The Miao people have their own language, which belongs to the Miao branch of the Miao-Yao language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Originally there was no ethnic script, but a Latinized pinyin script was created in the late 1950s. Most people today speak Chinese.
The Miao people used to believe in animism, worship nature, and worship their ancestors. "Drum Sacrifice Festival" is the largest sacrificial activity among the Miao people. Generally, there is a small sacrifice every seven years and a big sacrifice every thirteen years. It is held on Yihai day from October to November of the lunar calendar. At that time, a Guzi ox will be killed, the Lusheng dance will be performed, and the ancestors will be paid homage to. Invite relatives and friends to gather together during meals in order to enhance feelings and family harmony. The Miao people have a long history of music and dance, and the popular Lusheng dance is highly skilled. The Miao people's arts and crafts such as cross-stitching, embroidery, brocade, batik, and jewelry making are magnificent and colorful and enjoy a high reputation in the world. The Miao people have many festivals, and the more solemn ones include the "Miao Year", "April Eighth", and the "Dragon Boat" Festival.
The Miao people in most areas have rice as their staple food for three meals a day. Fried food is the most common fried food. If you add some fresh meat and sauerkraut as filling, the taste will be more delicious.
Most of the meat comes from livestock and poultry breeding. The Miao people in Sichuan, Yunnan and other places like to eat dog meat. There is a saying that "the dogs of the Miao people are the wine of the Yi people". In addition to animal oil, the edible oils of the Miao family are mostly camellia oil and vegetable oil.
The Miao people attach great importance to etiquette. When guests come to visit, they will kill chickens and ducks to entertain them warmly. If they are distinguished guests from afar, the Miao people are accustomed to treating the guests to drink horn wine first. When eating chicken, the chicken head should be given to the elder among the guests, and the chicken legs should be given to the youngest guest. In some places, there is also the custom of dividing chicken hearts, that is, the eldest host in the family uses chopsticks to give the chicken or duck hearts to the guests, but the guests cannot eat them themselves and must divide the chicken hearts equally among the elderly people present. If the guest is a light drinker and does not like to eat fat meat, it can explain the situation. If the host does not force the meal, but does not eat and drink enough, it will be regarded as looking down on the host. The Miao people value true feelings and are very enthusiastic, and most avoid glitz and hypocrisy. The host should not take the first step when meeting a guest on the road or walk in front; use honorifics in conversation; wear festive clothes when welcoming guests; serve wine outside the village to greet distinguished guests; when guests arrive at the door, the host should call the door and inform them The hostess at home should open the door with a song to welcome guests; the hostess should not climb up the stairs in front of guests. Miao taboos
Maternity taboos: Women giving birth should avoid outsiders entering the house. Those who accidentally enter must wash their feet and drink a bowl of cold water when going out to prevent the mother's milk from being "stepped dry". Pregnant women should avoid eating sow beef, sow pork, rooster meat, small fish, vegetables, peppers, etc. In some Miao areas, pregnant women are prohibited from meeting pregnant women or going to the homes of other mothers, otherwise they are thought to prolong the period of delivery.
Farming taboos: Miao people are forbidden to see outsiders when they return from delivering manure to the fields for the first time every year. If they meet them, they are forbidden to say hello. When planting seedlings, if you see fish in the seedling field, avoid talking about fish, otherwise the fish will eat the seedling roots. In some villages, small ears of millet are left unharvested when harvesting millet. If children ask about it, avoid saying "no more" and say "they haven't grown up yet", otherwise the millet will refuse to grow anymore due to sadness in the future. It is taboo to mention rats in the fields, lest they hear that they come to destroy the crops, they can only be referred to as "their father and son". Avoid Wu Day. After the beginning of spring in the first month, avoid moving earth and carrying water on Wu Day.
Funeral taboos: In some Miao areas, it is forbidden for men to die during the day and for women to die at night. It is believed that the time is wrong and the deceased must be accompanied by a deceased person of the opposite sex. If the deceased was unwell, the bereaved family would often ask a wizard to recite the incantation "Change", and at the same time make a palm-sized wooden coffin to bury the deceased together, as a sign of companionship. It is forbidden to put iron, copper and other non-silver metals, cotton and things coated with tung oil in the coffin. It is believed that if the deceased cannot buy water on the way back to the East, the iron and copper will also torture the deceased. In some Miao areas, people can work on the day of death in the village, but they are prohibited from going to the fields. On this day, people in the same village are not allowed to carry firewood home, otherwise they will be in trouble. During the coffin period, family members are not allowed to eat vegetables. Within one month after the burial, nothing in the home may be sold or borrowed.
Taboos of living customs: In some Miao areas, it is forbidden to wash drinking pots, rice bags, and rice bowls at any time. They can only wash them when eating new rice, as a sign of getting rid of the old rice and welcoming the new rice. Washing at any time will wash away the wealth of the family, and there will not be enough food to eat. When drinking raw water on the mountain, avoid drinking it directly. You must first put a grass mark on it to show that you will kill the sick and ghosts. Avoid touching other people's clothes left on the roadside to avoid spreading leprosy. It is forbidden for children to play with small bows and arrows at home, for fear of hitting their ancestors. Avoid crossing the child's head, otherwise the child will not grow taller. It is forbidden for women to sit on the same bench as their elders.
Guests should not call the host "Miaozi", they prefer to call themselves "Meng"; it is forbidden to kill dogs, beat dogs, and eat dog meat; you cannot sit on the place where the ancestors of the Miao family are worshiped, and you cannot use your feet on the tripod on the fire kang You are not allowed to step on the grass; you are not allowed to whistle at home or at night; you are not allowed to shoot the ashes and eat the roasted glutinous rice rakes; you are not allowed to use straps to tie up seedlings and family members when playing; do not enter the house when there are straw hats or branches hanging on the door or during weddings and funerals; when you meet newlyweds on the road, Don't go through the middle etc.
Glutinous rice is also an indispensable food in the marriage process of young men and women. The Miao people in Chengbu, Hunan, give each other glutinous rice cakes with pictures of mandarin ducks as tokens. During a wedding, the bride and groom drink cups of wine, and the officiant invites the bride and groom to eat glutinous rice cakes with pictures of dragons, phoenixes and dolls.