Chapter 8. Prayer. The prayer time was set for Shen Shi (3-5 PM). Ke...
The time for the prayer was set at Shen Shi (3-5 PM).
The entire Kolo people came out, everyone eagerly anticipating the prayer and bustling about the upcoming event. It had been a long time since the Kolo people had worked together so unitedly to hold such a fervent prayer ceremony.
An directed the group, and despite the chaos, order prevailed. The able-bodied men who had been panning for gold in the Gold Rush River brought back plenty of fish and river delicacies. Yong also purchased another batch of goods, including materials for making the slanted loom, as well as pork and chicken. Considering that this prayer was the first celebration for the Keluo people after months of overcoming hardship, he somehow managed to obtain a batch of wine.
In an era when grain production was low, wine was considered extremely precious.
Lin Fengzhi led Qi to the open space where the clan held a prayer ceremony. Along the way, people kept greeting her.
The women carried wooden basins and earthenware bowls, cooking around the campfire. The cooking methods at that time were relatively simple, mainly using steaming, boiling, frying, and roasting. The seasonings were also far less diverse than those of modern times, mostly using only salt, ginger, soy sauce, and vinegar.
Having arrived in this era, besides her mobile phone, what Lin Fengzhi misses most is the variety of modern cuisine. Sigh, Lin Fengzhi almost wanted to sigh; resources are scarce, and seasonings are rare.
Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice.
She wanted to get an iron wok for cooking, but official controls on iron were extremely strict, making it very difficult to obtain ironware. Ironware was scarce, and the Keluo people generally used pottery. Lin Fengzhi had learned in school that iron plows and ox-drawn plows were already widely used during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and the Keluo people even used mainly wood and stone for their farming tools.
As for bronzeware, that was something only nobles could afford.
Not to mention the farming methods of the Koruo people, which were not intensive farming, but rather slash-and-burn agriculture.
What is slash-and-burn irrigation? Slash-and-burn irrigation is the initial form of paddy field cultivation. It consists of two stages: slash-and-burn and irrigation. Slash-and-burn involves burning the surface weeds to increase fertility. Irrigation, on the other hand, involves irrigating the paddy fields while rice seedlings and weeds coexist, utilizing the rice's extensive root system to withstand flooding and suppress weed growth.
When Lin Fengzhi first saw it, she was completely stunned, and she suddenly realized how little she knew about this era. Judging from the situation around her, it was hard not to think that it was a rather primitive era.
Lin Fengzhi tried hard to recall the few farming skills she had. She didn't know much, and without a better and more definite answer, she couldn't very well stop people from using slash-and-burn and water-plowing methods. She only remembered intensive farming, but as for how to do it, she had never farmed before, and had only ever raised succulents and even killed them, so how could she dare to say anything?
Moreover, the Keluo people do not rely entirely on farming for a living; cloth, gold panning, and the abundant fishing and hunting resources in the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas are enough to support them.
Lin Fengzhi often wondered if the Keluo people had not yet been incorporated into the dynastic system, because she could not find any memories of taxes in the original owner's memories.
Some people were cooking rice in earthenware pots, while others were frying fish around a thin stone slab. Lin Fengzhi watched the women stirring the earthenware pots with wooden spoons. The aroma of shepherd's purse mixed with pork wafted over, and a woman by the fire sprinkled a handful of salt into it. The salt was coarse and coarse-grained, not the snow-white color Lin Fengzhi remembered, but rather a grayish-brown.
Lin Fengzhi suddenly remembered where the faint bitter taste she had been experiencing while eating came from.
In ancient times, salt processing technology was relatively primitive, and salt that was not filtered often contained impurities, so it tasted slightly bitter. Families that could afford to use salt were considered fortunate. In the original owner's memories, because salt was expensive, they used coarse salt mixed with wood ash and soil.
Even poorer people who couldn't afford coarse salt used salted bean paste to supplement their saltiness.
Something flashed through Lin Fengzhi's mind. After a brief pause, she and Qi began preparing for the dance during the prayer.
Yes, she felt that the prayer was a song and dance show.
