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Who are the Miao?

The Miao minority group live in the mountainous areas of southern and southwestern China. They have another name: Hmong. The Miao are well known for their extraordinary handmade arts and crafts like embroidery, brocade, batik, and unique silver jewelry.

The Miao like to get together singing and dancing to enjoy life during holidays. Holidays also offer a good opportunity for young guys to seek for their partners.

Flirting

If a man shows interest in a girl, he will follow her and may suddenly give her finger a gentle pinch. The girl will smile in agreement if she likes the man, or just simply ignore him if she disagrees.

Some men can find an excuse like “asking for candy” to play with girls.” He will stop a girl and beg some candy, and if she have no interest for him, she will answer, “my candy is all eaten up, you can go to some other people to ask.”However if the girl likes the man, she would drop a hint, “follow me please.” Then she walks away. So the man just follows her to the lakeside or woods to have a chat.

Dating

When going on a date, Miao lovers have their own signs to indicate the place and time to meet. The one who gets there first will make a knot with some grass and put a unique mark on it to tell the other where to meet.

Every single sign has an implication. A bee made of couch grass suggests: I have arrived here, but tell me if you come? A dragonfly created by a vanilla plant means: come to the same place, and don’t be late! A grasshopper suggests: I feel terribly sorry, but I am not able to see you now. A white flower twined with grass indicates: our relationship is over because you have broken our appointments for many times.

When another one reaches there, she/will use the same bundle of grass to make a second knot meaning “don’t bother us”.

After seeing each other for a few times, the couple will give to each other some of their personal things as a token. The man gives his waistband or tobacco pipe to the girl, while the girl gives the man her silver rings,  hair pin,  or a pair of embroidered shoes.

Marriage

When a Miao couple decides to get married, they will tell their parents, who then ask a matchmaker to fix the wedding date.

Sometimes an interesting thing will happen if the parents don’t agree. The man together with other people will come to the girl’s home at night to ” rob” her and take her to his home. Three days later, the man’s family will send an old respectable family member with a chicken to inform the girl’s parents, and ask them to agree.

On their wedding day, people burn a big fire at the gate of the man’s home to wish the couple will have a happy marriage life. In the evening, a choir with both families will sing songs for many hours until daybreak.

The songs tell how the couple met and got to know each other, something about their parents, grandparents, and great-grand parents. They will also tell how their forefathers migrated across China throughout history.

The bride and the groom are busy with preparing the sweet rice wine for their guests during the whole night.

In some Miao areas, married women are not allowed to go back to their parents’ home until they have a child.

I’m C. Liu and I am very interested in Miao culture. I even have a website with some of the most beautiful examples of Miao silver jewelry available here. The best silver jewelry is produced in Miao areas: such pure silver can be hardly got in your local markets, and their workmanship is unmatchable.

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