Miao Nationality

The Miao people call themselves hmub (homonym: Mu), hmongb (homonym: Mongolia), hmaob (homonym: touch), MAOB (homonym: Mao), and some areas call themselves ghab NUS (homonym: ganao), ghab xongb (homonym: gelxiong), Deb Songb (homonym: take the old man), etc. He called them "long skirt Miao", "short skirt Miao", "red Miao", "white Miao", "Green Miao", "flower Miao" and so on. After the founding of new China, they were collectively referred to as the Miao nationality. In English, they were written as Miao or Hmong.

In ancient times, Miao people got the names of "Jingchu", "jingman" and "Nanman", which is so. After the cruel war of Yu against the "three Miao", there were no records of the "three Miao" in the Central Plains literature. Jingchu, Chujing, jingman, Nanman and other different calls refer to the community of the Miao people. His predecessor was the Sanmiao. During the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty and the late Warring States period, the descendants of the Sanmiao appeared in the annals of history under the abstract cover of "Jing", "Chu" and "man". These names confuse Miao with other ethnic names. After the Song Dynasty, Miao was separated from some mixed "barbarians" as a single national name.

Legend age

The Miao nationality can be traced back to the legendary age of Yan and Huang five or six thousand years ago. At that time, the Jiuli tribal alliance led 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 led by Shennong and Xuanyuan of the Yellow Emperor formed on the Gansu Shaanxi Loess Plateau.

Yandi and Huangdi developed from west to east along the Yellow River and fought with Chiyou in Zhuolu area. Chiyou defeated Emperor Yan first. "Chiyou was chasing the emperor and fighting for the land of Zhuolu, leaving all nine corners." later, Emperor Yan and the Yellow Emperor jointly defeated Chiyou. "At Xuanyuan, Chiyou was the most violent and could not be attacked. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor enlisted the princes and fought with Chiyou in the field of Zhuolu, so the birds killed Chiyou."

After Chi You's death, the world was in chaos. The Yellow Emperor painted a portrait of Chi you to intimidate the world. Only then did the world settle down. After the defeat of Chiyou's Jiuli group, most of them moved southward, beginning the difficult and difficult migration history of the Miao nationality. So far, the legend of Chiyou is still widely spread among the Miao people. They always believe in Chiyou as their ancestor.

The legend of Chiyou spread around Guanling, Guizhou Province. It is said that in ancient times, the Miao people lived on the edge of the Yellow River and had a total of "81" villages. Their leader was Chiyou. Chiyou eliminated the "drooling demon woman" who harmed the Miao people for the people and made the people live and work in peace and contentment. Later, the three demon children of the demon woman invited Chilong Gong and Huanglong Gong (i.e. Yan Emperor and yellow emperor) to take revenge, Chiyou led the Miao people to fight bravely and defeated Chilong and Huanglong for many times. Chilong and Huanglong jointly raised Lei Laowu (i.e. Lei Gong), flooded the Miao soldiers, captured and killed Chiyou and burned the "81 stronghold". The remaining Miao people were forced to go far away.

National Development

The Miao nationality is the earliest rice farming nation, which planted rice in ancient times. In primitive society, the 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 trace of the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy and from consanguineous marriage to dual marriage. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the feudal dynasty established prefectures and counties in most Miao areas and implemented the policy of "Supplementary Provisions are accepted but not rebelled, treason is abandoned but not pursued". The Miao ancestors in Wuxi area have begun to engage in agricultural production, mastered the spinning and dyeing technology of weaving with wood bark and dyeing with grass, and there has been product exchange. In the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, due to the continuous development of productivity in Wuling area, the original Miao society began to disintegrate gradually. The clan commune originally composed of blood relationship has gradually developed into a rural commune with geographical relationship. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Miao nationality gradually entered the class society, and the leaders of rural communes had the right to dominate the land. The feudal economy of the Han nationality promoted the formation and development of the feudal lord economy of the Miao nationality through the frequent contact between the Han and Miao Nationalities. Some "manchieftains" and "manshuai" became hereditary "local officials" and owned a large amount of land. The Miao people in the territory of these "local officials" became serfs (called "Tianding"), cultivated the Lord's land, paid rent and unpaid labor, and had to participate in the armed struggle between the Lords and work for them.

The Southern Song Dynasty began to use official positions to win over the 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 chieftains of all sizes.

During the yuan and Ming Dynasties, the feudal lord economy in Miao areas had developed quite well. In the 15th year of Hongzhi (1502), the central government of the Ming Dynasty began to implement "changing the soil to flow" in Chengbu Miao District, Hunan Province, and other regions began to send flow officials. The rise of the landlord system in Miao areas weakened the chieftain regime based on the Lord system. The feudal dynasty restricted the power of chieftain, which led to the decline of chieftain system. By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, some areas of other Miao nationality began to change the land to the flow, so that the landlord economy developed smoothly. However, the laer mountain area in Western Hunan, the Leigong Mountain Area in Southeast Guizhou and the Guzhou mountain area are still in a state of "no monarch and no relative control", which is collectively referred to as the "living world" by the feudal dynasty. Its social development is still at the end of the rural commune.

During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, the large-scale "land reform and flow" played a great role in promoting the disintegration of the feudal lords and the development of the landlord economy. However, the military conquest of the "living world" caused a large number of casualties of the Miao people and seriously damaged the local productivity. With the development of feudal landlord economy, the annexation of land and the concentration of wealth are increasing day by day. During the reign of Qianlong, there were big landlords with 12000 stone millet in Western Hunan. During the reign of Jiaqing, there were big landlords with 70000 stone millet. It was not until this time that the feudal lord system basically died out.

After the Opium War in 1840, the Miao area became a semi colonial and semi feudal society. In order to achieve national independence and liberation, the Miao people, together with other people of all ethnic groups, fought an arduous struggle and made contributions during the old democratic revolution and the new democratic revolution. After 1949, after democratic reform and socialist transformation, Miao areas implemented regional national autonomy.

Ethnic migration

According to the research of experts, the five major migrations of Miao Nationality in history are as follows:

The first great migration was that the Miao ancestors migrated eastward along the Yangtze River to the north and south banks of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River with the upper and middle basins of yapan River, Minjiang River, Bajiang River and Jialing River in Sichuan. On the south bank, they settled between Dongting and Peng Li; The on the north bank reaches Jianghan Plain. I have lived here for many years. With the development of production, the improvement of life, the increase of population and the increasing level of science, technology and culture. This is the first great migration of Miao nationality from west to East. The reason for the great migration is that the ancient Qiang people went south, forcing the ancestors of Miao nationality to migrate eastward. It was about tens of thousands of years ago (primitive early people society).

