Chen Shan, who was already beside him, hurriedly greeted him and asked Liu Ziang, "Do you want to let them disperse temporarily?" ”

As he spoke, he looked at Xu Ling again.

Liu Ziang and Xu Ling shook their heads at the same time and took the initiative to step aside. Chen Shan could only follow them.

The strange music also attracted the researchers in the camp, and many curious people had already gathered.

"I didn't expect that there are still people who engage in superstitious activities." Something came out of the crowd.

However, it was quickly refuted.

"It's a local custom, don't look at anything as superstition. Besides, if you think about the black snake yesterday, can it be considered superstitious? ”

"Dongting Lake straddles Hunan and Hubei provinces, which have a tradition of worshipping lakes and snakes since ancient times. It's just that in modern times, there are very few places where you can see this kind of ritual. I didn't expect to see it now. ”

"There is also a major water system in Hunan Province that diverts from Dongting Lake - the Xiang River. This river eventually flows into the Yangtze River, but it is not as heroic as the Yangtze River, so the ancient geographers said that although it does not become a dragon, it becomes a giant snake, and it enters the river and turns into a dragon. ”

"It is said that the snake cultivation recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" is actually an allusion to the Xiangjiang River."

Xu Ling's housekeeper, it was also Lao Han, who pretended to be a rich man, who stepped forward. While explaining to those curious people, he asked Xu Ling.

"Miss, can we take pictures? This kind of sacrifice should be very helpful for the study of ancient cultures. ”

Xu Ling looked at Liu Ziang.

Liu Zi frowned slightly, and finally nodded.

Not to mention the people brought by Xu Ling, even Liu Ziang, who has lived in Hunan Province for more than 20 years, has never seen this kind of sacrifice.

In Hunan Province, except for ethnic minorities, even in remote mountainous areas, the sacrificial activities are already similar to those of Taoism.

A group of people in the distance, the presiding priest at the front is obviously dressed as a shaman.

This type of sacrifice is only common in the north.

What we see now is abnormal.

And Liu Ziang couldn't understand what this was sacrificing.

The main body of the Hunan Province sacrifice is divided into three parts.

The sacrificer, the worshipper, the purpose of the sacrifice.

The sacrificer and the priest are easy to understand, it should be the group of people who approached and the black serpent that I saw yesterday.

What is the purpose of the sacrifice?

If you pray for protection, you should sacrifice three animals and sacrifice flesh and blood.

If gratitude is expressed, the sacrifice should be made with food and wine.

But that group of people, although the sacrifices they carried were flesh and blood of three animals, the ancient black jars that the crowd was fighting against were really strange.

Behind Xu Ling and Liu Ziang, someone had already taken photos.

The sacrificial crowd had already walked over, and although someone cast curious glances at Xu Ling and Liu Ziang and his party, they didn't say much.

The masked priest secretly glanced at Liu Ziang.

Soon, the group of people traveled mightily to the place where the black snake was entrenched yesterday.

The chief priest shaman immediately chanted, holding a drum in his hand, beating gently to the rhythm, and dancing and circling around the place where the black snake was entrenched.

All the people who came with him hummed softly.

Not to mention, although the shaman's singing voice is not good, and he can't understand the words, the low hum of the people behind him is strange to hear.

But there is a sense of joy between man and god, as if the shaman is dancing with an invisible god.

"It's strange that there is still a shadow of opera in his dance steps." After watching it for a long time, Xu Ling muttered quietly. "It seems that they have been practicing this custom for at least a thousand years."

Liu Ziang also nodded silently.

Puppet play, also known as ghost play.

In fact, it is similar to the shamanic sacrifice, which is also to dance and chant to entertain the gods and drive away evil spirits.

In ancient times, it was spread in the area of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

However, with the passage of time, the area around the Yellow River has long been extinct, and only places with inconvenient cultural exchanges such as the southwest border have survived slightly.

In Hunan Province, as far as Liu Ziang knows, when Taoism flourished during the Li and Tang dynasties, the opera had completely disappeared.

If this custom of sacrificing snakes has really been circulating, then at least Li Tang has appeared before.

At this time, the ritual was over, and under the command of the shaman, several people came out of the crowd and put the heads of cows, sheep and pigs into the place where the black snake was entrenched.

