Guizhou Miao totem

Miao, an ancient nation, is scattered all over the world, mainly in Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Qiong and other provinces in China, as well as Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries and regions in Southeast Asia. Below, I sorted out the relevant knowledge of Miao totem in Guizhou, hoping to be useful to everyone.

Guizhou Miao totem

Miao Embroidery

There are many branches of Miao nationality, among which three dialects worship Chiyou and play ancient musical instruments. Lusheng Lusheng is a symbol of Miao culture. Lusheng will be played and danced in grand festivals. In Miao mythology, maple is one of the totems. It is said that Chiyou was defeated by the Yellow Emperor and killed by a machine. Are the shackles abandoned by Chiyou called maple trees? . Today, some villages still regard maple as a protected tree. What else is there in Miao legend? Mother butterfly? The legend of creating the world. Niu Long and Kirin are common decorative patterns in Miao embroidery.

Miao music and dance has a long history, and its arts and crafts such as flower picking, embroidery, brocade, batik and jewelry making are internationally renowned. The ancestors of Miao people can be traced back to the Chiyou tribe, which was active in the Central Plains in primitive society. Miao people used to believe in animism, worship nature and worship their ancestors. There are many festivals, besides traditional festivals and sacrificial festivals, there are also special festivals related to eating. There are many Miao festivals, but the names and laws of different regions are different, and the Miao Year is the most solemn traditional festival.

Miao history

Legendary times

Miao nationality can be traced back to the legend of Yanhuang five or six thousand years ago. At that time, Jiuli Tribal Alliance headed by Chiyou appeared in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and two other tribal groups headed by Yan Di Shennong and Huangdi Xuanyuan formed on the Shaanxi-Gansu Loess Plateau.

Yan Di and Huangdi developed from west to east along the Yellow River, and successively fought against Chiyou in Zhuolu area. Chiyou defeated Emperor Yan first. Chiyou is chasing the emperor for the position of Zhuolu. ? Later, Yan Di and Huangdi defeated Chiyou together. Xuanyuan, the most violent human-god, it is impossible to cut him. So the Yellow Emperor became a vassal and fought against Chiyou in the field of Zhuolu, so the birds killed Chiyou. ?

After the death of Chiyou, the world was in chaos, and the Yellow Emperor painted a portrait of Chiyou to deter the world and make it stable. However, after the defeat of Chiyou Jiuli Group, most of them migrated to the south and began the migration history of Miao nationality. Up to now, the legend of Chiyou has been widely circulated among the Miao people, who always believe that Chiyou is their ancestor.

There is a "myth of human god" circulating in Guanling, Guizhou. It is said that in ancient times, Miao people lived by the Yellow River. Eighty-one village, their leader is Chiyou, who kills Miao people for the people? A witch with drooping ears? Let the people live in peace and contentment. Later, the three witches invited the Red Dragon Palace and the Yellow Dragon Palace (jiyan and Huangdi) to take revenge. Chiyou led the Miao people to fight bravely and defeated Chilong and Huanglonggong many times. Red Dragon and Huanglong Gong jointly launched Lei Laowu (that is, Lei Gong), flooded Miao soldiers, captured and killed Chiyou, and burned it? Eighty-one village? . The remaining Miao people were forced to move.

National development

Miao people are the earliest people who planted rice, and they planted rice in ancient times. In primitive society, Miao people took leaves as their clothes, caves or tree nests as their homes and women as their leaders, which was reflected in a large number of Miao ancient songs. From the kinship appellation system in some areas, we can also see the evolution traces from matrilineal system to paternal system, and from consanguineous marriage to pairing marriage. After Qin and Han dynasties, the feudal dynasty set up counties in most Miao areas and implemented them. The supplementary provisions shall be subject to disobedience, and the rebellion shall be abandoned and not pursued? Prison policy. The Miao ancestors in Wuxi have started to engage in agricultural production, mastered the spinning and dyeing technology of weaving with wood skin and dyeing with grass, and there has been product exchange [5]. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to the continuous development of productive forces, the original Miao society began to disintegrate, and the clan commune originally composed of blood relations gradually developed into a rural commune with geographical relations. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Miao people gradually entered the class society, and the leaders of rural communes had the right to dominate the land. The feudal economy of Han nationality promoted the formation and development of the feudal lords economy of Miao nationality through frequent exchanges with Miao nationality. Some? Male chief? 、? Pretty handsome, huh Become hereditary? Local officials? Owns a lot of land. Here? Local officials? Miao people in China become serfs (called? Tianding? ), cultivate the land of the lords, pay rent and kimono for free labor, and have to participate in the struggle between the lords and work for them.

