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The Miao ethnic minority
 With a population of more than seven million, the Miao
people form one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China.
They are mainly distributed across Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Sichuan
provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and a small number
live on Hainan Island in Guangdong Province and in southwest Hubei
Province. Most of them live in tightly-knit communities, with a few
living in areas inhabited by several other ethnic groups.
On the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and in some remote mountainous areas,
Miao villages are comprised of a few families, and are scattered on
mountain slopes and plains with easy access to transport links.
Much of the Miao area is hilly or mountainous, and is drained by
several big rivers. The weather is mild with a generous rainfall, and
the area is rich in natural resources. Major crops include paddy rice,
maize, potatoes, Chinese sorghum, beans, rape, peanuts, tobacco,
ramie, sugar cane, cotton, oil-tea camellia and tung tree. Hainan
Island is abundant in tropical fruits.
History
As early as the Qin and Han dynasties 2,000 years ago, the ancestors
of the Miao people lived in the western part of present-day Hunan and
the eastern part of present-day Guizhou. They were referred to as the
Miaos in Chinese documents of the Tang and Song period (A.D.
618-1279).
In the third century A.D., the ancestors of the Miaos went west to
present-day northwest Guizhou and south Sichuan along the Wujiang
River. In the fifth century, some Miao groups moved to east Sichuan
and west Guizhou. In the ninth century, some were taken to Yunnan as
captives. In the 16th century, some Miaos settled on Hainan Island. As
a result of these large-scale migrations over many centuries the Miaos
became widely dispersed.
Such a wide distribution and the influence of different environments
has resulted in marked differences in dialect, names and clothes. Some
Miao people from different areas have great difficulty in
communicating with each other. Their art and festivals also differ
between areas. Language
 The Miao language
belongs to the Miao-Yao branch of the Chinese-Tibetan language family.
It has three main dialects in China -- one based in west Hunan, one in
east Guizhou and the other in Sichuan, Yunnan and part of Guizhou. In
some places, people who call themselves Miao use the languages of
other ethnic groups. In Chengbu and Suining in Hunan, Longsheng and
Ziyuan in Guangxi and Jinping in Guizhou, about 100,000 Miao people
speak a Chinese dialect. In Sangjiang in Guangxi, over 30,000 Miaos
speak the Dong language, and on Hainan Island, more than 100,000
people speak the language of the Yaos. Due to their centuries of
contacts with the Hans, many Miaos can also speak Chinese.
Custom Their clothing has distinctive features which
vary from place to place. In northwest Guizhou and northeast Yunnan,
Miao men usually wear linen jackets with colorful designs, and drape
woolen blankets with geometric patterns over their shoulders. In other
areas, men wear short jackets buttoned down the front or to the left,
long trousers with wide belts and long black scarves. In winter, men
usually wear extra cloth leggings known as puttees. Women's clothing
varies even from village to village. In west Hunan and northeast
Guizhou, women wear jackets buttoned on the right and trousers, with
decorations embroidered on collars, sleeves and trouser legs. In other
areas, women wear high-collared short jackets and full- or half-length
pleated skirts. They also wear various kinds of silver jewelry on
festive occasions.
In southeast Guizhou, west Hunan, Rongshui in Guangxi and on Hainan
Island, the Miaos eat rice, maize, sweet potatoes and millet as staple
foods. In northwest Guizhou, Sichuan and northeast Yunnan, they mainly
eat maize, potatoes, buckwheat and oats. In southeast Guizhou, Miao
cooks make a sour mixture of glutinous rice and vegetables by packing
them tightly into jars for up to two months.
 Because timber resources are plentiful in most Miao areas, houses are
usually built of wood, and roofed with fir bark or tiles or are
thatched. In central and western Guizhou, houses are roofed with stone
slabs.Houses vary greatly in style. In mountainous areas, they are
usually built on slopes and raised on stilts. Animals are kept under
the stilted floors. In the Zhaotong area in Yunnan and on Hainan
Island, most Miaos live in thatched huts or "branch houses," made of
woven branches and twigs or bamboo strips plastered with mud.
The typical Miao family is small and monogamous. Aged parents are
usually supported by their youngest son. In some areas, a son's name
is followed by his father's, but generally a Miao person uses only his
or her own name. Influenced by the Han feudal patriarchal clan system,
the Miaos made efforts to maintain their family pedigrees, built
ancestral halls and adopted words in their names to indicate their
position in the family hierarchy.
Marriages are usually arranged by parents, but unmarried young men and
women have the freedom to court. Mass courting occasions sometimes
take place during holidays, when young women from a host village
gather to sing antiphonal love songs with young men from neighboring
villages. If a couple are attracted to each other, they exchange love
tokens. But they must still win the approval of their parents before
they can marry.
In Chuxiong, Yunnan Province, the practice of setting up public
courting houses for unmarried men and women prevailed until a few
decades ago. After a day's work, they would visit these houses to
sing, dance and court with their partners. The Miaos there also
practiced the custom of "kidnapping brides." If the kidnapped girl
consented to an offer of marriage, a grand wedding feast was held. If
she did not, she was free to go.
Different Miao communities celebrate different festivals. Even the
same festivals may fall on different dates. In southeast Guizhou and
Rongshui County in Guangxi, the Miao New Year festival is celebrated
on "Rabbit Day" or "Ox Day" on the lunar calendar. The festivities
include beating drums, dancing to the music of a lusheng (a wind
instrument), horse racing and bull-fighting. In counties near Guiyang,
people dressed in their holiday best gather at the city's largest
fountain on April 8 of the lunar year to play lusheng and flute and
sing of the legendary hero, Yanu.
In many areas, the Miaos have Dragon Boat festivals and Flower
Mountain festivals (May 5), Tasting New Rice festivals (between June
and July), Pure Brightness festivals and the Beginning of Autumn
festivals. In Yunnan, "Stepping over Flower Mountains" is a popular
festivity for the Miaos. Childless couples use the occasion to repeat
vows to the god of fertility. They provide wine for young people, who
sing and dance under a pine tree, on which hangs a bottle of wine.
Young men  and women may fall in love on this occasion, and this, it is
hoped, will help bring children to the childless couples.
The Miaos used to believe in many gods, and some of their
superstitious rituals were very expensive. In west Hunan and northeast
Guizhou, for instance, prayers for children or for the cure of an
illness were accompanied by the slaughter of two grown oxen as
sacrifices. Feasts would then be held for all the relatives for three
to five days. |
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