The Miao people in Congjiang eat drums and Tibetan is the most solemn ancestor worship ceremony of the Miao people with "drum society" as the unit. "Eating drums and Tibetan" is also called eating drums and offering drums. In Miao language, it is called "Nunniu" or "Nuniu". "Nun" means eating and "Niu" means drum, which is translated into Chinese as "eating drums". It is mainly distributed in the Miao settlements centered on the Yueliang Mountain area. Congjiang County is located in the southeast of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Sanjiang and Liping to the east, Huanjiang and Libo to the west, Rongshui to the south, and Rongjiang to the north. The total population is about 330,000, and there are more than ten ethnic groups living there, including Miao, Dong, Han, Zhuang, Yao, Shui, etc. The minority population is 310,000, accounting for 94.15%, of which the Miao population is 150,000, accounting for 48%. The geological structure of Congjiang County is under the combined influence of uplift, compression, push-pull, and distortion, forming a complex inclination with high southwest, second high north, low middle, and lower east. The topography is characterized by undulating mountains, strong cutting, broken mountains, great height differences, interlaced mountains, hills, and river valleys, and the distribution of river systems in the form of dendrites. There is little and scattered cultivated land, and most of them are terraces created by people in the long-term use of natural resources. The Miao people in Congjiang are mainly distributed in the high mountainous areas in the southwest and south of the county. The villages are relatively far away from each other, and it takes half a day for the two mountains to talk to each other. The living conditions are poor. The Chinese books that record the Miao people's "eating Gu Zang" were first seen in the Qing Dynasty. Ai Bi Da's "Qiannan Knowledge" records: "Most of the Black Miao have long hair, and their clothes are still black, which is shorter than lacquer. They raise bulls for ten years to sacrifice to the ancestors of heaven and earth, which is called eating Gu Zang." Qianlong's "Guizhou General Records" also records that "the Black Miao in Danjiang, Duyun, Qingjiang, Zhenyuan, and Guzhou in Liping slaughter bulls every thirteen years to sacrifice to the ancestors of heaven and earth, which is called eating Gu Zang." The Republic of China's "Congjiang County General Department" (manuscript) also has a record of "eating ancient accounts". "The border compatriots in this county have the act of eating ancient accounts, which is also practiced by a small number of Miao and Dong people. According to the inheritance of the elders, some say that ancient accounts are to return the accounts of ancient ancestors, some say that they eat the five internal organs of the guniu, and some say that they step on the drums and beat the drums to offer sacrifices to the drums." There are three legends about the origin of "Miao people eating drums and Tibetans" in Congjiang: According to the legend in the Jiamian area, "Ang" is the ancestor of mankind. He is cruel and vicious. He not only kills living things, but also wants to eat his own brothers. In ancient times, all things could speak. Ang once killed trees and stones, which aroused public indignation, so everyone discussed how to deal with Ang. At this time, "Feng" was the leader, so Feng planned to take revenge on Ang. Feng pretended: "There is a bronze drum on a stone somewhere, and there is a lot of silver under the bronze drum. Whoever can take it down will share it." Ang knew about it, so he went to the place where Feng said to take the bronze drum and silver. There was a big centipede under the bronze drum. When Ang reached out to take it, he was bitten by the centipede and died of poisoning. Ang was buried in Guzhou after his death. Three years after Ang's death, someone got seriously ill and did not recover after many treatments. Later, he asked the ghost master to see the hexagram, saying that Ang was making trouble, and said that Ang didn't want anything, just people made reed pipes to blow, made bronze drums to beat, and killed pigs and cattle to honor him. The sick family did it as they were told, and they were all cured. From then on, when someone got sick and the ghost master saw that it was the ancestors who came to ask for pigs and cattle, they had to eat drums. It is said that in ancient times, the Miao people lived in Guzhou. A family had two very famous people. The son was named "Wan". After Wan's mother died, the stepmother gave birth to a daughter Rong. One autumn, Wan was sailing