On the vast grasslands and deserts in northern China, there are more than ten ethnic minorities, such as Mongolian, Mongolian and Manchu. In the primitive society about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, in order to distinguish themselves from other tribes, some ethnic tribes took an animal as the symbol of their tribe, which was called totem. They paint totem animals on their bodies, or put on fur, or decorate themselves with bones or teeth. In short, people in the same tribe are marked by the same animal and have uniform costumes. Later, limited by the level of knowledge, people think that their ancestors evolved from those totem animals, so they especially admire totem animals and worship them like ancestors, forming totem worship.
In order to make this totem worship more credible, each tribe has produced corresponding legends about how its ancestors evolved from totem animals, or how they were saved by totem animals, so that the whole tribe can survive and so on.
The Mongolians living on the prairie in northern China regard wolves as their national totem, and they have ancient totem legends and stories.
Miss Salina, a Mongolian student studying in Beijing, said: "Mongolians have worshipped wolves for a long time and regarded them as their totems. In the earliest written history books of our Mongolians, there is an ancient legend that Mongolians are a combination of Canglang and White Deer born in the sky, so Mongolians consider themselves descendants of Canglang (and) White Deer. "
Salina said that it can be inferred from this legend that Mongolians are a combination of a tribe with Canglang as its totem and a tribe with White Deer as its totem, so they worship wolves and deer as their ancestors. Comparatively speaking, wolves are stronger than deer, so Mongolians regard wolves as their totems.
Professor He from China Academy of Social Sciences is an expert in ethnology. He believes that among many animals, the reason why Mongolians choose wolves as their totem is closely related to their living environment and lifestyle. Mongolian is a typical nomadic people. They live on the grassland and graze cattle and sheep. The wolves on the grassland are the biggest harm to the Mongols. They often steal sheep. In the years of struggle and getting along with wolves, Mongolians became more and more familiar with wolves, and finally chose wolves as their totem.
Mr. He analyzed: "First, fear caused by fear produces worship psychology. The wolves in the grassland are in droves, so it is often not enough to protect the sheep with weapons (Mongolian); The second is the worship of gratitude. Wolves are cruel and gentle. Many legends say that wolves saved the ancestors of a certain nation. In addition, curiosity can also cause worship. Wolves have many habits like people. Mongolians are very strange, so they think (wolves) are their ancestors. " While taking wolves as totems, Mongolians also pay attention to learning the advantages of wolves, and then regard these advantages as the spirit of their own nation.
Miss Selina of Mongolia told the reporter: "The Mongolian people think that wolves are brave and witty. It is a fierce animal with tenacious perseverance and high fighting spirit. In my opinion, we should learn from the indomitable and brave momentum of the wolf, as well as its wit and sensitivity. This will be helpful to our study and work. " In fact, among the ethnic minorities in northern China, not only Mongols worship wolves as totems, but also some ethnic groups worship wolves. For example, the * * * Er ethnic group living in the northwest of China nicknamed the newborn boy "Little Wolf"; Xibe men's belts are decorated with buttons made by imitating the wolf's head. In the legends of these ethnic groups, they are all descendants of wolves.
Besides wolves, bears, deer, eagles, swans and other animals are the totem worship objects of ethnic minorities in northern China. For example, Manchu people living in Northeast China take birds such as swans and magpies as totems, while Ewenki people living in Daxinganling forests take reindeer as totems. The appearance of all these totems is closely related to the living environment of all ethnic groups.