The Miao people have many traditional festivals. Except for historical festivals, most of them are held in the slack season after the autumn harvest or before the busy spring plowing. However, due to the influence of natural factors, social and clan differences, the Miao traditional festivals have obvious regional characteristics and show different characteristics. 1. Miao Nian. It is popular in the Miao inhabited areas of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou and Rongshui Miao Autonomous County in Guangxi. The date of celebrating the Miao Year varies from place to place, but it is always after the grain is harvested and put into the warehouse, that is, on the 9th, 10th or 11th day of the lunar calendar, respectively on the Chen (Dragon) day, the Mao (Rabbit) day or the Chou (Ox) day. Held on the day. In the first few days of the Miao Year, every household must clean the house and actively prepare New Year's goods, such as making glutinous rice cakes, brewing rice wine, making tofu, growing bean sprouts, and generally killing pigs or buying pork, etc. Wealthy families also make sausages and blood tofu, sew new clothes for their families, etc. On the night of the 30th day of the Miao New Year, the whole family will have New Year's dinner at home and stay up until midnight before opening the door and setting off firecrackers to welcome the dragon into the home. At dawn, the elders of each family preside over ancestor worship at home. After breakfast, young and middle-aged men go to their neighbors' houses to pay New Year greetings, which is called "donfniangx" (donfniangx) in Miao language to express their wishes for a happy New Year. In the first two days of the New Year, there are certain taboos at home, such as: no going out to fetch water, no going up the mountain to cut firewood or mowing grass; no sweeping the floor; women not doing needlework; in some areas, women do not cook and are replaced by men; Not going out to pick up excrement, etc. Men and women in Miao villages usually marry during the Miao New Year. Starting from the fourth day. Some elderly men and women are also carrying wine, meat, glutinous rice cakes, etc. to visit relatives and friends, or are busy receiving guests at home; some young men and women are playing the sheng and dancing in their respective villages, or dancing to the copper drum and bullfighting; or the young men are going to other places. At the "Youfang" tour in the village, men and women sing to each other and express their love. The activities before and after lasted about 9 days to end. This is the most solemn festival among the Miao people. 2. Spring Festival. This is a traditional festival celebrated by the Han people and other ethnic minorities that begins on the first day of the first lunar month. The Miao people in southeastern Guizhou call the Spring Festival "Han Year" (niangx diel) to coexist with the traditional "Miao Year" (niangx hmub), and celebrate it with other ethnic groups, especially those in Miao areas that do not celebrate the Miao Year. Mainly celebrating the Spring Festival, but it is not as grand as the Miao people celebrating the Miao New Year. The Miao people who know Chinese characters also post some couplets, door gods and the like. The rest is the same as the Miao New Year, that is, bullfighting, horse racing, visiting relatives and friends, and "touring" for young men and women are added. ", antiphonal songs and other national characteristics. In some families, the wedding of men and women is also held during the Spring Festival. The Miao people in western Hunan celebrate the Spring Festival and hold a grand "cattle drive" event; the Miao people in Rongshui County, Guangxi celebrate the Spring Festival and hold a Lusheng dance, with tens of thousands of people attending each year. 3. Dragon Boat Festival. This is a traditional festival for the Miao people to compete on the water. It is popular on both sides of the Qingshui River at the junction of Taijiang and Shibing counties in Guizhou, and on both sides of the Bala River in the Taijiang River that flows into this section of the river. It is called "Ha Yangyong" (qab niangx vongx). Each of the sixty or seventy Miao villages here, including Pingzhai and Liaodong, has one or two dragon boats for rowing competitions. Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, or the five days from the 24th to the 27th, the Miao people living on both sides of the river take turns to hold a grand and grand dragon boat race. Dragon boat racing is also popular in Fenghuang, Luxi, Jishou, Baojing, Huayuan and other places in western Hunan, and competitions are divided into men's teams, women's teams, and mixed men's and women's teams, and the scene is very lively. Although the Dragon Boat Festival of the Miao people is a festival with dragon boat racing as its main content, it is also a festival for national cultural entertainment and social activities for young men and women, and for middle-aged and elderly people to visit relatives and friends and talk about their past and production experiences. 4. April 8th. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, it is a traditional festival for the Miao people in Guiyang, Huangping, Songtao, Guizhou Province and Xiangxi, Hunan. The festival was developed to commemorate the Miao hero Yayi. During every festival, the Miao compatriots will steam glutinous rice and gather in a fixed place to play the sheng, dance or sing love songs. Now, the Miao people in Beijing also celebrate April 8th. 5. Eat new festivals. It is mainly popular in Guizhou Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture and Guangxi Rongshui Miao Autonomous County.
