Miao Clothing
The Miao are widely distributed and have many branches. There are obvious regional differences in dress. The more typical attire for women is a short blouse and pleated skirt. In the past, Hmong clothing was mainly made of hemp woven cloth, and the unique batik and embroidery techniques were commonly used. Skirts are mostly white and green, and the materials, colors, styles, and embroidery of the costumes are all very ethnic. Silver ornaments on the head, neck, chest and hands are common, and the silver ornaments of the Miao people are second to none among the jewelry of other ethnic groups. Colorful dress culture fully demonstrates the ingenuity of the Miao people, and still maintain their own national characteristicsLife customs
Eat: 1. Eat oil tea. Oil tea is fried popcorn rice, mixed with water boiled into a hospitality tea, guests drink, the host is happy, do not drink, is considered to look down on the host. Some also drink 3 cups, the first cup is oil tea, the second cup is bitter tea, the third cup is sweet tea. 2. eat mountain loach (lizards, collectively known as four-legged snake). After the treatment of the loach with a small amount of rice flour, together with the marinade into the altar, used to entertain guests. 3. eat green vegetables. Lunar New Year like to eat green vegetables, usually not chopped.
Dress: Miao clothing varies from region to region. Male, the general elderly wear collarless oblique buckle lapel coat, girdle, wear pants legs, playing tie legs. Middle-aged people and young people, wearing lapel tops, short and small, the fabric is mostly self-produced "home machine spot clothing", women's clothing has another style, wearing collarless bordered embroidered clothes, decorated with columns inserted flower petals and their interiors, the lower body with bordered, embroidered or number of gauze wide-legged pants. Attractive women's head of the handkerchief, generally more than a zhang long, the color is blue, blue two, black lined with lattice lined with silk handkerchiefs.
House: 1. Hanging feet, hanging feet generally 2-3 houses, flying eaves and corners, and corridors around the white wooden railings, railings carved with various patterns. The lower floor of the hammock is used to store food, storage of agricultural tools, stacking firewood, soil ash, or circle cattle, sheep, pigs and toilets. The upper floor for people to live. 2. stove, the shape of a square, 60-70 cm high, the top around the cover with wooden boards, surrounded by bricks, stone masonry, surrounded by a square fire in the middle of the pond, used to burn the fire for cooking, around the lower level of the space, used to close the chickens, ducks. When it was cold, the host and guests sat on the fireplace, laughing, talking about family matters and resting. There is a wooden rack of different shapes hanging over the fireplace, on which seeds, tea baskets, straw shoes, etc. are hung.
Festivals, Religion
Festivals, in addition to those of the Han Chinese, the Miao have the following festivals.
1. Young men and women sing songs of love on the third day of March.
2. The eighth of April to eat Wu rice, in honor of Yang Zaisi, there is also a legend to commemorate the need for a sister Wu rice cooked with leaves, to be in advance to pick up the girl back to her mother's home to eat together with the Wu rice; near can not go back to her mother's home, but to give them to send. This custom is limited to the Yang surname.
3. The sixth day of the sixth month of June to honor the God of the land, to hang paper and burn incense on the field. Generally, the family tree is solarized once.
4. On the second day of October, we celebrate the New Year by killing rats and eating them.
Faith: 1. Worship Yang Gong Zaisi. In the past, there are 16 Feishan Temple in the township. Every fall a grand celebration of the temple activities. Singing a few days and nights of human opera, which "carry Huashan" and "playing the wealth" and so on is every time must sing the program, the main content is to educate the family harmony. During the celebration of the temple, to set the pig head, loaded with incense, burning paper. 2. In the past, the ancestors to kill cows, to the natural cottage as a whole, held a ceremony to kill the cow, cow entrails used to sacrifice ancestors and then each person to take a meat home. 3. Worship the streamer butterfly, the legend says that the streamer butterfly is the ancestor of the Hmong. 4.
