 A big banquet. Photo: xinhua.net As you learn about the Miao, you may think that they are wealthy people with an endless supply of silver jewels and riches. But in reality, most Miao people live a fairly simple life without many of the comforts we have in the West.
Gourmands, for example, may be quite disappointed with Miao cuisine. Living high on rocky mountains, away from popular trade routes and market places, most Miao food is quite simple, even during holidays and weddings. They do, however, have a few interesting delicacies.
Endless Oil-Tea
If you go to a Miao village, you may be surprised when you host pours you bowl after bowl of delicious oil-tea, and you may feel obliged to drink it down until you burst!
 Delicious Miao oil tea. Photo: fokok.com
Oil-tea is a Miao specialty made of ginger, salt, and, of course, oil. All of these ingredients are fried and mixed in a pan before being put into a pot with water to boil.
After it’s done cooking, almost anything, including beans, peanuts, corn, glutinous rice, spring onions, garlic, and peppers can be added.
The result is a rich, tasty beverage that’s served in bowls with chopsticks.
When you don’t want to drink any more, just put your chopsticks into the bowl, and the flow of tea will finally stop!
Colorful Rice Means Marriage or Broken Hearts
One of the main impressions most visitors to Miao villages come away with is the multi-colored rice the Miao serve. Rice is their staple food, and it has five different colors: white, black, red, yellow, and blue, and every bowl of rice can have social meaning.
 Colorful rice. Photo: huaxia.com The colors are made by grinding various plants and fruits into a fine paste, then mixing the paste with rice while it’s cooked. As a result, most of this rice is quite sweet and stickier than that found elsewhere in China.
Miao rice even holds social implications for the local people. It’s very common for single women to give baskets of colorful rice to the men who are pursuing them. They’ll usually put a small item in the rice to tell the man what she thinks of the relationship:
-A branch that splits into a fork means the relationship is over
-A curved piece of bamboo means the man should give her a gift
-A small slice of a toon bud, which is a special woody vegetable, means the two can get married
When it’s time for the wedding, the happy couple will exchange fine silver jewelry and eat rice with images of flowers, babies, and phoenixes painted on it.
Get Ready for Burning Mouths and Tongues
 Spicy Miao dish. Photo: zhfs.gov.cn Diced and fried hot peppers are probably the most common additions to Miao food these days, and there are a few different ways to cook up spicy Miao dishes that really have a kick.
Sometimes baked or boiled the peppers with garlic, vinegar, and other condiments to get different levels of spiciness and different flavors.
Some Miao people even jar chili peppers, much the same way that your grandmother would jar plums back home!
Almost all throughout ancient times, it was quite hard for Miao people to get many of the spices we take for granted, like salt or black pepper. So what can you do? They grew a taste for the extremely spicy, wild red peppers that grow around their towns.
(Not) Sweet and Sour Soup
We’re all familiar with the sweet, tangy soup served in most Chinese restaurants, but the Miao have their own kind of sour soup that is quite different.
 Fish in sour soup. Photo: lotour.com Made of radishes, cabbage, and fermented rice, calling this stuff sweet is a bit off the mark. Most Miao people don’t just drink it as it, but rather use it as a kind of marinade to cook fish, beef, chicken, and other kinds of meat to add a little zest.
Get Some Drinks: Time for Wine
Like most Chinese liquor, Miao wine is made of rice. Also like much of the rest of China, welcoming guests or holding celebrations usually comes with a healthy dose of wine, which unsurprisingly usually leads to singing and dancing.
For special guests, some Miao families will set bowls of wine in 12 places from the village gate all the way to their homes. The guests try to empty each and every bowl before arriving, although it’s no surprise that many don’t.
 Potent Miao snake wine. Photo: wuyishan.gov.cn If you do finish, however, you’ll be the talk of the town, and don’t be surprised if many of the local men challenge you to a drink-off later!
Miao culture is so rich and full, it’s no surprise that they were able to come up with at least a few unique dishes. Visit a Miao village to see it all rolled out, of course along with their unique silver jewels and other silver ornaments.
 Miao girls' unique silver horn. Photo:poco.cn Miao women love to dress in unique silver jewels from head to toe. They have many kinds of silver jewelry, including handmade silver headdresses, earrings, bracelets, rings, anklets, and hairpins.
