unique folk customs:

1. Miao festivals

Miao traditional festivals include Miao Year, April 8th, Dragon Boat Festival, Eating New Year Festival, Catch Autumn Festival, etc., among which the Miao Year is the most grand. The Year of Miao is equivalent to the Spring Festival of Han nationality, which is usually held after autumn. On the morning of the festival, people put the prepared delicious food on the stove near the fire pit to worship their ancestors, and put wine on the nose of cattle to show their appreciation for their hard work for a year. Dressed-up young men and women danced in the hall.

Year of Miao

The Year of Miao is a traditional festival for Miao people in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province and Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to celebrate the bumper harvest and pray for good weather in the coming year. Generally, after the harvest season, some are held on the 1th day of October in the lunar calendar, and some are held on the 9th, 1th and November of the lunar calendar on the day of the rabbit or the ugly day. It is equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han nationality.

On the morning of the festival, the younger generation will prepare delicious food and reverently put it on the stove beside the fireplace to worship their ancestors. Put some wine on the cow's nose as a reward for its hard work for a year. The girls are dressed in batik underwear or long and short pleated skirts with bright colors and different styles, embroidered edges or patterns, and they are wearing eye-catching earrings, hand-measuring cymbals and other silver ornaments, and they dance with handsome boys (men play lusheng and women dance in an arc). At night, the sound of big bronze drums spread throughout the village. The young men in the outer villages came to the "Youfang" field near the village with lanterns blowing (also known as "sitting on the sister", "sitting on the village" and "stepping on the moon", that is, the social love activities of young men and women), and the villages and villages sang songs constantly. Through the duet, men and women who love each other will be connected by the thing of love-the brocade ribbon embroidered with Yuanyang.

If the Year of Miao meets the Year of Eating Drums and Stories, it means "big family" more ceremoniously. "Drums and Stories" is an ancestor worship ceremony held by family members, which is held once every few years, ranging from 78 to 1 years. Before the "drum hiding", the "drum hiding" cattle (the big bull that has been fed to the drum hiding god for three years) are lined up to fight. At that time, the "drum hidden head" recommended by everyone will preside over the ceremony, killing cows to worship ancestors and killing chickens and ducks. Relatives of the whole drum will come to participate, and the activity will last for more than ten days.

Eating New Festival

is also called "Xinhe Festival". "Eating New" is one of the Miao festivals living in the middle and upper reaches of Qingshui River and Duliujiang River. There is no uniform date. According to the custom, in the harvest season, find a field where rice grows best, and everyone will celebrate "Eating New Festival" here.

According to legend, in ancient times, there was no millet in the world, only the millet in charge of Lei Gong was state-owned, so people had to hunt for a living. In order to get the seeds of millet, the ancestors of Miao nationality told Lao to take 9,999 kinds of rare birds and animals to the millet country for nine buckets, nine liters and nine bowls of seeds of millet, and put them in the warehouse for sowing in the spring of next year. But one night, Awuyou, with a long arm, grabbed the horizon with his hand, stepped on a stone by the light of the sky lantern, and accidentally knocked over the sky lantern and just fell to the top of the wooden barn. As a result, there was a fire, and the fire grew bigger and bigger. The grain seed cried in the warehouse, and finally flew to the sky in smoke and ran back to the home. Gao Lao went to Gao Hu and asked him to persuade Gu Zhong to return, but Gao Hu insisted that Gu Zhong did not go to heaven. No way, Gao Lao discussed with Gao Hu and exchanged 9,999 kinds of rare birds and animals for grain seeds. His mouth was worn out with nine layers of skin, and his voice said that he had dried up nine jars of water, but he refused to accept it. After nine days of thinking about kuya, I finally came up with a plan: when the millet is ripe, send a dog to the rice field to roll a few times, so that the millet can be brought back on the Mao Mao. On the morning of July 13th in the ancient calendar, the dog was about to set off, and told him to take the seeds with a stalk five feet high and ears five feet long. However, because the dog was in a hurry, when he reached the south gate, he accidentally tripped and wrote down the confession. As a result, he ran to a rice field that was only five inches long, and quickly rolled back. The defendant huhu saw through the plan. When the dog reached the overpass, huhu sent ninety-nine sturdy warriors to guard the bridge. They knocked the dog into the Tianhe River. They thought that the Tianhe River was wide and deep, and the dog had only a dead end. However, they never expected that after the dog fell into the Tianhe River, it quickly put its tail high above the water, and it took a lot of effort to swim across the Tianhe River and came back with nine grains on its tail. I told Lao that I had a seed, so I plowed the field and withdrew the seed. On June 6th in the ancient calendar, a string of ears of grain like a dog's tail was pulled out from the seedling tip, and a month later, the ears of grain in Jin Shanshan matured. On July 13th in the ancient calendar, it was the day when the grain was planted for one year. On this day, I picked nine liters of millet and cooked a large pot of delicious white rice. He first scooped up three bowls for the dog to eat, and then tasted them himself. The remaining seeds are sown every year, which makes people eat white rice. In order to remember the date of picking up grain seeds, July 13 was designated as the new festival, which was handed down from generation to generation.