The second great migration was after the Miao ancestors lived in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River for a long time. There were many people and great potential, known as "Jiuli". They clashed with the Yandi people in the south, defeated the Yandi people, and some chased the Yandi people directly to the North Bank of the Yellow River. After many years here, the power of Jiuli nationality has become more and more powerful. Chiyou, who was born at this time, was smart, studious, brave and good at fighting. Later, he became the leader of Jiuli nationality. He made a variety of weapons and had a strong military force. He had an armed conflict with the Yellow Emperor nationality from the upper reaches of the Yellow River. At first, the Yellow Emperor was defeated in nine wars. Later, he joined forces with the Yan Emperor family to fight with Chiyou in the field of Zhuolu. As a result, Chiyou was defeated and killed, and his head was a different tomb. Since then, although the nine Li tribes fought with the Yellow Emperor for a long time, they were defeated repeatedly because of the headless dragons. The migration from south to North was about 4300-4600 years ago (from ancient times to the Yellow Emperor).

Long after Chiyou's defeat in the third great migration, most of the tribes of the Jiuli nationality returned to the South after a long journey. The Sanmiao tribal alliance was established between Dongting and Peng Li in the south of the Yangtze River. This was a migration from north to south, about 4200-4100 years ago (from the Yellow Emperor to Tang Yao).

During the fourth great migration, the Miao ancestors worked hard between Dongting and Peng Li, established the three Miao tribal alliance, and gradually grew stronger after a long rest. Tang Yao was very afraid of Sanmiao, Gonggong and huandou (i.e. "zandou"), so when he came to shun to ascend the throne, he immediately "divided the North Sanmiao" and went to Youzhou to work together; Put joy in Chongshan; Fleeing three seedlings in three dangers; At Yushan, the powerful Sanmiao tribal alliance disintegrated. Some people also fled to the East China Sea, and the ancestors of the Miao nationality also preserved an independent group. Only when they were exiled to one of the three perils, the struggle continued. They did not initially obey until the Xia Yu period and lived in the area of the three perils mountain. This is a separate migration, and the migration directions are different. For example, Sanmiao migrates from south to northwest; Some of them migrate eastward; Huandou was basically unchanged, that is, it was transferred from Dongting and Peng Li to today's western Hunan. It was about 4100 years ago (Yu Shun Xia Yu period).

The fifth great migration, this migration is a separate return. For example, the one (Sanmiao) who was driven to three dangers was the strongest one in the past. They were repeatedly robbed by armed forces, resisted again and again, defeated again and again, fled again and again, came out of the three dangerous mountains, passed through the snow mountain, crossed the Hunshui River (Yellow River), and moved step by step in the direction of the south wind, crossed Gansu and Qinghai, ran through the "Tibetan Yi Corridor" producing yaks and camels, and along the Jinsha River to southern Sichuan The migration direction of Miao people in Northeast Yunnan and Northwest Guizhou is from north to south. One branch (huandou) that was exiled to Chongshan was a close migration, that is, from Chongshan to the East, it once reached the area of Changde, Hunan, and then reached between Dongting and Peng Li along the water. Later, the Zhou Dynasty regarded it as a hidden danger, and King Xuan "ordered Fang Shunan to attack the barbarian side". In the Warring States period, Wu Qi used force to "merge the South with the barbarian and the Vietnamese", occupying the barbarian and the Vietnamese places such as Dongting and Cangwu. The Miao people were forced to flee into the Wuling mountain area. Just when they developed stronger, they were repeatedly suppressed by the Eastern Han Dynasty. They were forced to flee "towards the place where the sun sets". Finally, they reached the areas of Western Hunan, northeast Guizhou, Southeast Sichuan and Southwest Hubei. The migration direction of the Miao people is first East and then West. The one that fled to the East (some of the three seedlings have seedlings) did not settle down on the east coast for a long time, but slowly left the coast and gradually moved to the West. Some of them (about 4000 years ago) may have crossed the sea to Japan.

Note:

The data are from the 2010 China census.

The Miao population ranks fourth among ethnic minorities.

Distribution in China

survey

From the distribution of Miao Nationality in China, it is characterized by large diaspora and small settlement. In terms of number, there are many people living in concentrated communities and few scattered people.

Autonomous Areas

Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Guangxi (November 26, 1952)

Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou (November 11, 1954)

Guizhou Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture (July 23, 1956)

Guizhou Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (August 8, 1956)

Hunan Chengbu Miao Autonomous County (November 30, 1956)

Guizhou Songtao Miao Autonomous County (December 31, 1956)

Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province (September 20, 1957)

Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province (April 1, 1958)

Pingbian Miao Autonomous County, Yunnan Province (July 1, 1963)

Zhenning Buyei and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou Province (September 11, 1963)

Guizhou Ziyun Miao Buyei Autonomous County (February 11, 1966)

Guizhou Guanling Buyei and Miao Autonomous County (December 31, 1981)

Guizhou Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (May 1, 1982)

Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing (November 7, 1983)

Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing (November 11, 1983)

Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province (December 1, 1983)

Pengshui Miao Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing (November 10, 1984)

Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County, Yunnan Province (1985)

Jinping Miao, Yao and Dai Autonomous County, Yunnan Province (1985)

Guizhou Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County (December 13, 1986)

Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province (February 19, 1987)

Guizhou Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County (November 1987)

Wuchuan Gelao and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou (November 1987)

Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan (November 20, 1987)

Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan (December 1987)

Mayang Miao Autonomous County, Hunan Province (October 31, 1988)

Distribution in Southeast Asia

The Miao people in Southeast Asia have been mainly engaged in slash and burn farming (also known as Swidden in Swidden), nomadic farming and nomadic living, with great mobility, no fixed cultivated land, large-scale cultivation of opium poppy and frequent periodic migration. Although the Miao people in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar have some paddy fields, they mainly cultivate dry land crops by slash and burn cultivation. Because the land is barren, the soil is easy to plough out, and there is no fertilization, after two or three years of farming, they will open up new land. As long as the cultivated land is far away from the village, they will move. Most of the Miao people move forward continuously, but sometimes they turn back and re cultivate the abandoned mountains. After several years of fallow, the soil fertility has been restored to a certain extent.

Vietnam distribution

In Vietnam, most Miao people call themselves "Meng" hmongb, and only a small number call themselves "Na Miao". There are many branches of the Miao Nationality in Vietnam, which can be roughly divided into five main branches: "white Miao" hmongbdleub, claiming to be "MENGDOU"; "Black seedling", claiming to be "Mona" hmongb DLOB; "Hongmiao", claiming to be "Mengxi" hmongb Shib; "Huamiao" or "Qingmiao", claiming to be "mengleng" hmongb lab or "mengzuo" hmongbnzhuab; "Han Miao", claiming to be "Meng brush" hmongb shuab.

According to the data of Vietnam in 1991, there are more than 500000 Miao people in Vietnam. They live and live in a wide range. Along the mountainous areas of Heshen, Huanglian mountain, Laizhou, Gaoping, ShanLuo, Yi'an, Gaoliang, Hejiang, Laojie, Qinghua, Yijing, Anpei, Beitai and heshanping provinces in northern Vietnam, they live together with other ethnic groups, but unlike many ethnic groups such as Yao, Lisu and Buyi, the Miao nationality is obviously and regionally concentrated. Among all ethnic groups living together, the proportion of Miao population is much higher. The areas where the Miao people in Vietnam are mainly concentrated are: Tongwen plateau, Huang Shufei, Fengtu, Xinghu, tumiao, dianbian, shunzhou, Xun Jiao, Shaba, muzhou County, Beihe County, Sabah, Dozo, mugensai and other areas.

