Photos and text by Photocome

The depths of the southeastern Guizhou Province mountains are inhabited by a branch of the Miao ethnic group known as the “Short-skirt” Miao. They number 50,000 to 60,000. Some live in Langdong, Kongshen, and Konglie villages of Rongjiang County, while others may be found living in the Datang area of Leishan County. Their clothing is distinct and colorful for both casual and holiday wear, which consists of a tunic top decorated with silver ornaments and gorgeously hand-embroidered designs of the dragon, phoenix, fish, bird, and beast, and a hand-knitted skirt no more than 20 centimeters long. This whole costume constitutes an important facet of local folkways.

Upon entering the village, we were given a warm welcome. We visited a stilted wooden house, soot from the past 100 years having turned its walls shiny-black. Talking with family members, with the help of our host’s daughter as Miao/putonghua interpreter, we gained a glimpse of the long history of the Miao ethnic group. We were then served with the Miao dish reserved for honored guests -- cured fish and rice wine.

The fish was sour and spicy, and left a lingering aftertaste. Our host told us the haunting legend associated with this dish. Long ago, a Miao girl found a shoal of fish in a pond nearby where she labored. She tried to trap them in her hands, but all she caught was mud. A young man carrying a bamboo basket passed by, saw what she was trying to do, and dropped his basket into the pond, catching a pot’s worth of fish for her. He bid her farewell and continued his journey, and the girl took the fish home. But she could not stop thinking of him, and cured the fish in a jar in hopes that she might be able to share it with him some time. A year later he passed by once again, and the girl invited him to her home. The young man ate the fish with great relish, and complimented the maid on her culinary skills. They soon fell in love and married. Cured fish thus became a traditional Miao dish.

This “short-skirt” branch of the Miao group lives regions with a pleasantly temperate climate. Their main festival is the Miao New Year, which occurs in late autumn between the 10th and 11th month of the lunar calendar. They also celebrate the Han Spring Festival, during which an array of folk activities is held, including bullfights, cock fighting and dancing to the music of the lusheng (a reed-pipe wind instrument).

Deft-handed “Short-skirt” Miao women embroider their version of “bon voyage” on aprons.	“Short-skirt” Miao women in Datang, Leishan County, celebrating the Miao New Year.
Young “Short-skirt” Miao women in full costume extend a warm welcome with a lusheng dance.	“Short-skirt” Miao children.