What are the customs of Miao nationality in western Hunan?

The customs and habits of Miao nationality in Xiangxi Miao nationality is one of the oldest nationalities in China, with a large population and wide distribution. In the long-term historical development, Miao people have formed their own unique customs and habits in dress, totem, festivals, marriage, diet, education and taboos. 1. Miao costumes are diverse in style and unique in technology, including 130 styles, which have obvious national characteristics, especially the costumes of Miao women. Its production technology includes embroidery, batik, weaving and inlaying. , and mostly use pleated skirt style. Miao women used to wear skirts. Since the Qing Dynasty, Miao women in western Hunan, southwestern Hunan and eastern Guizhou have changed into trousers. Miao people mainly wear all kinds of silver ornaments, which constitute a major feature of Miao people's body ornaments. Second, totems When it comes to totems of Miao people, maple trees may be the first thing people think of. Maple means "mother" in Xiangxi dialect, so it can also be said that maple is the "mother tree" of Miao nationality. This also reflects the history of Miao ancestors taking maple as totem. At the entrance of Camus Village, Yongshun County, Xiangxi, there is a big maple tree handed down from generation to generation. People here will worship this maple tree every holiday. Thirdly, there are many festivals celebrated by Miao people in Xiangxi, and the scale of activities is large. Among them, the most representative ones are: catching up with Chinese New Year, catching up with Tomb-Sweeping Day, Cherry Party, Tiaoxiang Party, catching up with autumn, and watching the Dragon Field, on March 3, April 8, June 6 and July 7. Because there are too many contents, only two of them are introduced: 1. Catch up with the Year: In the first month of the lunar calendar, the Miao people in western Hunan are most keen on catching up with the Year, and its date is decided by all localities. On the Spring Festival, men and women, old and young, dressed in festive costumes, invited each other and went to the festival in groups, which was very lively. 2. Sakura Society: There are many cherry trees in Miaoshan. Whenever cherries are ripe in spring, young Miao men and women will gather in the cherry forest to sing folk songs and engage in social activities. Some Miao villages in Huayuan County and Baojing County are the most popular. Iv. Miao Marriage Customs Most Miao areas have a high degree of autonomy in marriage, and antithetical love is the most representative and national custom in Miao marriage customs culture. The marriage age of Miao youth is generally between 16 and 20 years old. In the choice of marriage, the same family or the same surname is not married, and the cousins of cousins are preferred, and different generations are not married. There is basically no intermarriage between different ethnic groups, even between different branches of Miao nationality. Most Miao marriages are independent marriages of the parties concerned, and their conclusion methods can be divided into three types: independent free style, free negotiation style and classical negotiation style. 5. Diet The staple food of Miao people in most areas is rice or corn, supplemented by wheat, sorghum, potatoes and soybeans. At the same time, glutinous rice food is very popular among Miao people. Non-staple food mainly includes various vegetables, fruits, poultry, livestock and fish. Miao people generally like to eat hot and sour, and there are all kinds of sauerkraut and pickles at home. Miao people like to drink, to relieve fatigue with wine, to show respect with wine, to worship their ancestors with wine, to entertain guests with wine, to express their feelings with wine, to celebrate with wine, and to dye the atmosphere with wine. They have rich and interesting toasting and drinking customs. 6. Taboo: 1. Don't step on other people's doorstep. 2. When visiting the Miao family, don't step on other people's tripods and don't sit in the main hall (in the direction of the shrine). 3. Don't whistle (attract ghosts) in Miao Village and Tujia Village.