Besides Lin Fengzhi as the chief priest and Qi as the deputy, about ten men and women were selected to join them in this prayer to send away the curse and transfer the disease.
Their hair was disheveled and their faces were covered in colorful patterns, with brightly colored feathers adorning their heads. The men were bare-chested, their muscular bodies also covered in red bird markings. The women wore flowing robes, making them appear ethereal.
Their attire was similar to that of Lin Fengzhi when she first met them.
The Keluo people use the phoenix as their totem, and this vague, mysterious meaning is reflected in the patterns painted on their textiles. Lin Fengzhi's chief priest's robe is embroidered with a phoenix standing upright, its eyes glaring like an owl, its belly full and round, its legs bent and wings outstretched. Strangely, the wingtips are inward-curving phoenix heads, known as the "three-headed phoenix," clearly showing traces of totemism.
Although the phoenix pattern on Qi's body was not as exquisite as Lin Fengzhi's, it was still quite lifelike. It was hard not to feel admiration for the craftsmanship of the Keluo people.
Qi's face was covered in a thick layer of red mud. He held a flute-like instrument in his left hand and a long, colorful pheasant tail feather in his right. His expression was hidden behind the red mud, making it difficult to see clearly, but his eyes were filled with determination and reverence.
Surprisingly, it possessed divinity.
Lin Fengzhi was even more elaborate, adorned with jade on her body, waist, and hands. Shamans use jade to worship the gods, to communicate with the divine, and to imbue jade with divine influence. She held a jade pendant in her hand, its color a bluish-green and its shape round, depicting a phoenix head looking around, conveying a sense of mysterious beauty without any sense of alienation; it seemed to represent a harmonious fusion of humanity and the divine, of totem worship.
A bonfire was lit in the center of the open space.
The moment the drums sounded, everyone fell silent and put down what they were doing.
No one noticed the outsiders had infiltrated the group, silently watching the prayers.
A tall, muscular man suddenly leaped into the open space surrounded by the crowd, stepping to the beat of the drums. He raised his whip high and cracked it beside the campfire.
The next moment, several people began to dance around the campfire, waving umbrellas made of egret feathers and colorful feathers. Amidst the joyous sounds of drumming and banging on earthenware pots, they danced like birds.
"If there is someone on the mountain slope, draped in ivy and adorned with maidenhair fern."
It's easy to smile at the same time, and I admire you for being so graceful and graceful.
Riding a red leopard, followed by a blue civet cat, in a magnolia chariot, with a cassia banner.
Qi leaped and tumbled continuously, as light and graceful as a little bird.
Lin Fengzhi danced the Yu Step, tapping her jade pendant with each step as crisp and clean as shattering jade. Their robes changed with the dance movements, and the firelight constantly illuminated the phoenix patterns on their bodies.
As the drumbeats grew increasingly intense, the phoenix seemed to descend upon this world, and the onlookers couldn't help but dance along. They followed the direction of the fluttering feathers, as if they themselves had transformed into birds and were following the king of birds.
The people dancing in the center, offering prayers, had flushed faces and expressions of intoxication, as if they had drunk a potent intoxicating wine. Their movements were in sync with the drumbeats, using their fervent dance to dispel evil spirits. The exaggerated lines and colors on their faces served as a deterrent to evil.
The men's postures were as majestic as mountains, while the women were as serene and inclusive as flowing water. They swayed their bodies, mimicking the mountains, rivers, and seas of their faith. Every movement was filled with reverence for nature and supplication to the divine.
Lin Fengzhi, immersed in the scene, was also moved, gracefully dancing with flowing sleeves. She seemed to transform into an envoy of the Koruo people, facilitating communication between them and the heavens and earth within this grand narrative.
Her figure swayed in the campfire, and the clear sound of her jade pendant seemed like a distant response from the gods.
The drumbeats gradually subsided, while the flute music lingered.
Lin Fengzhi changed her previous excited and hurried movements, flipped her wrist, bent down, and put her hands together. The jade pendant in her hand fell into the campfire with her movement.
The burnt-out firewood crackled and popped, and wisps of smoke stirred the breeze.
Lin Fengzhi turned around and looked around at everyone. Everyone stared at her intently, their eyes filled with undisguised awe and reliance.