Silver Headdresses
Huge Miao silver headdress are just one kind of special silver jewels only worn on special occasions like weddings or significant holidays. The horns, hood, and hat are the three main parts of their silver headdresses.
Silver horns: Miao silver horns are crafted to mimic the horns of an ox. The two horns can be as much as three feet apart! And they're quite tall, almost doubling the height of the wearer.
An image of two dragons playing with a pearl is often engraved on each horn, symbolizing wishes for an auspicious future. But each silver horn is unique. Some women adorn the horns with different kinds of silver pendants like phoenixes, birds, and butterflies. A pair of white feathers is usually put on the horns to make them even taller and more attractive. They really are a great example of some unique silver jewelry.
 Miao women with silver jewelry. Photo: efu.com.cn Silver Hood: A handmade silver hood hangs off the back of the headdress and features several silver pieces simply fixed on a handkerchief. The hood usually has three layers. The first layer features 29 round silver flowers. The second layer has warriors riding horses. Small silver fringes make up the last layer.
Some Miao women wear another special silver hood, which features five ornaments: the biggest one covers their forehead, and the others fall around their ears.
Silver hat: As the sturdy base of a Miao silver headdress, a silver hat is about a foot tall and quite heavy. It's covered with silver pieces that represent birds, flowers, bells, and tassels. Behind it are a few pieces of silver feathers that can hang all the way down to their waist.
Silver Earrings
Unique Miao silver earrings often feature butterflies, birds, flowers, or dragons. Miao women like to wear big, heavy earrings, and many of them wear 4 or 5 pairs of silver earrings at the same time. In some areas, a these silver jewels can weigh over 200 grams.
These are some of the most exquisite examples of their special silver jewels.
Silver Neckbands
 A Miao girl with silver jewels. Photo:cnill.com A Miao silver neckband is wide and heavy, and has many pendants hanging from it. Smaller silver necklaces are rarely worn.
One kind of dragon silver neckband is quite impressive. It features two dragons playing with a pearl and has 11 bright ornaments dangling from the bottom.
Silver Bracelets
Miao silver bracelets are made to represent flowers, plants, birds, or dragons. Some bracelets have a wide band that look like the cuffs worn by ancient warriors. Miao women like to wear 4 or 5 pairs of silver bracelets at the same time, because silver is a symbol of wealth and status in their society.
Silver Rings
Miao silver rings are always crafted out of the finest silver threads. In some Miao areas, women wear eight rings on all eight of their fingers, leaving only their thumbs free. Some rings are big enough to cover half the length of their fingers!
Silver Hairpins
The design of Miao silver hairpins varies, but they usually feature birds, butterflies, and flowers.
The most fashionable hairpins have 10 silver flowers lined up like a traditional Chinese fan. Some bright silver beads shine in the flowers and have five phoenixes flying around them.
 A Miao woman's silver hairpin. Photo: godpp.gov.cn Silver Combs
Miao women wear silver combs in their hair as ornaments. A silver comb is made of wood and is covered with light silver slices.
Patterns of silver flowers, birds, dragons, or deer are carved on the surface of the combs. Some combs feature the image of a Bodhisattva, with several layers of silver chains dropping down.
Silver Garments
A unique silver garment usually has 44 silver slices sewn right into the fabric. Each round or square silver slice has vivid patterns like flowers, butterflies, tigers, lions, and dragons engraved on them.
Sometimes there can be as many as 60 silver bells and pieces of handmade silver jewelry hanging from Miao garments, making beautiful, sweet sounds as they dance.
Silver Waistbands
 Beautiful, unique silver jewelry. Photo: lotour.com A silver waistband displays tens or even hundreds of silver images of Bodhisattvas sewn on a piece of cloth.
One famous waistband displayed in a Miao museum features 105 unique silver Bodhisattva images, each of which has different facial expression and gesture, reflecting the incredible imagination and creativity of the Miao artisan.
Silver Anklets
Silver anklets are usually worn by children to drive away evil spirits and bring them a bright future.
And this is just some of the unique silver jewels the Miao make!
 Girls dance to Lusheng music. Photo: cimg.163.com Holidays, social activities, and even wedding ceremonies all offer good opportunities for young Miao people to show off their silver jewels and meet.
The Miao start to sing love songs, craft silver jewels, and play various musical instruments at a young age, because these are important and must-have skills for them to capture their lover's heart.
Playing Shuttlecock
Young Miao people frequently get together to play shuttlecock. The one who loses the game will have his/her ears kneaded by the opponent.
