Suining County kicks off Miao Girls’ Festival
2024-05-17
The Girls’ Festival, also known as “the Flower-jumping Festival”, is a traditional Miao festival, which is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item. On the day every year, the Miao girls wearing ethnic costumes and silver jewelry eat umi rice with guests from afar, sing mountain songs, perform Miao dances and enjoy Nuo opera.
On the Wushui River, the Miao singers sitting on a bamboo raft kicked off the festival with their melodious voice, conveying the joy and enthusiasm of the festival. The audience on the site were intoxicated by the beautiful singing and joined the chorus.
Subsequently, a Miao girl performed the single-bamboo drifting on the Wushui River, an intangible cultural heritage project. It’s a folk stunt that has been passed down by the Miao people for thousands of years. The rower stays on a single piece of bamboo and makes different actions when drifting.
In Zhaishi Ancient Town, a famous historical and cultural town of Suining County, people perform stories to tell the origin of the festival on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month every year. On the wind and rain bridge of the ancient town, tourists can taste local specialties such as umi rice and flower tea at a 300-meter long-table banquet.
Dayuan Village, a traditional Chinese village with profound historical heritage, is not only the filming location for the movie “Postmen in the Mountains” which won multiple international film awards, but also a treasure of Miao culture. At the festival, villagers held a ceremony at the village gate, welcoming tourists from all directions.
Huayuangge Village, a traditional Chinese village, is also populated by the Miao people. A series of folk activities were planned at this festival. Hundreds of Miao girls dressed in festive costumes crossed the wind and rain bridge, creating a beautiful scene.
The village has a national wetland park, with wide water area, clear water, and unique scenery. There has been a tradition of performing antiphonal singing on bamboo rafts since ancient times. During this festival, a chorus of ancient songs allowed tourists to appreciate the unique charm of the Miao ethnic group. The traditional technique of “climbing a tall ladder with sharp blades” showcased the long-standing Miao witchcraft culture.
Villagers in the mysterious Shangbao Dong Village greeted guests with door-blocking wine and bright red silk scarves. The ceremony with ethnic characteristics not only symbolizes auspiciousness and happiness, but also showcases the Dong people’s appreciation and inheritance of traditional culture.
Tourists also attended a unique wedding ceremony, experiencing the charming and mysterious Dong wedding customs.
Known as the “most beautiful ethnic minority characteristic village in Hunan Province”, Datuan Dong Village was included on the tentative list of Chinese world cultural heritage in December 2012. During the event, nearly 1,000 tourists and villagers participated in a blessing ceremony held in the village to pray for favorable weather, good luck and a bumper harvest.