On the festival day, every family cooks in Xingu. At the dawn, people bring new rice, wine, chicken, duck, fish and meat to the field. After offering sacrifices to their ancestors, the banquet begins. Everyone forms a circle, and each person raises his glass to the next person's lips. At the old man's command, everyone cheers three times in succession, and then they respect each other and drink it off. Suddenly, laughter echoed in the field, and traditional cultural and sports activities such as singing, stepping on the pond and dancing the lusheng began until dusk.

April 8th

The eighth day of the fourth lunar month is a traditional festival for the Miao people near Guiyang, Guizhou Province to commemorate the ancient hero "Yanu". According to legend, long ago, the Miao people rested and lived a happy, contented and well-fed life in the rich Ge Sang (now near Guiyang). In order to resist the attack of the rulers' officers and soldiers, the resourceful leader "Yanu" led the people to fight bravely and dealt a heavy blow to the invaders, but he was unfortunately sacrificed on the eighth day of April and was buried in "Jiabaxu" (near the fountain in Guiyang today). In order to commemorate the heroic spirit of Yanu, so far, on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, Miao people in festive costumes have gathered from all directions to gather at the fountain in Guiyang.

At that time, the red flag will be displayed next to the fountain, and people will flood. blowing sheng will play flute, love songs, play lions, play dragon lanterns, play ball games and compete in competitions. The boy's Lusheng competition is interesting. They play Lusheng while doing fast rotation, short step, handstand and other skills. At night, Guiyang city and the fountain area are brightly lit, just like daytime, singing and dancing everywhere, and there is a happy scene.

The activities on April 8th are also popular among Miao people in Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou.

Lusheng Festival in Zhouxi

Miao people who live in Zhouxi, Kaili. Lusheng Festival is celebrated on the 16th to 2th day of the first lunar month. Lushengtang is located on the river sand dam beside the well bank of Zhouxi. In the early morning of the 16th day of the first month, several elderly people who presided over Lusheng Hall came to Jingkan with Lusheng and read the inscription, saying, "Picking the Moon in blowing sheng is an entertainment activity that has been rumored by Miao people for thousands of years. On the first month of the New Year, all localities follow suit, celebrating the New Year with entertainment, and it is even more my Miao people's free marriage ceremony ... "After reading it, I poured out the rice wine in the gourd, sprayed several mouthfuls of wine on the tablet stone and in the center of Lusheng Hall, and everyone took another sip, blowing the first Luzhu Qu; At this time, girls and boys wearing silver jewelry and colorful holiday costumes danced to the sweet tunes. The boys asked the right person for the ribbon, and the girls tied the ribbon on the reed pipe of the right guy. Three days passed, and the young men and women found their own partners. At this time, the old man who presided over Lushengtang still carried rice wine on his back and sprayed rice wine on the stele and Lushengtang. Put a straw marker in the middle of the hall. Since then, Lusheng has been hung high until the grain is returned to the warehouse, and the "Year of Miao" in the lunar calendar can be taken down and blown straight to Lusheng Festival. On the fourth day, it's spring, and young couples talk and sing freely, blend their feelings and give each other tokens.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is from May 24 to 27 of the lunar calendar every year. At this time, thousands of people dress up and gather at the riverside to participate in the sacrifice activities before the dragon boat leaves. At the beginning of the competition, dozens of dragon boats broke through the waves, gongs and drums and salutes on both sides of the strait rang, and the audience shouted earth-shattering. On the shore, there are also activities such as singing and dancing Lusheng. At night, young men and women get together to sing songs and pour out their true feelings.

