The traditional festivals of Miao nationality include Miao Year, April 8th, Dragon Boat Festival, Eating Year Festival and Autumn Festival. Among them, the year of Miao is the most grand. Miao year 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 noses of cows to show their gratitude for their hard work for a year. Dressed young men and women are dancing in the hall.
Hmong
Miao Year 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 tenth day of October in the lunar calendar, and some are held on the ninth day, tenth day, ninth day of November, rabbit day or ugly day in the lunar calendar. 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 put it on the stove beside the fireplace to worship their ancestors. Put some wine on the nose of the cow as a reward for a year's hard work. The girls are dressed in batik underwear or long and short pleated skirts with bright colors and different styles, and wearing eye-catching earrings, cymbals and other silver ornaments, dancing with handsome boys (men play lusheng, women dance in an arc). At night, the sound of big bronze drums spread throughout the village. Young men from other villages came to the "oil mill" near the village with lanterns (also called "sitting elder sister", "sitting in the village" and "stepping on the moon", that is, the social love activities of young men and women), and the village sang constantly. Through the duet, the men and women who love each other will be connected by the brocade ribbon embroidered with mandarin ducks.
If the year of Miao meets the year of "eating drums and hiding", it will be a more solemn expression of "big family" "Drum Tibetan" is a ancestral worship ceremony held by family members, which is held every few years, ranging from 78 years to 10 years. Before the "drum-hiding", the "drum-hiding" cows (the big cows who have been feeding the drum-hiding gods for three years) lined up to fight. At that time, the "drum hidden head" recommended by everyone will preside over the ceremony, killing cattle to worship ancestors and killing chickens and ducks. All relatives of the drum will come to participate, and the activity will last for more than ten days.
Eating New Year's Day
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 the "Eating New Festival" here. According to legend, in ancient times, there was no millet in the world, only the millet in charge of the heaven (Leigong) was state-owned, so people had to hunt for a living. In order to get the seeds of millet, Miao ancestors told Lao to take nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine species of rare birds and animals to Suguo to get nine bowls of millet seeds with nine buckets and nine liters, and put them in the warehouse for sowing in the next spring. But one night, Ah Wu had a long arm, grabbed the horizon with his hand, stepped on a stone by the light of the sky lamp, and accidentally knocked it over, just falling to the top of the wooden barn. As a result, a fire broke out, and the fire was getting bigger and bigger. The seed cried in the warehouse, and finally flew into the sky in the smoke and ran home. Gao Lao went to Gao Hu and asked him to persuade Gu Zhong to go back, but Gao Hu insisted that Gu Zhong didn't go to heaven. No way, Gao Lao discussed with Gao Hu to exchange 9999 kinds of rare birds and animals for food seeds. His mouth was worn out with nine layers of skin, and his voice said that he had dried nine jars of water, but he refused. After nine days' hard thinking, I finally came up with a plan: when Xiaomi is ripe, send a dog to roll around in the rice field, so that Xiaomi can be brought back to Mao Mao. On the morning of July 13th in the ancient Chinese calendar, the dog was going to set out, and he was told to bring seeds with stalks five feet high and ears five feet long. But because the dog was in a hurry, when he got to the south gate, he accidentally tripped and wrote a confession. As a result, I ran to a rice field only five inches long and soon rolled back. The defendant Hu Hu saw through the plan. When the dog reached the overpass, HuHu sent ninety-nine strong warriors to guard the bridge. They crashed the dog into the Tianhe River. They thought that the Tianhe River was wide and deep, and the dog had to die. However, they never expected that after the dog fell into the Tianhe River, it quickly held its tail high on the water and swam across the Tianhe River with great efforts. When it came back, it still had nine grains on its tail. I told the old man that I had a seed, so I plowed the field and took it out. On June 6th in the ancient calendar, a string of ears of grain like a dog's tail were pulled out from the seedling tips, and a month later, the ears of grain in Jin Shanshan were ripe. July 13 in the ancient calendar is a day to plant food for one year. On this day, I picked nine liters of millet and cooked a large pot of delicious white rice. He first scooped three bowls for the dog to eat, and then tasted them himself. The remaining seeds are sown every year to make people eat white rice. In order to remember the date of picking grain seeds, July 13 was designated as a new festival and passed down from generation to generation. On the festival day, every family will cook in the new valley. At dawn, people bring new rice, wine, chickens, ducks, fish and meat to the fields. After the ancestors were sacrificed, the banquet began. Everyone forms a circle, and everyone raises the glass to the next person's mouth. At the old man's command, everyone cheered three times in succession, and then drank a toast to each other. Suddenly, laughter echoed in the fields, and traditional cultural and sports activities such as singing, stepping on the pond and dancing the lusheng began and continued until dusk.
