What are the customs of Miao nationality?

Miao nationality is one of the oldest ethnic groups in China, with a large population and wide distribution, and Xiangxi Miao nationality is one of them. In the long-term historical development, Miao people have formed their own unique customs and habits in clothing, festivals, marriage, funeral, entertainment, etiquette, taboos and diet.

First, clothing.

There is little difference between men and women in Xiangxi Miao costume, and they are all "colorful"; Dressed in flowered clothes, pleated skirts, long hair, ochre flower handkerchiefs, boat-shaped flower shoes and various silver ornaments.

During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, after the government ordered that "clothes should be divided into men and women", it changed a lot, and many people even changed into Han clothes. Today, for example, the Miao people in Yongshun and Longshan counties are no different from the Han people in dress. However, in Huayuan, Baojing, Fenghuang, Jishou, Guzhang, Luxi and other counties, Miao costumes still have their own characteristics.

Miao men's clothing is relatively simple; I wear a cloth handkerchief on my head, a double-breasted coat, long sleeves and small sleeves, short pants and big pants, and I like to wrap my blue feet. There are two kinds of head handkerchief: green handkerchief and flower handkerchief. Handkerchiefs are more than a foot long, as many as three feet. Wrapped up, it is mostly cross-shaped and as big as a hat. The colors of clothes are plaid, full blue, full blue and so on. Among them, plaid cloth is the most distinctive. There are usually seven buttons. Some young people wear as many as seven clothes, which makes people envy their wealth and boldness. Only the bottom pair of buttons are buckled on the outermost layer of clothes, and the bottom two pairs of buttons are buckled on the second layer of clothes ... and so on until the innermost seven pairs of buttons are buckled. So you can see layers of new clothes from the outside, which is not interesting.

Contrary to the simple costumes of Miao men, the costumes of Miao women are very delicate and complicated.

Toupa: Toupa of Miao women varies from place to place. Miao women in Fenghuang County have a short handkerchief more than three feet long. From the forehead to the back of the head, even the ears are wrapped inside. Miao women in Huayuan and other counties like to use black handkerchiefs (wearing white handkerchief to prevent their parents from dying), which are neatly folded, neatly wrapped, unbiased and oblique, and tied at the end just right. Miao women in Jishou county have mixed hair, while flowers are used in the adjacent areas of Fenghuang county and black flowers are used in the adjacent areas of Huayuan county. Miao women in Luxi, Guzhang and eastern Jishou wear white headscarves. The handkerchief is embroidered with four pairs of cyan Hua Die, which is simple, beautiful and unique. The so-called "there are four corners on the handkerchief, and moths embroidered on the four corners" refers to this white handkerchief.

Jewelry: Miao women's jewelry, exquisite shape, a wide range. According to the raw materials, there are gold ornaments, silver ornaments, copper ornaments, aluminum ornaments and jade ornaments. And silver ornaments are the most common. From the wearing parts: silver hat, silver basin, rockhopper, Sushan earrings, collars, bracelets, rings, toothpicks, belt buckles, etc. And bracelets and rings must be worn often. From the modeling point of view, there is only one kind of earrings, including melon seeds hanging earrings, pomegranate earrings, plum blossom needle earrings, circle earrings, faucet earrings, plum blossom hanging melon seeds hanging earrings, rake earrings, faucet melon seeds hanging earrings and so on.

Clothes and others: Miao women's clothes, long waist, big sleeves and short sleeves, no collar. The cuffs are about a foot or longer. On the chest and cuffs, it is customary to roll, embroider or wear yarn, and add railing petals. Some also need to embroider cloud-digging hooks on the front and back edges of the fork and swing. Clothing styles are full-breasted, without double-breasted. It takes dozens of working days to make a set of Miao women's underwear, which is beautifully made through sewing and embroidery. The pants are shorter and the legs are bigger. The number of piping, embroidery or yarn on the edge of trousers is the same as that of clothes. The dress is long and wide, with embroidered lines covered with waste edges, rolling railings and large and small petals, which are colorful and dazzling. The shoes are full of embroidery, with a big head and a big mouth, and the back is wearing ears.

After liberation, in some areas where Miao and Han people lived together, Miao costumes were greatly influenced by Han people, and some young people also changed into Hanfu.

Second, festivals and celebrations

There are many festivals and large-scale activities of Miao nationality in Xiangxi. Among them, the most representative are:

1. Catch up with last year. On the first month of the lunar calendar, the Miao people in Xiangxi are most keen to catch up with the New Year's Fair, and the date is decided by each place. Catch up with the Spring Festival. On that day, men and women, old and young, dressed in festive costumes, invited each other and went to the scene in droves. The annual market is full of people, bustling and lively. People can not only exchange materials, but also participate in or watch activities such as swinging, lion dancing, playing with dragon lanterns and climbing knives and ladders. Young men and women also make more use of this opportunity to have sex with each other. What's more, the singers show their abilities, and walk in twos and threes, saying the ancient and modern, singing together, or congratulating each other, or telling traditional stories, or improvising new words. The more people sing, the higher their interest, and the more people listen, the more energetic they are. Even if it is snowing heavily and freezing, the annual trade fair will be held as scheduled.

2. March 3rd. This is the traditional song and dance festival of Miao nationality in western Hunan. On this day, Miao people automatically gathered in the appointed singing venue to participate in singing dialogue, listening to songs, dancing and watching dances, and had a good time.

3. catch up with Qingming. This is a large-scale song meeting unique to Miao people in western Hunan, also known as "Qingming Song Meeting". According to legend, because Miao people live in remote forests, all their daily necessities have to be exchanged in remote Han areas, and they are often deceived. Therefore, the Miao people agreed to take Tomb-Sweeping Day as their venue, exchange materials with each other and meet their relatives and friends. This way. Over time, today's "Qingming Song Festival" was formed.

