The Unique Magpie Miao: Uncommon Clothes To Match Silver Jewels
Living in the mountainous region of southwestern China, the Miao ethnic group includes lots of different tribes featuring unique costumes. Some tribes are noted for their extraordinary silver jewelry. The Magpie Miao, with a population of 8600, reside in six villages on the mountain. Their name “magpie” comes from their interesting costume which is like the plume of a magpie.
Women’s clothes have two striking colors: black and white. Their pleated skirt from the waist to the bottom includes 3 parts. The top is blue, which stands for the sky and the sea; the batik middle part highlights various, beautiful patterns, which represent fields, rivers, and lakes of their hometown; the embroidered bottom is about 15cm long, which indicates mountains, paths, and rivers their ancestors ever crossed.
Before the age of 16, girls wear a black-and-white cloth band attached to their shirt. When they reach 16, they will make their long hair into a hair bun and decorate it with a comb on the top.
Men’s shirts have two tails at the back, like the tail of a magpie.
As the local people are fond of magpies, it’s not allowed to hunt this bird in their area.
It is said that in ancient times the ancestors of this Miao tribe were defeated in a war and had to leave their hometown for the south China. They were forced to move to a remote mountainous area by their enemies. On their way, they were stopped by a torrential river.
When thinking about how to cross the river, they heard the sounds of magpies. They decided to follow the sound, which led them to a forest. There were trees in the forest, so they cut down the trees and used the wood to make rafts. With the rafts, they were finally able to cross the river. Later, to show their gratitude to the magpies whose songs saved their lives, they named their tribe The Magpie Miao.
The local people are leading a simple, peaceful life. Men farm, and women do embroidery work.
They have a tradition to make wine at home. The wine is made of honey and glutinous rice. It tastes sweet and yummy. When tourists visit their villages, the local people will serve them this wine.
The villages are close to a few other Miao tribes where you can enjoy beautiful silver jewelry.
C. Liu has been writing about unique silver jewels for years. Click over to her website to find the perfect silver jewel.