The Miao's New year is a tranditional festival to offer sacrifices to the Miao's ancestors and to celebrate a bumper harvest in October in Qiandongnan Miao areas. It is usually celebrated three times -- the "Big year", the "Small Year" and the "Tail year", of which the Big Year is the most popular one, in which gatherings are held, lasting three to five days, or more than 10 days in some other areas.
The marriage celebration and house-building of the Miao people are often carried out inOctober when autumn harvest is finished and farmers are free, this adding the joyful atmosphere to the Miao's New year. In recent years many sports such as bullfight, horse race, basketball match, chess-playing contest are held during the festival, making the old festival take on a new look.
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| Visitors will be greeted by elaborately garbed Miao girls presenting them welcome wine. |
The festival is also a beauty pageant as all Miao females are dressed in their holiday costumes. |
The Miao's New year celebrated once every 13 years is called the "Guzang festival", the Miao's grandest festival, which is held in Leishan county, taijiang county, Sansui county and Shibing county.
It is believed that the Miao people are the descendants of Chiyou, a tribal chief of the ancient Jiuli tribe, who lived on the central and lower reaches of the Yellow river in ancient times. At that time, the responsibilities of the tribal chef are "Si and Rong". Rong meant defending the tribal land; Si was the lord offering sacrifices whose task was to observe celestial phenomena. According to the Tomb of Emperor chiyou discovered in the Xishuipo of Puyang, Henan Province and the textual research materials by the archaeologists, teh Miao's Guzang Festival is the relic of the ritual of the tribe alliance offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors in remote ages. The festival may be rated as a "Living fossil".
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| During New Year celebrations, Lusheng dance can be seen everywhere in Miao villages. |
Watching bullfights has been an important part of Miao's New Year traditions. |
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| Two well dressed-up kids with their grandma are joining in this joyful festivity. |
On the New Year's Eve, you will be entertained to a featured sumptuous feast. |
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