April 8(th)
The eighth day of the fourth lunar month is a traditional festival for Miao people near Guiyang, Guizhou Province to commemorate the ancient hero "Yanu". According to legend, a long time ago, the Miao people in Ge Sang (now near Guiyang) lived a happy, satisfied and carefree life. The resourceful leader "Yanu" led the people to fight bravely and dealt a heavy blow to the invaders in order to resist the attack of the rulers' officers and soldiers, but he died unfortunately on the eighth day of April and was buried in "Jiajiawei" (now near Guiyang fountain). To commemorate the heroic spirit of the Yanu people, so far, on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, Miao people dressed in festive costumes have gathered in front of the fountain in Guiyang from all directions.
At that time, the red flag fluttered by the fountain and the crowd flocked. Blowing sheng plays the flute, sings, plays lions, plays dragon lanterns, plays ball games and competitions. The Lusheng competition for boys is interesting. While playing the lusheng, they do techniques such as fast rotation, small steps and handstand. At night, Guiyang city and fountain area are brightly lit, just like daytime, singing and dancing everywhere, which is a happy scene.
The activity on April 8 is also very popular among Miao people in Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou.
Zhou Xi Lusheng Festival
Miao people living in Zhou Xi, Kaili. Lusheng Festival is from the 16th to 20th day of the first lunar month. Lushengtang is located on the river sand dam near Zhouxi well. In the early morning of the 16th day of the first month, several old people who presided over Lusheng Hall came to Jingkan with Lusheng, and read an inscription saying, "Picking the Moon in blowing sheng is an entertainment activity spread by Miao people for thousands of years. On the first day of the first month, all localities followed suit and celebrated the New Year with entertainment, which was the free wedding ceremony of the Miao people ... "After reading it, I poured out the rice wine in the gourd, sprayed a few mouthfuls of wine on the stele and in the middle of Lusheng Hall, and everyone took another sip and blew the first" Luzhu Qu "; At this time, girls and boys wearing silver jewelry and colorful holiday costumes danced with sweet tunes. Boys ask for ribbons from the right people, and girls tie ribbons on the reeds of the right boys. Three days passed, and the young man and woman found their partners. At this time, the old man who presided over Lushengtang still carried rice wine and sprayed rice wine on the stone tablet and Lushengtang. Put a straw sign in the middle of the hall. Since then, the Lusheng has been hung high until the grain is returned to the warehouse, and the "Miao Year" of the lunar calendar can be taken down and the Lusheng Festival can be played directly. On the fourth day, spring came, and young couples chatted and sang freely, blended their feelings and gave each other tokens.
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is from May 24th to 27th of the lunar calendar every year. At this time, thousands of people gathered in costumes by the river to participate in the sacrificial activities before the dragon boat set off. At the beginning of the competition, dozens of dragon boats broke through the waves, gongs and drums on both sides of the strait roared, salutes rang, and the audience shouted earth-shattering. On the shore, there are activities such as singing and dancing Lusheng. In the evening, young men and women get together to sing and pour out their true feelings.
