What are the main customs and festivals of the Miao people? Please, thank you.

Traditional festivals of the Miao people The traditional festivals of the Miao people include the Miao New Year, April 8th, the Dragon Boat Festival, the New Eating Festival, the Autumn Festival, etc. Among them, the Miao New Year is the most grand. The Miao Year is equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han people, usually held after autumn. On the morning of the festival, people place prepared delicacies on the stove next to the fire pit to worship their ancestors, and rub wine on the nose of the cow to show reward for their hard work for a year. Young men and women in costumes danced the hall dance. The Miao Year is a traditional festival for the Miao people in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and other places to celebrate the harvest and pray for good weather in the coming year. Generally after the harvest season, some are held on the 10th day of the lunar calendar, and some are held on the 9th, 10th and 11th lunar calendar on the Mao (Rabbit) day or the Chou (Ox) day. It is equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han people. On the morning of the festival, the younger generation will reverently place the prepared delicacies on the stove beside the fire pit to worship their ancestors. Rub some wine on the nose of the cow as a reward for its hard work for a year. The girls wear batik clothes or long and short pleated skirts with bright colors and different styles, embroidered edges or cross-stitching, and eye-catching earrings, bracelets and other silver ornaments, and dance with the handsome young men. Dancing in the hall (men play the Lusheng and women dance in an arc). At night, the sound of big bronze drums spread throughout the village. Young men from other villages carry lanterns and play flutes to the "youfang" field near the village to have fun (also known as "sitting on the girl", "sitting on the village", "stepping on the moon", etc., that is, social love activities of young men and women). Singing continues in every village. Through antiphonal singing, the beloved men and women are connected together by the object of love - the brocade ribbon embroidered with mandarin ducks. If Miao Nian meets the "Eating Drum and Tibet" year, it will be even more grand. "Drum" means "big family". "Guzang" is an ancestor worship ceremony held jointly by family members. It is held once every few years and every seven years. It can vary from eight to ten years. In front of the "Guzang", the "Guzang" cows (large bulls that have been fed to the God of Guzang for three years) are lined up for wrestling. At that time, the "Gu Zangtou" recommended by everyone will preside over the ceremony, killing cattle to worship ancestors, and also killing chickens and ducks. Relatives from all over the country came to participate, and the event lasted for more than ten days. Eating New Year's Eve is also called "New Harvest Festival". "Eating New Things" is one of the festivals of the Miao people living in the middle and upper reaches of Qingshui River and Duliu River. There is no uniform set date. According to custom, during the harvest season, everyone will find a field where the rice grows best, and everyone will celebrate the "New Eating Festival" here. It is said that in ancient times, there was no millet in the world, only the millet controlled by the God of Thunder (Thunder God) in the sky. People had to hunt to make a living. In order to obtain grain seeds, the ancestors of the Miao people asked for help and took 9,999 kinds of rare birds and animals to the Millet Country in exchange for nine buckets, nine liters and nine bowls of grain seeds, and put them in the warehouse for sowing in the coming spring. But one night, Awuyou, who had very long arms, scratched the sky with his hands, stepped on stones and pounded fern roots by the light of the sky lantern, and accidentally knocked over the sky lantern, which fell into the wooden warehouse. Top. As a result, a fire broke out, and the fire burned bigger and bigger. Gu Zhong cried and screamed in the warehouse, and finally flew into the sky on the smoke and ran back to Gaohu's home. Gao Lao went to Gao Hu and asked him to persuade him to return the grain seeds, but Gao Hu insisted that the grain seeds had not reached heaven. There was no other way, so Gao Lao discussed with Gao Hu and exchanged 9999 kinds of rare birds and animals for grain seeds. Nine layers of skin were worn out on his mouth, nine jars of water dried up in his throat, and he refused to comply even if he begged for life or death. After thinking about it for nine days and nights, Qiao Lao finally came up with a plan: when the millet was ripe, he would send a dog to roll around in the rice field and let the millet be brought back with its fur. On the morning of the 13th day of the seventh month in the ancient calendar, the dog was about to set off, and he asked for help: He wanted to collect grain seeds with stalks five feet high and ears five feet long. But because the dog was walking too fast, when he arrived at the south gate, he accidentally tripped and mistook the words he told me. As a result, he ran into a rice field that was only five inches long. He rolled a few times and ran back. . Defendant Hu discovered the plan. When the dog reached the overpass, Gaohu sent ninety-nine strong warriors to guard the bridge. They knocked the dog down into the Tianhe River. They thought that the Tianhe River was wide and deep, and the dog would only die. One piece. But they never expected that after the dog fell into the Tianhe River, he quickly raised his tail high out of the water, swam back across the Tianhe River with great effort, and came back with nine grains of grain on his tail. When I got the grain seeds, I quickly plowed the fields and removed the seeds. On June 6 in the ancient calendar, a bunch of ears of grain like a dog's tail came out from the top of the seedlings. A month later, the golden ears of grain matured. The thirteenth day of the seventh month in the ancient calendar was the day when grain seeds were harvested. On this day, I picked nine liters of millet and cooked a large pot of fragrant white rice. He first scooped out three large bowls for the dogs to eat, and then tried something new for himself. The remaining grain seeds are sown every year so that people can eat white rice.