down the Duliu River, visiting villages and villages, singing and playing the sheng. Unfortunately, the boat capsized and he died on the way. Because it was the season of singing and dancing, few relatives and friends came to Wan's house to mourn, and the family only killed a fat pig to hastily hold Wan's funeral. When Wan arrived in the underworld, he felt that he was a local celebrity and should have received a grand funeral, but he didn't get it. He was unwilling to accept that he didn't get a large livestock to be buried with him, and he couldn't pass the gates of hell. Wan wanted to notify his family to hold a grand funeral for him. On the third day after his burial, Wan turned into a bird and came to the corridor of his home and called for several days. His family didn't understand what it meant, and didn't know that the bird was Wan. Wan thought that if he made his family sick, they would definitely ask the ghost master to ask for the ghost after they got sick. At that time, he would tell the ghost master, and the ghost master would pass the message to the family. Soon, Wan's stepmother fell ill and didn't recover for a long time. He tried every possible way and asked several ghost masters, but there was no improvement. Finally, a ghost master with great reputation, "King Gou", was invited to perform a ritual with ghosts. Wan told King Gou that the family should hold a grand funeral for Wan and kill the largest water buffalo as a sacrifice to Wan. During the funeral, there must be songs and dances that Wan loved during his lifetime. King Gou agreed to Wan's request, and at the same time proposed to Wan that those things could not be prepared at the moment, so he would use a piece of black charcoal as a proof, and he would definitely do it according to the conditions proposed in the future. Wan agreed. As expected, Wan's stepmother's illness miraculously improved. Three years later, the water buffalo of Wan's family was well-fed and round-waisted. The family killed the buffalo according to the conditions proposed by Wan, and held a lively sacrificial ceremony for Wan. After that, Wan's stepmother's illness was completely cured and she never got sick again. In this way, the descendants of the Miao family knew that there was a "Gu Zang disease" and that only by killing water buffaloes to sacrifice to ancestors could the disease be eliminated and disasters be eliminated. From then on, the Miao family's custom of eating Gu Zang was passed down from generation to generation. According to the legend in the Kongming area, Kongming came to fight the Miao people. This year they were dispersed, but they gathered together again next year. Later, Kongming formulated three strategies to deal with the Miao people. The first was not to eat old rice, not to make water mills, and to use pestles to pound rice for one meal at a time. Otherwise, women would not give birth to children and the Miao people would be extinct. The second was to ask young men to "sit on girls" so that they would fall in love and not want to leave their hometown; the third was to ask the Miao people to fight bulls and eat Gu Zang. Bullfighting may cause disharmony between villages, and even fights between them, shifting the target of struggle to the Miao people. Eating Gu Zang is very expensive. Not only do they use up all the money and food, but they also slaughter the oxen, thereby weakening the resistance of the Miao people. The Miao people in Congjiang eat Gu Zang regularly or irregularly. There are also differences in eating pig, cattle, and buffalo Gu Zang. The regular period is three, five, seven, nine, and thirteen years. Except for special circumstances, it is generally eaten when it expires. The areas that regularly eat water buffalo drums for three years include Jiali, Tuomiao, Eryou, Gunyu, Datang, etc.; the areas that regularly eat water buffalo drums for nine years include Jiarui and Jiaweng; the areas that regularly eat water buffalo drums for thirteen years include Kongming and Donglang. The areas that regularly eat pig drums for three years include Gaocen and other villages; the areas that regularly eat pig drums for five years include Shangang, Gaodiao, Gaoshou, Jida, Cenxiang; the areas that regularly eat pig drums for seven years include Aoli, Cenjie, etc.; the areas that regularly eat pig drums for nine years include Dadai. The areas that regularly eat yellow cattle drums and pig drums include Jiamian, Jiadu, Zhaiping, Baiyan, Zhenyou, Gaoshan, Danggang, etc. The areas that regularly eat water buffalo drums include Jiajiu. Eating drums to see the broken eggs is called "Guo Gai Niu" by the Miao people. It is usually