The Miaos
About half population of the Miao nadonabty live ill Guizhou Province. Some Miaos are
scattered in other autonomous region and provinces such as Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong
and Sichuan. Their ancestry carl be traced back to the "Chiyou" tribe in the primitive
society in the Central Plains. The ancestors began to construct their own kingdom in the
lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the Sbang (1600 BC 1046 BC) and Zhou
( 1046 BC--256 BC) dynasties. They started to migrate to the southern part of China later
on. During Qin (221 BC 207 BC) and Han dynasties (206 BC--220), their
predecessors lived in close communities in western Hunan and eastern Guizhou provinces.
They gradually moved westward in succession and settled down here th y e n w M h
of the Miao area is hilly or mountainous. Major crops like wheat, rice, paddy, maize,
potatoes, peanuts, tobacco, sugar cane and cotton may all be cultivated within their
territory due to its mild climate and sufficient rainfall.
Their language, which consists of three dialects, belongs to the Miao-Yao group of the
Hart Tibetan language family. They used to have their own characters, however they
have long been lost. The Miaos also use the Han language. They believe in many gods
and spirits, and worship their ancestors or dragons. Some of them are also Catholics and
Christians.
The Miao are highly musical and they produce fine music and llght-hearted songs. The
Miao people are famous for their Lusheng Dance. They like to have this dance
accompanied by reed-pipe instrument of Lushen wh ch is their favourite musical
instrument, They often hold a great mass celebration of dancing in summer. Their New
Year Festival is traditionally celebrated in late autumn or early winter (between the 9'h
and 1~'~ month of the lunar calendar, the particular date varying from place to place),
The festival is an event to celebrate the good harvest of the past year and pray for
favourable weather, bumper crops and prosperity in the year ahead. People have a
thorough house-cleanlng throughout the village and have festival activities for 3 days (in
some cases as long as 10 to 15 days). On the eve of the festival, every family prepares
rich food like chicken, meat, wine and glutinous rice cakes. Early in the morning of the
festival day, families offer their prepared food as sacrifices to their ancestors and moisten
their cows on the nose with wine as a sign to express their thanks for the labour they have
performed. After breakfast, people of all ages put on their holiday best, go to call on
their friends or relatives. The activities highlighting the occasion again vary from p ace o
place. For instance, there may be big parties in which women line up in an arc
formations and dance to the music from the reed pipes played by the men. In another, a
mass gathering may be held in a spacious square with traditional costumes, merry dances
or watch performances. Other activities such as drum dances, horse racing, bull fights,
and dances to the accompaniment of reed-pipe instruments may also be held. As night
falls, the villagers resound with ro]ls from the big bronze drums mounted in the towers,
announcing the commencement of another round of festivities. The most active are young
men at this moment. They tour the villages lantern in hand and playing reed-pipes, or go
courting, or seek out their girl friends to be their partners in "cross-singing'.
The highly artistic work by Miao people includes drawn-work, embroidery, batik
printing, paper-cuts and hand-woven patterned work. Their batik printing has a history of
more than 1,000 years. They have developed the technique in multiple colours since
1950s.
Men of the Miao grow their hai~ long and wear turbans, collarless shirts and loose-
fitting trousers, They also like to tie sashes around their waists. The Miao women wear
their hair in buns. They have turbans on their heads and have floral sashes at their waist.
They wear decorations of bracelets, earrings and necklaces.