so many people to carry coffins is to prevent it from falling to the ground.
There is also a very important saying that once the coffin falls to the ground, the soul will also fall to the ground. If it doesn't reach the cemetery, the soul may have been swaying. Obviously, for people who believe in superstition, this is simply the most horrible thing. When Emperor Jiaqing died outside, it was said that more than 10,000 people carried coffins back to Beijing to prevent them from falling to the ground.
At first glance, you don't understand that a coffin is less than 2,000 kilograms, and more than a dozen people can't lift it. The number of people carrying coffins is fixed, not one more and one less, but at least 12 bar, with 24 people carrying, 24 bars above and 48 people carrying.
They are all great laborers with strong bodies. Old, weak, sick and disabled can't be lifted.
A few years ago, cremation was not practiced in rural areas, and this traditional custom has been maintained. You have all kinds of cars, and you don't have to pull the coffin by car, but you still need someone to carry it. Mainly the dirt roads in rural areas are rugged and relatively stable. People carry them and the deceased can be buried in coffins intact. More importantly, it shows the popularity in the village.
If the popularity of the village is poor, it is difficult to gather 24 smart guys, let alone 48 strong men.
In the village, people carrying coffins is a symbol of power. Father said that decades ago, there was a big family in our village, and his old mother died. His ancestral grave is fifty or sixty miles away from our village. After such a long journey, he decided to carry the coffin by people, 24 poles, 48 people, followed by eight big carriages with spirits tied, and 96 strong laborers were pulled in the carriage, ready to change the poles, that is, three shifts to carry the coffin upside down. The car is loaded with tables and drinks, and the replacement person drinks and eats vegetables in the car. A liner class carried more than ten miles to change poles. Carrying the old mother to the cemetery is a traditional custom and a symbol of status.
People used to think that people and ghosts were divided into yin and yang, and people died as ghosts. In the so-called underworld, they still live like the dead, but the difference is that the soul is separated from the mortal body and has some special functions, which will always harm or protect the living. This concept led to no one dare to dispose of the body casually, thus forming a strict and orderly funeral custom. Today, some customs have been handed down.
As far as we are concerned, burial has always been popular and it is very important to bury the dead. As the saying goes, "It takes eight people to lift one when lying down." Practically speaking, after the deceased lies on his back in the coffin, both sides should be clamped with dry soil bags or mud bags. The weight of the coffin plus the dead and the soil is at least five or six hundred kilograms, and four people can't lift it at all.
From the folk belief, the coffin was moved outside the door, everyone bolted the bolt and tied the rope, and the dutiful son cried and sacrificed. Generally, coffins are carried in groups of eight. On the way, two or three groups can be organized to change their shoulders and rest. The coffins should not fall to the ground. Put paper cannons and buy coins along the way. Neighbors and people along the way had to build a grass fire at the intersection in front of the door, which was euphemistically called to keep the funeral procession out of the cold. Its inherent common belief is that it is afraid of an unlucky year, lest it lose their spirit in front of the coffin. If you meet a close relative and close friend who lays a road sacrifice at the end of the road (commonly known as "taking the road"), you can hang the coffin on the stool you carry with you and never touch the ground.
These are the reasons why more than a dozen people carried the funeral of the rural elderly.
In our hometown, eight people carry coffins-commonly known as "the carrier" or "Eight donkey kong".
Many elderly people in rural areas have exquisite funerals, which are passed down from generation to generation. Now, I will share our local funeral mourning customs:
Usually it is carried in the morning, but some people carry it in the afternoon and bury it in the afternoon-carrying it out and burying it in the afternoon is called "stealing mountains" and burying young people in the afternoon is called "short-lived". Old people are not buried in the afternoon. ...
In the morning, the principal rooms should be carried out before Chen (the specific time is determined by the gentleman who looks at the land), and those who carry the principal rooms are called "Chu Yun" or "Da". It takes eight people to carry it, with ropes at both ends of the coffin and four people on one side ... The reason why eight people are needed is because the weight of the body and the weight of the coffin are above 800 kilograms. Coffins are all made of cedar, and the wood is heavy. If the materials are not good, there is still water-that is 1000 kilograms, and eight people carry an average of more than 100 kilograms. It is conceivable that the mourner must be a strong man. ...
After being carried out of the main house, put two low benches (30cm high) on the earth dam, put coffins (coffins), and put two big benches (50cm high) in front of and behind the coffins, which means-the big benches are good for lifting the coffins, so as to bind the coffins ... It takes some skills to bind the coffins, which is based on the experience of the old master for many years (I won't tell you here). ...
