Miao women's wear has 130 styles. There are more than 100 species in Guizhou alone, which can be roughly divided into two categories: the first category is the traditional ancient form, clothes with big collars or big buttons, pleated skirts, gorgeous and rich in content. There are dozens of headdresses alone, with a bun tied on the top of the head and a wooden comb inserted, similar to a cloud bun. There are also differences, such as Anshun and Zhenning, where some bun is tied at the top right of the head, southeastern Guizhou bun is tied at the center of the head, southwestern Guizhou bun is tied above the forehead, and Guiyang, where some bun is similar to a hat, some bun is tied into a long boat-shaped bun, and some bun is tied into a big horn comb with two ends up. In the second category, the head is covered with a handkerchief, and the clothes with big breasts are matched with trousers. Skirts, sleeves and trouser legs are inlaid with "lace". The shoulders, chest and back shoulders of the clothes are also embroidered with lace, and the chest is embroidered with waist. Clothes are mostly cyan or blue, and some are dark gray or black. Guizhou Miao costumes can be divided into four categories and 24 styles, which are briefly described as follows:

Qiandong type: there are mainly Taijiang type, Ping Huang type, Zhou Xi type, Leigongshan type, Li Congrong type, Du Dan type and Danzhai type. In addition to dressing up, women will also wear traditional costumes such as navy blue, big collars (a few are big breasts) and undivided pleated skirts, most of which are tied with vertebral buns and a few are covered with headscarves. Including all Miao people in Guizhou province who speak Miao language and Guizhou Oriental language.

South-central Guizhou type: there are mainly Luobohe type, Huaxi type, Huishui type, Anqing type, Ning 'an type and Anzhen type. Miao people, belonging to Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan dialects of Miao language, mostly wear women's clothes with big collars and double-breasted buttons, a few are left-handed and a few wear large-breasted buttons. Pleated middle skirt, less long skirt. Most dresses are decorated with flowers, embroidery and batik, and a few have no flowers.

Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan styles: including Weining style, Bijie style, He Na style, Anpan style, Puzhi style, Zhijin style, Anpu style, Longjiang style, Anhui and Jiangxi style, Renhuai style and Puding style. Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect is distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi provinces in Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect. The basic style of women's wear is double-breasted or large-breasted tops, and some are also equipped with back lapels and pleated long skirts, with skirts in front and streamers in the back.

Northeast Guizhou type: including Songtao type, Qinglong type and Tianzhu type. This type is mainly distributed in Tongren area and the eastern part of Zunyi area, and there are also a few in Qiandongnan and Qianxinan. Women's clothes are big-breasted coats, trousers, and mostly headscarves. Most young people wearing headscarves wear many delicate pieces of silver when they dress up.

women's clothes

Miao women generally wear narrow sleeves, big collars, double-breasted tops and pleated skirts. The dress can be long enough, elegant and colorful, or short enough to the knee, elegant and moving. Casual clothes are mostly wrapped in a handkerchief on the head, a blouse on the upper body, a pair of trousers on the lower body, embroidered edges, an embroidered waist and a little delicate silver ornaments as a foil. There are more than 30 styles of women's wear 130, and there are only10/species in Guizhou. Pleated skirts are worn in Guizhou, Yunnan, southern Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan Island and other places, but the length varies, with the biggest difference in southeastern Guizhou, some reaching the feet, some exceeding the calves, some knee-high, and some only about 30 cm, but skirts are the most common. Colors are blue, blue and white, and skirts are embroidered, embroidered, inlaid, batik or plain. This coat has a big chest and a big collar. In western Hunan, northeastern Guizhou, western Hubei and other places, during the Qing, Gansu and Jia dynasties, due to the failure of ethnic riots, they were forced to refit, wearing trousers and a large-breasted coat with lace on the farm side, cuffs and trouser legs. You only wear skirts when you are a solitaire, but you don't wear skirts at ordinary times. During the festival, women visit relatives and friends and wear all kinds of silver ornaments on their heads, necks and wrists.