The Yue Miao people usually live in the mountains and forests 800-1700 meters away from the sea. The terrain here is steep and belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate. Most areas have abundant rainfall, including rainy season and dry season. The residential areas of the Miao Nationality in Vietnam are not connected into a zone, but are often separated by many residential areas of other nationalities. However, the people of various regions, especially the adjacent areas, still have certain ties in religion and marriage.

Distribution in Laos

Main entry: Laosong nationality

In Laos, Miao and Yao are often collectively referred to as "Laosong people" or "mountaintop Lao People", that is, Lao people living in mountains. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were more than 300000 Miao people in Laos. It is mainly concentrated in banshali, wuduanmusai, polikan, Xieng Khouang, sangnu, Luang Prabang, shayeburi, Ganmeng and other provinces, of which Xieng Khouang province is the most. They usually live in high mountain areas on both sides of the mountain, with an altitude of more than 1000 meters. The Miao people in Laos call themselves "Mongolian". Most of the Miao people in Laos belong to the "white Miao", claiming to be "MENGDOU", followed by the "young Miao", claiming to be "mengbrush" and the "black Miao", with only two villages.

Distribution in Thailand

The number of Hmong in Thailand reached 132000 (including 7 Hmong people in 50000 Thai refugee camps, second only to the largest number of Karen people, accounting for 15.10% of the total number of mountain people in China. They are mainly distributed in northern provinces, among which Nanfu, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Da Fu are the largest. The Hmong population in these four provinces accounts for more than 75% of the total population of Thai Hmong. In addition, the Hmong are in bichawen Prefecture, guyalo, Nanbang, PA Prefecture, yefengsong, Li Prefecture Gancaibi, nakong Shawang, Caina, suketai, utatani and other prefectures are also distributed. In northern and central Thailand, Miao people live in at least 13 prefectures. If Lao Miao people who fled to Thailand due to the Vietnam war are not included, there are about 245 Miao villages in Thailand. Thai Miao people are mountain people whose distribution is only second to that of kazu people in the country. Thai Miao people also call themselves "Meng" mainly includes "white Miao" - "Hermon gray" Hmong njew.

Myanmar distribution

There are about 10000 Miao people in Myanmar. They are mainly distributed in dashutang, jiadimao, yeniuba, Bawei, manluo, bamazhai, songgan, masuba, shedianba, Gamen, dengni, Monet, Rakhine state and other places in Kokang District of Bangbang. They claim to have moved into Myanmar from Guizhou.

European and American distribution

During the Vietnam War, the Miao people in Southeast Asia traveled as refugees to some countries and regions in Europe, the United States and Australia. Since the 1970s, wars have continued in Southeast Asia, and the political situation in various countries has been turbulent. Most of the young men of the Miao Nationality in this area are conscripted because of life; Others were forced to flee from Laos to Thailand because of the war, and most of them were housed in refugee camps. Based on the above historical background, Miao people began to migrate to some western countries in batches from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in 1975.

In the late 1970s, while a large number of Miao people migrated to the United States, many Miao people came to France, Canada, Australia and other countries. There are 11500 Miao people in France, about 1000 Miao people in Canada, more than 15000 Miao compatriots in Australia, about 1500 Miao people in French Guiana and South America, including about 130 Miao people in Argentina. Therefore, the Miao nationality has scattered in many countries and regions in the United States, Europe, Australia and other continents except Asia.

American distribution

By the end of the 20th century, more than 200000 Miao people had migrated to the United States, most of them from Laos and a small part from Vietnam and Thailand. The Miao people living in the United States mainly live in Fresno, California, small communities in Wisconsin, the twin cities of St. Paul Minneapolis and other cities in Minnesota. Others, such as Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Nevada, are inhabited by Miao people. In the United States, the Miao nationality is characterized by large dispersion, small settlement and all living in cities. Linguistically, their languages belong to the Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan sub dialect of the Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan dialect of the Miao language branch of the Miao Yao language family of the Sino Tibetan language family. They are connected with the Miao language of the Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan dialect in China. Although there are some changes in vocabulary and tone, they can still communicate directly in Miao language.

Australian distribution

At the end of the 20th century, there were 1500 Miao people in Australia, mainly distributed in several big cities on the east coast of Australia. There were about 350 Miao people in Hobart, 410 in merobon, more than 30 in Canberra and 280 in Sydney. According to the traditional migration mode, a group of about 11 Miao people moved from southern Australia to Brisbane and pinziland.

In Australia, all Miao people come from Laos, and most of them belong to "white Miao" hmongb ndawb; There are only three "Qingmiao" hmongb njua, but they speak the "Baimiao" dialect. In Australia, Miao people have Han surnames such as Yang, Wang, Li, Tao, Wu, Zhang, Han, Mao, he, Luo and pan, of which Yang, Wang, Li and Tao account for the majority. With the help of the Australian government, they set up Miao language schools and developed their own culture and education in roughly the same way (in Southeast Asia).

French distribution

In 1976 and 1979, two groups of Miao people arrived in Guyana (French). The local government helped them establish two villages there, namely Kecun and jiauhei village. One village has 100 families and the other has 120 families. The government also helped them set up schools there. In addition to teaching French and other courses, they also taught one hour of Miao language every day and taught children to sing their own folk songs.

Languages

language

Miao language belongs to Miao language branch of Miao Yao language family of Sino Tibetan language family. In the early 1950s, the second task force of ethnic minority language investigation of Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a field investigation and conducted a scientific study on the word formation of Miao language in different places, but different phonetic characteristics. After that, Miao language was divided into three major dialects, namely, Xiangxi dialect, Qiandong dialect, Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan dialect (also known as Eastern dialect, central dialect and Western dialect), and seven sub dialects, Eighteen native languages.

Xiangxi dialect (Eastern dialect) is mainly used in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Songtao Miao Autonomous County in Northeast Guizhou, Enshi, Xuanen, Laifeng, Hefeng in Hubei and Xiushan, Youyang, Pengshui and other counties in Chongqing;

Qiandong dialect (central dialect) is mainly used in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County and Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County of Guangxi, Jingzhou and Huitong counties of Hunan, Anshun region of Guizhou and some Miao ethnic groups in Southwest Guizhou and South Guizhou Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. It is divided into five local languages;

Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan dialect (Western dialect) is mainly popular in central, western, southern, northern, southern Sichuan and Yunnan Province, which is divided into 8 local languages;

In addition, some Miao people speak Chinese, Dong, Yao, Buyi, Zhuang and other national languages. Although there are some differences among Miao dialects, sub dialects and local languages, the common parts still account for more than 60%.

written words

It is said that the Miao nationality once had characters in ancient times, which may have the same origin with Chinese characters, but later lost. These legends are now difficult to verify. At the beginning of the 20th century, some Miao intellectuals created some dialect characters for the development of Miao culture and education, such as the square Miao text created by shibantang in Western Hunan, the shorthand Miao text created by Shi Qigui, the Miao text book compiled by longshaohua in Songtao, Guizhou using international phonetics, and so on. Some foreign missionaries also created some Miao scripts for the needs of missionary work. However, due to various conditions, these Miao scripts could not be implemented among the Miao people.