held on the "Zi" day, and sometimes it is held many times. If it is not certain whether the drums are coming, it will be temporarily stopped and broken again at a later date. It is said that in the Jiamian area, when the drums came, three mushrooms grew on the place where the sour soup was stewed by some fire pits, or some pigs had marks of being tied on their chests, or mushrooms grew in the rice bucket. The head of the drums: called "Gainiu" in Miao language, there are three types of head of the drums: handed down from generation to generation, recommended, and the head of the drums who feed the first sick family to the drums. The handed down from generation to generation is not limited to father and son, but is passed down in the entire branch. In addition to the head of the drums, there are twelve deacons in Jiamian eating drums. They are called "Shendong", "Shenjijiu", "Shenbang", "Shuojijiu" (2 people), "Wabang", "Wadong", "Wojie", "Wodu", "Jieyeniu" (2 people), and "Deniu" in Miao language. The conditions and methods of producing the deacons are: "Shendong" is the drum master, who recites all the sacrificial words in eating drums, and is proficient in the sacrificial words of six activities in three years, and can recite them smoothly without any confusion. The selection of the Shendong is determined by "breaking the egg". After the fifth "breaking the egg" is successful, "Gai Niu" (the drum head) will send the egg to his home and inform him to serve as the current Shendong. If he is willing to accept, then that's fine. Otherwise, "Gai Niu" must visit him again to invite him. If he still refuses to accept, "Gai Niu" will invite his family to visit him until he accepts. "Shenjiu" or "Daowa" must be selected from those who have a natural and funny demeanor, who can make others laugh and can hold back their laughter. Every time the Lusheng is played, he recites the Lusheng tune, holds the tail feather of the white pheasant in his hand, and walks in front, imitating the gesture of blowing the Lusheng. "Shenbang" is responsible for following Shendong to recite the ancestor worship words and serve as Shendong's assistant. In every activity, Gai Niu should be present, with Shendong on the right, Gai Niu in the middle, and Shenbang on the left. The three of them stand in parallel, and no one can be missing. "Shuojijiu" is played by two people, and their job is to play the Lusheng. "Wabang" and "Wadong" have the same duties. They must start everything related to eating drums. When the gods need fish and hemp as offerings for reciting the sacrificial words, they must be delivered by Wabang, received by Wadong, and then given to the gods. No matter what the gods take or put, they must pass through Wabang and Wadong's hands. They cannot take or put anything by themselves. In the process of eating drums, the two of them are responsible for slaughtering ducks, pigs, steaming rice, and distributing vegetables and rice in Lushengping. Wabang and Wadong must choose people who are familiar with the things that should be done in every process of eating drums. "Wojie", "Wodu", or "Wojiehuo" in general, their duties are to guard the drum shed and cut vines for pulling drums, and play drum games. Twice a year, they step on the singing hall and open the drum shed. After that, they guard the shed day and night. "Jie Ye Niu" is played by two people. In the past, women were the ones who performed the role of Jiamian. Later, it was changed to one man and one woman. Even if two men were used, one of them had to wear women's clothes when carrying water to soak rice to show that there were women participating. The duty of "De Niu" was to disguise and interrogate the wooden drum when the wooden drum was pulled into the village. He had to be ugly, but could hold back laughter, and had an innocent expression when interrogating the wooden drum. Except for Shen Dong, who was mentioned above, the other 11 deacons were pre-selected by the masses, and the ghost master "hanged stones to read the divination" and asked the ancestors to make the final decision. If the ancestors disagreed, another selection had to be made, and the ghost master was asked to read the divination again. The quota of deacons was allocated. If there were more than two surnames living in the village, each surname had to participate, otherwise it might affect the unity between the surnames. After the drum was determined, one or several families in the same cattle hall began preparations, which were divided into three years. In the first year, cattle were bought and drums were prepared, in the second year, fish were caught for ancestor worship, and in the third