Taboos fascinate me, but I have thus far found it difficult to integrate most of them into my own scholarly work. As a result, I'll just put a few of the more interesting ones down here:
*Don't wear two hats, only ghosts wear two hats at the same time *Don't whistle at night because it causes ghosts. In fact, it's better to whistle as little as possible. *Don't look quickly over your shoulder at night, because there are lamps on your shoulders that protect you and that will go out if you do that. *Women shouldn't sleep on the mountain side while herding, because the mountain deity might impregnate them. Other more general taboos: *Keep your feet only where feet are supposed to be. On the ground, not near someone's head. *When you point towards an image of a deity, do so with you hand open and your palm pointed up (this is less a taboo, and more just something you should always do). *Don't sit on anything that should eventually go on top of you (I'm thinking blankets specifically, I think I've mentioned this earlier). I'll list more taboos when I have the time or when they come to mind. It should be noted that all of these are, to my knowledge, specific only to Yu shu (Yul shul) Prefecture. The second category is, I believe, more general, but I have no information about the former group being taboos outside of said location.
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About TimAs you can see elsewhere on this webpage, I conduct research on ethnic minorities in western China. This blog offers semi-academic musings on the minutiae of daily life out here--the sort of information otherwise destined for footnotes. Categories |