Fishing Festival

Fishing Festival is a Miao festival on both sides of Dumu River and Nanming River in central Guizhou. Dumu River originates from Yunwu Mountain, flows northward in Guizhou to join Nanming River at the junction of Yuri and Fulai, and then flows northward into Wujiang River. This festival was originally a rain festival where Miao people prayed for rain by the river when water was needed for sowing and transplanting, but it gradually evolved into a fishing festival after a long time.

The festival period varies from place to place. From March to June, it is decided by the prestigious "fishermen" who are good at fishing in each village. At that time, young and strong men will go to the mountains to collect leaves for "making medicine" and fish in the river, while women will prepare bacon, sausages, glutinous rice and wine at home. At noon, the whole family, old and young, dressed in costumes, took wine and meat to the river for dinner. After eating, the man blew the lusheng. Women sing folk songs and have fun. When the sun goes down, I will take fresh fish home, hold a banquet for my relatives and friends or give them fish as a gift.

letter-eating festival

letter-eating festival is a festival for Miao people in Baozhai area, Hejiang County, Guizhou Province, which lasts for four days and falls on the "letter" (e) day in June of the lunar calendar every year (calculated according to the calendar year). At that time, Miao girls who have married far away from home will do their best to dress up, wear flowery dresses and silver ornaments, and "carry" holiday gifts and go home to visit their parents and villagers. During the festival, the whole village is jubilant, drums and music are ringing, reeds are blowing and dancing, and the joy of the festival is everywhere. At the foot of Baijiya Mountain and on the banks of Wengya River, people are buzzing. Cheers were heard one after another in the fields of bullfighting, sparrow fighting, Lusheng jumping, tug-of-war and playing ball games. Young men and women who love each other are invited to the Woods, singing folk songs by the stream and pouring out their love to each other.

Huashan Festival

Huashan Festival, also known as "stepping on Huashan", "playing Huashan" or. "Treading on the Mountain", also known as "jumping on the field" or "peach blossom", is a grand festival for Miao people in western and central Guizhou Province, southeastern Yunnan Province and southern Sichuan Province. The dates are different, some in the first month of the lunar calendar, some in May, June and late August. Before the festival, several Miao villages jointly formed a three-person leading group of Huashan Club, and the flower farm was re-elected for three years, seven years and twelve years, ranging from a flat land with abundant feng shui.

At that time, we will put on a "flower field" in festive costumes, with lanterns hanging high and colorful flags flying. The flower pole stands tall. Men dressed in double-breasted jackets and long blue cloth wrapped around their heads and women dressed in festive costumes and elaborate grooming gathered in the venue from all directions, playing lusheng, whistling, knocking on bronze drums, singing and dancing. Lusheng dance runs through the flower show, and the song competition is the main event of the flower show, and the pole climbing competition is the most eye-catching Lion dance, martial arts competition, bullfighting and horse racing activities vary from place to place or both. Lusheng dance gives people a relaxed and lively feeling. Girls in bright clothes dance to the melody of the young man Lusheng. Some men line up and dance while blowing. Girls dance around Lusheng team in circles. Have a plenty of young man blowing sheng in the front, the girl arm-in-arm longitudinal dance in the back, or hundreds of people dance with the music, crowing, it's refreshing. The lion dance is interesting. A pig's head (or a chicken) and two bottles of wine are hung at the top of the standing flower pole. After the lion dance, the competition climbs the flower cup. The flower cup is made of a peeled pine tree, which is tall, smooth and thin. It is very difficult to win, and people often use the ladder to pick up the winning products. The flower pole climbing performance has the most national characteristics. The performer danced around the pole while blowing sheng. A harrier turns over to get on the pole, head down, legs crossed tightly around the pole and hangs upside down, playing lusheng, and a carp stands upright, with its body inverted by 18 degrees, and repeatedly climbs to the top of the pole for appearance. The performer hung upside down with his feet on the flower pole. Blowing the lusheng down, a few feet from the ground, a somersault, light and comfortable, better than the gymnast's skills, won the applause of the audience. The performance of women's hemp threading competition is very interesting, and the quality and speed of rubbing hemp rope and threading the needle are discussed.

