Miao customs

Due to long-term scattered living, different regions have their own characteristics. Most houses are made of wood, and the roofs are covered with tiles, fir bark or thatch. In central or western Guizhou, thin slate is used to cover roofs. Mountainous areas are mostly diaojiao buildings; Hainan Island and Zhaotong, Yunnan Province are inhabited by long thatched houses or "fork houses" built with cross trunks; Xiangxi area is full of stone houses.

Dietary customs:

Diet varies from place to place. Southeast Guizhou, Xiangxi, Hainan Island and Guangxi Rongshui. Rice is the staple food, as well as miscellaneous grains such as corn, sweet potato and millet; In northwest Guizhou, south Sichuan and northeast Yunnan, the staple foods are corn, potatoes, buckwheat seeds and oats. Qiandongnan likes to eat glutinous rice and vegetables together and seal the pickled "leek" in the altar. Damiaoshan in Guangxi likes to eat sauerkraut, sour meat and sour fish, and likes to season with hot and sour sauce. Guangxi Longlin likes to eat "tofu mold" and "Chili bone". Longshan area in western Hunan likes "rape soup".

Clothing:

Men in northwest Guizhou and northeast Yunnan wear patterned linen clothes and wool felt with geometric patterns on their shoulders; In other places, men usually wear double-breasted or left-handed jackets. Wear trousers, a big belt, a long blue scarf and leggings in winter. In the northeast area of western Hunan and Guizhou, women wear underwear with big breasts and right front, and the sleeves, trouser legs and collars are inlaid with flower ornaments; Most women in other places wear collared tops, pleated skirts of different lengths, and all kinds of silver ornaments when dressing up.

Religious belief:

Worship ghosts and gods.

Marriage customs:

Small monogamous families, in some areas, have the habit of father and son sharing the same surname. In the old society, most marriages were arranged by parents, and they were free to fall in love before marriage. They choose their spouses through social forms such as "traveling", "sitting on the elder sister", "sitting in the village", "meeting girls" and "stepping on the moon". In the past, the custom of "robbing marriage" was popular everywhere. In Xiangxi, Guizhou and other places, it is popular to give priority to marrying aunts and uncles. In some areas, there are customs such as "changing houses", "marrying a wife and sister" and "not leaving a husband's family after marriage".

History and culture:

Its ancestors are generally considered to be part of the ancient three seedlings. There is also a "person" in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, they lived in western Hunan and eastern Guizhou, including the so-called "Five-stream Man" or "Five-ling Man" recorded in historical books, and then migrated westward one after another, forming today's distribution situation. Women of this nation are good at embroidery and batik. Love song and dance, Miao songs have a long history, and Lusheng dance with national characteristics is popular in Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places. Bullfighting, bird shooting, flower throwing, drumming, horse racing and traveling are also very popular. There are many festivals around the country, including Miao Year, April 8th, Dragon Boat Festival, Huashan Festival, Chinese New Year Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Catch Autumn Festival and June 6th.