The Miao ancient song records that the Miao ancestors had to burn and erase the words because they were easy to be exposed to the enemy because of escaping from war and the secrets of national cultural migration. When the only few intellectuals died, the words were also lost, leaving only the words written on their clothes. In the late 1950s, the Miao nationality began to create Latin Pinyin characters again. Nowadays most people speak Chinese. The music and dance of Miao nationality has a long history. Lusheng dance, which is loved by the masses, has high skills.

The Englishman Pollard who preached in Shimenkan area of Weining in Northwest Guizhou, together with Miao and Han intellectuals Yang Yaya, Zhang Wu and listiwen, used some Latin letters and some memo symbols, and took the voice of Shimenkan Miao as the standard sound to create a Pinyin text, called "Po Latin letter Miao text" (commonly known as "old Miao text"), to translate the Christian Bible, Prepare textbooks to record Miao folk stories, poems and chronicles. In the 1940s, some Miao people who spoke the Northeast sub dialect of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan dialect migrated and settled in Xinchi village, xiyahe township. The "pola letter Miao language" was introduced into Ziyun and is still in common use. Moreover, Xinchi primary school uses this language and Chinese language for bilingual teaching. In the 1950s, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the people's government, a large number of linguists, including Miao scholars, were trained to conduct a general survey and Research on the national Miao language, reformed the "old Miao language" and created the Latin Pinyin Miao language of the eastern, Western and central dialects. However, due to the complex internal branches of the Miao nationality and great language differences, it is very difficult to unify.

In addition, the Miao people in Southeast Asia used a Latin Pinyin Miao language invented by French missionaries, and later gradually developed into "international Miao language".

religious belief

The Miao people have their own religious beliefs for a long time. After long-term historical development, the religious beliefs of Miao people in different regions are different. Some Miao areas believe in primitive religion due to traffic congestion; There are also a few Miao areas, such as Weining, Shimenkan and Yuanling in Western Hunan, who converted to Catholicism and Christianity due to the influence of foreign missionaries in modern times. But on the whole, most Miao people still believe in the primitive religion formed by their own nation for a long time, including nature worship, totem worship, ghost worship and ancestor worship.

Nature worship

The main natural worship objects of Miao nationality include heaven, earth, sun, moon, boulders, trees, bamboo, rocks, bridges, etc. In some Miao people in Jinping, Malipo and other places in Yunnan Province, whenever the crops are heading, they have to sacrifice "heaven and earth" to pray for a good harvest. This is a relic of Miao people's worship of heaven and earth.

Totem worship

Miao ancestors had their own totems. Due to the various branches and wide distribution of Miao nationality, they worship a variety of totems. Such as Phoenix, maple, butterfly, divine dog (Panhu), dragon, bird, eagle, bamboo, etc. Miao ancestors in Southeast Guizhou worshipped Maple as a totem and believed that their ancestors originated from maple; In addition, they also regard the butterfly as a totem and believe that its ancestor Jiang Yang was born to "butterfly mother". The Miao ancestors in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou also took Panhu as their totem. Up to now, many Panhu temples and Xinnu palace have been preserved in this area. The Miao Nationality in western Guizhou takes birds as their totem.

Ancestor worship

Today, ancestor worship is still very popular among the Miao nationality. The Miao Nationality in Southeast Guizhou changed from the earliest respect for maple and butterfly to the ancestor of human beings, Jiang Yang. He thinks he is the ancestor of the Miao nationality. Each drum club has set up "drum Grottoes" to worship "Yang Gong" and "Yang Po"; The ancestors of Miao worship in Western Hunan are "Nuo Gong" and "Nuo mother". In order to pray for the protection of ancestral gods, there are large-scale cattle killing and ancestor worship activities everywhere, such as drum Club festival in Southeast Guizhou, Tongren and Songtao are called "eating cattle" or "vertebral cattle", and southwest Guizhou, Anshun, Zhenning and other places are called "cutting cattle". There are "returning Nuo wish" in Western Hunan, offering sacrifices to "Nuo Gong" and "Nuo mother". Every festival, the Miao people also hold ancestor worship ceremonies. In many Miao areas, ancestral tablets are provided in the middle of each family's main house, and they are sacrificed every day.

Witch Nuo culture

Miao people believe in ghosts and witches for a long time. It is still very common after the founding of new China. There are dozens of ghosts and gods. They divide ghosts into good and evil: they believe that good gods can bless people, so they should often sacrifice, while evil ghosts haunt people, bring disasters and disasters, and should be prayed and expelled. It is believed that to achieve this goal, witchcraft must be practiced through wizards. Wizards are intermediaries between people and ghosts and gods. They have high cultural literacy and are respected by the Miao people. Witchcraft practiced by wizards mainly include divination, interpretation, soul summoning, etc.

Clothes & Accessories

Miao costumes have various styles and gorgeous colors. There are five streams in the book of the later Han Dynasty. Five streams: at the junction of Western Hunan and Guizhou, Sichuan and Hubei, it is named after five streams. Records of "good five color clothes" of Miao nationality; Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, also had a famous poem "five streams and clothes in the sky". Miao women's clothing has more than 100 styles, which can be called the most national clothing in China. There are dozens of typical traditional "costumes" only inserted in the bun.

Miao women usually wear short clothes with narrow sleeves, large collar and double lapel on the upper body and pleated skirts on the lower body. Clothes and skirts may be long enough, elegant and colorful, or short enough to reach the knee, graceful and moving. In casual wear, you usually put a handkerchief on your head, a large jacket on your upper body, trousers on your lower body, embroidered lace, an embroidered waistband, and a little exquisite silver. The costumes of Miao men are relatively simple. The tops are mostly short clothes with opposite lapels or long shirts with right lapels. The shoulders are covered with wool felt woven with geometric patterns. The head is wrapped with cyan Baotou, and the legs are wrapped with leggings.

surname

The Miao people have two surnames, one is the Miao surname and the other is the Han surname. The Miao surname was originally inherent; The Han surname was entered later. In the past, the Miao people did not write their own Miao surname, but only used Chinese characters to write their Han surname, so that people mistakenly thought that there was only the Han surname and did not know that there was a Miao surname. Before using the "Han surname", the Miao people had their own "Miao surname" to distinguish blood lineage and clan. The Han literati and other foreigners in the past dynasties often know one but not the other, and only the Chinese surnames commonly used by the Han nationality prevail, resulting in illusion and misunderstanding.

The Miao nationality has a vast geographical distribution, and there are many local dialects and branches. Miao people in all regions, dialect areas and branches have their own Miao surnames handed down from generation to generation, and they are still popular inside.