year, cattle were killed for ancestor worship. The first year was to select the cattle for drum storage, and the cattle for drum storage had to be strictly selected. The qualified standard is not only strong and round, brave and good at fighting, but also determined by the location of the "hair whorl" on the cow's body. If there is no qualified drum-hiding cow in the local area, it is necessary to go to nearby Rongjiang, Leishan, Kaili, Huangping, Sandu and other counties to buy it at a high price. The second is to prepare drums. Starting from the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the main procedures are "building drums and hiding sheds", "pigs turning over", "burying drums and hiding boxes", "cutting benches", "making wine", "guarding sheds", "singing opening songs", "opening Lushengping", "stepping on the song hall", "pulling benches", "respecting ancestors", "washing Lushengping", "cooking porridge", "closing sheds and avoiding villages", "eating cow dung rice", etc. For five days before and after, the whole village stopped production. Building a shed, called "diehao" in Miao language, is built near the drum-hiding head family. It is 6 feet 6 inches wide and 6 feet 3 inches deep, in a herringbone shape, covered with wood veneer in the front and wooden boards in the back, and installed with wooden boards around. The labor and materials are borne by the whole village. There are many processes in building a drum shed, such as "cutting trees", "putting ink", "digging pillar eyes", "leveling the foundation", "setting up the shed", "covering the shed", "sweeping the shed", "driving away ghosts", "planting bamboo", and "respecting the shed". Each process requires offerings of fish and hemp, and the god Dong recites the words, and the Wabang and Wadong start to do it first. After the drum shed is built, bamboo is used to make bows and arrows, and wooden boards are used to make targets. Three bamboo nails are nailed first, and the Wo borrows the bow and arrows to shoot three arrows at the target in a row, and then the bow, arrows, and targets are hung in the drum shed, which is called "driving away ghosts". Then a bamboo is planted outside the shed, and the Niu kills a duck and fish, hemp, wine, rice and other offerings, and goes to "respect the shed" with 12 deacons and the masses playing the sheng. The god Dong recites the words, which means: We have built a shed for you, please sit inside, take care of your descendants and the population, and the harvest of grains, so that we can have wine, fish, and meat to respect you, and step on the singing hall in a lively manner. If the Guzang shed grows weeds or leaks during the three years, the shendong must go and read a word to give instructions before pulling out the weeds or repairing the leaks. Otherwise, it may anger the ancestors and bring disaster to the descendants. When the Jiamian Miao people start eating Guzang, the niu must feed a pig. After three years, it is used to pay tribute to the sixty ancestors of all surnames in the village. After deciding to eat Guzang, the niu first buys a pig. On the night of the Guzang shed, 12 deacons play the reed pipe to the niu's house, display the offerings, and the shendong reads a word to give instructions to the ancestors, asking them to take good care of the pig so that it grows up quickly and not let the pig run out to eat crops. After that, the piglet is caught outside the pen. Cut off a small part of the left ear and tail, put it in the Guzang box prepared in advance, and then put the piglet on the box and turn it over. Cutting trees is an activity for the whole village, and most men participate. Gai Niu killed a duck and cut it into two pieces. Shen Dong took the piece with the head, Shen Bang took the other piece, and Shen Ji Jiu and other deacons each took a fish and gathered from Gai Niu's house to set off. Before setting off, Gai Niu prepared a bowl of wine, which Wa Bang held in front of Gai Niu's house. All those who participated in chopping trees had to drink a sip, and then set off while playing the reed pipe. Halfway through the journey, they had to stop to sharpen the axe. Although the axe had been sharpened at home, it still had to be sharpened here to show that they followed the rules of their ancestors. Before sharpening the axe, they first placed the fish, hemp and other offerings, and Shen Dong sang the axe sharpening song. After that, Wa Bang and Wa Dong sharpened the axe on the stone for a few times, and the team continued to move forward. When they arrived at the top of the mountain, they first performed a tree-watching performance, and then placed the offerings. Shen Dong