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Folk Supernatural Taboos and Legends
墨書 Inktalez
Starting from this issue, this account will launch a fourteen-part series on early rural folk taboos and legends, as well as customs, habits, and traditions. All stories refer to specific times and are unrelated to feudal superstitions. This is a formal statement.
What supernatural taboos are we not allowed to violate? When we talk about supernatural events, it gives us an eerie feeling. So, what are the supernatural forbidden zones in our daily lives? What consequences might arise from violating those folk taboos?
The Legend of Possession
Those who have read the original work of Bai Lu Yuan surely remember a scene where Heiwa's father, Lu San, strongly opposed his relationship with Tian Xiao'e. Later, unable to tolerate her mingling with Liu Zilin and Bai Xiaowen in Bai Lu Yuan and ruining the local morals, he quietly killed Tian Xiao'e in a clay kiln one night.
Lu San's wife, Liu Huishi, contracted a plague. On her deathbed, she suddenly sat up and calmly asked Lu San with her already blind eyes: "Did you stab Heiwa's wife to death?" She told him: "Xiao'e just told me. She wanted me to see the blood hole on her back." "How could you be so cruel... to kill our child's... wife..." After saying this, she passed away.
Bai Jiaxuan's wife, Xian Cao, also did not escape this fate. In her final moments, she sighed, "I can't see any of the relatives I wanted to meet; instead, those I don't want to see come knocking at my door!"
Bai Jiaxuan asked which annoying person had come by, and Xian Cao replied: "Xiao'e! That filthy wife of Heiwa! As soon as she entered our yard, she took off her clothes for me to see her wounds. There was a blood hole on her chest right at the left breast; when she turned around, there was another blood hole on her back. I was weaving cloth and got so scared that I dropped my shuttle..." Then she breathed her last.
...
In our village, there are similar legends of possession.
When I was in elementary school, a classmate's brother got into an argument with his family and committed suicide by drinking pesticide. Not long after that, another girl of similar age in the village also took her own life for some reason.
Years later, the girl "possessed" one of her relatives, an aunt.
At that time, the Barefoot Doctor in the village held great prestige, as he was involved in almost all matters of life and death. After the incident occurred, the Barefoot Doctor arrived at the scene promptly.
He saw a woman in her forties, resembling a little girl, who greeted him as he arrived: "Brother XX, you are here too." (This was a reference to the relationship between the little girl and the Barefoot Doctor.)
The Barefoot Doctor chatted with her: "What are you doing over there?"
The possessed Aunt spoke in the voice and mannerisms of the little girl from years ago: "I’m standing at the counter here." (Note: Standing at the counter refers to being a sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative back then.)
The Barefoot Doctor asked again: "Have you seen XX?" (XX refers to Brother of a Classmate.)
The Aunt blushed like a lovesick girl: "We were just talking..." ("Talking" is a colloquial term we used for dating back then.)
Later, when the Barefoot Doctor recounted this incident while I was present, I was still naive, but I clearly remembered his sentiments: "You say you believe in such things; it happened in broad daylight... But if you say you don't believe it, how could anyone imitate another's voice and mannerisms so perfectly and also know so many private details about them?"
I wonder if you have similar "possession" legends where you are? Have you ever heard of such things? (Next segment: Surrounding Door)
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