In order to remember the day of harvesting grain seeds, July 13th was designated as the New Eating Festival, which has been passed down. On the festival day, every family cooks with new grains. As soon as dawn breaks, people bring new rice, wine, chickens, ducks, fish, and meat to the fields. After offering sacrifices to their ancestors, the banquet begins, and everyone forms a circle. , each person raised the wine glass in his hand to the lips of the next person. The old man gave the order, and everyone cheered three times in succession, then toasted each other and drank the wine in one gulp. Suddenly laughter echoed in the fields, and traditional cultural and sports activities such as antiphonal singing, pond stepping, and Lusheng dancing began until dusk. April 8th The eighth day of April in the lunar calendar is a traditional festival for the Miao people near Guiyang City, Guizhou Province to commemorate the ancient hero "Yanu". According to legend, a long time ago, the Miao people recuperated in the prosperous Grogesang (near today's Guiyang) and lived a happy, contented and well-fed life. In order to resist the attack of the ruler's officers and soldiers, the resourceful leader "Yanu" led his people to fight bravely and dealt a heavy blow to the intruders. However, he was ultimately outnumbered and unfortunately died on the eighth day of April and was buried in "Jia Bashi" (now Guiyang). (near the city fountain). In order to commemorate the hero "Yanu", every eighth day of the fourth lunar month, Miao people in festive costumes gather from all directions to gather at the fountain in Guiyang City. At that time, red flags will be fluttering beside the fountain, and people will flock to the scene to play the sheng and flute, sing antiphonal songs, play lions, play with dragon lanterns, play ball, and compete in martial arts. The young men's reed pipe competition is very interesting. They play the reed pipe while doing tricks such as rapid spins, short steps, and handstands. At night, Guiyang City and the fountain area are brightly lit, just like daytime, with singing and dancing everywhere, creating a joyful scene. April 8th activities are also popular among the Miao people in Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and other places. Zhouxi Lusheng Festival The Miao people living in Zhouxi area of ​​Kaili. The Lusheng Festival is celebrated from the 16th to the 20th of the first lunar month. Lusheng Hall is located on the river sand dam next to the well ridge of Zhouxi River. In the early morning of the 16th day of the first lunar month, several old people who presided over the Lusheng Hall carried the Lusheng to the well to check the inscription and read: "Blowing the Sheng and lifting the moon is an entertainment activity that has been popular among the Miao people for thousands of years. Every New Year's Day , all over the country followed suit, celebrating the New Year with entertainment, and making it a good time for our Miao people to get married freely..." After reciting, pour out the rice wine in the gourd, first spray the wine on the stele and in the center of the Lusheng Hall, and then everyone drinks. After a long gulp, the first Luzhu song was played; at this time, girls and boys wearing silver flower jewelry and gorgeous festival costumes danced to the sweet tune. The young men ask for flower ribbons from the people they like, and the girls tie the flower ribbons on the Lusheng pipes of the young people they like. Three days passed, and the young men and women each found a partner in their hearts. At this time, the old man who presided over the Lusheng Hall still carried rice wine on his back and sprayed rice wine on the stele and the Lusheng Hall. A grass sign is placed in the center of the hall. From then on, the reed instrument was hung high until the grain returned to the warehouse, which was the "Miao Year" in the lunar calendar, and then it could be taken down and played until the Lusheng Festival. The fourth day is Spring Festival, when young couples talk and sing freely, mingle with each other and send tokens to each other. Dragon Boat Festival The Dragon Boat Festival is held every year from the 24th to the 27th of May in the lunar calendar. At this time, thousands of people dressed in costumes gather on the riverside to participate in the sacrificial activities before the dragon boat departure. At the beginning of the competition, dozens of dragon boats advanced through the waves, gongs, drums and salutes from both sides of the Taiwan Strait were fired, and the audience roared with earth-shattering shouts. Activities such as antiphonal singing and Lusheng dance were also held on the shore. At night, before the fun is over, young men and women gather together to sing to each other and express their true feelings. Fishing Festival The Fishing Festival is a festival of the Miao people on both sides of Dumu River and Nanming River in central Guizhou. The Dumu River originates from Yunwu Mountain, flows northward in Guizhou to the junction of Youli and Fulai, joins the Nanming River, and then flows northward into the Wujiang River. This festival was originally a rain festival when the Miao people prayed to the Dragon King for rain by the river when water was needed for sowing and transplanting rice. However, over time, it gradually evolved into a fishing festival. The festival period varies from place to place, from March to June, and is determined by the reputable "fisherman" who is good at fishing in each village. At that time, young and strong men will go to the mountains to collect 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, young and old, dressed in costumes and carrying wine and meat, went to the river to have a meal. After eating, the man played the Lusheng. Women sing folk songs and enjoy themselves. When the sun sets, they take fresh fish home and hold another banquet to entertain relatives and friends or give them fish as gifts. The Letter-Eating Festival is a festival of the Miao people in the Baozhai area of ​​Hejiang County, Guizhou Province. It lasts for four days and falls on the "Xin" (W) day in June of the lunar calendar every year (calculated according to the calendar of the stems and branches). At that time, the Miao girls who are married to other places will dress up as much as possible, wearing flowery dresses and silver ornaments. They will be loaded with holiday gifts and travel back home to visit their parents and fellow villagers. During the festival, the whole village is full of joy, drums and music are playing, Lusheng is played, and people dance gracefully. Everywhere is filled with festive joy.

At the foot of Baigaiya Mountain and on the bank of Wengya River, there was a buzz of people. Bullfighting, sparrow fighting, reed-pipe dancing, tug-of-war, playing ball and other games are filled with cheers. Young men and women in love invite each other to the woods, sing folk songs by the stream, and tell each other their love. Huashan Festival Huashan Festival is also known as "stepping on Huashan", "playing on Huashan" or. "Stepping on the Mountain", also called "Tiaochang" or "Peach Blossom", is a grand festival for the Miao people in western and central Guizhou Province, southeastern Yunnan Province and southern Sichuan Province. The dates vary, some are in the first month of the lunar calendar, and some are in May, June, or late August. Before the festival, several Miao villages jointly formed a three-person leadership group of Huashan Hui, with terms ranging from three years to seven years to twelve years. The flower farm is located in the flat Feng Shui treasure land.