Wedding? The funeral? The Himalayan people have a long history of honoring their ancestors. Customs
Love: song as a matchmaker, the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, young men and women dressed up, rushed in groups to the hillside waterfront, song love. Love agree with those who are invited to leave, said to fall in love. Usually watch cows, goat herding also song, and gift red. Both parents agree to get married, if not, there is the custom of escaping marriage.
Marriage: usually a month before the wedding, the longest half a year, it began to cry marriage. To the elders to ware one by one, and then send gifts, now changed a lot. When men and women get married, the woman and come to the man's home to eat three days and three nights of wine, these three days the bride can only companion mother sleep, can not be with the groom in the same bed. After three days, the bride and the bridesmaids go back to live with her mother's family for two, three or five years. The man has agricultural affairs need help, pick up the woman in the man's home to live with. To wait until the woman is pregnant, only to pick up the bride to the man's parents live period *** with life.?
Funeral: the old man fell gas, to be carried to the center of the hall, sitting in the middle, equipped with a bucket (container), cool sieve, sitting on the bucket feet on the cool sieve fall gas. Wash the body, by the long teach son of the well to carry water, join peach leaves, calamus leaves cooked into warm water to wash the body, washed water (poured into the bucket), so that each of its descendants to taste three points, said the word to eat without worrying about it, called "clothes and rice water", in the body of the dead around the white line, a year old one, usually fall out of the teeth to be preserved, coffins, put into the coffin, the hair is forbidden to burn after death. Into the coffin, mouth silver, hand pinch tea rice but also to the Feishan Temple light.
Miao silver
As a result of the large demand for silver jewelry, Miao silversmithing industry is extremely prosperous and developed. Only Qiandongnan territory, the family as a workshop silversmith households will be hundreds of dry, engaged in silver jewelry processing is up to several dry. Most of the family workshop for the master and apprentice inheritance of the father and son combination, there is also a husband and wife combination of husband and wife. These workshops are often busy closed furnace, farming idle manipulation hammer, are not detached from the agricultural activities.
The Miao silversmiths in the territory of Qiandongnan can be divided into two types of fixed-point and wandering type. Most of the fixed-point type, they undertake processing silver jewelry at home, service in a relatively closed and form a regional pattern of a cottage or several cottages, customers without exception from the Department, so, can also be called the silversmiths within the branch. The distribution and number of fixed-point silversmiths are naturally adjusted according to the regional environment and market demand, which is more typical of Shidong, Paiyang, Xijiang, Wanshui, Wangjiazha and other places. The wandering silversmiths also use the family as their workshop, and go out to solicit business during the farming season. Usually, each person has his own specialized route. They are not limited only to the department or the ethnic processing, hundreds of miles along the way to other branches or ethnic silver jewelry styles are well in the heart, processing is also familiar and comfortable, so it can also be called regional silversmiths. According to the survey, Qiandongnan silversmiths traveled throughout the province, and extended to northern Guangxi and western Hunan. Qiandongnan territory not only Miao silversmiths, and appeared in Xiaoshan Dagou Township, controlled by the Bay, hemp material, Ma Gao as the representative of the silversmith village. Silversmiths in the village of hundreds of families, more than 80% of silver jewelry processing as a sideline. During the farming season, the sound of jingling in the village is endless, and the smoke from the charcoal fire is swept away in the house, a busy scene. Wandering silversmiths are all out of silversmith village, intensive processing power forced silversmith village, part of the people choose to go out of the way of business. Silversmith village is a peculiar phenomenon in Guizhou, is also unique in the country. Compared to the history of Miao silver jewelry, the history of Miao silversmiths is much shorter. According to the Shi hole, control Bay, non family card and other places of silversmiths survey shows that the Miao silversmiths appeared about the end of the Qing Dynasty, so far only nearly a hundred years of history. Initially, most