Men's wear/clothes/clothing

Men's wear styles are relatively simple. Men in all parts of Guizhou usually wear double-breasted or left-handed coats (some also wear right-handed ones), trousers, a big belt and a long blue scarf on their heads. Leggings are wrapped in winter. In the northwest of Guizhou, they wear patterned linen clothes and wool felt on their shoulders. Miao men's costumes are relatively simple, mostly double-breasted tops or right-handed robes, with wool felt woven with geometric patterns on their shoulders, blue baotou on their heads and leggings on their calves.

No matter what kind of clothes, from material preparation to ready-made clothes, women spin, weave, dye, sew and embroider themselves, which consumes a lot of labor. In recent years, due to the development of commodity economy, Miao clothing in some areas has also become a commodity, and many young women buy clothing from the market.

residence

Most Miao people live in mountainous areas, and a few live in mountainous areas. Xiangxi, western Hubei, eastern Sichuan, northeastern Guizhou, Chengbu, Hunan, Jingxian and Longsheng generally live in the foothills, rivers or fields.

Qiandongnan and Guangxi Rongxian. Most people live by rivers, fields or terraces on hillsides. Miao people from central and western Guizhou to Yunnan and southern Sichuan generally live on hillsides, and a few live on hilltops or in places like Pingkan and river valleys.

The form of housing varies from place to place. There are two kinds of Miao folk houses in Qiandongnan, Southwest Hunan, East Sichuan and North Guangxi: bungalows and buildings. On steep slopes, more diaojiao buildings should be built.

There are tile houses and straw houses in central and western Guizhou and western Guangxi. Anshun, Pingba and Zhenning are all built with thin slate. The walls of Miao family in Wenshan, Yunnan Province are mostly woven with bamboo strips and covered with soil and grass.

build

There are roughly the following types of Miao residential buildings: most of the buildings in eastern Guizhou are dry-column buildings and wood structures; In Xiangxi and Songtao areas of Guizhou, bungalows are mostly tile or brick. Most of the central areas of Guizhou are wooden houses; Most of the bungalows in northwest Guizhou and northeast Yunnan are built by civil or vegetation. These types are characterized by local conditions and local materials.

Miao public buildings have national characteristics. Such as Zhaimen, in southeastern Guizhou, many large Miao villages have built public Zhaimen. In Miao villages such as Xiangxi and Qiandongnan, there are public waterwheels and waterwheels. In some areas where Miao and Dong people live together in southeastern Guizhou, there are also wind and rain bridges and drum towers.

traffic

Traffic in Miao areas can be divided into land and water. Waterways are transported along natural rivers by ships of all sizes. The waterways in western Hunan mainly include Youshui, Wushui and Chenshui in the upper reaches of Yuanjiang River. The waterways in southeastern Guizhou mainly include Qingshui River, Duliujiang River and Manwuyang River. In addition, the south-north Panjiang River in southwest Guizhou, the Mengjiang River in south Guizhou and Rongjiang River in Rongshui, Guangxi are also important waterways in Miao areas. There are ferries in the depths of the river, which are divided into public ferry and private ferry.

Ludao in Miao area used to be a rugged path. From the mid-Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, the roads in Xiangxi were divided into official roads, camp roads, people roads and Miao roads. Most travelers ride horses and sit in sedan chairs, and goods are transported by manpower. This generally reflects the land situation of the whole Miao area in the past.

After the founding of New China, the traffic construction in Miao areas has made great progress. Up to 1956, three highway trunk lines have been built in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, namely, Lu (Mountain)-Lei (Mountain), Jin (Ping)-Li (Ping)-Rong (River) and Zhen (Yuan)-Tai (River)-Jian (River). Since then, a lot of money has been allocated for building roads. By the end of 1983, the highway mileage in Qiandongnan prefecture has reached 4 124 kilometers, including more than 320 kilometers of asphalt pavement. There are 75 1 bridges. With the construction and opening of expressways, transportation has developed rapidly, and automobiles have become the main means of transportation. At present, there are two main railway lines passing through the territory of Qiandongnan Prefecture. 1959 The Mawei-Guiyang section of Guizhou-Guangxi Railway runs through, passing through Majiang County of Autonomous Prefecture for 28 kilometers. 1970, the construction of Guixiang Railway connecting Beijing-Guangzhou Railway started, passing through Kaili City, zhenyuan county City, and 8 towns of Shibing, Ping Huang and Majiang County. Generally speaking, Qiandongnan Prefecture has now formed a transportation network with Kaili as the center, railways as the backbone, criss-crossing highways and waterways, and connecting national highways and rural highways, which has greatly changed the backward appearance in the past and promoted economic development.