Lin Fengzhi smiled and said, "The transfer of the poison and the disease has been successful!"
In an instant, the scene seemed to have been plunged into a sea of jubilation.
They cheered and shouted "Witch" and "God".
An looked at Lin Fengzhi with a complicated expression in the crowd. She realized something and quickly concealed her expression.
Just as everyone was excitedly preparing to carry it to the banquet to continue the celebration.
"Isn't her dancing incorrect?" a voice questioned loudly. "This is a prayer that only a formal shaman can perform. Did she offer sacrifices at the Xiangjun Temple? Did she inform all the tribes along the Xiang River?"
The jubilant atmosphere was like being splashed with cold water; it cooled down first, then boiled over.
The people of Keluo wholeheartedly recognized Lin Fengzhi, the newly appointed shaman. On his first day in office, Lin Fengzhi found the source of the schistosomiasis disease that had plagued them for months. He then improved the loom, increasing the efficiency of weaving, which was equivalent to giving them a way to make money.
The crowd followed the sound and glared at the source. They simultaneously and instinctively stepped back, creating a large clearing around the other person.
“We, the Koruo people, are our own shamans. We can dance however we want, and the gods have never said anything. How dare you, an outsider, interfere?”
“We have performed all the sacrifices in front of the Xiangjun Temple. The shaman is recognized by the gods. Who are you to ask us to inform you?”
The one who started the trouble was none other than the woman who had questioned Lin Fengzhi yesterday and then apologized to her. Lin Fengzhi remembered her name; it was Xiao Shui.
"Exactly, who are you to speak to our shaman like that?"
“The shaman dances very well; even the shamans of the Qu family don’t dance as well.”
"Could they be here to freeload?"
Yong and An recognized the group; they were wearing jade pendants with water god patterns and belonged to the powerful Qu clan. They wondered when these people had infiltrated the area.
An was secretly annoyed, realizing that he had forgotten the powerful Qu clan was eyeing him covetously. He had been too indulgent and careless, which led to lax security and allowed the other party to take advantage of the situation.
The Keluo people had contact with the Qu clan. During the long period when the Keluo people had no shamans, they could not worship the gods independently and had to seek help from the Qu clan, who were highly respected in the area and had dozens of shamans.
For a long time, the Qu clan controlled clan affairs and the sacrificial traditions of the Xiang River basin. After Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river, he was equated with a deity, which further strengthened their influence.
They began to formulate the principles of becoming shamans and spread them throughout the Xiang River basin. After that, small tribes like the Keluo people rarely had shamans anymore, and the Qu clan almost monopolized the channel for communicating with the gods.
The Keluo people were skilled at weaving, producing fine, dense fabrics with unique patterns. The Qu clan took a liking to their cloth and repeatedly asked the Keluo people to exchange it for their shamans to come and perform sacrifices.
For the past half month, the Keluo people have had their own shaman and no longer pay tribute to them. Yong's large-scale purchases in the county have also alarmed them.
So Qu sent someone to investigate.
"What witch? Did she pass the test? Did she tell our Qu clan?" The young man in the lead sneered, quite disdainfully: "I have been practicing shamanism in the clan for twenty years. If I say she is wrong, then she is wrong. Hurry up and take off your shamanic robes, kneel down and beg for my forgiveness. Maybe, if I am in a good mood, I will not tell the gods about her mistakes."
An could not stand idly by while Lin Fengzhi was questioned by outsiders, not even the Qu family: "We have informed the Qu family every time we select a shaman. Since June of last year, we have informed them almost every month. It is the Qu family shaman who is lazy and only came once in August of last year."
Lin Fengzhi's eyes flickered. So it was the Qu family who established the so-called rules for becoming a shaman. It turned out that the Qu family had seized divine power, which had killed the original owner and Yue.
She strode forward and slapped him before anyone could react.
A note from the author:
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*The Prevalence and Aesthetic Characteristics of Chu Shamanistic Culture_Li Xiang
*Nine Songs: The Mountain Spirit
*A Study of Body Language in Chu Shamanistic Music and Dance during the Pre-Qin Period_Hou Xiaomeng
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