青海湖祭海目擊

2006年農歷五月初四這一天，青海省海北藏族自治州剛察縣泉吉鄉所在的青海湖北岸人聲鼎沸，經幡飄揚，這兒正在舉辦一年一度的“祭?！被顒?。

藏族牧民自發舉行的“祭海”，這不僅是帶有濃郁宗教色彩的一種民俗活動，也是一種文化現象，其間包含著很多的民風民俗以及對大自然認識的哲理——體現人與自然長期共存、和諧平衡的渴望。

青海湖是我國最大的咸水湖，面積達4456平方公里，環湖周長360多公里，平均水深19米，蓄水量達1050億立方米，湖面海拔3260米，比兩座疊起的泰山還要高。即使是盛夏，這里的日平均氣溫不超過15℃。

藏民對青海湖的“祭?！被顒右蜒永m上千年之久，當地百姓通過“祭海”祈求海神對人畜庇佑，祈求風調雨順……

時值中午11點許，“祭?！遍_始了!眾喇嘛、信徒數百人在活佛的帶領下，開始圍繞著搭建的經幡誦經，接著向空中拋撒印有鹿馬的紙片，并向爐中傾倒食物……

誦經完畢，神壇祭祀開始，活佛與喇嘛各執祭器圍繞神壇纏繞羊毛繩，并在神壇周圍插上鎮邪驅妖的箭與其他祭器，霎時間號角吹響，煙霧燎繞，信徒跪拜，人歡馬叫……

祭畢神壇，“祭?！闭介_始，手執各種祭品的喇嘛與信徒們在活佛的帶領下，浩浩蕩蕩向湖邊奔去。到了湖邊，先由活佛誦經作法事，眾喇嘛、信徒高舉著祭品簇擁在活佛身后，得到活佛指令后，大家紛紛將祭品拋向湖中，霎時湖水中浪花四濺，信徒吶喊歡呼一片。此時更有許多老人、婦女跪在湖邊，摘下身上的護身符用湖水洗滌，據說這天用湖水洗護身符，可保一年平安。還有許多小伙子騎著馬下湖狂奔，同樣也是想獲得神湖的庇佑……

“祭?！钡牧硪豁梼热菥褪瞧碛?。據當地人講，每年“祭?！焙髷敌r必定降雨。

周長360余公里的青海湖周邊“祭?！钡牡胤讲恢挂惶?，據說還有許多地方今天同時也在“祭海”。

從藏民五月初三“祭海”想到漢族“端午節”，這種向海中拋撒食物是否和漢族“端午節”有某種聯系?不過藏民向湖中拋撒的祭品是用綢緞做成的袋子裝著的。

“祭海”結束后，湖邊滿地落下的是印有鹿馬的紅綠小紙片，這種小紙片便稱之為“鹿馬”。拋“鹿馬”即是人向神傳遞心愿的一種方法，相傳長著鹿角的神馬能上天、入湖，能向神明傳達信息。

“祭海”之后牧民們便舉行賽馬活動。下午兩點賽馬開始，剛剛還是晴朗的天空，此時卻是烏云密布，狂風大作，緊接著便下起雨來，聯想起“祭?！敝蟊赜杏甑恼f法，倒真有些怪異。不過“神明”一說是虛無縹緲的，“祭海”只是人們的一種美好企盼，人們企盼人與大自然共生共存，企盼青海湖永遠水清水綠、風平浪靜……

青海湖古稱“西?！保卣Z稱“錯溫波”，意思是“青色的湖”，蒙語稱“庫庫諾爾”，意思是“藍色的海洋”。青海湖周邊曾是卑禾族游牧區，所以青海湖又稱“卑禾羌?！?，漢族人稱“仙海”，到了北魏才更名為“青海”。

歷代皇帝都視青海湖為神明并對青海湖題詞、立碑與封號，唐玄宗曾封“西海”之神為“廣潤公”，封號“青海湖”；宋仁宗親題“通圣廣潤公”，并在長安設壇遙祭；到了清代祭?；顒右阎贫然?，康熙曾題“正恒”，雍正賜封“青海靈顯大瀆之尊神”，乾隆題“青海勝景”……至于唐蕃和親，文成公主嫁給藏王松贊干布經過日月山、倒淌河、青海湖的故事，更是家喻戶曉。

青海湖孕育了許多美麗動人的神話傳說，《山海經》記載女神西王母就在青海湖；《穆天子傳》同樣記載女神王母娘娘所居住的瑤池就是青海湖。

青?？脊虐l現，早在舊石器時代青海湖周邊就有人類活動，從出土的石制刮削器、雕刻器和砍斫器得以證明。當時人類的狩獵活動，也證明了早在兩萬多年前青海廣大地區氣候十分溫暖，森林茂密，水草豐美。

然而隨著過度的人類活動和對大自然無節制的索取，隨之而來的是“溫室效應”和荒漠化。水文資料顯示，近幾十年來青海湖水位持續下降，于是專家驚呼“青海湖將成為第二個羅布泊!”

