Xunpunv Customs
01 · Historical Records
The customs of the Xunpu women (蟳埔女) took shape in settlements along the coastline; tracing their origins, most relate to seaborne intercourse. The large oyster shells used in the village's oyster-shell houses (蚵壳厝) were not produced locally but were carried back by ocean-going merchant ships of the ancient Citong Port (刺桐港) in the Song and Yuan dynasties, a single ship's load of shell material sustaining a coastal settlement and nurturing a whole set of construction methods suited to the humid, hot, and windy environment. The jasmine, michelia, and pale-flowered varieties used in the headdress are said to have been introduced by Arabs during the Song and Yuan periods, in the same vein as the sojourner communities of the old port. The midnight wedding departure in marriage customs and the Mazu incense-patrol procession in sacrificial rites are likewise not the rules of inland farming, but the experience and beliefs of seafaring life brought wholesale into the village lanes.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Xunpu women's customs are a traditional way of life unique to southern Fujian, circulating mainly in the Xunpu, Jinqi, Houpu, and Dongmei communities of Donghai Subdistrict, Fengze District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. The Xunpu oyster-shell houses are the most distinctive folk dwellings of southern Fujian, with features such as wind resistance and waterproofing, warmth in winter and coolness in summer, and sturdy walls, making them well suited to the windy, damp climate of the coast. According to research, the large oyster shells used in the Xunpu oyster-shell houses were not native to Quanzhou but were carried back as ballast by ocean-going merchant ships returning to the ancient Citong Port in the Song and Yuan periods. Xunpu preserves many traditional southern Fujian customs, among which the "midnight wedding departure" marriage custom and the "Mazu incense patrol" sacrificial rite stand out most prominently, while Mazu's birthday on the ninth day of the third lunar month each year is the day when Minnan folk customs are displayed in concentrated form. Xunpu was once a starting point of the "Maritime Silk Road," and its customs of daily life retain many traces of maritime culture.
The wedding taken at midnight
The bridal sedan leaves at midnight to keep to the tides and avoid the heat, so the wedding keeps a coastal clock.
The Mazu incense procession
Households in turn host the palanquin, and the whole village converges on Mazu's birthday.
The birthday of Mazu on the ninth
On the ninth of the third month the coastal villages merge into one city of incense and sea wind.
Building with oyster shells
Oyster shells laid in sea mud with broken bonds form walls that shrug off wind, rain and heat.
The flower-ring headdress
A ring of fragrant flowers, comfortable in work and said to have arrived with Arab traders centuries ago.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The dress of the Xunpu women is commonly known as "wide-hemped blouse and loose trousers" (大裾衫、阔脚裤), and the headdress is commonly known as the "flower-wearing circlet" (簪花围). This attire, peculiar to the fishing women of southern Fujian, reflects the character of seaside labor. The jasmine, michelia, and pale-flowered varieties commonly used in the headdress are said to have been brought and transplanted locally by the Arab Pu Shousheng (蒲寿晟) in the Song and Yuan periods, exuding an exotic cultural air. The Xunpu oyster-shell houses are a marvel in the history of human architecture; this unique type of southern Fujian dwelling provides historical testimony to the spread of maritime culture in the locality and has also become an important element of research on Minnan folk customs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Most of the value of Xunpu lies in the local survival of maritime culture. The oyster-shell houses are tangible evidence of the coastal residents' coexistence with the sea; the flower-wearing circlet unites the labor and aesthetics of the fishing women; and the Mazu incense patrol on Mazu's birthday is the result of a seafaring belief settling on land in terrestrial form. Taken together, the three show at a glance how a trade route running from the ancient Citong Port to foreign seas changed its patterns here and left an underlying layer behind.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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