Xiangxi dialect area

According to the ancient song dialect spread by the Miao Nationality in Xiangxi dialect (i.e. Eastern dialect), the Miao ancestor Panhu married Princess Gaoxin and gave birth to six sons and six daughters. The descendants of these six sons and six daughters are the six major clans of the eastern Miao nationality, that is, the six Miao surnames of the eastern Miao nationality. The six Miao surnames are ghob xot, ghob Miel, ghob ghueas, ghob khad, ghob LEL and ghob khaat.

Qiandong dialect area

Most of the Miao surnames spread among the Miao people in the Qiandong dialect (central dialect) area can also be tested up to now.

For example, there are village names in Taijiang County, such as "zhaifang", "Zhaili", "Zhaixiang", "Zhaigou", "zhailiu", "zhaia Nao", etc. Among them, "Fang, Li, Xiang, Gou, Liu and GA Nao" is the Miao surname.

Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan dialect area

Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan dialects (Western dialects) in Miao areas, there are many sub dialects and different local languages, so the Miao surname is more complex.

"Dahuamiao" (a main branch of the Miao Nationality in the Western dialect) has eight surnames (clan branches), namely "Mengzhou", "mengdang", "Mengjie", "mengfemale", "mengrao", "mengzha", "mengye" and "Mengzhu".

The local Miao Nationality in Gongxian County, southern Sichuan (the "Baimiao" branch) has 28 surnames, namely "Kua Ye", "Kua Mao", "Kua Luo", "Kua Rang", "Kua block", "Kua consideration", "Kua are", "Kua Gang", "kuazhong", "kuanai", "Kua Liang", "Kua this", "kualu", "Kua grasp", "Kua sue", "kuaba", "Kua temporary" and "Kua he" "Kuacha", "kuana", "kuacha", "kuagu", "kuale", "kuagao", "kuagan", "kuana", "kuapinch" and "kuace".

concept

Miao literature can be simply divided into folk literature and official literature. Folk literature is folk oral inheritance and development literature, while official literature can be understood as literature recorded, transmitted and created in words. Folk literature is the most important literary form of any nation, with strong original vitality. Its main form is poetry that can be sung. Official literature is developed on the basis of folk literature, mainly characterized by Chinese written records, dissemination and creation.

Folk Literature

Miao poetry emphasizes phonology, including five character style, seven character style and long and short sentences. The language is concise, harmonious, symmetrical, easy to understand, can express rich thoughts and feelings, and has strong artistic appeal. It is the most important form of Miao folk literature and has a wide range of applications. For example, close relatives and friends come and go, men and women talk about love, even act as matchmakers, mediate disputes, formulate Township rules and civil agreements, educate children, and describe genealogy and family rules. Sometimes they are expressed in poetry. Poetry is also used to cheer up during labor, and poetry is used to eliminate fatigue after labor.

Creation song: it is a very ancient fairy tale song, which mainly describes the origin of heaven, earth, sun and moon and the emergence of all things. Such songs include the song of the creation of heaven and earth, the song of the origin of all things, etc. Ancestral song: it mainly describes the emergence of mankind, the origin and migration of the nation, such as the song of the origin of mankind, the torrential flood, etc. The theme of this kind of song is positive and enterprising, which reflects the real history tortuously to a considerable extent, and has the value of historical data research.

Ancestral song: it mainly describes the emergence of mankind, the origin and migration of the nation, such as the song of the origin of mankind, the torrential flood, etc. The theme of this kind of song is positive and enterprising, which reflects the real history tortuously to a considerable extent, and has the value of historical data research.

Li Ge, Yi Lang CI: it reflects the ancient social organization of Miao nationality, mainly describes various social ethics and codes of conduct, and exhorts people to go from evil to good.

Migration Songs: they abound in the Miao nationality. Miao people all over the country have their own migration history, so they all have their own migration songs. Among them, the famous ones are "wading through mountains and rivers" in Southeast Guizhou, Xiuxiang xiuma in Songtao and Tongren areas, Yanglu dialect in Northwest Guizhou, grogesang in Guiyang, etc. The migration songs of Songtao and Southeast Guizhou reflect the grand scene and express the fierce struggle between man and man and between man and nature. It is a heroic epic, which is of great value to the study of Miao history.

Uprising and struggle song: also known as anti song, it mostly accuses the darkness of the old society and praises the people's resistance and struggle. For example, the song of Zhang Xiumei in Southeast Guizhou, Liu Tiancheng in South Guizhou and Tao Xinchun in Northwest Guizhou are very representative. This kind of song is passionate and full of fighting spirit.

Production labor song: everywhere. Among them, Southeast Guizhou is the most complete, such as embroidery song, cotton planting song, spinning and weaving song, batik song, wine making song, shipbuilding song, etc. The theme is positive, mostly works that encourage people to work hard and create a better life.

Love song: it is a song sung by young men and women when they talk about love. The words are implicit, beautiful and lyrical. There are confession style, question and answer style and so on, mostly holding things to express feelings.

Marriage song of Miao Nationality: it reflects the evolution process of Miao nationality from clan internal marriage to clan external marriage, and from matrilineal system to patriarchal system. It is a rare material for studying marriage history. Among them, the more famous ones are brother and sister marriage, marriage opening song, man and woman get married, marriage changing song (women get married for men) in Southeast Guizhou, receiving son-in-law and sending off song in Zunyi area in northern Guizhou, etc.

Official literature

According to its specific creative characteristics. The earliest representative of Miao official literature is Qu Yuan, but there is great controversy. Shen Congwen, who later appeared, is a real Miao writer. In recent years, there have been a steady stream of Miao writers, but few or none have really had an impact like Shen Congwen on a larger scale.

Astronomical calendar

The Miao calendar has developed from the trade wind calendar, doubing calendar, Lianshan calendar, tiansuoyi calendar, migratory insects calendar, migratory birds calendar, phenology calendar and astrological calendar to the solar calendar, tailunar calendar and yin-yang calendar. However, the trade wind calendar, doubing calendar, Lianshan calendar, tiansuoyi calendar, migratory insect calendar, migratory bird calendar and phenological calendar are the initial forms of the calendar, and the astrological calendar, solar calendar, lunar calendar and yin-yang calendar are the advanced forms of the calendar. The solar calendar, the lunar calendar and the yin-yang calendar are also astrological calendars in a certain sense.

The reference calendar is the calendar of the Xia Dynasty, which originated from the Fuxi Taihao dragon calendar and was formulated with the reference star Shensu in the summer. Therefore, it is called the reference calendar, which is the October solar calendar. The whole year is divided into the first and second half of the year. A year is five quarters, two months per quarter and ten months a year. 36 days a month, 72 days a quarter and 360 days a year. The remaining 5 to 6 days are neither included in the old year nor in the new year, which is called the new year's day.