造成成青海湖水位不斷下降的主要原因在于青海湖周邊地區干旱少雨，地下水位下降，原先流入青海湖的108條河水，如今大部分都已斷流，加之青海湖蒸發量大于河水流入量，水位持續下降是必然的。

為了扼制青海湖水位下降的勢頭，青海省政府采取了限制青海湖周邊人類活動的措施，如退耕退牧、還草還樹、禁止捕撈青海湖湟魚、減少地下水的開采等等，但能否收到明顯效果，還有待于時間的證明。

環境的日益惡化威脅著人類的生存，愛護地球，維護生態平衡已不再是什么口號，青海這種民間“祭?！被顒?，也同樣寄托著這種美好的愿望。

Memorial Ceremony for the Blue Sea

Qinghai Province in China’s outback west is named after the Blue Sea， Qinghai in Chinese. The country’s largest saltwater lake， the Blue Sea measures 4，456 square kilometers with the average depth at 19 meters. At the altitude of 3，260 meters above the sea level， the vast lake has been a sacred water body since ancient times.

An emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) granted an official lordship title to the god of the Blue Sea. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， a memorial service to the Blue Sea was institutionalized. And the inland sea has carried within itself many ancient legends.

Archaeologists have found the traces of human activities in the Paleolithic Age around the lake. These early residents were hunters in the once warm， humid， and fertile forest land. But excessive human activities and climate changes have brought a sea change to the saltwater lake. Over the past several decades， the water level at the Blue Sea has kept dropping. Most of the 108 rivers that used to drain into the Blue Sea have dried up due to severe droughts.

To stem the drop of the water level and the desertification around the lake area， the Qinghai government has adopted a variety of measures， such as returning farmland to pasture and forest， planting trees and grass， reducing human activities， etc. The effects of these measures are yet to be seen.

Most residents around the Blue Sea are Tibetans. Their memorial ceremony to the lake dates back to more than 1，000 years ago. The ceremony is more than a folk event or religious affair. It is also a cultural phenomenon， reflecting their understanding of the world and the way of life， and their yearning for everlasting peace and harmony between man and nature.

This year’s grand celebration fell on the fourth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar. The grand ceremony I watched was held on the northern bank of the Blue Sea.

The ceremony started around 11 in the morning. Led by a Living Buddha， lamas and disciples began to recite Buddhist sutra while marching around Buddhist sutra streamers. Red and green confetti printed with the image of magic horses with deer horns were scattered into the sky and food was poured into cauldrons.

When the sutra reciting was over， the Living Buddha and lamas came to the altar. They walked around the altar， holding the sacrificial utensils in their hands， and plugging arrows and other objects on the ground to exorcise devils. Horns sounded. Smoke soared. Disciples prostrated. Horses neighed.

After the fete at the altar was over， lamas and disciples went to the Blue Sea with their offerings wrapped up in silk bags. After conducting more religious ceremonies， the Living Buddha gave the signal for the people to give their offerings to the lake. For a moment， the water splashed as people were throwing offerings into the lake with loud cheers. Many older people and women washed their amulets in the lake for good luck. Some plucky young men rode their horses into the lake to get blessed by the god of the lake.

The prayers said at the ceremonies were also meant for rain. Some local people said that it would always rain a few hours after the grand event and that day would be no exception.

On the same day， many similar ceremonies were held on the 360-km shores of the lake. After the ceremony in the morning， a horse race started at 2 pm. Just as predicted， black clouds gathered and seethed， wild winds roared， and rain poured down. It was truly beyond my expectation to see how the blue sky suddenly clouded over and a storm arose.

It is no longer a slogan to protect the earth and maintain balanced ecology. The ceremony for the Blue Sea is another way of stressing the importance of keeping our earth safe.

(Translated by David)