"Exploration" (16)
When you come to Gaopo Miao Township on the outskirts of Guiyang for sightseeing, the grand and interesting "horn wine" will make you Unforgettable for a lifetime.
Before guests from afar enter the village, all the men, women and children in the village, led by the senior "village elders", walk out of the village gate and gather in front of the village to greet the distinguished guests. Young men and women dressed in festive costumes played reeds, trombones, zona, set off firecrackers, and sang and danced. The village elder and the girl held horn cups filled with wine and served "horn wine" to each guest one by one. Everyone put their palms together and bowed to say hello. As soon as the guests arrive at the host's house, a long table is set up to entertain the guests with home-brewed glutinous rice wine and special delicacies such as glutinous rice cakes, pork, eggs, pickled bean soup, etc. When guests leave the village, they are treated to "road wine", guest songs and Lusheng dances, which immerse Chinese and foreign tourists in the rich Miao folk customs.
Gaopo Miao Township is 49 kilometers away from Guiyang City. The whole territory is in the shape of an irregular long strip, surrounded by interlocking canines, with high mountain plateaus in the north and valleys in the south, with vertical ravines, clusters of peaks and rugged stone forests. The average altitude of the township is 1,420 meters, and the highest point is 1,665.9 meters above sea level. It covers an area of ??107.4 square kilometers and is inhabited by Miao, Han, Buyi and other ethnic groups, of which the Miao population accounts for more than 70%. According to the historical book "Qian Ji", in the 28th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1395), Gaopo was under the jurisdiction of Qianwei, Guizhou. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was affiliated to Guizhu County. The Gaopo Miao Autonomous Region was established in 1951 and is now the Miao Autonomous Township, under the jurisdiction of Huaxi District, Guiyang.
Gaopo has unique natural scenery and many historic sites. More than a billion years ago, this was a vast ocean. Under the impact of turbulent waves, after a long time, the dark stone forest and jagged strange rocks were more than 30 meters high and only more than 20 centimeters short. The densely distributed stone forest covers about 10 square kilometers. The strange rocks are full of dissolved pores, resembling human-like objects, in various poses. In Hamatang Village, there is a huge stone, which looks like a pen holder. There are cracks at the base of the rock. When the wind blows, the boulders swing here and there without falling, which is amazing. According to legend, it is an alien object from the sky, hence the name "Flying Stone". On the roadside next to Yunlong Village, there is a clear spring emerging from the rocks. Legend has it that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty passed by here and saw the crystal clear spring water. He immediately pressed his hands on the rock, bowed his head and drank, saying: "Good water! Good water!" Now, the emperor's ten-finger fingerprints are clearly visible. The emperor liked the scenery here and stayed in a village next to the clear spring that night. This village was built on a sloping rock and was divided into an upper village and a lower village. The emperor lived in the lower village. At night, there were more mosquitoes. The emperor was bitten by mosquitoes and couldn't sleep. He sat up and waved his hands, shouting: "Fly away the mosquitoes!" The mosquitoes heard the emperor's decree and immediately flew to Shangzhai. Nowadays, every summer, there are almost no mosquitoes in the lower village and more mosquitoes in the upper village. This phenomenon arouses great interest among people.
Pingding, Pingzhai, Bailong and other villages have thousands of acres of terraced fields reaching the top of the mountain. Every June, the crops are green, and the breeze blows, and the blue waves are rippling from bottom to top; during the autumn harvest, the rice is golden, and when you look around, you can see the yellow ears of grain, connected with the blue sky. The numerous Miao villages are nestled among lush green bamboo bushes. It makes people feel like they are in the pastoral scenery of Jiangnan.
Gaopo stele inscriptions and cliff stone inscriptions are found throughout the township, among which the "Yongzhen Bianyi" stone inscription was carved in 1590 AD. This is evidence of the ruling class’ suppression of ethnic minorities. The fourteen ancient castles were used by the ancient Miao people for defense. Most of them were built on top of mountains close to villages.