of the Miao silversmiths blacksmith's skills to the Han artisans to learn to make silver jewelry. Longli Yunwu Mountain around the "iron fortress", is the only local village with Miao silversmiths, covering dozens of miles around the silver jewelry processing production. So far, it is still not difficult to confirm our point of view by this place name. Miao silversmiths are generally the son of the father, generations inheritance, the craft is rarely outside. Miao silver jewelry processing, all to the family workshop within the manual operation is completed. According to the need, the silversmith first melted silver into thin slices, silver bars or silver wire, the use of pressure, lonesome, engraved, cradling and other crafts, the production of exquisite patterns, and then welded or woven molding. Miao silver jewelry process is very complex, a silver more than one to go through one or two dozen procedures to complete. Moreover, the silver modeling itself on the silversmith's handmade technology requirements are very strict, non-expert is difficult to complete. Guizhou non-silver producing areas, the history of silver jewelry processing raw materials are mainly silver dollars, silver ingots. That is to say, the Miao people work at sunrise, sunset and rest, week after week, over the years, the accumulation of silver currency, almost all put into the furnace. Because of this, the purity of silver jewelry in various places is based on the local popular silver coins. For example, during the Republic of Qiandongnan territory is to Leishan as the boundary, the north side of the silver from the ocean, higher purity, the south side from the two millimeters, the silver color is poor. 1950s, the party and the government fully respect the customs of the Miao people, the annual low price allocated to the Miao special silver. In addition to the hammer and anvil labor is a connoisseur, the Miao silversmiths on the styling design is also known as a master. The reason for this is that on the one hand, Hmong silversmiths are good at drawing inspiration from women's embroidery and batik patterns. On the other hand, as members of the branch, and in order to gain a competitive advantage among their peers, Miao silversmiths emphasize innovation in the details or local portrayals according to the traditional habits and aesthetic interests of the branch. Craftsmanship excellence, so that the Miao silver jewelry is perfect. Of course, all of this must not touch the overall shape of the silver jewelry as a prerequisite. Miao silver jewelry in the shape of its stability, once the ancestors to determine the shape of the system, that is, can not be changed, often forming an important symbol of the branch. Miao women jewelry silver, love its white, cherish its flawless. Therefore, the Miao silversmiths in addition to processing silver jewelry, but also responsible for the silver in addition to dirt, commonly known as "silver wash". They coated silver borax water, charcoal fire burned to the oxidized layer attached to the silver jewelry, and then put a burst of alum water in the copper pot boiling, washed with water, and then cleaned up with a copper brush, the silver that is as bright as new. Miao silver jewelry with its diverse varieties, beautiful shapes and exquisite craftsmanship, not only to the people presented a magnificent and colorful world of art, but also shows a rich connotation of the spiritual world. Miao silver more types of jewelry, from head to toe, nowhere to decorate. In addition to head ornaments, chest and neck ornaments, hand ornaments, clothing ornaments, back ornaments, waist pendant ornaments, individual places and foot ornaments.Miao Dance
The Miao folk dance includes the Lusheng Dance, the Copper Drum Dance, the Wooden Drum Dance, the Xiangxi Drum Dance, the Bench Dance and the Ancient Lady Dance. Especially the Lusheng Dance is the most widely spread. The dance is mostly performed in four steps, but there are also two steps, three steps, six steps, rubbing steps, jumping steps, pointing steps, and left and right rotating steps. Miao first-class actor Jin Ou led the dance of the "Miao youth dance", 1963 has been taken into the dance art film "colorful butterflies", in the United States, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and other places staged by the masses loved.
The Miao are rich in song and dance, only the Miao "drum dance" one, nearly a dozen kinds of more. Miao "drum dance" in the Tang Dynasty "Dynasty Legitimacy" on the "five streams of barbarians, parents died in the village outside the coccyx of their bodies, three years and burial, drumming road song, relatives drinking and dancing play a month or so," recorded, which shows that the Miao "drum dance" long history. "
The Hmong have a long history.