Marriage and family

Miao people are forbidden to marry clan members. Generally, people with different surnames marry, and some people with different surnames can also marry. The main form of marriage is autonomous marriage. Autonomous marriage means that young men and women get to know each other on occasions such as jumping on the moon and jumping in the fields, and take the initiative in marriage by themselves. In Bijie area and Pingbian, Yunnan, the bride usually walks to her husband's house without paying homage. But in Xiangxi, you take a sedan chair, and in Weining, you take a sedan chair or ride a horse. When Xuanen bride goes to her husband's house, she must enter the bridal chamber through a side door, and the unmarried girl accompanying her will propose a toast to the bride and groom. In some areas in southeastern Guizhou, the husband's family should prepare a pair of cooked carp and fish for the bride to worship her ancestors, indicating that she has become a member of the husband's family.

After marriage, the bride can live in her husband's house or temporarily in her family's house. Among some Miao people in Hunan, Hubei, eastern Sichuan, Songtao, Tianzhu and Qinglong in Guizhou, the bride will live in her husband's family for a long time after marriage. In other areas, the bride returns to her parents' home on the wedding day or the next day, and only stays for a period of time during festivals and busy farming seasons, or when her husband's family has a wedding or funeral. It was several years before she lived in her husband's house permanently. Either man or woman can file for divorce.

Miao people have always been monogamous, and in the family, husband and wife are basically equal. Most Miao people practice the small family system. After their sons got married and had children, they got married and started their own businesses. The average family member does not exceed three generations. Some families want all their brothers to get married before they start to separate. In some parts of Yunnan, parents do not part until they die.

pluck

Guangxi Miao boys pursue the right person, insert a beautiful pheasant feather on the Lusheng, and blow a beautiful tune to the girl. The young man waved the reed and let the pheasant's hair brush the girl's cheek. If the girl is interested, she will dial off the pheasant hair on the lusheng; Otherwise, turn around and walk away.

"Catch relatives" halfway

This custom is popular in Miao areas in western Hunan. When the girl got married, six young girls and a middle-aged woman in her forties formed a farewell party. The wedding procession consists of six boys and two girls. The two teams set out opposite each other at 5 o'clock in the morning. After the meeting, the wedding procession handed the picked glutinous rice to the eldest sister-in-law, who handed the bride's bamboo basket to the wedding girl, and then distributed the glutinous rice to everyone. At this moment, a girl who is getting married said, "Mother-in-law, who is my sister-in-law?" The voice declined, and the girl who saw the bride off tightly surrounded the bride and protected her. Married young men and women tried to "catch" the bride. In the end, the bride was "caught" and the people who saw her off completed the task. The wedding party took the bride away and said goodbye.

Midnight action

This is a custom handed down from generation to generation by Miao people in Chalangshao Township, Xiangyun County, Yunnan Province. In the old society, moving in the middle of the night was to avoid the debts of the rich, but now it has lost its original meaning and become a traditional national activity. No matter who moved, the villagers came to help congratulate. They put the things to be moved in the middle of the yard and played lusheng, suona and sanxian. Everyone danced around the furniture, the song and dance stopped, and the host was busy toasting the guests. After moving the furniture to the new house, we once again formed a circle and danced happily. The dance circle is very particular, with children in the middle, symbolizing the hope and future of the Miao family; The second circle is a girl, symbolizing beautiful flowers; The third circle is young people, symbolizing the prosperity and strength of the Miao family; The fourth and fifth circle is the old man, which shows that the children of Miao family grow sturdily under the training and education of the older generation.