The eighty-four calendar system of the Miao nationality is called "Aijin", "Jieju", "Ganjin", "Gaju", "gajin" and so on in the Miao language. Guo Zhu's study on Miao Mythology (Guangxi People's publishing house, December 1988, 1st Edition) said: in ancient Miao society, a calendar with 84 days as a counting cycle was implemented, in which each day had a name and each name had a certain meaning, such as otter, Tian goose, etc. The draft of bazhai county annals of the Republic of China is called "Miao Jiazi".

Medical Science

Miao Yao

In the mountainous area where Miao people live, there are many kinds of medicine resources, large output and good quality, which are beyond the reach of many Pingba areas. There are as many as 1500 kinds of common medicines, including about 200 kinds commonly used. The most common medicinal materials are: all kinds of blood rattan, iron chopsticks, bailongxu, lanbuzheng, Earth Star, fruit leaves, black bone rattan, flying dragon palm blood, Cao Wu, Dafeng rattan, eight claw gold, Epimedium, sea Jinsha, Touguxiang, etc. In addition, some rare varieties such as star anise, jiujiusheng, jintiesuo, Yijian, xiantaocao, pangolin, Heqi grass and fungus Ganoderma lucidum are also occasionally sold in the market.

In the vast areas inhabited by Miao people in China, many medicinal material planting and production bases have been established to vigorously develop commonly used medicinal materials. Some become raw materials for patent medicines, health products, cosmetics, etc. Some have entered hospitals in ethnic areas for hospital prescription drugs. Some provinces have also excavated, screened and sorted out some effective folk prescriptions of Miao nationality, and some prescription preparations with real development value have been included in the local standards for ethnic medicine.

music

The Miao people are good at singing and dancing. The "flying songs" of Miao nationality are loud and clear, with great appeal; There are Lusheng dance, bench dance and bronze drum dance, among which Lusheng dance is the most common. Lusheng dance is performed on the 15th day of the first month, the third day of March, the Double Ninth Festival and other festivals, as well as on the days of building houses, harvest and welcoming relatives, with multiple changes in dance posture. The folk mass Lusheng dance is generally led by two to five men playing Lusheng, and others dance around a circle. The scene is spectacular and the atmosphere is warm. Competitive Lusheng dance is generally performed by a few highly skilled men and women at festivals or gatherings, usually two to four people. The movements include squatting, bending, supine, handstand and other difficult movements, which are very popular with the masses.

music

Miao music can include vocal music and instrumental music. The vocal music of Miao nationality is usually sung by real people without instrumental accompaniment.

According to its content, Miao folk songs can be divided into Youfang song (love song), wine song, bitter song, anti song, funeral song, labor song, current politics song, children's song, riddle song and so on, with different tunes. Flying song is a special form of folk song popular in Southeast Guizhou. It is usually sung loudly on the mountain. Its melody is high, bold and unrestrained, and the aftersound shakes the ridge of the mountain. It is very characteristic. Its content includes love songs, current political songs, etc., and its singing forms include solo, duet, chorus, etc. Various forms of folk songs include traditional lyrics and improvisation. Gabaifu song is a kind of rap literature popular in Southeast Guizhou. It is integrated on the basis of folk poetry and legends. Singers sometimes narrate and sometimes sing. Its content mostly reflects the real facts of civil disputes and social phenomena.

Pange is an ancient way for Miao young men and women to express their wishes and talents to each other. The "Pan Ge" of the Miao people in Zhaotong area is very interesting. The young man took a fancy to a young woman, so he took two companions of the same age to the girl's home and asked her elders to explain his intention. If the girl's parents answer, "no one else, it's from the same class," they allow the song. The song Party of the cross song is arranged by the old woman. Both men and women take part in the song dialogue as companions, both as staff officers and looking for objects for themselves.

In the song, the man usually sings first. Both sides show their talents by singing in pairs. If the man loses, the woman can easily splash the man away with water. Splashing water in the Miao family is not malicious, but a baptism of goodwill. If the Israeli side answers like a stream and sings with the same feeling, it can also sing until the engagement. But if the woman loses the game, she can continue to play the song until she is engaged. On the day of engagement, the woman's parents should prepare wedding wine for the man in time, give it to the villagers participating in the song party one by one, and finally take a pair of ox and sheep horns as a cup to the young couple to be married. Then he blew the Lusheng and danced all night to congratulate the young couple.

The musical instruments of the Miao nationality usually include Lusheng, suona, Xiaodi, huqin, Yueqin, etc.

song and dance

In the Miao nationality, the self entertaining collective songs and dances of young men and women are mostly called "stepping on the hall". However, because the "stepping on the hall" dance is inseparable from the accompaniment of Lusheng, the traditional name of "stepping on the hall" has been basically renamed "Lusheng dance". However, in order to reflect the differences and characteristics of "Lusheng dance" in different regions, people have to distinguish it by regional names before "Lusheng dance". Therefore, there are many forms of "Lusheng dance" such as "Lusheng dance in Rongshui, Guangxi", "Lusheng dance in Southeast Guizhou", "Lusheng dance in Huaxi, Guizhou". It is a traditional custom of Miao and Dong nationalities that men play Lusheng and women dance. However, only in Guizhou, the Miao women, who are not inferior to men, hold Lusheng while blowing and dancing in the "stepping hall", which can be described as a scenery not seen in the "Lusheng nationality" in other regions. Young men of Miao nationality, besides having to be good at Lusheng and being able to participate in the collective "Lusheng dance", if they can also master the "Lusheng dance" in the form of single or double performance with special and difficult skills, they will become the best among men and win more favor from unmarried women.

The young men and women of Miao Nationality in Huaxi, Guizhou Province will automatically get together when the new year is celebrated, playing Lusheng and dancing "Lusheng dance". Among the people playing Lusheng, there are many young girls besides young men. They stood in the same dance circle with male Lusheng players, playing Lusheng in their hands and dancing with women in the outer circle. The two dance circles cross and transpose with each other. For a moment, they jump and gather towards the center, and for a moment, they spread out to the periphery. It is like flowers in a hundred gardens competing for beauty and blooming, and it is like colorful butterflies indulging in singing and dancing. Although these dancers are not professional dancers, the simple and unrestrained dance style and the joy of the dancers from the heart will also infect the viewers who lead them with this vibrant song and dance and clap their hands and feet with the song and dance.

Architecture

Due to the unique migration history, the Miao nationality has formed its own unique architectural style in building material selection and house construction. Miao people like wooden buildings, which are generally built on three floors. The first floor is generally used to solve the problem of uneven slope terrain, so it is generally a half house for stacking sundries or captive livestock. The second floor is the main house and the third floor is the granary. Some people specially set up "beautiful people rely" on the third floor for young girls to look out and show their beauty, so as to establish a preliminary relationship with Miao elder brother.

Housing materials vary from place to place. There are more timber in the Miao nationality area in Southeast Guizhou, so there are more wooden houses and tile houses, and less grass houses and earth wall houses. In central and Southern Guizhou, there are both wooden houses, tile houses, thatched houses and earth wall houses, generally the most of which are thatched houses and earth wall houses. In addition, many Miao people live in "fork houses", which are not divided into rooms and have no furniture. They use wood as beds, grass as mats and grass mounds as stools.