Fishing festival
Fishing Festival is a Miao festival on both sides of Tumu and Nanming River in central Guizhou. Du Mu originated in Wuyunshan, flowed northward into Nanming River in Guizhou, joined at the junction of Yuri and Fulai, and then flowed northward into Wujiang River. This festival was originally a rain festival where Miao people prayed for rain by the river when they needed water 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 pick leaves for "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. The women sang folk songs and had a good time. When the sun goes down, I will take fresh fish home, hold a party for my relatives and friends or give them fish as gifts.
Letter eating festival
The letter-eating Festival is a festival for Miao people in Baozhai, Hejiang County, Guizhou Province. It lasts for four days, and the time is on the "letter" (e) day in June of the lunar calendar (calculated by calendar year). At that time, Miao girls who have married far away will try their best to dress up, put on flowered skirts and silver ornaments, and "carry" holiday gifts to visit their parents and villagers. During the festival, the whole village was jubilant, drums and music were ringing, reeds were dancing and everywhere was filled with festive joy. At the foot of Baijiya Mountain, on the banks of Wengya River, people are buzzing. Cheers come and go in the bullfighting, sparrows, lusheng, tug-of-war and ball games. Young men and women who love each other are invited to the Woods to sing folk songs by the stream and pour out their love to each other.
Huashan Festival
Huashan Festival, also known as "stepping on Huashan", "beating Huashan" or. "Treading on the Mountain", also known as "jumping over the fields" 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 are in the first month of the lunar calendar, and some are in late May, June and August. Before the festival, several Miao villages jointly formed a three-person leading group of Huashan Club, and the flower field was re-elected for three years, seven years and twelve years, from a flat land with abundant geomantic omen.
At that time, put on the "flower field" in festive costumes, hang lanterns high and fly colorful flags. The style stands tall. Men wearing double-breasted jackets and long blue cloth on their heads and women dressed in festive costumes gathered from all directions to play lusheng, whistle, knock on bronze drums, sing and dance. Lusheng dance runs through the flower show from beginning to end, and the song contest is the highlight of the flower show, while the pole climbing competition is the most eye-catching lion dance, martial arts competition, bullfighting and horse racing. Lusheng dance gives people a relaxed and lively feeling. The girls in bright clothes danced to the melody of the young man Lusheng. Some men dance in line while blowing. Girls dance in circles around the Lusheng team. Have a plenty of young men in front of blowing sheng, girls holding hands behind the vertical dance, or hundreds of people dancing to the music, crowing, refreshing. Lion dancing is very interesting. A pig's head (or a chicken) and two bottles of wine are hanging on the top of the standing flower pole. After the lion dance, the competition climbs the flower cup. The flower cup is made of peeled pine trees, tall, smooth and thin. Winning the prize is very difficult, and people often use ladders to get 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 on the pole, head down, legs crossed tightly around the pole upside down, and plays the lusheng. A carp stands upright, and its body turns over 180 degrees, and climbs to the top of the pole repeatedly for a pose. 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, surpassed the skills of gymnasts and won applause from the audience. The performance of women's hemp rope competition is very interesting. The quality and speed of rubbing hemp rope and threading needles are discussed. The crystallization of hard work and wisdom brought them the joy of the festival. Huashan Mountain will be an opportunity for young men and women to socialize. The girls they love will gather together with the umbrellas opened by young men, snuggle up to each other and pour out their hearts. Huashan will be filled with the atmosphere of programs everywhere, full of sincere friendship and pure love.
Mars cutting festival
Traditional Miao festivals. Popular in Guanling area of Guizhou. The content of the festival is mainly to stipulate village rules and regulations. According to different surnames, the time of festivals is different. About July, August, September 27th. Once a year, according to the clan households take turns to be on duty, and the duty year is responsible for convening everyone to discuss the rural rules and regulations and related major events. Then the family members on duty should prepare wine to kill chickens, invite everyone to drink "wine that suits their heart" and propose a toast for the next duty year. On the other hand, the party will be held in turn, and it is worthwhile to drink "knowing wine" at whose house.