The Southern Song Dynasty began to use official positions to win over leaders of all ethnic groups in order to strengthen the relationship between the central and local governments. Many local officials were rewarded and later became toast, big and small.

During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the feudal lords' economy in Miao areas developed considerably. In the 15th year of Hongzhi (1502), the central government of Ming dynasty began to implement it in Chengbu Miao area of Hunan province? Change the soil and return to the flow? Other areas began to send officials. The rise of landlord system in Miao areas weakened the chieftain regime based on landlord system. The feudal dynasty restricted the power of the chieftain and made the chieftain system decline. By the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, some other Miao areas began to change their land and return to the countryside, which enabled the landlord economy to develop smoothly. However, La 'er mountain area in western Hunan, Leigong mountain area in southeastern Guizhou and Guzhou mountain area are still there? No monarch, no unification? Countries, collectively referred to by feudal dynasties as? Life? . Its social development is still at the end of rural commune.

Large-scale during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty? Change the soil and return to the flow? It greatly promoted the disintegration of feudal lords and the development of landlord economy, but right? Life? Conquest by force caused a large number of casualties of Miao people and seriously damaged local productivity. With the development of feudal landlord economy, land annexation and wealth concentration are increasingly intensified. During the Qianlong period, there were 12 thousand stone millet landlords in Xiangxi, and during the Jiaqing period, there were seven or eight thousand stone millet landlords. The feudal lords system basically died out at this time.

1840 After the Opium War, the Miao area became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. For the independence and liberation of the nation, the Miao people, together with the people of other ethnic groups, have waged arduous struggles and made contributions to both the old democratic revolution and the new democratic revolution. After 1949, after democratic reform and socialist transformation, regional ethnic autonomy was implemented in Miao areas.

Miao culture

Lang.

Main terms: Miao language, Miao Wen and old Miao Wen.

language

Miao language belongs to the branch of Miao Yao language family of Sino-Tibetan language family. In the early 1950s, the second research group of minority languages survey of China Academy of Sciences, through on-the-spot investigation, scientifically studied the word formation of Miao languages in different places, but with different phonetic features, divided Miao languages into three major dialects, namely Xiangxi dialect, Guizhou Oriental dialect, Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect (also known as eastern dialect, central dialect and western dialect), seven sub-dialects and eighteen dialects [8].

Xiangxi Dialect (Eastern Dialect) is mainly used in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Songtao Miao Autonomous County in Northeast Guizhou, Enshi in Hubei, Xuanen, Laifeng, Hefeng, Xiushan in Chongqing, Youyang and Pengshui, and is divided into five dialects. [9]

Guizhou Oriental Dialect (Central Dialect) is mainly used in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County and Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County in Guangxi, Jingzhou and Huitong County in Hunan, Anshun area in Guizhou, and some Miao areas in Southwest Guizhou and Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. There are five dialects. [9]

Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect (western dialect) is mainly used in central, western, southern, northern and southern Guizhou and Yunnan Province, and is divided into 8 dialects.

In addition, some Miao people speak Chinese, Dong, Yao, Buyi and Zhuang. Although there are some differences among dialects, sub-dialects and dialects of Miao language, the similarity still accounts for more than 60%.

trait

Legend has it that Miao people once had characters in ancient times, which may be homologous to Chinese characters, but they were later lost. These legends are hard to prove now. At the beginning of the 20th century, some Miao intellectuals created some square characters for the development of Miao culture and education, such as Fang Miaowen created by Shibantang in western Hunan, shorthand Miao Wen created by Shi Qigui, Miao Wen textbook compiled by Songtao Long Shaohua in Guizhou, etc. Some foreign missionaries also created some Miao Wen for missionary purposes. However, due to various conditions, these Miao Wen have not been implemented among the Miao people [9].

"Ancient Songs of Miao Nationality" records that the ancestors of Miao nationality were easily exposed to the enemy because they escaped the secrets of war and national cultural migration, and had to burn and erase their words. Only a few intellectuals lost their words when they died, leaving only the words written on their clothes. At the end of 1950s, Miao people began to create Latin phonetic characters. Nowadays, most people use Chinese. Miao people have a long history of music and dance, and Lusheng dance, which is deeply loved by the masses, is highly skilled.

