Ethnic Customs along the River

Haocao Luogu - Field Work Gong and Drum accompaniment Accompanied by drums and gongs, with their hoes in hand, the people of the Gorges begin their work. It is called Haocao Luogu and combines the laborers' work with dance and music that transforms it into a performance.
Like the conductor of a symphony the leader of the work party directs the rhythm and melody, which in turn governs the speed of the work, signals rest periods and meal breaks. If he finds the rhythm is too slow he can pick up the tempo, leaving the others to catch up and so the work goes smoothly.

Xintan Folk House
The houses built on the steep slope of the riverbank are an outstanding feature in the Three Gorges area. The houses cascade tightly conforming to the irregularities of the slope.
As you approach a typical house there are several steps up to a finely colored gate through which you enter a courtyard. Across the courtyard and up another flight of stairs is a hall. It serves as an area to greet visitors and as a dinning room. Beyond the hall and further up the slope are sitting rooms. Additional rooms continue up and out conforming to the slope.
In a home with many rooms it can be quite confusing. If you are invited to visit the large home of a rich family be careful not to get lost.

Tujia

General Etiquette
To welcome honored guest the Tujia people usually light what is called the Iron Firework. Fireworks are placed in an iron box resulting in a deafening echo in a display of hospitality and respect. The host will also prepare tea, tobaccos, and wine and invite elders to accompany the visitors.
Part of a graceful and courteous reception is the serving of a unique soup, Tu Cha. The ingredients include tealeaf, beans, corn and bean curd seasoned with shallot and ginger. This traditional beverage is tasty and refreshing and also has medicinal qualities.
The Tujia are a hardworking and modest people with a strong sense of community and communally share in triumphs and tragedies of individual families. Indicative of this is how proceeds of a hunt are shared. When the hunting party returns the game is divided and a piece of rope is attached to each piece. They are then placed in a basket with a lid. The ends of the rope stick out from under the lid and each village in turn selects one and the game attached to it. Whatever their choice, no one complains.

Ku Jia - Marriage Custom: Weeping Marriage
Weeping Marriage is a very special custom of Tujia ethnic group. Weeping before the marriage is considered a criterion by which people judge whether a girl is virtuous or not. Usually the weeping begins half a month before the wedding day. The fiance should keep weeping whenever she meets anyone and whatever she does.
The custom came about as a result of the advent of arranged marriages during feudal times. Under feudalism men had the decisive role in selecting their mates and often choose child brides. The expectation was that the woman would be entirely obedient and virtuous.
The Ku Jia Ge, or Weeping Songs, express the complicated feelings of newly married brides: singing thanks to the parents, sorrow for the parting of relatives, revolt from feudalism and it's customs.

Baishou Memorial Ceremony
'She Ba Ri' in Mandarin or 'Hand Dance' in English the traditional Baishou memorial ceremony communal activity that includes dancing, praying, sports and exchanges of goods.
Held every three to five years and normally lasting a week it plays an important role in the social fabric of the Tujia.
Xiao Baishou, the same ceremony on a more modest scale, memorializes less prominent ancestors and lasts three days.

Zigui Zhuan Sang Gu (Funeral Performance)
Directed by a priest, the eldest and most respected descendants of Quyuan (a great politician and poet in the Warring States Period 476 BC - 221 BC) weep and make a drumming sound around his red coffin. This special funeral performance takes place in Zigui - the hometown of Quyuan. Legend has it that the descendants originally sat next to the coffin. Now, however, the descendants stand near by the coffin in a show of respect to the patriotic poet.
The ceremony includes solo and group singing with verse to be chanted or sung in response in a style representative of the folk origins of the Zigui people.