Meishan navy is divided into two factions of righteousness and evil. Generally speaking, the law and water cultivated by the upright Meishan navy are for healing and saving people, while the evil navy is the opposite.
Returning to the snake, collecting surprises, and calling souls are the three most common witchcraft in the Meishan area. Although they are mysterious, they have been passed down by the Meishan people from generation to generation, which is beyond doubt.
Witchcraft ancestor Meishan
Meishan, is one of the three ancestors of the Chinese nation - Chi tribes native land. According to legend, in the ancient times, Chi You was defeated by the Yellow Emperor and the tribal land was also taken away. Only today, the last paradise-like enclave remains in central Hunan, which is Meishan. Since then, Meishan has become a "land of disobedience to Wanghua" and developed independently for more than 4,000 years. It was not until the Song Shenzong "opened Meishan" in 1072 that it was integrated into the territory of the central government.
The entire Meishan area is a huge maze, with strange terrain and wild beasts. Just 50 years ago, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the "tiger damage" in Xinhua County was still very serious. The county government specially formed a "tiger team" for this purpose, killing more than 10 tigers at a time.
However, compared with the treacherous natural environment, the prevalence of "witchcraft" in the Meishan area also deterred outsiders. Today, in the hinterland of Meishan, there is still a peculiar phenomenon that "there are masters (wizards) in every village, and every family has altars".
There are many types of Meishan witchcraft, but Meishan witchcraft is different from the witchcraft and corpse-moving witchcraft in Xiangxi, Hunan, and it is less horrible. In Meishan now, the common witchcraft mainly include exorcism witchcraft, fishing and hunting witchcraft, and witchcraft for curing diseases and superfluous souls. The origin of these witchcraft can be traced back to two people, one is Chiyou and the other It's Zhang Wulang.
According to the records of Meishan’s local witchcraft book (the "textbook" for teaching witchcraft), Chi You was the ancestor of Meishan witchcraft. He was born in Daxiong Mountain, which borders Xinhua County and Anhua County in Hunan today. Chi You has a mother but no father. His mother is Ha Wu. Although Chi You looks vicious-he has two horns on his head, his eyes are like bull's eyes, his nose is like a lion’s nose, and his mouth is like a tiger’s mouth, but he is very filial. No matter what he is doing, he is very filial. Hearing the mother's call, he will immediately return to her. Therefore, when the Meishan wizards practice, they must first use their horns to blow out the sound of "Hawu Hawu", praying for Chi You to go down to earth and lower his divine power.
Fushui the art and Meishan navy
refining Fushui, is one of the main Dharma Meishan witchcraft, specially with Fushui save or harmful Certified Public (shaman), in Meishan local also called "navy" . Meishan navy masters are divided into two factions, righteous and evil. Generally speaking, the law and water cultivated by the upright Meishan navy masters are used to cure diseases and save people, while the evil navy masters are on the contrary. Legend has it that the runes they make can make people sick, Madness, and then blackmailed money on the grounds of "cure".
The Meishan navy was very popular before the founding of New China, and the navy team was also very large. In the Xinhua and Anhua areas in the hinterland of Meishan, there were naval navies in almost every village, and some villages had several or even dozens of naval officers at the same time. division. The navy relied on healing illnesses and wounds to support their families. The families of famous navy masters are relatively wealthy, they have many disciples, and their social status is also high. But now, the navy team is on the verge of extinction. There are very few young navies, and most of the old have lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests. There are only a handful of people who truly understand the "spells" of navalists, can heal injuries and heal diseases, and possess special skills.
Jiang Yaofen, who lives in Jiangjiaba, Xinhua County, is one of the navies still alive in the Meishan area. During the visit to him, Jiang Yaofen explained to the author his "Navy Master" practice experience and some secret water refining methods in detail.
According to Jiang, he started as a teacher in 1948, and he followed his master for 6 years, and he did not become a teacher until 1954. He has practiced the law for more than 50 years since he was a teacher, and he has been in Xinhua, Anhua, Lengshuijiang, Lianyuan and other places in Hunan. Jiang Yaofen is good at refining the following types of rune water: used for healing bones and bone pain relief, defensive and anti-beating iron ox water, snow frost water that is not hurt by high temperature, and treats unexplained madness. Rampant and so on.
When asked about the specific Fushui refining method, Jiang smiled and did not answer. After the author's repeated requests, Jiang Yaofen briefly demonstrated the process of refining Fushui:
first take a bowl of clear water, flex the left middle finger and ring finger into the palm of the palm, the thumb, index finger, and little finger are erected into a tripod-shaped end bowl; the right thumb is buckled. Hold the ring finger and little finger, extend the index finger and middle finger to form a sword finger, the sword finger draws out of the void, and there is a word in the mouth. According to Jiang Yaofen, the spells chanted for refining different runes are different. For example, the spell of "pain-killing water" is: "Wind, fog, mist, rain, and hand-held water for three thousand times. Nine Dragons Holy Water is here, don’t be afraid of being broken. I took a sip of water on my body, and I felt pain immediately. I was in a hurry as the prince of Dantian."