Pollard, an Englishman who preached in Shimenkan area of Weining in northwest Guizhou, Yang Jacob, Zhang Wu, Li Steven and others of Han nationality, together with some Latin letters and some note symbols, created a phonetic symbol called? Poe Latin letter Miao Wen? (commonly known as? Old Miao Wen? ), used to translate the Christian Bible, write textbooks and record Miao folk stories, poems and notes. In the 1940s, some Miao people who spoke the northeast sub-dialects of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan dialects migrated to Xinchi Village in Xiyahe Township to settle down. Paula believed in Miao Wen? Introduced to Ziyun, it is still in general use, and Xinchi Primary School uses this word and Chinese characters for bilingual teaching. In 1950s, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the people's government, a large number of linguists, including Miao scholars, were trained, and the national Miao language was investigated and reformed? Old Miao Wen? , created the Latin phonetic alphabet, the eastern, western and central dialects of Miao Wen. However, due to the complexity of some branches of the Miao nationality and the great language differences, it is extremely difficult to unify them.

In addition, the Miao people in Southeast Asia use a Latin pinyin Miao Wen invented by French missionaries, which gradually developed into? International Miao Wen? .

Religious belief

Miao people have their own religious beliefs for a long time. After a long period of historical development, the religious beliefs of Miao people in different regions are different. In some Miao areas, due to traffic jams, Miao people believe in primitive religions; There are also a few Miao areas, such as Weining, Shimenkan and Yuanling in western Hunan, which converted to Catholicism and Christianity in modern times due to the influence of foreign missionaries. But on the whole, most Miao people still believe in the primitive religion formed by their own nation for a long time, which includes nature worship, totem worship, ghost worship and ancestor worship [9].

Nature worship

The main natural worship objects of Miao nationality are heaven, earth, sun, moon, boulder, trees, bamboo, rocks and bridges. In Malipo, Jinping and other places in Yunnan, some Miao people hold sacrifices whenever crops are heading? Heaven and earth? Pray for heaven and earth to harvest crops, which is the relic of Miao people's worship of heaven and earth.

Miao ancestors have their own totems. Because of the wide distribution of Miao branches, they worship many totems. Such as Phoenix, Maple, Butterfly, Shenquan (Pan Hu), Dragon, Bird, Eagle, Bamboo, etc. Miao ancestors in southeastern Guizhou worshipped maple as a totem and believed that their ancestors originated from maple. In addition, they also regard butterflies as totems, and think that their ancestor Jiang Yang is? Mother butterfly? Born. Miao ancestors in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou still take Pan Hu as their totem. Up to now, there are still many Pan Hu temples and Xinnugong in this area. Miao people in western Guizhou take birds as totems.

offer sacrifices to ancestors

Today, ancestor worship is still very popular among Miao people. The Miao people in Qiandongnan changed from the earliest reverence for the butterfly to the reverence for Jiang Yang, the ancestor of mankind, who was regarded as the ancestor of the Miao people, and every drum club was established? Gulou Grottoes? , sacrifice? Yang Gong? 、? Grandma? ; Who is the ancestor worshipped by Miao people in western Hunan? Uncle? 、? Mom? . In order to pray for the blessing of ancestors, there are large-scale activities to kill cattle and worship ancestors everywhere, such as the Drum Club Festival in Qiandongnan, Tongren and Songtao. Eat cattle? Or? Vertebrate cattle? What are the names of southwest Guizhou, Anshun and Zhenning? Cut the cow? . There is one in Xiangxi? Still wishing? Sacrifice? Uncle? 、? Mom? . On festivals, Miao people also hold ancestor worship ceremonies. In many Miao areas, there is an ancestral tablet in the middle of every hall, and there are sacrifices every day.

Witch Nuo culture

Miao people's belief in ghosts and gods has a long history, and it is still very common after the founding of New China. There are dozens of ghosts and gods they believe in. They divide ghosts into good and evil: they think that good gods can protect people, so they should always offer sacrifices, while evil spirits cooperate with people and pray for expulsion. It is believed that to achieve this goal, it is necessary to practice witchcraft through wizards. Wizards are intermediaries between people and ghosts and gods. They have a high cultural accomplishment and are respected by the Miao people. Witchcraft practiced by wizards mainly includes divination, divination and evocation.