recited a sentence, which roughly meant: the tree was planted by us in ancient times. There are fields, land, silver and money in the tree, and it is required to be used as a bench. After reciting, Wa Bang and Wa Dong started to chop first, and others helped. The tree must fall to the east, otherwise it will be unlucky. If the tree does not naturally fall to the east, it must be pulled to the east. After the tree is cut down, Shenjijiu recites the tune of the Lusheng, imitates the action of playing the Lusheng, and guides the crowd from the stump to the top of the tree, which is called measuring the tree. Then it is cut into pieces and carried back to the place where the elders eat drums and make benches. It is made on the same day. The benches are divided into large and small ones. The large one is about 4.5 feet long and 5 inches wide, and the small one is 1.2 feet long and 5 inches wide, representing the cow and the bull respectively. After the worship of the shed is over, wine is made that night, which is called "Gong Song Niu" in Miao language. At this time, the 12 deacons and the masses all go to Niu's house. Niu kills a duck and pickles fish, tea (put a little glutinous rice in the tea) and other offerings and places them by the fire pit. Then he fills a clay wine pot with a few taels of rice wine and roasts it on the fire pit. Shendong recites the lyrics and explains, which has 273 sentences. After Wabang and Wadong cut the duck into pieces and distributed them to everyone, the people went home. Wojie and Wodu went to the drum shed to guard the shed. Shendong and Shenbang stayed near Gai Niu's house. Shenjijiu and other 8 people stayed at Gai Niu's house to take turns to guard the night. When the cock crowed, the wooden drum or bronze drum prepared by Gai Niu's family was struck. Upon hearing the sound, Shendong and Shenbang went to Gai Niu's door and sang the song of opening the door. The lyrics roughly meant: Where is Gai Niu? Your ancestors sent you something, so ask him to come and take it quickly. At this time, Gai Niu put fish, hemp, wine, rice and other offerings on the ground to welcome him. Shendong and Shenbang pushed the door open and entered the house. Wojie and Wodu also came to Gai Niu's house from the drum shed to eat the offerings together after hearing the drum sound. Opening the reed pipe platform is called "Bolang" in Miao language (which means starting to step on the song hall); stepping on the song hall is called "Dongniu Jiang" and pulling the bench is called "Shedai". They are all carried out on the same day, and an auspicious day is chosen in advance (Jiamu's day for choosing a son). On that day, in addition to killing three ducks, dozens of fish, some hemp, a barrel of wine (about 20 jin), and more than 30 jin of glutinous rice, each household collected 3040 jin of wine, more than 10 jin of fish and meat, and 6070 jin of glutinous rice. They gathered in the Niu family and set off in a team. The first was 7 or 8 young men wearing new clothes or flowery quilts and mats, followed by the Lusheng team, followed by girls in formal attire. The Niu and the deacons, Wabang Wadong carried straw raincoats, dragged axes and hoes, and others followed with food on their shoulders. When they arrived at Lushengping, they circled the ping three times, stopped and displayed the food in the center of the ping. After Shendong recited the words to explain the ancestors, Wabang Wadong dragged the hoe in the ping for a circle, which was called opening Lushengping. After that, the food was distributed to the people present. Then the singing hall and the bench pulling were held at the same time. Most middle-aged men and young women stayed in Lushengping to accompany guests from other villages to sing the singing hall, while most young men participated in the bench pulling. It is said that pulling the bench means the number of male and female cows is 0. Four people carry the big bench in front, and two people carry the small bench behind. They walk and tell jokes. After a few steps, they put the small bench on one end of the big bench and say: The male and female water buffaloes are 0. Then one person pours rice water on the bench board and shouts at the same time: Both the male and female cows are 0, which makes the audience laugh. This performance is repeated until the drum shed is installed. Respecting ancestors is carried out after the bench is pulled into the drum shed. Anyone with the same surname as the New Year, whether from the outer branch or the inner branch, can participate. Each household participating in the respect of ancestors must prepare a fish, a bowl of wine, and two hemp