In Dashanyao, people like to entertain guests with camellia oleifera. When there are guests, it is customary to propose a toast to three bowls. It is called "one bowl is sparse, two bowls are close, and three bowls are sincere". Old Yao people also like to drink tea, so tea is also a hospitality drink. When entertaining guests, chicken, meat and salt should be placed in a bowl. Regardless of the host and guest, they should be eaten in turn and must not be confused. Every time a guest and an old man finish a bowl of rice, it is a woman who loads the rice. Salt plays a special role in Yao people's dietary customs. Yao area does not produce salt, but it cannot be short of salt. Salt is a great gift for Yao people to ask Taoist priests and their closest relatives, commonly known as "salt letter". Whoever receives the "salt letter" has to stay and keep the appointment on time, no matter how important it is.
In the past, the Yao people who worshipped Wang Pan were generally forbidden to eat dog meat. Yao people who worship "Miruotuo" did not eat mother pork and eagle meat in the past. In Chenxi County, southwest Hunan Province, cucumbers are fasted before the fifth day of the seventh lunar month. Most Yao people don't eat cat meat and snake meat. In some places, women do not eat lard in the first few days after delivery.
Yao nationality is mainly distributed in mountainous areas of Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hainan and other provinces, and is a typical mountainous nationality in southern China.
The customs and habits of Yao nationality are very ethnic, but due to the different living areas of each branch, there are differences in clothing, diet and residence. Modern Yao costumes are colorful. There are two kinds of men's shirts: left big breasts and double breasts. Pants vary in length, mainly blue and black home machine cloth.
Nandan Bai Yao men's blank bloomers are knee-length, so they are called Bai Yao. Women's clothing varies from place to place, some wearing long gowns and trousers, and some wearing short skirts and pleated skirts. A black or white embroidered towel is wrapped around the head and a belt is tied around the waist. Shirts, skirts, trousers, headscarves and belts are embroidered with colorful patterns. Decorate earrings, bracelets and silver medals.
The women in Chashanyao, Dayaoshan love the curved silver plate weighing one catty. Yao women in Lingchuan and Rongshui wear towering brackets, a cloth towel and a colorful hat, which is elegant and chic.
Yao people are mainly engaged in agriculture, and a few are engaged in forestry. Food is mainly rice, corn and sweet potato, and drinking and smoking are more common. Camellia oleifera is very popular among Yao people in northern Guangxi, and Dayaoshan likes to pickle "bird gizzards" and "animal meat". Some Yao people pickled smoked pork and beef. These are all foods with unique flavors.
Yao people have great respect for their ancestors. Before eating, they are used to saying their ancestors' names, which means that ancestors should taste them first before future generations can enjoy them. This is especially true for rich meals. On holidays, there must be pork, chickens, ducks and wine for ancestor worship, and the number of seats for eating is also particular: the elderly and distinguished guests must sit in their seats. In case of guests, guests should be warmly treated with wine and meat, and in some places, cockscomb flowers should be dedicated to guests. When Yao people propose a toast to their guests, the girls usually raise their glasses to Mei Qi to show their respect for the guests. Some people and venerable old people propose a toast to their guests, which is regarded as a big gift.
In Dashanyao, people like to entertain guests with camellia oleifera. When there are guests, it is customary to propose a toast to three bowls. As the saying goes, "one bowl is sparse, two bowls are combined, and three bowls are true." Old Yao people also like to drink tea, so tea is also a hospitality drink. When entertaining guests, chicken, meat and salt should be placed in a bowl. Regardless of the host and guest, they should be eaten in turn and must not be confused. Every time a guest and an old man finish a bowl of rice, it is a woman who loads the rice.
Salt plays a special role in Yao people's dietary customs. Yao area does not produce salt, but it cannot be short of salt. Salt is a great gift for Yao people to ask Taoist priests and their closest relatives, commonly known as "salt letter". Whoever receives the "salt letter" has to stay and keep the appointment on time, no matter how important it is.
In the past, the Yao people who worshipped Wang Pan were generally forbidden to eat dog meat. Yao people who worship "Miruotuo" did not eat mother pork and eagle meat in the past. Yao people in Chenxi County, southwest Hunan Province fast cucumbers before the fifth day of the seventh lunar month. Most Yao people don't eat cat meat and snake meat. In some places, women do not eat lard in the first few days after delivery.
Many young Yao men and women choose the right person by "playing songs". Once men and women hit it off, their parents can take pork and wine as gifts through matchmakers. When a wedding is held, there will be a grand banquet. According to the traditional custom, the elders in the village must be invited to the wedding banquet, and the bride and groom should drink a glass of wine.