Not only is there a wide variety of spells, but the refining process of runes is also very complicated-generally before the beginning of the spring of the lunar calendar, water can be refined after the first spring thunder. The water refining time is usually at five or six in the morning every day. It is necessary to practice continuously for seven or forty-nine days before you are successful. During this time, you must continue to add some mysterious methods to help the water effect.
How effective are these runes? Seeing the author's suspicious look, Jiang Yaofen specifically recounted his two proud experiences in practicing the law. One time, shortly after Jiang had just left his teacher, he was betting with someone whether he could take out a piece of coal from the stove. Jiang did it on the spot, taking the "snow and frost water", then stretched his hand into the burning stove, took out a piece of hot coal, walked around the house and put it down. There was no hot feeling at all, and everyone present was stunned. . There are still two witnesses who were alive today.
Another time was in 1980 when a villager from Jiangtong village was stabbed in the ankle by Mao Chai while working. After going to the hospital for bandaging treatment, the wound still did not improve. After a period of time, the stab wound was completely ulcerated, and the hospital recommended amputation. As a last resort, the villager invited Jiang to heal his injuries. Jiang first offered him a bowl of bone-surgery pain relief water, and then applied the medicine externally. After eight or nine days, the wound healed --- Hearing this, the author suddenly flashed in his mind. One thought: Are these runes and spells all blindfolds, and those medicines that really affect injuries? In Jiang Yaofen's home, the author did see all kinds of herbs drying in the sun, but this is just a guess, and there is no final answer.
Meishan Arcane: return the snake to close with Spiritualism surprise
if Meishan witches Fushui art of clunky "medicine" to understand, that for several witchcraft, it is hard to give a scientific explanation. These kinds of spells are most used in the Meishan area. Although they are mysterious, they have been passed down by the Meishan people from generation to generation, which is beyond doubt.
The first is "returning to the snake". Snake-returning is a type of Meishan fishing and hunting witchcraft, which means that after a person is bitten by a poisonous snake in the wild, as long as the wizard is asked to do it, the snake biting the human will hold the detoxification herbs in its mouth and appear beside the wizard. The author has carefully understood the process of the wizard's return to the snake technique in Xinhua:
The sorcerer first took a safe talisman and came to the place where the poisonous snake hurts people. He used the incense to insert the three words "mountain", "forest" and "bamboo" on the ground, and then used the incense to insert 3 concentric circles beside the words. After sitting cross-legged in the circle, immediately began to recite the "Going to the Snake Curse". Generally two hours later, the antidote will appear after biting a poisonous snake. According to the wizard, after the snake returns, most of them can only cruise outside the three circles, and only the most poisonous snake king can enter the circle.
The second is the "shock reduction technique." In the Meishan area, when someone is severely frightened, unconscious and confused in speech, his family will ask wizards to perform "shock reduction techniques" to calm the frightened person's mind. Shock-removing technique is a relatively superficial kind of Meishan witchcraft. The ceremony is simple and does not require the preparation of sacrificial incense candles and no altars. In practice, the wizard stroked the top of the head of the frightened person with his left hand, and drew a "symbol" with the three words "rain", "gradual" and "ear" on his forehead with his right hand. Finish drawing at the same time. Then the wizard breathed three times into his palm and swiped the frightened person's forehead three times, which meant that he would withdraw his soul. Under normal circumstances, the frightened person will fall asleep during the wizard's casting process, and when he wakes up, his mind will be restored-this kind of spell is similar to the current popular hypnotherapy.
The last is "spiritualism". The subjects of spiritualism are mostly those who are severely ill and are ineffective for a long time. In the eyes of the wizards of Meishan, the reason why these patients are dyingly ill is because their souls have freed their bodies. If they want to heal from the disease, they must first recall their souls.
Spiritualism cannot be controlled by a powerful wizard. Before casting the spell, he must try his best to prepare the chicken, fish, meat, fruit and other tributes. The location of the altar is also particular, and it must be located at the crossroads in front of the village.
At the beginning of the spiritual call, the wizard wore a full set of magic attire, holding the evil magic weapon in his hand, and cast the magic on the altar. The sorcerer on the altar jumped up and down, shouting: "The soul is lost in front of the house, and the eave boy sends it back; the soul is lost in front of the temple and the city god Bodhisattva sends it back; the soul is lost by the riverbank, the river god water officer Send it back; the mountain forest cliff has lost its soul, and the mountain gate land is sent back..." Sixty-seven out of ten patients will get better after the spiritual spell is implemented. What is the reason? Is it the effect of psychological suggestion, as some scholars have said? The author does not know, and the magic of Meishan Witchcraft cannot be simply explained.