Step on your feet

Also known as "stepping on girls' feet". It is a way for young men and women of Miao nationality in Miaoshan area of northern Guangxi to express their love. In traditional festivals, Miao youths choose their Prince Charming by dancing lusheng, dancing in the hall and singing. But it's hard to speak in public. When people are not looking, young men step on the feet of young women to test their attitudes. If young women reciprocate in the same way, they will accept courtship. Otherwise, we won't blame each other. After "stepping on the foot" to determine the relationship, you can often meet and give each other tokens, and then the parents of both sides agree on the wedding date.

Cao Biao

Miao folk customs are popular in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Young Miao men and women use cursive as a link to convey love. Cao Biao has different forms, but it is very particular and conveys good wishes. Some use a few grasses to show that they will meet in a few days; Some tied the grass into a circle, indicating that reunion is expected; Some grass is sandwiched with yellow, which indicates that we will meet again. Legend has it that once upon a time there was a Miao boy named Weng Ruidi who fell in love with a Miao girl named Abe. Unexpectedly, Abe was taken away and robbed by the castellan. When Weng Ruidi came to the dating place, there was no sign of the priest, only a grass sign on the roadside. Knowing that something was wrong, he followed the draft and rescued Abe from the owner's house. From then on, they left their hometown and lived a happy life. The wonderful use of cursive script has been handed down since then.

Zhan Chi

Miao people call the New Year "Eating Year", which means that "Nian" has been eaten by everyone and passed. During the "Year of Eating", people put on festive costumes, and various recreational activities such as playing lusheng, bullfighting and kicking shuttlecock were carried out in various places. After the "Year of Eating", we should put away the bronze drums and reed flutes and start spring ploughing. Miao people are widely distributed, and the "eating year" time is different, some in October, some in winter and some in the first month. The Miao people in Leigongshan area have three "eating years", namely, eating early years in September, eating middle age in October, and eating years in winter (also known as the Year of the Ox).

smart card

The card is stuck and won't pass. Sometimes, couples of young men and women gather by the roadside, Woods and streams to sing. When you see passers-by, you will ask questions about this song. This song is "stuck". People who get stuck should return the song with the song. In fact, this is a test of intelligence and wisdom. If the guest wins, the host will give him as a gift; If the host wins, the guest will have to admit that he lost before he is released. If there is no tie, the host will pay the guests and continue singing. Until the tie is broken, or make an appointment to play again.

Split chicken heart

The Miao people in the mountainous areas of Miao Ling have the custom of "dividing the heart of a chicken". Every holiday, the host will invite guests home. When eating, parents or the most prestigious old people in the same family will give guests chicken hearts or duck hearts. But guests can't enjoy it alone, and they must share it with the old people present. This shows that you are selfless, fair, willing to serve them and reliable friends. Otherwise, you will lose your prestige and get no help from them. Chicken and duck are the best products for Miao people to entertain guests, and chicken heart and duck heart are the most valuable parts. If I give you a chicken heart, I will give it to you. Everyone present is waiting for you to give it to them, so that they can work together and help each other.

Flower band and super band

Miao youth as a symbol of love. Young Miao men and women in Zhaotong, Dawu, Yiliang, Yongshan and other places in Yunnan should give each other tokens after falling in love. The girl gave the boy a ribbon made of colored thread, about 1 m long and 3-4 cm wide. It is embroidered with patterns of mountains and rivers and flowers, which means "a thousand miles of marriage is a thread." The young man gave the girl a hanger in return. When the two parties make a promise, the girl will give each other a copy tape made of white hemp, about 150 cm long and about 30 cm wide, which means to dedicate pure love to each other, and the other party will give back a comb and a round mirror to show lifelong love.

Pohui

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a beautiful horseshoe slope in Longyazhai. Many girls and boys eat grass here every spring. One day, a first mate passed by here, saw Miao girl was beautiful, and asked his entourage to rob her. When the young man saw it, he blew his horn together and shouted Miao people with a big knife and hoe. They gathered on the horseshoe slope and drove away the local officials. To celebrate the victory, they sang and danced here. Since then, the traditional slope meeting has been formed. Nowadays, every festival, people put on the costumes of the program and gather on Lushengping to sing, dance, climb poles and fight bullfights, and use this grand occasion to celebrate today's happy life.