Hakka year
The Hakka year of Miao nationality is Spring Festival. On Lunar New Year's Eve, the whole family gets together and no outsiders are allowed to disturb them. They set off firecrackers with the door half closed to show that no one can enter at this time. Continue to set off firecrackers in the early morning of the first day to worship the ancestors to eliminate disasters. People stop cattle and sheep with their hands, saying, "Drive cattle and sheep ..." to show the prosperity of six animals, and then eat New Year's Eve. On the second day of the following year, Miao family members dressed in costumes went from one village to another to celebrate the festival. The hospitable host will toast the guests three times. Every family is full of festive joy. Young men and women gathered on the lawn next to the village, playing Lusheng and Qin Yue, singing and dancing. In some places, activities such as "stepping on the mountain of flowers" and "merging cattle" will be held.
Suspension bridge section
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 Wu Ye. Because the land in Zhaitou is fertile, 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 ancient Luo (the elder) in the village discussed it and decided to build a bridge to take the dragon away, because the dragon symbolizes auspiciousness and happiness. Twelve houses in the village have to be connected, so this bridge has twelve piers. After the bridge was repaired, it was named "Solitaire Bridge". This bridge was built on the second day of the second lunar month. To commemorate this day, the Miao family in Zhaitou carries a pig in each of the twelve rooms every year and slaughters it 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, colorful flags will fly along the Qingshui River, and there will be a sea of people and songs. Dozens of newly decorated dragon boats in green, red and Huang San will be lined up and moored at the starting line to compete. The flags of "Good Weather" and "Good Harvest" creaked in the wind. Thirty or forty athletes on each ship, dressed in double-breasted jackets, embroidered belts around their waists, silver-lined trousers and exquisite hats, are all full of energy and concentrate on standby. Respected drummers and handsome guys beat drums and shouted, directing the dragon boat to March on the wide river. The dragon boat is like an arrow leaving the string, and the cheers and cheers on both sides resounded through the sky. At the end of the competition, young men and women danced to the music of Lusheng, playing na, bamboo flute, mang tube and konoha. Horse racing, bullfighting, drumming and "traveling" activities are held together, adding to the rich atmosphere of the festival. During the Chinese New Year, the married aunt went back to visit relatives with chickens, ducks and brown cakes.
Sisterhood day
Traditional Miao festivals. Popular in Miao areas in southeastern Guizhou Province. Every spring, Miao women there hold "Sister Festival" and "Sister Meal". On the morning of the festival, the girls in the stockade will go to the fields to catch fish and prepare a "sister meal". No matter where they go fishing, they will be welcomed. After eating the "sister meal", the women each took colorful glutinous rice prepared in advance and went to the oil mill to find a young man to sing a song. If a young man wants to eat glutinous rice, he must win a duet. Besides singing, women can participate in all kinds of entertainment activities at will. Married girls will also go back to their parents' homes for Sister's Day.
Mountain climbing festival
Miao mountaineering festival, also known as "climbing festival", has been formed for thousands of years. Every year, the "Horse Day" in late March of the lunar calendar (the date was recorded by the Chinese zodiac in ancient times) is held on March 19th of the lunar calendar. At that time, the Miao people living in Kaili in southeastern Guizhou will gather in Luxiang, where they will sing and shoot birds. Young men and women sang songs and climbed to the top of the mountain along the winding mountain road. All the way to Luge, flying songs, love songs, wine songs and ancient songs of Miao people are all over the hillside. The first person to reach the top of the mountain is called a "mountaineering hero" and is respected by everyone. Get the favor of girls. According to legend, the Xianglushan Mountaineering Festival is to commemorate the handsome Miao youth Abu and the jade emperor's youngest daughter Abei. A Bei, the youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor, yearned for a free life on earth, flew down the mountain, married A Bei, who was smart, capable, honest and kind, and had three daughters. One day at dawn, when the whole family was happy, suddenly the rooster crowed for the first time. The Jade Emperor stipulates that a rooster crows three times a day, which is a pilgrimage. If A Bei can't arrive in time, there will be a catastrophe. Anxious Abe climbed six floors from the top of the incense burner with one foot when he flew into the sky at the top of the mountain. Without the top of the incense burner, A-be could no longer go down to earth, and the Jade Emperor could not enjoy the human incense because there was no top of the incense burner, so he punished A-be and turned it into a incense burner. In order to commemorate the loyal love between Abei and Abu Bu, the Miao people have an annual climbing festival on the incense burner day near Abu Bu.
