Beams Up

刘贵星 孙佳慧

The raising ceremony of the Gejia

一家建房，全村來助：贵州亻革家人热闹的上梁仪式

In Matang Village （麻塘寨）， a village in the city of Kaili， Guizhou Province， live the Gejia people. The Gejia are an unofficial ethnic minority outside of the fifty-five already recognized in China today. They possess an age-old culture， distinctive and ornate ethnic costumes， unique singing and dancing traditions， and genuine folk customs.

There are about 100 households living in this village， with a population of around 400 in total. According to the customs here， no matter who is building a new house， the neighbors all pitch in to help. This new house is for Wu Yinggui.

The process takes three days. On the first day， people work together to finish all four sections of the wooden frame. As with many minorities， Gejia people are known for their respect of nature， so before the frames are lifted， the carpenters kill a chicken and burn incense to worship the local god of the land and Lu Ban （鲁班）： the patron saint of Chinese builders.

Three fireworks mark the beginning of the lifting process on the second day. Everyone takes their positions， with the young and healthy holding the pillars and the elders looking out for safety on the other side. After the pillars are set up， beams， made from the sturdy Chinese fir， are needed to buttress the wooden frame.

The raising-of-the-beams ceremony begins on the third day. The host family slaughters a pig and prepares a feast—which lasts another three days. The visitors bring gifts， sometimes a bag of rice， sometimes cash.

To kick off the raising ceremony， the host selects ten workers who took part in the construction， puts red belts upon them， and drinks a toast to each.

To the sound of the fireworks， the beam is lifted slowly. Usually， only experienced workers take on this task; any mistake could not only be dangerous， but ominous. A red bag of copper coins and grains is nailed on the bottom side of the beam， a wish for a healthy harvest and future riches. As workers climb the beam， they recite the “beam-up ode”， praying for safety and peace.

They then throw a big sticky-rice pie with “wealth” patterns on it from the beam onto a sheet in the middle of the house， hoping to hit close to the owners clothes in an attempt to bring wealth to their new home.

As part of the housewarming celebration， the workers sit on the beams， playing games and drinking， throwing candy， snacks， and cash to the people below.

For the owner it is a ceremony of celebration and camaraderie， for those who take part， it is indicative of the communal spirit that they themselves have experience or hope to receive.