Every year in June and July of the lunar calendar, when the rice is heading in the fields, every household in the Miao village celebrates the "New Eating Festival" on the Mao day (sometimes on the noon day or the Chen day). At that time, each family will have cooked glutinous rice, a bowl of fish, a bowl of meat, etc., put them all on the ground (some on the table), and pick 7-9 rice buds from their own rice fields to put on the glutinous rice. Next to the rice bowl, incense and paper are burned, and the elder pinches a little bit of fish and glutinous rice and throws it on the ground, adding a few drops of wine to express sacrifice and pray for a good harvest. Then the elders tear open the picked rice buds and hang two On the shrine, the rest was torn open and eaten by the children, and the whole family happily enjoyed the delicious meal. The next day, men, women, old and young from all villages came to watch the Lusheng Festival, participate in the Lusheng Dance Festival, and participate in the Lusheng Dance. Some brought horses to the racecourse for horse racing, and some brought water bullocks to the bullring for bullfighting. The period is usually 2 days. 6. Lusheng Festival. It is popular in the Zhouxi area at the junction of Kaili, Majiang and Danzhai counties in Guizhou. The festival dates are not uniform in various places, but are generally held in the first, second or third month of the lunar calendar; in some areas, they are held in July. It is mainly used to worship ancestors and celebrate the harvest. Generally, a ceremony is held before the festival. First, a respected old man from a certain village presides over ancestor worship. At the same time, each family worships ancestors at their own home. Then the girls from each village dress up in costumes and silver ornaments, and the boys The Lusheng and Lusheng players all brought their Lushengs and came to the Lusheng venue from all directions. The young men and women from each village formed a circle, played the Sheng and danced for four or five days. The atmosphere was very warm, a kind of fusion of singing and dancing. , and enjoy collective cultural and artistic activities. 7． Huashan Festival. This festival is also known as "Stepping on the Flower Mountain", "Tiaohua Field", "Stepping on the Field", "Stepping on the Mountain", etc. It is popular in the Miao areas of northwest Guizhou, southern Sichuan and southeastern Yunnan. Because the Miao people live in different places and have different costumes, the Miao people celebrate the Huashan Festival on different dates and the names of the festivals are also different. Some are in the first month of the lunar calendar, some are in June, and some are in August. In the Tiegui area in northwest Guizhou, people dance on the New Year's Eve from the sixth to the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Peach Blossoms on the fourteenth to the sixteenth of February, and the Rice Flowers on the sixteenth to the eighteenth of July. First select the flower seeds or flower stalks. The so-called "flower seed picking" is to use three horses to hang red flowers, and go to other flower fields to carry a small amount of soil to pile up on the new field to show the flower seeds; the "flower seed picking stalk" is made of evergreen trees. to four meters, standing in the center of the flower field. At that time, people from all over the world come dressed up, and the clan leader announces the start of the dance. The boys play the Lusheng, and the girls dance around the flowers and compete with each other. Hanging on the top of the flower stalk is a two-meter-long piece of red silk and a small red cloth bag containing reward money. Whoever can climb up to the top of the flower stalk while playing the sheng, take down the red silk (some hang a pot of wine) and red cloth bag, and blow the sheng down from the top of the stalk, will win the reward. In some places, activities such as horse racing, archery and acupuncture competitions are also held. Young men and women sang to each other and played national musical instruments such as reeds, flutes, flutes, and oral strings. Those who loved each other gave each other embroidered handkerchiefs, belts and other items. The elderly take the opportunity to visit relatives and friends, talk to each other, and be active throughout the day, even late into the night. 8. In time for the Autumn Festival. Popular in the Miao areas in Xiangxi, Hunan and Huatao, Guizhou, it is held every year on the Beginning of Autumn and lasts for one day. At the beginning of autumn every year on the lunar calendar, young men and women gather in villages and mountain fields to sing and dance to find partners. Since then, it has gradually evolved into a traditional festival to celebrate the harvest. 9. Drumming Festival. It is popular in the Miao areas of Kaili, Danzhai, Leishan and other counties in Guizhou. On the first pig farm day of the second lunar month every year, young men and women of the Miao ethnic group automatically gather at the local singing field to play drums. This kind of drum is made of hollowed-out solid nanmu wood with cowhide stretched on both ends. At that time, a prestigious old man will move the nanmu drum and drum stand placed in his home into the drum field, and beat the drum vigorously. People will hear the sound and come to dance. Young people will take the opportunity to choose a spouse; old people will also wear new clothes. Wear clothes and sing ancient songs around the nanmu drum. After the dance, the girls took out the flower ribbons they had knitted by themselves and presented them on the nanmu drum to express their gratitude to the nanmu drum. People sang happily and did not leave the drum field until dark. Finally, the drum master carries the nanmu drum home and places it upstairs. During festivals, fish and meat are also offered as sacrifices to nanmu drums. 10. Other holidays. In addition to the above-mentioned traditional festivals, the Miao people also have some festivals in various places.
Abie, the youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor, yearned for a free life in the world, so she flew down from the top of the mountain, married the smart, capable, honest and kind-hearted Abu, and had three daughters. One morning when the whole family was enjoying themselves, a cock crowed for the first time. The Jade Emperor stipulates that when the rooster crows three times a day, it is the time to worship. If Abie cannot arrive in time, disaster will be imminent. The anxious Abie climbed up to the top of the mountain and collapsed six floors with one kick while flying towards the sky. Without the top of Xianglu Mountain, Abie could no longer descend to earth. Since there was no top of the mountain, the Jade Emperor could not enjoy the incense in the world, so he punished Abu to become an incense burner for burning incense. In order to commemorate the loyal love between Abie and Abu, the Miao family celebrates the annual mountain climbing festival on the day when Abu turns into an incense burner.
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