After the funeral ceremony, under the command of the "initiator", the dutiful son raised the flag to lead the way ... A group of people set off shouting "Song" ...
In addition to the "Eight donkey kong" to carry the coffin, the main family will also arrange several strong men to help carry the coffin around ... because the country dirt road turns big, the slope is steep and bumpy. ...
Afraid of the coffin falling ... rural custom: on the way to lift the coffin, the coffin (coffin) is not allowed to land. If it touches the ground, it is said that the deceased will kneel for three years. ...
Of course, no matter what customs and taboos are, they are all legends. The point is that the coffin is too heavy. It needs to be picked hard and lifted. For safety reasons, the more people, the better.
Generally, eight people carry coffins at funerals for the elderly in rural areas, and those who carry coffins are honored as the Eight Immortals. On some difficult roads, another man helped the Eight Immortals to prevent them from accidentally falling down. Why do so many people carry coffins and help? This is because: first, the weight is heavy.
Before cremation, people were buried directly in coffins. Some coffins are made of good wood, such as cypress coffins, which are big and heavy.
When entering the coffin, most people don't know when to be buried. In order to prevent the remains from rotting in the mourning hall, a lot of white ash was put at the bottom of the coffin, which increased the weight.
At that time, people were buried in coffins and some funerary objects were put in.
The overall weight includes dragon bars, wooden poles, coffins, corpses, white ashes, clothes, etc. Some weigh more than 800 kilograms.
Second, the road is difficult.
In addition to some roads, there are many places that can't be called roads when going up the mountain. They are rugged and overgrown with weeds, making it difficult to walk.
Third, it's a long way.
The funeral is a long way from the place where it started to the burial place on the mountain. No one, can't carry it, can't last.
Fourth, the strength of widowhood is different.
Widowed men are tall and short, and their strength is big and small. Because of the uneven road surface, their weight on everyone's shoulders is different. Some people may feel relaxed, but some people will feel very tired.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) heavy workload
There is only one day to bury a widower, and there is a lot of time on the road and waiting in this day. It takes only a short time to really bury a coffin and build a grave. It takes a lot of work and a short time to pick up soil when stacking tombs.
Sixth, improve yang
Although the pallbearers do not directly contact the dead, they also indirectly contact the dead, and there is a piece of wood between the pallbearers and the graves. In order to raise the spirit of the sun, arrange more people to be widowed?
It is for the above reasons that there are more people carrying coffins. There are several reasons why the coffins of rural elderly people need to be carried by more than a dozen people. One is respect for the dead. Many people carry coffins to show the dignity of the deceased, which originated from the funeral etiquette of the ancient royal nobles to the deceased and later spread to the people. Second, the coffin of the deceased is too heavy, and no one is impossible. The coffin is made of superior materials such as cypress and pine, and the ceiling and other places are made of a whole piece of wood, which is thick and heavy and cannot be lifted by several people. Third, it is generally impossible for a coffin to land in the middle of a cemetery. If it is to land, it will be at the crossroads where it stops for one minute. Someone else has to carry it in the middle, and the pallbearers who are not too heavy can't get to the cemetery. So there should be more people, and we should prepare substitutes. In short, the funeral of the rural elderly is a major event. It is an account of the deceased and a comfort to the living. Many people carrying coffins is one of the most important links, so we should attach great importance to it.
I am Su Beiren, a poor county in Jiangsu, but an old district. My home is in the countryside, and I have been in the countryside for more than ten years. I am 75 years old this year. To tell the truth, I have been cremated since the death of the social education movement. After the Cultural Revolution, except for a few coffins buried secretly, there were basically no coffins. For example, when my parents were in their fifties, all the longevity materials were ready, and when they were near 100 years old, the coffins were cut down as waste wood. As for carrying coffins in the past, it was usually four people. I've never seen more than two or six people. This is "different customs in ten miles, different customs in different places." Just like Pima Dai Xiao, the same word has different uses. If the dutiful son wears hemp, he has a shawl around his waist; The dutiful son has Xiao's hat and shawl; After the memorial ceremony of relatives and friends, in the past, according to the number of people or heads, men gave out white cloth badges and women gave out white cloth headscarves, but now most of them give out towels and bath towels. The band that plays the role of crying for the dead has flourished for 30 years after the reform and opening up, but it has gradually declined in the past decade, especially in towns. It is good to have a funeral home, and many people go to the funeral home as soon as they die. In a word, rules are made by people, and customs come one by one. Maybe some people spread it for profit. You can investigate if you don't believe me.
