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*Miao woman from a different tribe*

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*Long-horn Miao male*

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Identity: The Horned Miao have been officially counted as part of the large Miao nationality in China, but they have a distinct ethnolinguistic identity. The Chinese call them Jiaojiao Miao in Mandarin, or Koko Miao in the local Chinese dialect. We have called them Horned Miao because of their women's practice of wearing large wooden horns on their head. The Miao in Bijie call them Hmong Soud which means "lively" or "bustling." This name is a reflection of the energetic way the Horned Miao celebrate festivals. The Horned Miao are not the same as the Hmong Vron, who live in northwest Guizhou.

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Miao Peoples:

total population-> 11-12 million

languages-> Hmongic languages, language of residential country

religion-> Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism

Laced among the 1.3 billion people of China, 56 ethnic minority groups make their home in various provinces across the country. One of the largest of these minorities, with a population of over 7 million people, is the Miao people located in the mountainous region of South West China. As the Miao spread out across this region throughout history, numerous tribes evolved out of the main clan and adopted variations on customs and culture. These now distinct tribes became known by the unique characteristics of their clothing and decorations and were named accordingly. 

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Religion:

The majority of Horned Miao share the same animistic and polytheistic practices of their Hmong neighbors. They are a superstitious people, believing a finely balanced harmony must be kept between them and the spirit world.

The highest god of Hmong traditional religion is called Saub or Yawm Saub, who endows the shamans with their abilities. The Saub god may be called in times of need and he can manifest in points of crisis throughout the course of history. 

The first shaman was Siv Yis: Hmong shamans refer to themselves as "Siv Yis" when they are in ecstasy. The gods of cosmic nature are simply called dab, while dab neeb or qhua neeb are shamanic spirits that float through the worlds and work with the shamans operating within a specific sphere which is their domain. The shamanic spirits include wild spirits of untamed nature and the tamed and friendly spirits of the house. Ancestral spirits (Xwm Kab) who reside in the world of the dead form another category, though also involved in shamanic practice.

The frog god Nplooj Lwg is considered the creator of humans. Ntxwj Nyug and Nyuj Vaj Tuam Teem are the lords of the otherworld, determining life, death and reincarnation or rest in heaven. While Ntxwj Nyug is an indigenous deity, Nyuj Vaj Tuam Teem is thought to derive from the Jade Lord of Taoism. Every house has an altar for the Dab Xwm Kab (god of good fortune). Dab Pog is the goddess of babies. Zaj Laug is the "Old Dragon" or "Dragon King". Poj Ntxoog is a fearful female spirit associated with the tiger. Yaj Yuam is an ancestral hero, the "Heavenly Archer", corresponding to the Chinese Houyi. Other gods are of nature, such as Xob, the god of thunder and lightning, and Nkauj Hnub and Nraug Hlis, "Lady Sun" and "Lord Moon". Chiyou (or Txiv Yawg) is worshipped as an ancestral god of the Hmong nation.

The Hmong house is a reflection of the cosmos. It is constructed around a central post (ncej tas) representing the world tree, axis of the spirits, which god is Dab Ncej Tas. The roofs represent the heaven (the spiritual world) and the floor symbolises nature (the world of men). The axis of the building represents the male head of the household and his ancestral spirit, the ancestral unity. Man is in the between of heaven and earth. The Hmong believe in various household spirits called dab nyeg, meaning "tamed spirits", such as Dab Qhovcub (the god of the main hearth), Dab Qhovtxos (the god of the ritual hearth), Dab Nthab (the god of the loft), Dab Roog (the god of the framework of the front door). The Dab Txhiaj Meej is the god of wealth and richness. Spirits of nature are called dab qus, "wild spirits".

"Yeeb and Yaj" is the Hmong equivalent of the yin and yang found in Chinese traditional religion and Taoism. Differently from the context of Chinese thought, the Hmong "yeeb and yaj" is not represented by symbols such as the taijitu. The concept represents the world of the living and the world of the gods: yeeb ceeb is the spiritual world, while yaj ceeb is the world of material nature. The Hmong also practice looj mem, the Chinese feng shui.

Miao religious rituals involving the worship of gods and ancestors are performed by the patriarch of each family or the spiritual leader of a clan or a cluster of male relatives. More difficult ceremonies such as soul-calling (hu plig) are performed by ritual experts the shaman (txiv neeb) for spiritual healing, and various experts in funeral rites like the reed pipe player (txiv qeej), the soul chanter (nkauj plig) and the blessing singers (txiv xaiv). The soul is believed to reincarnate. The body (cev) is a microcosm believed to be constructed by a number of souls (plig or ntsuj) that mirror the macrocosm. 

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Festivals and Courtship:

The Miao celebrate multiple festivals throughout the year. One of the most popular with the youth is the Flower Dancing Festival between the 4th and 14th day of the first lunar month. This time of the year is dedicated to the single youngsters in the community in order to gather and look for their life long partners. The girls ascend on the village in groups where they dance and sing in antiphonal style entertaining the boys from other villages. Once a boy and a girl become attracted to each other, a presentation of gifts signals the engagement. 

Getting to the actual marriage is a much more elaborate affair, with the groom’s family having to convince the bride’s that he is worthy and will provide for her in the year’s to come. Endless proposals follow endless refusals and months of bargaining ensue. Finally, when the girl’s family is happy with the betrothal gifts, they are free to get married or if an agreement is not met, the groom’s family may signal the couple to run off and elope.

Unlike Western society, divorce does not involve drawn out court battles and asset wars. If a couple falls out of love, they need only give notice to the tribal seniors and are then seen as “on the market” again.

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Long-Horn Miao Tribe - (Changjiao)

Culture Facts:

where-> Longga, Southwest China

who-> Tribal group of the Miao minority

famed for-> Their unique costumes and ‘horned’ head pieces, and shy and beautiful natures.

Costumes:

Centered on the village of Longga, is the Changjiao Miao. Changjiao or “Long-Horn”, when directly translated, reflects the custom of animal horns being worn as head ornaments by tribe women for special occasions. ( In 1994, the building of the highway to Longga, has revealed these beautiful people and their culture to the world.)

When Longhorn women comb their hair everyday, they will weave dropped hair with twines which will accumulate day by day and will be passed down from generation to generation. Also, because this headwear contains their ancestors’ dropped hair, they are extremely precious. At first, a two-foot wood shaped like an ox horn is used to coil hair behind the head. Afterwards, the wig is coiled into the shape of a big infinity sign on the wooden horn. Finally it is fastened with white string for binding a bun. The whole headwear is 15cm tall and 3 to 6 kilos in weight. The women are dressed in colourful edge-to-edge cardigans, flower strip glazed all around pleated skirts, wool felt hood in front, and a heavy bronze necklace around their necks. (Men used to also wear the headdress but the women are the ones who kept the tradition alive.)

The girl who can weave and embroider special patterns is seen to be hard working and extraordinarily intelligent and she will become the most sought after bride in the community.