His great-great-grandfather placed the incense burner and the three animal tributes on the bow of the ship. He lit the incense and inserted it into the incense burner. Then he knelt on the bow of the ship and kowtowed six times respectfully to the river.
Why did he have to kowtow six times? There is a proverb here called " Gods, three ghosts, four dragons, and six heads ". In other words, when you go to the temple to offer incense and kowtow to the gods, you have to kowtow three times. When you go to the graveyard to worship the ancestors, you have to kowtow four times to the ghosts. When you worship the Dragon King on the Yellow River, you have to kowtow six times.
I still don't know where this proverb came from. Anyway, people here all do it. When I asked them why they kowtowed to the Dragon King six times, nobody could explain it clearly. The elders all said that it was passed down from generation to generation. They must have their reasons for kowtowing six times.
After his great-great-grandfather kowtowed, he respectfully held the Tribute of the Three Sacrifices in his hands and sang a song of sacrifice to the river. It was also called Singing the River." Dragon King, River God, the water flows from east to west, the boat flows from north to south, bringing pigs, cattle, and sheep. No matter how strong the wind is, no matter how strong the waves are, I'll pay my respects to Dragon King. I'll pay my respects to River God, I'll pay my respects to Dragon King…"
When I was young, I heard my grandmother sing this river song a few times. I can't remember the exact words, but it's similar to the above. Grandma said that my great-great-grandfather sang the river song very well. His voice was loud and his words were clear. However, to be honest, when I heard Grandma sing, I didn't feel that her words were " fluent ". I just felt that it was a little strange. It was similar to the song " Grind scissors and chop a kitchen knife."
After his great-great-grandfather finished singing, he threw the pig's head, cow's head, and goat's head into the river at the same time. Then, he respectfully kowtowed six times to the river surface.
At this point, the simple ceremony was completed. Whether the canopies could safely reach the other side of the river depended on the Dragon King's mood today.
After the old man got on the boat, he hugged the coffin and cried non-stop. His great-great-grandfather couldn't bear to see him, so he advised him a few words. This time, they wasted a lot of time. The sky became darker, and the entire river looked dark.
His great-great-grandfather relied on his youthful vigor and his familiarity with the waters of this area, so he carried the old man and a large coffin and rowed across the river in the dark.
At first, nothing happened. It was calm and peaceful, but it was a little dark. The line of sight was not good, and the speed of the ship was not as fast as during the day. However, when the boat reached the middle of the river, something strange happened. First, there was a series of crackling sounds in the water, and the entire river seemed to be boiling. This kind of thing is quite common. My great-great-grandfather had encountered it before. If it was daytime, as long as you heard this sound, you would see a large number of fish gathering in the middle of the river. It was harmless to passing ships. Here, we call this phenomenon 'Dragon King's Recruitment'. It means that the Dragon King is going to fight a certain water monster and is recruiting troops in the river.
This phenomenon of fish gathering in large numbers had appeared in many places, but no one could explain why. Perhaps, it was really the Dragon King who was recruiting soldiers.
Hearing the sound of water, his great-great-grandfather knew that it was the Dragon King who was recruiting soldiers. Since they were harmless to the ships, he didn't pay much attention to them. However, after a while, something even weirder happened. The sound of someone scratching the coffin came from the big coffin. The sound spread far away on the dark river, making people's scalp tingle. It was as if the person inside the coffin wanted to come out of the coffin. It was as if the corpse in the coffin wanted to jump out of the coffin and fight with the Dragon King in the water.
My great-great-grandfather was so scared that his face turned ashen, and bean-sized beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
At that time, the old man had been squatting beside the coffin and sobbing. When he heard the sound of scratching the coffin, he was frightened and did not dare to cry anymore. He staggered to the stern and shrank at my great-great-grandfather's feet, trembling in fear.
My great-great-grandfather wanted to pretend to be a big man and comfort the old man, but when he opened his mouth, he found that his upper and lower teeth kept chattering, and his tongue was hard. He couldn't speak at all.
In the end, he steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and used all his strength to paddle the boat. Although he was afraid at the moment, my great-great-grandfather had not lost his mind. He knew that as long as he docked the boat, he would have a chance to live.
After the old man got on the boat, he hugged the coffin and cried non-stop. His great-great-grandfather couldn't bear to see him, so he advised him a few words. This time, they wasted a lot of time. The sky became darker, and the entire river looked dark.
His great-great-grandfather relied on his youthful vigor and his familiarity with the waters of this area, so he carried the old man and a large coffin and rowed across the river in the dark.
At first, nothing happened. It was calm and peaceful, but it was a little dark. The line of sight was not good, and the speed of the ship was not as fast as during the day. However, when the boat reached the middle of the river, something strange happened. First, there was a series of crackling sounds in the water, and the entire river seemed to be boiling. This kind of thing is quite common. My great-great-grandfather had encountered it before. If it was daytime, as long as you heard this sound, you would see a large number of fish gathering in the middle of the river. It was harmless to passing ships. Here, we call this phenomenon 'Dragon King's Recruitment'. It means that the Dragon King is going to fight a certain water monster and is recruiting troops in the river.
This phenomenon of fish gathering in large numbers had appeared in many places, but no one could explain why. Perhaps, it was really the Dragon King who was recruiting soldiers.
Hearing the sound of water, his great-great-grandfather knew that it was the Dragon King who was recruiting soldiers. Since they were harmless to the ships, he didn't pay much attention to them. However, after a while, something even weirder happened. The sound of someone scratching the coffin came from the big coffin. The sound spread far away on the dark river, making people's scalp tingle. It was as if the person inside the coffin wanted to come out of the coffin. It was as if the corpse in the coffin wanted to jump out of the coffin and fight with the Dragon King in the water.
My great-great-grandfather was so scared that his face turned ashen, and bean-sized beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
At that time, the old man had been squatting beside the coffin and sobbing. When he heard the sound of scratching the coffin, he was frightened and did not dare to cry anymore. He staggered to the stern and shrank at my great-great-grandfather's feet, trembling in fear.
My great-great-grandfather wanted to pretend to be a big man and comfort the old man, but when he opened his mouth, he found that his upper and lower teeth kept chattering, and his tongue was hard. He couldn't speak at all.
In the end, he steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and used all his strength to paddle the boat. Although he was afraid at the moment, my great-great-grandfather had not lost his mind. He knew that as long as he docked the boat, he would have a chance to live.
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