In the past, when the old man died, the number of people carrying coffins could show the family's power, economic ability, contacts, family size and filial piety to the old man.
When I was young, there was no cremation at that time. I have participated in several times to carry the coffins of old people who died in relatives and neighbors. Because the situation of each family is different, the people who attend are different, and the meals prepared are different. Some use octupole, 16-pole, 24-pole, and the most I hear is 32-pole. When carrying the coffin, a host called the number.
Put two pieces of thick and strong wood on both sides of the coffin, tie them with two old ropes, and prepare a small rope on each small bar, which should be uniform in size to avoid being heavy when lifting the bar.
When there are few people, they will rest while arguing. They put it underground after walking a few hundred meters, and put two pieces of wood underground, so that the coffin could not touch the ground. Then the eldest son kowtowed to all the people who carried the coffin, took a rest and lifted the coffin before leaving.
If there are many people, switch to two groups and change shoulders while walking. At most, they will rest halfway and go straight to the grave.
Coffins are light and heavy, ranging from 300 to 400 kilograms, and the weight can reach thousands of kilograms, requiring 24 people to carry them.
I remember when my grandfather died, I used 24 shoulders. At that time, the coffin and all expenses were solved by the township civil affairs, and the food and personnel were solved by the village. At that time, the village secretary, the village head and the backbone militia of a production team all came, with 70 or 80 people. As they walked, they changed people and carried them to the grave. The village head and the secretary's militia company commander participated in carrying the coffin and carried 24 people. This is a good coffin.
Because my grandfather is a family member of an old martyr, he is very famous in the local area and does not give the government any trouble.
At that time, rice was eaten, and the production team made hundreds of kilograms of tofu and took dozens of kilograms of pork, which was unique at that time.
By the time my dad died, the family was already down and out, and there were fewer people who came to wrangle. They prepared rice and tofu, both borrowed from others, and the coffin was quite simple, so they used eight poles. It's shabby to think of it now.
There are more people carrying coffins than others, depending on the specific situation of the family at that time. If there are no conditions, someone will push the old man up the hill with a trolley. That's what our two brothers in the front yard did. They are heartless. No one accompanied them when they were alive, and no one helped them when the old people died.
In fact, there are many people, just to live. Don't waste money, compare with each other. You don't know anything when you die, and it's over, but there's still a conclusion.
There are indeed more than a dozen people carrying coffins at the funeral of the elderly in rural areas!
Why do so many people have to recite it? There is a reason for this!
First, the more people carry coffins, the more they show respect for the dead, and the more noble they look! In rural areas, farmers also love face. If someone dies at home, they will definitely throw all their money into a big funeral. One of them is to ask more people to carry the coffin of the funeral. If you have money but no money, you must put on more ostentation and extravagance, so you will feel twice as proud!
Second, the coffin itself is very heavy. The old man in the countryside died and worked hard all his life. When he leaves, his relatives will definitely prepare a big coffin for him. I have seen many large coffins for the funeral of rural elderly people, which seem to weigh more than 1000 Jin. Such a heavy coffin is difficult for a few people to carry, and only a dozen people can carry it to the cemetery. Therefore, when the elderly in rural areas leave the coffin, they will see many people carrying the coffin.
Third, fear of the dead! Is there a soul after death? This is a question that many people find difficult to answer! There has been a saying of the dead since ancient times. Human death is only the death of the body, and the soul will wander in a corner of the world. There are still some messy statements, so I won't go into details here! It is precisely because of the reverence of the living for the dead that many people are arranged to carry funeral coffins.
That's my answer. I don't know if it's right. Welcome comments and concerns. Thank you!
In rural areas, coffin boards used for the funeral of the elderly include one-inch boards, three-inch boards, five-inch boards, seven-inch boards and nine-inch boards. Wooden coffins are made of different materials, such as willow boards, pine boards and cypress boards. Have different qualities and weights, and what are the differences with the family status conditions of the elderly? So the number of people carrying coffins is different. There are four people carrying coffins, eight people carrying coffins, sixteen people carrying coffins, twenty-four people carrying coffins, thirty-two people carrying coffins and so on. In history, the status of rural family cemeteries is very high: Juren and scholars can enter the ancestral graves to show off the family glory of the ancestral graves.
High-ranking people: court officials above Zhuang Yuan.
I chose another cemetery.