张鉴《基诺神树》

As I returned home, a brother from the village approached me, asking if I still had any photos of his family's old house from over a decade ago. A slight uneasiness flickered in my heart. What was I uneasy about? Are the new houses rising from the earth? Or the increasing number of unfamiliar faces and fresh blood? I didn't know them, and they didn't know me. It was a feeling of both familiarity and strangeness. In that moment, I truly understood the emotions and heartfelt sentiments expressed in the poem "Returning to My Hometown" by the Tang dynasty poet He Zhizhang. It was a sorrow indescribable. I began to reexamine my village.

My village is one of the birthplaces of the Mulao ethnic group and one of the largest villages of the Mulao people. From the ruins of the four gate towers, one can see that each tower had its jurisdiction area, with houses on both sides grouped and surrounded by tall city walls. The four gate towers were scattered in an orderly manner, one nestled deeper inside than the other, forming a series of concentric rings resembling barriers erected to resist external enemies.

On the stone walls of the gate towers, there were traces of long-term wear and tear from coarse fences. Looking at the chiselled holes on the doors, each should have had triple protection, reinforced horizontally. It would be difficult if someone tried to force their way through the gate towers. In front of the gate towers were also green stone lions carved from quartzite, symbolising dignity and authority.

Walking through the quiet alleys of the village, you'll find an interesting phenomenon: all the old houses have small holes in the walls facing the road and in front of the main door. Imagine, in those turbulent times, the purpose of such a design was apparent. Looking up, you'll notice inscriptions and paintings under the eaves of these old houses. Some copied poems from "The Pavilion of Prince Teng" or "The Inscription on a Simple House," while others wrote lines like, "Goodness is like a pine tree, evil is like a flower; the pine tree is cold and indifferent, unlike the flower. But when a heavy frost falls, only the pine tree remains, not the flower..." Still, other inscriptions were more like couplets. One of the inscriptions under an eave was dated "the year of Gengwu," but whether it was 1750, 1810, or 1870 is unknown. Besides calligraphy, some also had paintings depicting pavilions and towers, gently flowing streams, carp playing in the water, or flowers and birds singing together. The most distinctive pattern was the flying phoenix with floral wings, also commonly seen in embroidery. Suddenly, I felt these old houses were so beautiful, with blue bricks and black tiles, vibrant yet solemn, a unique impact sweeping over me.

Upon entering the old houses, the most striking feature is the hearth on the right or left side of the main room's door. During the Ming dynasty's Jiajing period, Tian Rucheng's "Yanjiao Jiwen" recorded that the Mulao people "dug the ground for hearths and burned white coal." To build a hearth, one needs to dig a hole three feet deep, constructing a square structure using firebricks. At the bottom, three or four steel bars as thick as a little finger are used as the hearth bridge. Next to the hearth is a covered earthenware jar for storing water, ensuring a year-round hot water supply. A storage compartment for the remaining coal residue is at the hearth's rear. Children often put their feet in the storage compartment in winter to keep warm. Of course, meals are also prepared on the hearth. Especially in winter, the whole family sits around the hearth, enjoying a hot pot filled with joy and warmth.

The Mulao people prefer a light diet, favouring porridge and sour foods. Especially for breakfast and lunch, they often eat porridge paired with sour dishes without cooking separate dishes. Every household has several pickling jars filled with various sour foods like garlic, radishes, beans, and knife beans. Combined with chilli peppers, they are tart, crisp, and spicy, delicious. Only at dinner do they eat more formally. Dinner often includes chicken, duck, fish, and meat during festivals and holidays. After cooking, the food must be placed on the table to offer to the ancestors first, with five cups of wine, five bowls of rice, and ten pairs of chopsticks, just enough for one table. Three incense sticks are burned on the altar, and one is inserted on each door. Then, wine is offered periodically, and the ritual is considered complete after three rounds.

Not only do they remember their ancestors, but they also revere the gods. The villages have ancestral temples and shrines where various gods perform their duties. Among them, the most revered is the Goddess of Fertility and Child Protection, whose altar is always bustling with worshippers. Whenever a child is one month old, a ceremony is held to worship the Goddess. After the ceremony, people distribute candies and zongzi (rice dumplings) to passersby, sharing their joy and gratitude for the goddess's protection. The scene rivals Santa Claus distributing gifts.

The most solemn and unique ritual activity is the Yifan Festival. According to historical records, this festival dates back to 1386 and is held to pray for disaster relief, prosperity for people and livestock, and a bountiful harvest. During the Yifan Festival, priests are invited to the ancestral temple to conduct rituals, singing and dancing for three days and nights. The complexity of the rituals and the rich religious colour make it a culmination of the Mulam people's religious beliefs. 2006, this festival was included in the first batch of the national intangible cultural heritage list.

The Mulam people are skilled in singing and dancing, living a simple life with a fondness for green attire. During significant festivals or weddings, men don green jackets with a front lapel, while women wear green jackets with a slanted lapel. They gather on hillsides or under trees to sing folk songs and express their emotions. These songs are performed as duets between two men and two women, each consisting of a lead singer and a harmony singer. One person sings the lyrics while the other murmurs a repeating refrain. Each song has four lines, alternating rises and falls in tone, making them pleasant and harmonious.

Green jackets undergo an additional polishing process compared to other ethnic costumes, making the fabric shiny, beautiful, and durable. My neighbour has a polishing workshop, and I often visit to watch the process. The entire toolset consists of three different-shaped bluestone blocks. A flat and smooth square bluestone block is embedded in the floor, and a large, round-shaped bluestone block sits on top. Between the two is a soft and sleek cylindrical stone as big as a calf's leg. During polishing, the fabric is first laid on the square bluestone block. One stands with feet on both ends of the round bluestone block, pulling on a rope loop attached to a crossbeam. The cylindrical stone rolls back and forth under the push of the round bluestone block, gradually making the fabric shine.

As time passes and things change, I believe that regardless of how quickly time flies, if we hold onto our convictions and maintain our original authenticity, only the years will pass. The village will continue to tell its ancient stories.