It's just that when the heads of the three animals were put down, Liu Ziang couldn't cry or laugh, and opened his mouth to murmur: "This is too miscellaneous, right?" ”

Xu Ling also frowned and sighed lightly.

I saw that the heads of the three special were not side by side in ordinary sacrifices.

Instead, it was placed in a triangular position.

The head of the ox faces east to west, the head of the pig faces west to east, and the head of the sheep faces south to north.

As he laid it down, the shaman carefully measured his bearings.

This way of placement is clearly placed in accordance with the three directions of 'heaven, earth and man'.

And this is the Taoist way of ritual.

This sacrifice, shaman, puppet opera and Taoism are all sorted out, Liu Ziang really can't help it.

He even felt that the officiant was a liar.

The priest sang another round, and finally stopped.

Thinking that the sacrifice was over, Liu Ziang was also ready to step forward and say hello to the person who was the chief priest.

The Division of the Gods, ordered by the heavens, was born for the gods.

But in ancient times, in fact, it would also be for the court to make friends and compile strange people in the rivers and lakes.

After all, it is not easy to punish the immortal evil, and if you can have more strength, you will have a better chance of winning.

However, Liu Ziang had just raised his feet, but he saw the person who was the chief priest waving his hand and leading the group towards the river.

The sacrifice continues.

As he left, he tore off a strip of cloth from his shamanic suit and picked up a wooden stick from the side of the road.

After tying the strip of cloth to the stick, he waved the stick and sang the words in his mouth, and his steps were shaky.

The lyrics have changed greatly, and I still can't hear what is being sung.

But it's weird, weird. It seemed to be a low cry, and it was a miserable cry.

It was obviously broad daylight, but everyone behind Xu Ling felt that their hairs stood on end.

Even Chen Shan, who was beside him, couldn't help frowning and muttered in a low voice, "How do I feel like I'm on the battlefield?" ”

"This?" Xu Ling couldn't help but look at Liu Ziang, "Is the spirit flag in his hand?" What are you stepping on? ”

"That's right!" Liu Ziang nodded, his expression a little ugly.

Now the shaman seems to have become a Taoist priest who is familiar with the sacrifices of Xiang Province, whether it is a soul flag or a Yu step, it is very in line with the sacrificial rules and rituals of Xiang Province.

The more I look at it, the more I look like a liar.

It's just that at this moment, there seems to be a cool breeze blowing in the clear sky, which makes people have goosebumps.

After Xu Ling, many people were whispering, saying things that were too evil.

However, something even more evil immediately appeared.

I saw that the group of people who followed the main priest waved their hands at the same time, and played a large handful of yellow straw paper.

The yellow straw is carefully cut and rectangular, about two palms long and one palm wide.

"What's that?" Someone asked in a whisper.

Liu Ziang and Xu Ling's faces changed suddenly at this time.

"Paper money!" Xu Ling immediately replied.

"Paper money? Isn't paper money white? Someone whispered again.

"No, the style of paper money is different in every part of the country. In your hometown, it should be what you call white paper money, but in Xiangshao, paper money looks like this. ”

"Sprinkle paper money?" More suspicious inquiries came out, "Is it a funeral?" But that doesn't look right, right? Is there no coffin for the funeral? ”

"Of course it's not a funeral!" Xu Ling hurriedly shook his head, "This should be a ghost sacrifice!" ”

"Sacrifice ghosts?" An exclamation.

That's right, it's a ghost sacrifice.

Whether it is a funeral, a conjuring spirit, or other rituals, sprinkling paper money has only one meaning for the ceremony - to buy the lonely soul and wild ghost, so that they do not make trouble in the ceremony!

Now there are no coffins, no statues, and no real people in charge, just sprinkled with paper money.

The purpose is as Xu Ling said, to sacrifice ghosts!

The sky is blue and the sun is white, and many people are trembling.

Only Liu Ziang and Xu Ling frowned, their expressions full of puzzlement.

Whether it is the previous sacrifice to the snake or the current sacrifice to the ghost, in fact, it can only be regarded as a ritual in traditional culture.

And any technology, in fact, has to follow logic.

But I've never seen a sacrifice in any place, where the gods and ghosts are sacrificed together!

couldn't help but Liu Ziang and Xu Ling stepped out and followed the sacrificial procession, wanting to see what was going on.