The main types of Miao "drum dance" are concentrated in the western part of Hunan Province, southeast of Guizhou Province, along the watershed of the Qingshui River.
The Miao "wooden drum dance" of Qiandongnan is a form of "drum dance" for the large-scale ritual activity of "eating bullock", which used to be held only once every 13 years. During the festival, men and women dance for three days, sleep and eat, all night long, drunk.
The "Flower Encouragement Dance" is a dance performed by the Miao people in Fenghuang, Baojing, Huayuan and other counties in Hunan Province to celebrate the "June 6", "August 8", "Catch Summer", "Catch Autumn" and "Catch Summer" events of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. "Catch the fall" and other traditional festivals, there must be self-indulgent dance. At that time, in the center of the square where the festival is held, a big drum is set up which is beaten by three people. Two people hold double mallets to beat the drum skin, and one person holds a single mallet to beat the drum, and there is no limitation on the number of people and men and women who can participate in the collective dance. Before the dance, the drummers sing in their own language about the merits of the inventor of the wooden drum as a tribute to their ancestors. Then, the people dance in a circle around the drum to the beat of the drum. The basic dance movements of the dancers are mostly simulations of various kinds of life movements, with some martial arts elements added to make the dance movements soft and strong. The "Flower Encouragement Dance" is characterized by two drummers who perform a variety of symmetrical dance postures while spinning, flipping or jumping, and at the same time, play a harmonious and unified drum music.
The Miao folk dance "Monkey Drums" is a male performance dance in which three or more people simulate the various habits of monkeys and drumming postures. During the performance, one drummer beats the drum behind the drum, and the other drum faces the dancers who wear monkey costumes and draw monkey faces. Most of the dance movements simulate monkeys gnawing and eating the buds, swinging, looking at the drum, testing the drum, frightening the drum, playing with each other, etc. The dancers playing the monkeys can use boxing to play the drums. Dancers playing the role of monkeys can hit the drum with their fists or mallets. The whole "drum dance" is not only funny, enthusiastic, highly technical, but also has a certain dramatic plot.
The Miao folk self-entertainment "pedal drum dance" is the annual festival, festive gatherings, especially in March of the lunar calendar, "Sisters Festival", essential women's "drum dance". During the dance, a young girl walks into the field while singing, and then continues to sing and beat the drum to accompany her. The lyrics of the song are basically a call to arms, such as "Sisters, don't miss the opportunity, come and dance". Afterwards, many dressed Hmong sisters gather around the drum set and face the drums to dance to the rhythm. At the climax of the dance, the periphery of the audience of men, women and children can also enter the dance, forming a number of layers of concentric circles *** with the dance. Dance movement is free, cheerful, sometimes there are two legs trembling and drive the whole body characteristics.
Popular in Qiandongnan "anti-row wooden drum dance", has become a representative of the Miao festivals and celebrations as well as visits to other countries, by neighboring friends known as the "Oriental Disco".
After the founding of New China, on the basis of a variety of self-indulgent and performative "drums and dances" of the Miao, people created the "four drums and dances" which were danced by four people at the same time. This kind of "drum and dance" has been spreading in Fenghuang County in western Hunan Province and Songtao County in Guizhou Province, where the Miao people live. The dance is open to both men and women, with four people standing in front of the drum, holding mallets in both hands and beating the drum. Under the unified rhythm, they beat the drum while performing the prescribed routines. After the completion of each set of movements, everyone clockwise to the next drum surface position, and then other sets of "encouragement" performance, both performative and entertaining.
The history of the Miao people's playing the lusheng and dancing with the lusheng has been recorded since the Song Dynasty. The image of the dance in the Qing dynasty's book "Guangyi Shengliu" and the phrase "every year in the spring, choose a flat area for the moon field, the men play the lusheng, the women shake the bells, and the circling songs and dances, which is called moon jumping" are clearly a record of the so-called "copper bell dance".