The crystallization of hard work and wisdom brings them festive joy. Huashan will be an opportunity for young men and women to socialize, and the girls they love will be gathered together by the flower umbrella opened by the young man, snuggling up to each other and pouring out their hearts. Huashan will be filled with the atmosphere of the program everywhere, full of sincere friendship and pure love.

Cutting Mars Festival

A traditional Miao festival. It is popular in Guanling area of Guizhou. The content of the festival is mainly to stipulate rural rules. According to different surnames, the time of festivals is different. Roughly July, August and September 27th. Once a year, according to the clan's households, it takes turns to be on duty, and the duty year is responsible for convening everyone to discuss the township regulations and related major events. Then the duty year family should prepare wine to kill the chicken, invite everyone to drink "the wine that suits the heart", and propose a toast to the next duty year. In turn, it takes turns to hold a gathering and drink "knowing wine" at whose house it is worth the New Year.

Hakka year

The Hakka year of Miao nationality is the Spring Festival. On the 3 th night of the lunar calendar, families get together and no outsiders are allowed to disturb them. They set off firecrackers with a half-closed door to show that people are not allowed in at this time. Continue to set off firecrackers in the early morning of the first day, respect ancestors and eliminate evil. People use their hands to fence cattle and stop sheep, and say, "Drive cattle and sheep ..." to show the prosperity of six animals, and then eat New Year's dinner. On the second day of the second year, Miao family members dressed in costumes went from village to village to congratulate each other on the festival. The hospitable host will propose three toasts to the guests. Every family is filled with festive joy. Young men and women gather on the lawn beside the village, playing lusheng, yueqin, dancing and singing. In some places, activities such as "stepping on the mountain of flowers" and "merging cattle" will be held.

Bridge Hanging Festival

The traditional festival of Zhaitou, Miao Township, Sansui County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, is also called "February 2". According to legend, Zhaitou people originally lived in Yewu Mountain. Because of the fertile land in Zhaitou, all Zhaitou people moved into Zhaitou together. On the day of moving, the dragon will follow, but the Shiping River blocked the dragon's way, so the Guluo (elders) in the village discussed it and decided to build a bridge to take the dragon, because the dragon symbolizes good luck and happiness. All the twelve houses in the village have to be connected, so this bridge has built twelve piers. When the bridge was repaired, it was named "Solitaire Bridge". The bridge was built on the second day of the second lunar month. In order to commemorate this day, a pig was carried in each of the twelve rooms of Miao family in Zhaitou every year and slaughtered on the bridge.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival, also called "Dragon Boat Festival" in some places, is a traditional festival of Miao people in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Songtao Miao Autonomous County and Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province, which is generally held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. At that time, on the banks of Qingshui River, colorful flags will be dancing, people will be like the sea, songs will be like the tide, and dozens of newly decorated green, red and yellow dragon boats will be lined up and moored at the starting line for competing. The flags of "good weather" and "good harvest" rattled in the wind. Thirty or forty athletes on each boat, dressed in double-breasted jackets, embroidered belts around their waists, Yin Dan Shi Lin cloth pants and exquisite hats, were all full of energy and concentrated on standby. The respected drummer and the handsome boy beat drums and shouted, commanding the dragon boat to March on the wide river. The dragon boat seemed to fly an arrow, and the cheers and cheers on both sides of the strait resounded through the sky. At the end of the competition, young men and women danced with the music of lusheng, playing na, bamboo flute, mang tube, yueqin and konoha. Horse racing, bullfighting, drumming and "traveling" activities are held together, which adds to the rich atmosphere of the festival. During the festival, the married aunt went back to visit her family with chickens, ducks and brown cakes.

Sister Festival

A traditional Miao festival. It is popular in Miao areas in southeastern Guizhou Province. Every spring, the Miao women there have a "sister festival" and a "sister meal". On the morning of the festival, the girls in the stockade go to the fields to catch fish and prepare a "sister meal". No matter which field they go fishing in, they will be welcomed. After eating the "sister meal", the women each brought colorful glutinous rice prepared in advance and went to the Youfang field to find a young man to sing a song. If the young man wants to eat glutinous rice, he must win the duet. Divide right