In some areas of southeast and Northern Guizhou, there is a special form of house called "Diaojiaolou". Built on the slope, the foundation is cut into a "factory" shaped earth platform. Under the earth platform, it is supported by long wooden columns. Its sections are taken according to the height of the earth platform, installed with stringers and beams, which are leveled with the earth platform. The floor slab is padded on the beams as the front hall of the house, under which pigs and cattle pens are made, or sundries are stored. On the front hall of the long column, it is connected with the main room on the stage with Chuanfang to form a part of the main room. The main room on the stage is divided into two floors: the first floor is occupied and the upper floor is filled with sundries. The roof is covered with tiles (or fir bark), and the wall is decorated with wood or masonry.

Embroidery

Embroidery is a long-standing handicraft art of Miao nationality. It is the main decorative means of Miao clothing and the representative of Miao women's culture. A large number of Miao compatriots live in Guizhou Province in Southwest China. They have created different styles and styles of clothing. Their clothes can be divided into casual clothes and costumes. They wear casual clothes on weekdays and costumes when they are married on programs or girls. Whether clothes or headwear, the process is complex and the workmanship is fine. Although the themes of Miao embroidery are rich, they are relatively fixed, including dragons, birds, fish, bronze drums, flowers, butterflies, and pictures reflecting the history of Miao nationality. Miao embroidery is very beautiful. There are 12 kinds of techniques, namely flat embroidery, cross stitch, pile embroidery, lock embroidery, cloth embroidery, seed embroidery, broken thread embroidery, nail thread embroidery, crepe embroidery, braided embroidery, winding embroidery, horsetail embroidery, tin embroidery and silk embroidery. These techniques are divided into several stitches. For example, lock embroidery has double needle lock and single needle lock, and broken thread embroidery has broken thick thread and broken thin thread.

There are many kinds of Miao embroidery. In terms of color, it can be divided into monochrome embroidery and color embroidery. Monochrome embroidery is mainly green thread, and the embroidery technique is relatively single. Its works are elegant, suspicious, simple and generous; Colorful embroidery is made of colorful silk threads. The embroidery techniques are complex, such as flat embroidery, plate embroidery or pick embroidery. Most of them take flowers, birds, insects, fish or dragon, Phoenix and Kirin in nature as the theme. The finished embroidery is colorful and lifelike. It is a high-quality product of Phoenix national handicrafts.

Batik

Batik is a traditional skill inherited from generation to generation by Miao people in Danzhai, Anshun and Zhijin counties of Guizhou Province. It was called "batik valerian" in ancient times and "business map" in Miao language, which means "batik clothing".

Danzhai County, Anshun county and Zhijin County are multi-ethnic settlements dominated by Miao nationality. In the difficult environment of long-term isolation from the outside world, the residents here have gradually formed a self-sufficient lifestyle, and the ancient batik skills have been preserved. According to Miao customs, all women have the obligation to inherit batik skills. Every mother must teach her daughter to make batik. Therefore, Miao women have learned this skill since childhood. They plant indigo, plant cotton, spin and weave cloth, draw wax, pick show, dye and cut, and inherit it from generation to generation. In this situation, these Miao inhabited areas have formed customs and cultures dominated by batik art, such as clothing and costumes, marriage and festival rituals, social ways, funeral customs and so on.

Miao batik is an art created for the needs of producers. Its products are mainly daily necessities, including women's clothing, bed sheets, quilt covers, burden cloth, headscarf, backpack, handbag, straps, funeral sheets, etc.

social system

Batik is a traditional skill inherited from generation to generation by Miao people in Danzhai, Anshun and Zhijin counties of Guizhou Province. It was called "batik valerian" in ancient times and "business map" in Miao language, which means "batik clothing".

Danzhai County, Anshun county and Zhijin County are multi-ethnic settlements dominated by Miao nationality. In the difficult environment of long-term isolation from the outside world, the residents here have gradually formed a self-sufficient lifestyle, and the ancient batik skills have been preserved. According to Miao customs, all women have the obligation to inherit batik skills. Every mother must teach her daughter to make batik. Therefore, Miao women have learned this skill since childhood. They plant indigo, plant cotton, spin and weave cloth, draw wax, pick show, dye and cut, and inherit it from generation to generation. In this situation, these Miao inhabited areas have formed customs and cultures dominated by batik art, such as clothing and costumes, marriage and festival rituals, social ways, funeral customs and so on.

Miao batik is an art created for the needs of producers. Its products are mainly daily necessities, including women's clothing, bed sheets, quilt covers, burden cloth, headscarf, backpack, handbag, straps, funeral sheets, etc.

diet

The Miao diet custom has its own characteristics. The Miao people in Southeast Guizhou, Western Hunan, Hainan Island and Rongshui, Guangxi have rice as their staple food, as well as miscellaneous grains such as corn, sweet potato and millet; The Miao people in Northwest Guizhou, South Sichuan and Northeast Yunnan take corn, potatoes, buckwheat and oats as their staple food. There are many kinds of non-staple food. Meat includes domestic livestock, poultry and fish, and vegetables include beans, vegetables and melons. In addition, wild vegetables are collected and engaged in fishing and hunting. Sour and spicy flavors are indispensable in Miao people's life. In the past, due to the lack of salt in the mountainous areas, many Miao people ate light food all year round and could only use hot and sour seasoning to form a habit over time.

Miao people especially like to eat sour. Almost every family makes sour soup, pickled vegetables, hot and sour, pickled fish, and Miao's sour soup is famous for its tender fish, fresh soup, fragrance and delicious. Miao people like drinking. After working at ordinary times, drink some wine to relax tendons and activate blood circulation and eliminate fatigue; When relatives and friends visit, they will treat guests with wine during New Year holidays, weddings and funerals. For a long time, a set of traditional drinking customs and etiquette has been formed. In many places, Miao people also have the custom of singing wine songs during banquets and toasts. The Miao people in the border areas of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou also drink Camellia oleifera. It is not only a necessary food for the Miao family to entertain guests, but also a special drink before and after meals. In some places, they even eat Camellia oleifera. Western Hunan, northeastern Guizhou and southern Chongqing regard fried rice tea as a high-grade beverage for drinking and entertaining relatives, friends and distinguished guests during the New Year Festival.

Sinigang

Sour soup is rice soup or tofu water, which can be used to cook meat, fish and vegetables after fermentation in a earthen pot for 3-5 days. The food preservation of Miao nationality generally adopts pickling method. Vegetables, chicken, duck, fish and meat like to be pickled into sour taste. Almost every Miao family has jars for pickled food, collectively referred to as acid jars. Miao people have a long history of wine making, including koji making, fermentation, distillation, blending and cellaring. Camellia oleifera is the most common daily beverage. There is also a kind of Wanhua tea specially made by the Miao Nationality in Western Hunan. Sour soup is also a common drink. Miao people surnamed Yang in some areas have taboos such as not eating pig's heart. In addition, Miao people do not have too many food taboos and requirements. Typical foods of Miao people in China mainly include: blood perfusion soup, chili bone, Miao Guifeng soup, cotton vegetable cake, insect tea, Wanhua tea, mashed fish, sour fish, etc.