The Miao ancestors who lived on the shores of Dongting Lake took birds as their totems, so today's Miao women's headdresses, silver crowns and colorful dresses, are still full of the variegated colors of jacaranda feathers and bird patterns. To this day, the Miao people of Qiannan, Guizhou Province, have preserved a large-scale dance called "Lusheng Tang", which originated from ancient rituals. During the performance, a man plays the reed-sheng, a special person beats the bronze drum, and a young girl dressed in full costume and wearing a silver crown dances with her arms in a bird-like manner. This scene is very similar to the decoration on the surface of the bronze drum unearthed in Kaihua, Yunnan Province, more than 2,000 years ago. In addition, from the Yunnan Province, Shi Zhai mountain excavated copper drum-shaped shell storage vessel on the "drum singing figure", can further probe into the Miao and the ancient Baiyue tribes and the close relationship between the culture of copper drums.
Among the Miao's self-indulgent dances, there is also the "Jinji Dance," which imitates the dynamics of the golden pheasant by wearing a silver crown and a colorful striped skirt; the "Lusheng Dance," which imitates the pheasant's fighting, jumping, and playing, and which contains acrobatic skills; and the "Bench Dance," which originated from women's household chores, such as embroidery and mahjong rubbing, and so on.
The Miao people in China have a large number of branches and a wide distribution, forming a large number of songs and dances with rich contents. In addition to the above, there are the "Lusheng Dance" of the "Huaxi Miao" in Guizhou Province, the "Dance of the Red Sticky Miao", the "Flower Tree Dance" of the "Flower Miao" and the "Ancient Ladybird Dance" which has been passed down in Danzhai County, The "Lusheng Dance" of the Miao in Yunnan Province, the "Mango Dance" of the Miao in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as the "Bullfighting", "Sheep-raising", "Flower Stick Dance", and so on, are too numerous to mention.
Miao music
Miao music is richer, gram full of lively interest in folk life, is a reflection of the social life of the Miao people, which consists of two major parts of folk songs and folk instrumental music.
Miao folk songs can be divided into several categories according to their social functions and genres: mountain songs, wine songs, wedding songs, narrative songs and so on. Songs are the most free genre in the Miao social life, it can be sung in Chinese as well as in Miao, and there is also a greater degree of randomness in the arrangement and singing. It is a form of singing that is necessary for the Miao to catch up, sing, visit friends and relatives, and talk about love, which is widely circulated and has a great influence. In addition to the richness of the Miao folk songs, there are many unique musical instruments and a large number of music. *** with the national character trait of "singing and dancing". The most representative instruments are the lusheng and suona.Miao?
The Miao? history? History
The ancestors of the Miao people lived in the "Five Streams" area in the Qin and Han Dynasties, which is the western part of Hunan Province and the eastern part of Guizhou Province today. In ancient Chinese texts, there are records of the Miao ancestors from more than 5,000 years ago, which are the clans and tribes from the Yellow River basin to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River known as the "Southern Barbarians". Population: 7,398,035
Distribution: mainly living in the southeast of Guizhou Province, Guangxi, Hainan Island, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi and other provinces and regions of the border.
The Miao have their own language, the Miao language is divided into three major dialects: Xiangxi, Qiandong and Sichuan-Guangzhou-Yunnan. 1956 after the design of the Latin alphabet form of writing program. As a result of the long history of interaction between the Miao and Han Chinese, a large proportion of the Miao are fluent in both Chinese and use the Han language.
The Miao region is mainly agricultural, supplemented by hunting. The Miao's arts and crafts, such as flower picking, embroidery, brocade weaving, batik, paper-cutting, and hand-decorated ornaments, are magnificent and colorful, and are famous all over the world. Among them, the batik craft of the Miao people has a thousand-year history. There are more than 130 kinds of Miao costumes, which are comparable to those of any other ethnic groups in the world. The Miao are an ethnic group that can sing and dance well, especially famous for their love songs and wine songs. The Lusheng is the most representative musical instrument of the Miao people.