Killing fish festival
Miao people living in Guiding area of Guizhou Province celebrate the Fish Killing Festival every year on the ninth day of the third lunar month. On this day, people get up early and come to the river, fork up the fresh fish in the river, cook and eat by the river, sing folk songs while eating, and play Lu Jian, wishing good weather and abundant crops.
Picking onions will be a festival.
It is a gathering of Miao youth in Wengpaipo, Baojing County, western Hunan. Legend has it that a long time ago, Ardaya, the daughter of a Miao village official with an old nose, fell in love with Lang Yannuo, a Miao shepherd who rammed sand. The local official was very angry. He said, "How can a phoenix bird nest with a sparrow?" The old man Yannuo also advised Yannuo: "Honeysuckle and Bati cuisine can't be heart-to-heart." Ardaya was locked in a diaojiao building and could not go out. Yannuo drives the cows home at dusk every day and runs from rammed sand to Old Nose Village to see his beloved girl. Ada, who lost his freedom, sang in a song: "Kingfisher is locked in a bamboo cage and hung on the flowers on the mountain." Birds look forward to flowers, flowers look forward to birds, and Qingming will meet. "Picking green at Qingming Festival" means that Miao girls go up the mountain to pick onions on Qingming Day and pray for the blessing of mountain gods. Yan Nuo understood the girl's meaning and sang: "The vines torn from the tree rolled to the ground, and the vines died, and the leaves were so lonely. I hope it will be sunny and rainy and I will never leave the village again. "On Qingming Day, they left home early and took a walk on Wengpai's lush hillside. Their loyalty and love touched Hu Jie and contributed to their beautiful marriage. Therefore, every year in Tomb-Sweeping Day, young Miao women wear festive costumes, bring steamed "Qingming Baba", hold onion knives, and young men hold sand knives, all of which gather in Wengpaipo to choose their spouses. This is the annual "onion picking conference".
Drum festival
This is the traditional ancestor worship festival of Miao nationality. Twelve years of great sacrifice, six or seven years of small sacrifice. Legend has it that Mother Bang Liu Mei was born from the heart of a maple tree, and they have to return to the maple tree after death, and their souls have to return to their hometown to rest in peace after death. Ancestors' hometown is in the heart of the tree, and wooden drums are the place where ancestors rest. Later, ancestor worship was called "drum sacrifice". Up to now, drums are used to worship ancestors. Drum sacrifice is held in units of "rein". "rein" is a blood-related relative handed down by ancestors, who worship a wooden drum that thinks the soul of ancestors lives in it. On the day of the Drum Festival, each family prepares a sticky cow, or several families prepare one, or buy some beef. Let the cows fight first, and hundreds of cows fight together. The scene is spectacular, and then they are slaughtered for worship. According to the custom, no matter the relatives and friends who come to celebrate, the guests who come to see the bullfight, or the vendors passing by, they are all allowed to stay overnight. The more people there are, the brighter the host's face will be. Jump flower festival
Traditional Miao festivals. Popular in Guanling area of Guizhou. This is the longest and largest Miao festival in Guanling area. It is said to be an entertainment for couples who have not been born for many years. Now it is far beyond this range. Most programs are held in the first month and last about three days. During the day, play lusheng, string, sing and dance. In the evening, singing and talking about love, the old man drank and chatted around the bonfire. Sometimes there are thousands of participants, men, women and children competing to attend the meeting.