Miao is an ethnic group in China which is mainly distributed across Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Sichuan provinces, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, as well as Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia. Guizhou province has the largest population of the people of the Miao- 4.3 million - accounting for nearly half of the Miao living in China.
Miao people live in villages comprised of several families and are scattered on the mountain slopes and plains of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and other remote mountainous areas, with easy access to transportation.
Miao people usually live in clans. Since timber resources are plentiful in most Miao areas, houses are usually built of wood and roofed with fir bark, tiles or thatch. In central and western Guizhou, houses are roofed with stone slabs.
Houses vary greatly in style. Miao people living at the foot of mountains and riversides dwell in single-story houses or buildings with two or more stories. In mountainous areas, they are usually built on slopes and raised on stilts. Animals are kept under the stilted floors.
The Miao people engage mainly in agriculture. Since Southwestern China is mountainous and has less farmland, Miao people grow rice on basins and along the riverside or transform hillsides into terraces. They are skilled at planting rice and have unique farming techniques. Miao people also raise fish in rice fields, which not only can increase the fish yield but also the quality and yield of the rice fields.
Sour and spicy food is crucial to Miao people. Every Miao household makes sour soup, pickled Chinese cabbage and pickled fish meat. Miao style fish meat in sour soup is famous for its delicious taste. Drinking wine has also become an important Miao tradition.
Different Miao communities celebrate different festivals, and festivals may fall on different dates. In southeast Guizhou province, the Miao New Year festival is celebrated on "Rabbit Day" or "Ox Day" on the lunar calendar. Festivities include beating drums, dancing to the music of the lusheng (a wind instrument), horse racing and bull-fighting. In counties near Guiyang, people dress in their holiday best and gather at the city's largest fountain on April 8 of the lunar year to play the lusheng and flute and sing of the legendary hero, Yanu.
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Girls of Miao wear colorful costumes, silver caps, silver hairpins, and silver necklaces.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
In many areas, the Miao have Dragon Boat festivals and Flower Mountain festivals (every May 5), Tasting New Rice festivals (between June and July every year), Pure Brightness festivals and Beginning of Autumn festivals.