If they don't have feelings for each other, the winner will knead the other's ears very much until they become red. But if they like each other, the winner will just give a gentle touch to the ear.
Bamboo Phone Calls
 Talking on a bamboo phone. Photo: chinaculture.org A thread going through thick bamboo tubes covered with oil paper can be used as a telephone for two lovers. A boy and a girl at each side of the string sing love longs, ask questions and express their feelings.
While talking and singing, the boy may sneak a glance at the girl to see what she looks like. If they don't feel comfortable with each other, they will stop their "phone conversation." If there is a spark between them, they will continue to sing, and fix a date for the next meeting.
Gifts of silver jewelry are soon to follow.
Secret Signs of Dating
Miao lovers have their own signals to communicate the place and time of a meeting. The one who arrives first will use a patch of grass to tie a knot and put a special mark on it suggesting the meeting place. After their partner arrives, she/he will tie another knot at the center of the same patch of grass to inform others not to bother them.
Silver necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets can also carry special significance.
 The lovers exchange silver jewels. Photo: tourunion.com Exchanging Keepsakes
After a few dates, the lovers will exchange their personal things as a keepsake. The girl gives her silver rings or bracelets to the man, and the man gives the girl his silver waistband or harmonica.
Expensive keepsakes are a symbol of loyalty.
Engagement
On the day they are engaged, the man carries some wine, rice, sugar, duck, and pork to the girl's home to see her parents. The pork must have the tail and one leg of the pig to prove that it was just slaughtered for the engagement.
Then the girl's family will hold a ceremony to worship their ancestors. After a big feast together, the future groom will get a suit of new clothes sewn by the bride.
Marriage
During the wedding ceremony, friends from both families sing songs for at least 8 to 9 hours. Sometimes they sing for a full day and night. These songs tell the story of how the couple met and the history of their ancestors.
 Pretty Miao girls. Photo: chinaguilin.com When the feast starts, the man's family holds a ceremony to worship their ancestors, and invite their souls to dine together.
After the feast, the bride holds a basin of warm water and a towel. Both families will use the water and the same towel to wash their face, which means from now on they are a family, and should respect and take care of each other.
Of course, the most important gifts at a wedding is the unique silver jewels given to the bride. Silver bracetets, rings, and more are all handcrafted for her.
 Singing and dancing. Photo: e-musuem.com.cn Music is an important part of Miao life, and music is a way to express their feelings. So whether during a banquet to welcome guests from far away, a wedding, or a funeral, you can always enjoy their colorful, unique music performances while admiring their silver jewelry.
Miao music is characterized by its high pitches and sweet melodies. The Miao like to mimic all sounds of nature to give their music a wild sound.
The Lusheng
The Lusheng has thousands of years of history and is a simple bamboo wind instrument. Usually Miao men play the Lusheng with women dancing around them. Nearly every Miao man can play this music from an early age.
 Lusheng music performace. Photo: gov.cn One exciting Lusheng performance is the "Three Wooden Posts Dance." Two men dance and play a Lusheng together while jumping around on three small posts. A tiny mistake can send both performers toppling to the ground.
Miao women watch this performance with excitement, all the while wearing pounds of silver jewels.
In ancient times, the Miao lived on hunting and gathering. They had find various kinds of animals for survival. It is said that a man picked up some bamboo branches and blew through them to imitate the sounds of the animals.
This way, he could attract and capture them. So eventually the Lusheng was developed, and the movements of a Lusheng dance frequently copy those of the wild animals the Miao once hunted.
Miao Drums
The Miao believe their ancestors were born from the heart of a maple tree. So a drum made of maple wood and cowhide is where their ancestors' souls reside.
 Miao woman beats a big drum. Photo: nphoto.net With two people beating a drum, other people dance to the exciting rhythm.
They beat this drum to wake the souls of their ancestors, and hope they will bless later generations with a prosperous future.
In ancient times, drum music was performed during sacrificial ceremonies. Now it's often played during Miao holidays.
Leaf Music?
A small leaf picked from a tree can be a musical instrument! Yes, the Miao will hold the leaf between their pointer finger and middle finger, and blow on the leaf while holding it close to their lips.
For young Miao men, playing this leaf music is an essential skill when pursuing a girl, almost as important as sending her handmade silver jewels. This simple but intoxicating music even can touch the heart of passersby.
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