Glutinous rice

Glutinous rice is one of the staple foods of the Miao people. It plays an important role in the life of the Miao people. It is a favorite food for men, women and children. People think that eating sticky rice is not hungry and tastes light. It is less fragrant than glutinous rice. It can be eaten without vegetables and chopsticks. It is very convenient to eat with your hands. Gifts for visiting relatives and friends and staple food for various festivals (sister's day) are mostly various foods made of glutinous rice. There are steamed white glutinous rice in steamers, dyed colorful flower glutinous rice, pillow shaped and triangular zongzi and glutinous rice cake, as well as wine making, long-distance travel or uphill work. Most of them use bamboo boxes to store glutinous rice and take it with you for consumption.

Stewed chicken with small black medicine

In Miao villages, as long as there are distinguished guests at home, they will stew delicious little black medicine chicken for guests to taste. This delicious food not only has unique flavor and rich nutrition, but also "clearing lung and detoxification, dispersing cold and relieving cough, nourishing yin and tonifying kidney, promoting blood circulation and dredging meridians", which has been regarded by the Miao compatriots in Qiubei as a delicacy for entertaining the guests of honor and a good tonic for serious illness and physical deficiency. Xiaoheiyao, also known as grass triangle maple, is a perennial herb. It grows in cool and humid mountains. Its roots, stems and leaves can be used as medicine. Miao compatriots often use it to treat kidney deficiency, low back pain, asthma and other diseases. The stewed chicken not only has unique flavor, tender meat and fresh soup, but also has special effects such as nourishing and curing diseases. It is an important food for Miao pregnant women to supplement their body after childbirth.

taboo

Taboo of life and customs: in some Miao areas, it is forbidden to wash the drinking steamer, rice bag and rice basin at any time. It can only be washed when eating new rice to show that old rice is welcome. Washing at any time will wash away the family wealth, and there is not enough food. Drinking raw water on the mountain is forbidden. You must mark a straw sign first to kill the sick ghost. Avoid touching other people's clothes on the roadside to avoid contracting leprosy. Avoid children playing with small bows and arrows at home for fear of hitting their ancestors. Avoid crossing the child's head, otherwise the child will not grow tall. Women are forbidden to sit on the same bench with their elders. The taboos of Miao nationality are different according to different branches.

Birth taboo: pregnant women give birth, and outsiders are forbidden to enter the house. If you enter by mistake, you must wash your feet and drink a bowl of cold water when you go out, so as to prevent the maternal milk from "stepping dry". Pregnant women should avoid eating old mother yellow beef, mother pork, cock meat, small fish, vegetables, pepper, etc. In some Miao areas, pregnant women should not meet with pregnant women or go to other pregnant women's homes, otherwise they will be considered to prolong the delivery period.

Farming taboo: Miao people send dung to the fields for the first time every year. When they return, they should not see outsiders. If they encounter them, they should not say hello. When planting seedlings, avoid talking about fish if you see fish in the seedling field, otherwise the fish will eat the seedling root. In some villages, small ears are left when millet is harvested. If the child asks, don't say "no" and say "they haven't grown up". Otherwise, millet will refuse to grow again because of sadness in the future. Avoid mentioning mice in the field for fear that they will come to spoil crops. They can only be called "their father and son". Avoid the fifth day. After the beginning of spring in the first month, avoid moving the earth and carrying water on the fifth day.

Funeral taboo: in some Miao areas, it is forbidden for men to die during the day and women to die at night. It is considered that the time is wrong and the dead must be accompanied by the dead of the opposite sex. Therefore, when they die, they often ask wizards to chant "change" and make a palm sized wooden coffin to be buried together, indicating that they have company. Do not put iron, copper and other non silver metals, cotton and things coated with tung oil in the coffin, thinking that if the dead can't buy water on the way back to the East, iron and copper will haunt the dead. In some Miao areas, the dead in the village can work on the same day, but avoid going to the field. On that day, people in the same village should not pick firewood home, otherwise there will be disaster for those who pick firewood. When the coffin was stopped, the family members were forbidden to eat vegetables. Within one month after burial, nothing in the family shall be sold or borrowed.

festival

Miao nationality is a nation full of ancient civilization and etiquette. It has a unique festival at the age of. According to the functional meaning, Miao traditional festivals are divided into:

1. Agricultural activities and festivals;

2. Quality exchange Festival;

3. Men and women's social, love and spouse selection festivals;

4. Sacrificial festivals;

5. Commemorative and festive festivals.

The year is divided into twelve months, and there is more than one festival day every month.

The 1st-15th day of the moving month (mouse or child month) (from the first child day to the second Yin day) is the new year's day, of which the first child day is the day year's day, and the Miao people do not go out (far away); The first ugly day is the earth new year's day. From the first ugly day to the second ugly day (2-14), people visit relatives and friends, celebrate the new year, men and women sing to each other, play dragon lanterns, lions, etc; The second Yin day (15th) is the year of the tail (burning the dragon lantern). The first ugly day of the partial moon (ox moon or ugly moon) is the social day, also known as the dragon head Festival. The Miao people offer sacrifices to the land God, Jielong and Anlong (Miao language ranrong). The first Yin day of January (tiger month or Yin month) is material exchange and men's and women's social Festival (called March 3rd Street Festival in China). The first weekend of February (rabbit month or Mao month) is Cow King's Day (April 8 in China), male and female social cherry party and Buddha's birthday. The first Chen day and the second Yin day of March (Dragon moon or Chen moon) are the Little Dragon Boat Festival and the big dragon boat festival respectively. The Little Dragon Boat Festival later commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (MI surname Qu), also known as Qu Yuan Festival and song teacher Festival. The first day of April (snake month or already month) is the Dragon subduing Festival (called June 6 and June field in China) and the new eating Festival (barley ripening). The first sub day of may (MA month or afternoon month) is the Xiaonian Festival (seven sisters in Miao language, namely the Big Dipper seven stars). The second Yin day in June (sheep month or not) is duck Festival, and the second Chen day is autumn festival. The first Shen day in July (monkey month or Shen month) is the wine festival (glutinous rice harvest to make sweet wine and rice wine). August (chicken month or unitary month) is the sacrificial Festival (mainly for ancestor worship and soul worship activities such as vertebral cattle, eating pigs, dancing incense, returning Nuo vows and Anlong). On the hunting festival in September (dog month or Xu month), sacrifice to the three gods of Meishan and start hunting. October (pig month or Hai month) Mao day and noon day are pig soup Festival (killing new year pigs), kitchen god Festival (offering sacrifices to kitchen god), and new year's Eve (New Year's Eve, which is called Miao people in Han nationality).

In addition, due to different branches and regional cultural differences, Miao nationality also has some unique festivals of local branches, such as Huashan Festival.