sticks according to the number of ancestors to be respected in advance, and gather them in the drum shed as offerings. Each time 7 ancestors are respected, 7 bowls of wine, 7 fish, and 14 hemp sticks must be placed. The offerings are placed on the bench in the drum shed. Shendong knocks the edge of the wine bowl with bamboo chopsticks to call the ancestors to enjoy the offerings. After reciting the words 7 times, another offering is made, and 7 more offerings are made until all the offerings are finished. After offering wine to the ancestor, his descendants should take a sip to show that they are drinking with the ancestor. Washing the Lushengping is done after stepping on the Getang, indicating that the Getang will no longer be stepped on. When washing the Lushengping, the Niu still prepares wine, fish, and hemp as offerings. Seven people blow the Lusheng and go around the Ping three times. The process ends after the Shendong gives instructions. On the night of washing the Lushengping, each household collects rice to cook porridge. The porridge is specially cooked for children who died young. After the porridge is cooked, the Shendong recites the words, and the Shenbang knocks the edge of the pot with a sickle and recites the spell, which roughly means: the porridge is cooked, you (referring to the dead children) come and drink it. After reciting, the children are told to eat the porridge. Then the Shendong, Shenbang, Wabang, and Wadong carry the fish and hemp offerings to the closed shed (which can only be opened after the next Lushengping). Shendong reads the words and Wabang and Wadong spread grass signs at the intersections outside the village, indicating "avoiding the village". On the night of the anti-village, each household cooks food in preparation for offering sacrifices to the ancestors at home the next morning and letting the ancestors go back to the drum shed. Before dawn the next day, each household places the prepared offerings by the fire pit. After checking each household, the first one goes home and beats the drum. When each household hears the drum sound, they either pound the pestle or knock on the wall. The first one beats the drum three times, and each household beats it three times as usual, indicating that the ancestors are being let back to the drum shed. After breakfast on the day of letting the ancestors go back to the drum shed, all the deacons and the masses gather at the first one's house and go up the mountain to cut trees to make wooden drums. The wooden drums are made of nanmu. They set out in a group playing the reed pipe, and they still have to stop to sharpen axes on the way. The tree still needs to fall toward the east, and then be carried to the place outside the village where the elders make wooden drums. The drum tube is made into a drum tube on the same day. It is usually seven feet long, about 5 inches in diameter, and about 1 inch thick. A hole is punched in the middle and one end is covered. After it is made, it is wrapped with wood skin and placed in the original place. It is pulled into the Lushengping in winter. The sawdust taken out of the drum tube is called "gei liu" in Miao language, which means "cow dung". 12 deacons wrap the sawdust in cloth and send it to Gai Niu's home. The Shendong Shenbang sings a song, and the lyrics are roughly: the ancestors sent silver, land, men and women, clothes, and cloth to Gai Niu's home. At this time, Gai Niu prepares wine, rice, fish, and meat according to the population of the whole village to invite the whole village to have a meal, which is called eating cow dung rice. The first autumn ceremony ends. The winter ceremony is held in December of the lunar calendar. Winter activities include making liquor, guarding the shed, singing the song of opening the door, weaving the kang basket, cutting drum vines, opening the reed pipe, stepping on the singing hall, playing the drum, shouting the drum to watch the rice drying, questioning the drum, carrying water to soak rice and making cakes, driving away mountain gods and wild ghosts, covering the drum, shouting the ancestors, thinking about the ancestors, washing the reed pipe, closing the shed and avoiding the village, cooking porridge, letting the ancestors return to the shed, etc. The form is the same as that of autumn. On the first day after playing the drum and entering the hall, if there are ancestors who "died suddenly" (hanged, drowned, fell to death, etc.), the drum master should be asked to use a rooster to go halfway to block them, comb their hair, wash their faces and dress them up, and then they can enter the reed pipe hall and drum shed like good people. The