The current Miao population in the country is 7.384 million, and the Miao population in Guangxi is about 430,000. The Miao people in Guangxi mainly live in the four autonomous counties of Rongshui, Longlin, Sanjiang and Longsheng, while the rest live scattered in Ziyuan, Xilin, Rong'an, Nan, Du'an, Huanjiang, Tianlin, Laibin, Napo and other counties (autonomous counties) . The Miao people in Guangxi call themselves "Mu", "Meng" and "Daji". They call them Pian Miao, White Miao, Red Miao, Hua Miao, Qingshui Miao, Qiang Miao, Grass Miao, etc.

Diet

In terms of diet, the Miao people mainly eat rice, mixed with corn and millet. They generally like to drink and eat chili peppers and all kinds of pickled vegetables. They have the habit of "making oil tea" in the morning and afternoon, which is basically the same as the Dong people.

Festival etiquette and customs

Except for the Miao New Year, the Miao people in Guangxi have their own traditional festival. Other festivals are basically the same as those of the Han people, but the content of their activities is different.

Marriage

Young men and women of the Miao ethnic group have relatively free love activities before marriage. They socialize through forms such as "walking in the village" and "walking on the slopes", but they also have to ask for help and seek marriage. You need your parents' consent to get married. In the past, women had the custom of "not leaving their husband's house" after marriage, but this has mostly changed since liberation. Door-to-door marriage is relatively common. The Miao people do not marry if they are members of the same clan, aunts or cousins, or if they are of different nationalities. In the past, there was a saying that "Miao people do not become guests (Han)". After liberation, ethnic unity has strengthened and intermarriage among various ethnic groups has increased.

Clothing

Miao men generally wear double-breasted or wide-breasted shorts, trousers, a large belt, a green headcloth on their head, and leggings on their feet in winter. There are many styles of women's clothing, which vary greatly from region to region, and even have different characteristics from village to village. Most Miao women wear buns on their heads, headscarves, and wear large collars, short clothes, long or short pleated skirts. Clothing colors include blue, white and black, and women's clothing can be divided into casual wear and dressy clothes. Casual dresses are rarely embroidered and are usually dyed navy blue. They are simple and practical and are mostly worn when working at home. The dress is embroidered with flowers and is very gorgeous. Women also wear a variety of silver jewelry when dressing up. Girls often put multiple layers of colorful scarves on their heads to show that they are unmarried.

Language

The Miao language belongs to the Miao branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family - the Miao-Yao language family. The Miao people travel frequently and live in scattered places, resulting in great differences in language and vocabulary in various places, forming several dialects and dialects. Some Miao people have their own scripts, such as "Pola script Miao script" (commonly known as "Old Miao script"), which is still used by some Miao people in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. Another part of the Miao writing has been lost.

Religion and Belief

The Miao people do not have a unified religion and believe in many gods. Mainly worshiping gods, nature and ancestors. Miao funerals vary from simple to complex, and burials are generally carried out in the ground.

Literature and Art

The Miao people are good at singing and dancing. Folk literature is very rich, including stories, legends, fables, proverbs and ballads. Mythical stories include "Lamp Flowers" and "Dragon Teeth Fill the Sky with Nails", etc. The dance of the Miao people often uses the Lusheng to accompany the dance, so it is called "Lusheng dance". Traditional sports activities such as Wu Climbing, Thunder Jumping, Shotgun Shooting, and Wrestling are also popular in the Miao areas of Guangxi. Folk musical instruments include reed, bronze drum, suona, dongxiao, Miao flute, moon, etc. The handicrafts include cross-stitching, embroidery, batik, and weaving. The craftsmanship is exquisite and quite prestigious.