No head touching
No head touching of the man in Tujia people for any reason except his parent and grandparent. An old saying is 'You can look but never touch a man's head or a woman’ waist'. It is believed that touching head is an offence to human dignity. One should keep this no-no even for the best friends or you would make you friend an enemy.
Omens
►It is said that the country and its people would get into trouble when there is a Solar or Lunar Eclipses
►The crow's cry bodes ill \blood or death. The cock's cry in the deep night predicts the fire or a theft.
►Sneezing is a sign of ill words or a curse from others behind ones' back. You can break the curse by saying something like this" Good wishes for the man who speaks good to me, bad luck for speak ill."
►Omens of dream: Water in the dream predicts sorrows. White cloth indicates the death of family members. Children in the dream herald a warning of theft. Cocks\birds or fish is a sign of quarrelling. A narrow escape means illness, mount climbing augurs good things, going declivity forebodes a bad luck.
The number taboo of 36
36 is the most ominous number in Tujia people which means the "destiny". Even 36 in weight\money\or length can be an ill omen. When counting the numbers, one would start from 1 till 35 and then start with 1 again. The 36th year of ones life is considered to be a disaster. People will celebrate their birthday in advance, and the guests will make good wishes to them and set off firecrackers in their house to dispel the evil things. There is an old saying "三十六，接跟头，人到三十六，不打官司要卖屋" which means bad luck or getting into trouble in the year of ones 36birthday. People will wear red underwear or a red waistband to shake off the bad luck in that year.
Communicational taboo
Tujia people will never speak in Tujia language to other ethic group. One can't neither call an elder by his name nor call a peer's name without his family name. “Dai\Wei” can't be used between a man and a woman or a younger to an elder. Don’t say "ah…" in a long syllable. Don’t say"不高（not high）、死(dead)、亡(die)、完了(over)" in front of a patient. Use"作古(sleep for ever)，归天(go to the heaven)，走了(gone)" instead of "死亡dead" . Say no words about"折(loss)、亏（deficit）、损(debility)、耗(consumption)"in front of a business man.
A male can't seat in the same bench with a female nor touch a female's waist. No spitting in front of others。No moustache or beards. Never say any word about "separate \ part or death "when you are attending a wedding ceremony for it might bring the inauspicious.
Taboos for going out
It is believed that one would get into trouble if you start a trip in the 7th or 9th day of a mouth or coming back home in 8th day. There are 8 specific days scattering in the whole lunar year that are considered to be "the black days". People will never go out for a long distance in these days in case of danger. It is considered to be unlucky if the first person one meet is a female when he\she goes out for a visit and he\she may delay the visit to the next day.
Omens of the animal
►Ill omen of the crow: it is a boding of evil when a crow cries on the roof or over ones head. People will spit and say"短你的命（similar with damn you)" to ward off calamities and bring good luck.
►Omens of cuckoo: It is quite normal that cuckoo sings in the spring. But it is inauspicious to hear cuckoo when one is using the toilet. If it happens, people must go out begging rice for 1-3 days and cook the rice in some wild land to avoid misfortune. If this is happens to a child, his\her mother would do this instead of himself\herself. If one hears cuckoo when he\she is walking or farming, it forecasts a busy year. But it is an auspicious omen if you hear the cuckoo singing in the morning when you are still in bed. It is also believed that the cuckoo's crow can augur one's fortune.
►The owl is ominous. If an owl crows in the village, death will come before long.
►It is ominous to come across two snakes mating. There is two way to get rid of misfortunes. One is taking off your trousers to cover your head or the snakes. The other is to shift the misfortune onto your companion when you call his name and he answers. One can also beat the snakes to death or say something like "dragon flies, snake flees and man makes a fortune"
►Omens of the animal which break into your house in the festivals or big days: there is a saying that "poverty follows by a pig, wealth follows by a dog and death follows by a cat." If a dog or a wild raccoon stay in your roof or a cock in the tree, it shows a sense of calamity. When you are going out for business or matchmaking, it is an ill omen to hear the crow cries, it will bring failure.