Gaopo Miao costumes are unique, simple and gorgeous, and they are especially famous for their women’s costumes. The entire costume consists of three parts: headscarf, upper and lower garments. The turban is several feet long and is made of small green cloth. It is twisted from bottom to top into a shape that is smaller at the bottom and larger at the top. It has a deep concave top, sharp front and blunt back, and looks like a ship. A white, yellow, red, or green shirt is worn under the jacket, with a blue cardigan on the outside, and a back tag on the chest and back. Bottoms are composed of pants, girdle, belt, leggings and ties. Dressed in festive attire, wearing a silver hairpin and gourd on the head, dozens of silver collars hanging around the neck, silver locks under the collars, and silver plates on the front and back, the whole outfit is a combination of blue, white, purple, red, yellow, and green. , gorgeous and colorful, with dazzling silver light.
Men's clothing has been reformed, and young people usually wear Chinese tunic suits or suits. Most elderly people still wear traditional gowns. During traditional festivals, people still wear old fashions; green kerchiefs, blue or gray gowns, and green cloth belts.
Throughout the year, Gaopo Miao Township has many traditional festivals. For example, in the first month of the year, "jumping on the field", "jumping into the cave", "March 3"; "April 8", "Bullfighting Festival", "Eating New Year Festival", etc.
Especially "April 8th" is the most grand. The content of the activity is "shooting back cards"; every year, the festival falls on the first day of April in the ancient calendar. The woman hangs her carefully embroidered back tag on a wooden bench and uses it as a target for the young man she likes to shoot with a crossbow. If it hits the target, it means that the man and woman are deeply in love, which is a good omen; if it misses the target, it is ominous.
Shooting cards on the back is a love-making activity between young men and women, and is the most exciting part of "April 8th". Before the ejaculation card, both the man and the woman who invited the ejaculation and their partners gathered at the man's village, dressed in festive costumes, played the Lusheng, sang and danced all night long. Relatives and friends of both parties came to congratulate him. The man's parents wanted to kill pigs and prepare wine. Treat guests to a banquet. Anyone who comes to congratulate and watch the fun can eat and drink freely, and the dishes are limited to pork and tofu. Each village has a designated location for this activity. Every year on this day, the reed pipes are played, the singing is loud, the dancing is graceful, and the whole Miao countryside is filled with joy.
"Three swords determine love." If the man hits the woman's back card with three swords in a row, the man and woman will become lovers. After a period of time, some will become husband and wife, and some will not necessarily become husband and wife.
The seventh month of the ancient calendar is the "Bullfighting Festival". Bullfighting is called "horned bull". It is a water bullock purchased strictly according to ancestral regulations. It is carefully fed and does not cultivate. On the day of the bullfight, relatives and friends of the bull owner came out to watch and cheer. Each horned bull has red flowers on its head and colorful satin. It looks majestic and is sent to the bullfighting venue by its owner personally. In the bullfighting ring, there are huge crowds of people, thousands of people moving around, the sound of artillery, the sound of trumpets, the sound of gongs and drums, and the sound of shouting are earth-shattering, and the scene is very spectacular.
Once a horned ox has been fought, regardless of victory or defeat, it is slaughtered in autumn to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. When slaughtering a horned cow, one must choose an auspicious day and use a wooden chisel to pierce the cow's skull until it dies. After the cow is slaughtered, the skin and meat are cut into several pieces and given to guests of different status as gifts to take home. It's called "鲊包". Kill another ox to entertain the guests.
Worshiping ancestors is also called "mourning". The slaughtered horned ox, including its horns and forehead bones, is preserved intact and placed in front of the ancestral tablet in the hall for worship. Under the command of the host, they beat bronze drums and wooden barrel drums, sang, danced, drank wine and caroused until dawn in front of and behind the house.
The unique and rich ethnic customs of Gaopo Miao Township intoxicate Chinese and foreign tourists.
2018.12.21