Tomb-Sweeping Day has a traditional central venue. The Miao people in the east of Jishou catch up with Tomb-Sweeping Day, and its center venue is on the Danqing Tomb-Sweeping Day every year. At that time, Miao singers will sing with their hands on their cheeks, and you will sing and I will come on stage, beaming. Some sang until it was dark and refused to finish the meeting, singing all night.

4. Look at the Dragon Field. Every year, from the day of Grain Rain in the third month of the lunar calendar, we watch Dragon El every day, which used to be called Dragon Watching Day, and then we watch the invasion of Japan every day. Men, women and children take a day off and take an active part. If you do farm work on this day, it is a taboo. Therefore, Miao people attach great importance to "dragon watching".

5.april 8th. "April 8" is the name of a hill in Luochaojing Township, Fenghuang County. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a Miao leader named Yayi, who led the Miao people to fight against the rulers. He once organized the villages to drink chicken blood in the present "drinking blood depression" and vowed to unite with * * * and fight to the end. And agreed to meet on a mountain on April 8. After the uprising, the insurgents won again and again, reaching Sichuan and Guizhou. On April 8 of the following year, Yayi Buxin died near Guiyang Fountain. In order to commemorate this national hero, it is convenient for the Miao people to hold commemorative activities on April 8 every year to remember Yayi's achievements and sweep the graves for the war victims. After the uprising of Ganjia Miao people in Qing Dynasty, the rulers banned Xiangxi Miao people from holding this activity, which made the Miao people lose a very meaningful traditional festival. After liberation, with the approval of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, "April 8" was designated as a festival for the reunification of the Miao people.

6. June 6th. This is an ancient custom, and it is an ancestor worship activity for the Miao people to commemorate their ancestors of six men and six women and hope that they can have six men and six women to reproduce. Every year, on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Miao people in Luochaojing, Fenghuang County will hold a grand song meeting in Guliangshan. Miao people from surrounding counties such as Huayuan and Jishou, and Songtao and Tongren in Guizhou also came to participate. The number of people attending the meeting often reaches 20 thousand to 30 thousand.

7. July 7th. This is a traditional drum meeting of Miao nationality, which is most popular in Jishou, Aizhaipo and Guzhang. Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, Miao people put on new clothes, gather in the drum field, beat drums, dance and indulge in joy.

8. Catch up with autumn. Catching autumn is one of the large-scale festivals of Miao nationality in western Hunan. Every year in "beginning of autumn", the Miao people will stop their farm work, put on their holiday costumes, invite friends to accompany them, and happily flock to Akita from all directions to participate in or watch various recreational activities. Traditional autumn farms include Aizhai Farm in Jishou County, Malichang in Huayuan County, Gouliangshan in Fenghuang County, Tanxi in luxi county and Liangjiatan. On this day, the crowds on the autumn field jostled shoulder to shoulder, surrounded by hillsides, people were shaking, flowers were in full bloom, songs were curling, laughter was heard, and it was very lively.

The origin of chasing autumn, some people say "beginning of autumn Day", others say "Swing". According to legend, a long time ago, there was a man named Bagui in Miao Village. The young people in Dajia are upright, brave and good at shooting, and everyone admires them. One day, when he was out hunting, he saw a Shan Ying flying through the air, so he drew his bow, shot Shan Ying with an arrow and dropped a flower shoe at the same time. This flower shoe is exquisitely embroidered. You can tell at a glance that it was made by a clever and beautiful Miao girl. Bajiadya is determined to find the owner of this flower shoe. With the help of villagers, he designed and manufactured a windmill-shaped swing that can seat eight people at the same time, and named it "Autumn for Eight People". On this day in early autumn, he invited men and women from villages far and near to play autumn games. Swing was originally the favorite activity of Miao girls, and Bagui thought that the girl who made flower shoes would definitely come. Sure enough, Baguida's wish came true. In the autumn field, he found the owner of the flower shoes-the beautiful girl Qi Niang. They established feelings by singing Miao songs, married and lived a very happy life. Since then, people have followed suit, holding such activities every year, choosing couples, and forming the "Chasing Autumn" activity.

9. Cherry Club. There are many cherry trees in Miaoshan. Whenever the cherry ripens in spring, young Miao men and women will gather in the cherry forest and sing folk songs for social activities. This activity is called "Liubiwa" in Miao language and literally means "cherry picking" in Chinese. Some Miao villages in Huayuan County and Baojing County are the most popular.

10. Tiaoxiang Party. Fragrant sticks are popular in Jishou, Guzhang, Luxi and Yuanling. When it is held, it is mainly about dancing and other recreational activities.

Miao is an ancient and colorful nation, calling itself "Mu", "Meng", "Damu" and "Daji". He said there were several situations. First, according to the color of clothing, it is called "red seedling", "flower seedling", "white seedling" and "black seedling" respectively; Second, according to the crops they live in or grow, they are called "highland seedlings", "Bazhai seedlings" and "planted in Jiangmiao". Third, the rulers of the old society insulted them, such as "seedling", "ripe seedling" and "hemp seedling". After the founding of New China, it was collectively called Miao. Miao people in Guangxi account for 5.5% of the national Miao population, accounting for 1% of the population in Guangxi, ranking fourth after Han, Zhuang and Yao. Miao people in China are mainly distributed in Guizhou and Hunan, while Miao people in Guangxi mainly live in northern Guangxi, northwestern Guangxi and mountainous areas bordering Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan. The biggest feature of Miao nationality is that it is rich in all kinds of wood and local products and maintains a splendid and simple national traditional culture.