Chapter 138 Accommodation Trip (11)
Although it is strange why Qian Xiaoyi wanted to watch someone else’s bone laying ceremony, Kawasaki only speculated that as a foreigner, he was interested in the local culture. That’s all.
So Kawasaki spoke to the host, and after obtaining consent, the two followed the crowd to the cemetery and watched the bone laying ceremony not far away.
The whole ceremony was very quiet. After they put the urn into the ground and the monks performed the ritual, everyone was ready to leave.
Kawasaki clasped his hands and bowed in front of the tombstone, then turned around and said, "Teacher Qian, it's over, let's go."
Qian Xiaoyi looked at the hostess who left and asked: "Is that the deceased's daughter? I remember that the clothes in her hand should be the ones wrapping the urn, right? Is that the deceased's belongings? ? Why not bury them with the deceased, but take them away? "
Kawasaki said: "Ah, that was indeed the tradition of this village when we first entered the village. Haven't you seen many scarecrows in the fields? The clothes on them were worn by the deceased. After the deceased died, the clothes he wore during his lifetime would be dressed up like scarecrows and placed in their own fields. Even if people are gone, they can continue to protect their descendants."
"When did this tradition begin?" Qian Xiaoyi asked. This custom sounds very warm, but Qian Xiaoyi just feels a little bit. wrong.
Kawasaki was stunned: "This...I don't know. It probably happened before I was born. Teacher Qian, is there anything wrong with this custom?"
"I don't know." Qian Xiaoyi asked: "I have another question. Will the old scarecrows in the fields be replaced by future generations?"
Kawasaki thought for a while and said uncertainly: "Probably... no? I have never heard of any family taking the initiative to remove the scarecrow. After all, it is the guardian scarecrow that represents the deceased."
Qian Xiaoyi said: "But according to what we saw in the fields on the road, The density of the scarecrows and the shabby condition of their clothes...maybe this tradition will not last long, at least it won't be a custom passed down from our ancestors, otherwise the fields would have been overcrowded."
"Is there anything strange about this?" Kawasaki Some wondered: "Even if it's not a traditional custom, it's nothing, right?"
Qian Xiaoyi said: "It's really nothing, I'm just a little curious... They should be dressing up the scarecrow now, right? Let's go with them Look.”
They followed After getting on the funeral procession and arriving at the field, someone came here carrying a new scarecrow. They cooperated with the owner to dress and make up the scarecrow. After a while, a scarecrow that looked like a real person from a distance was standing in the field. Get up, wig, jacket, pants, everything is available. Only the face has the traditional scarecrow "のへの" funny expression.
"Are there any particularities in the placement of these scarecrows?" Qian Xiaoyi asked: "I see that their positions were not randomly selected. It seems that they were marked before the scarecrows were erected?"
Kawasaki is I didn't know what to ask, so I could only shake my head: "I don't know this either, how about asking? I remember Brother Long from the grocery store organized a funeral last year, maybe he knows."
So the two of them We came to the grocery store again, and a young man named Long Er was watching TV behind the counter with a popsicle in his mouth.
"Welcome...what, it's Dongzuo." Long Er said: "What do you want to buy?"
"That's it..."
When Kawasaki asked Qian Xiaoyi's question, Long Er rubbed his head and replied: "I really don't know about this. The funeral arrangements are all handled by people of the previous generation. As for the placement of the scarecrow in the field, It was also agreed upon by them."
Qian Xiaoyi asked: "Does it have to be that location and not somewhere else?"
"It shouldn't work, right?" Said: "Anyway, my grandpa told me to put it there, so I will do it."
Qian Xiaoyi said: "Let me ask again, did these scarecrows in your memory already exist, or did they suddenly arise? "?" Long Er thought hard and finally gave the answer: "Let me think about it... it almost happened suddenly, right? Although I don't remember it clearly, I have those empty scenes in the field. It seems that the scarecrow didn't exist at that time. So many now? Hey, it’s a bit strange to say that. I always thought it was a custom passed down from ancient times.”
"About twenty years..." Qian Xiaoyi looked at Long Er's age and deduced the approximate time when this tradition appeared.
"Are you a guest from outside the village?" Long Er said: "If you are interested in this matter, would you like to ask for me? If you are an old man, you should know something. What."
"Forget it, I'm just curious suddenly." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Don't bother me. By the way, are there pens and notebooks for sale here?"
"Yes."
Just as Qian Xiaoyi was paying, Long Er's cell phone suddenly rang. As soon as he answered the phone, an angry female voice came from inside:
"Why did you say you wanted to live in your hometown! Are you crazy? Didn't we agree to buy a house in the city?"
"It's so annoying." Long Er said impatiently : "I've had enough of that damn job! I have to be annoyed by my boss every day and treat people like slaves."
"Then you can't just leave without saying a word, it's just a quarrel. Well, our three-year relationship is nothing..."
The voice on the other end was very excited. Even Qian Xiaoyi and the others could faintly hear it. Long Er covered the receiver in embarrassment and turned his back. Responding quietly, Qian Xiaoyi and Kawasaki wisely left the grocery store, leaving Long Er some private space.
"It's really embarrassing..." Kawasaki laughed dryly.
After leaving the grocery store, Qian Xiaoyi told Kawasaki to go back first and walked around the village, then walked toward the mountain alone.
He finally discovered what was wrong with this village...
——That is, the composition of this village is too normal.
Children, young people, old people, middle-aged people, people of every age group can see it. Many people choose to come back to open shops, lead a retirement life in advance, and the population is prosperous. Compared with other villages, this village is too lively and there are obviously no specialties or special things. Although the scenery is pleasant, the scenery alone cannot retain young people.
The nearest supermarket here is dozens of kilometers away, not to mention cinemas, shopping malls and other entertainment facilities, and the signal in the village is average. You can only make phone calls and stay in the village for a few days to experience the countryside. Life is okay, but if you are a young person who yearns for a colorful world, you won't be able to stand it for long, let alone stay there permanently.
In villages with the same conditions, the composition of those villages is basically all old people. There are not many young people and children. They have all flocked to big cities. Qian Xiaoyi checked and found that many villages around this mountain have already It was abandoned, leaving only those neglected houses, like a ghost village. But it's different here. It's still prosperous in this kind of ravine, so there must be something attracting young people to come back here.
——Just like Ono Hina.
Qian Xiaoyi came to the mountain, occupied a high point, then observed the position of the scarecrows in the field, and recorded it in his notebook with a pen.
"This is..." After a while, Qian Xiaoyi looked at the notebook with an incredible look in his eyes.
(End of this chapter)