autumn ceremony of the second year is held in the ninth month of the lunar calendar. Starting from "making liquor", except for "washing the face with the drum", the rest is the same as the autumn of the first year. It takes two nights and one day. Washing the face with the drum is done after the Lusheng Terrace is opened. The niu takes a handful of grass and gives it to Wabang and Wadong to burn ash and filter the water. Mushroom and taro paste is added to the water. Wabang soaks a handkerchief in the ash water, takes it out and wipes it on the drum three times. Shendong reads the words and gives instructions. The winter ceremony of the second year is held in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. Except for covering the drum, the rest is the same as the first year. Wabang and Wadong cover the other end of the drum. The niu uses fish and hemp as offerings to the drum. Shendong reads the words and gives instructions. A hole is also drilled in the middle of the wooden drum. If the ghost hidden in the drum is a female, a chicken is placed in the drum, and if it is a male, a fish is placed. The third year is the last year of eating drums, which is divided into three phases. The first phase is eating new corn in the seventh month of the lunar calendar; the second phase is stepping on the song hall in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, and the ceremony is the same as the second year; the third phase is slaughtering cattle (pigs) to worship the ancestors, which is held in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. Half a month before slaughtering cattle to worship the ancestors, Shendong must go to the brothers of the drum head family to inform them of the date of eating drums (no matter how far away). Those who live far away will kill cattle and pigs one day in advance. The day before killing cattle to worship ancestors, relatives, friends and guests must arrive and give gifts to the Niu and each household that eats the drum. The pig head and half of the cow collar are placed in the drum shed. Those who fail to arrive on time are not allowed to enter the village. Except for "making a licking bei", "picking pig utensils", "picking pigs and handing them over to ancestors", "killing pigs and cattle", "beating drums and Tibetan cakes", "boiling pig heads", "rolling pig heads", and "sending drums", the rest are the same as the same period of the second year, and the time is three days. Sending drums is the last ceremony of eating drums, that is, sending wooden drums, Tibetan drum boxes, kang baskets, wooden knives, and raincoats to the wild and covering them up, allowing them to rot. Shendong explained that if you are left here, they will rot and turn into water to feed the crops and us. When killing pigs and cattle and sending drums, Shendong will tell the pig drums and cattle drums one by one that you should not come back after you go, and the route you take is the place where the three rivers are near the Yangdagajiuyan Shaoganulunqiu River, and he will keep whipping the cattle heads. The pig drum is sent to Rongjiang, and the cow drum is sent to Chejiang. When the drums are sent, the tents and villages are closed. The next day at dawn, the grass tags are removed and normal activities are resumed. The three-year drum-eating is over. The central figures of the Miao people in Congjiang are the drum-eating head, the drum-eating master, and the assistants of the drum-eating master. The head of the drum is decided by the ghost master who hangs a stone and breaks an egg to see whose house the drum is sent to. The drum-eating master is the ghost master who hangs a stone and breaks an egg to decide who will serve as the drum-eating master of this session. Once decided, he must preside over the drum-eating activity. The existing drum masters in Jiamian area of Congjiang mainly inherit from their teachers (family inheritance is also acceptable). Well-known drum masters include Wei Qiluo, a native of Biejiu Village, who is familiar with the history of the Miao nationality, buried in the rocks and reasoned about the words, and recited the words and Miao songs while eating drums. He studied under Wei Laofu and has taught 6 people, namely Long Laoyi (Dangweng Village), Long Laobo (Dangweng Village), Wang Laoguo (Yangda Village), Liang Jincheng (Dangniu Village), Liang Laojiao (Dangniu Village). His disciples can basically host the eating drums ceremony independently. According to preliminary investigations, the more famous drum masters in the concentrated Miao settlements include Wei Laogong (Baibu Village, Zaibian Town), Wang Laosha (Dangdiu Village, Jiamian Township), Yang Laoqiu