Ancient Style for a Thousand Years: Chronicle of the Haba Miao Village

Author: Yu Wei Ren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Marginal Tribe. Basha, a Miao village nestled deep in the towering mountains of Congjiang County, Guizhou, like a green leaf. Its unique customs attract visitors from all over: the rustic stilt houses lean against steep cliffs, and the golden grain-drying racks stretch up to the sky. Men are always armed with fire guns, wearing the "hòugùn" (a symbol of the sacredness of the settlement); women weave cotton fabrics and wear their own hand-woven pleated skirts; young people must undergo the joyful "bulaodang" ceremony to come of age, and during the "naogu niang" (young women's singing) time, love songs often last all night. The village's festivals are vibrant and colorful: Spring Festival, Miao New Year, Azalea Festival, Eating New Rice Festival, and Luosheng Festival follow one after another. Singers and Luosheng masters showcase their talents, with melodious sounds of the four-eyed Miao flute, Miao flute, and ox-leg zither filling the air. Men and women sing and dance joyfully, expressing their love for life with abandon. The author of this book describes this beautiful and mysterious land from the perspective of cultural anthropology and in a literary style. The photographs are a collection of the fruits of years of exploration by several photographers, capturing vivid and authentic moments that present a novel reading platform for us.