The Beautiful Silver Rings Miao Women Wear In Their Moon Dance Festival
The Miao minority group living in southwest China are known for their colorful ethnic costumes and big, unique silver rings. During big holidays like the Moon Dance Festival, Miao women will wear rich attire to proudly show their beauty and elegance. The Moon Dance Festival is also a good time for young single people to seek for their life partners. Men play their special Lusheng musical instrument, with women singing and dancing around with the silver rings and other silver jewelry. The festival is held three times a year, respectively in lunar January, June, and August. Here is a story about the origin of this festival.
Once upon a time, there were two brothers who lived on the mountain. Every day, the elder brother went to chop wood, and the younger brother went fishing. Then they went to the market to sell their products. They led a simple but happy life.
Enjoying music very much, the elder brother always liked to find some bulrush and bamboo when he chopped wood in the forest. He then made them into a pipe. While he blew it, the pipe produced beautiful sound. Day after day, the elder brother collected lots of pipes. One day, he selected some of these pipes, and blew them one by one. Each pipe made different and unique sound. The elder said to himself, ” What music it would produce, if I play all these pipes together.”
One day when the elder brother chopped a kiri, he found the inside of kiri was hollow. He bored some holes in one side of this kiri wood, and put the pipes into the holes. Then he blew into the kiri. Instantaneously the kiri made several different sounds at the same time. After studying this for a few days, he at last created a musical instrument which could make pleasant melodies with different tones. This instrument was later called Lusheng. The sweet music of Lusheng attracted many people. Even the birds and animals in the mountain liked this fabulous music.
A female tiger resided in a cave close by. She was intoxicated by the music, and hoped to own the elder brother. So she could enjoy the music anytime when she wanted. One day, the tiger changed into a lady with a few rings on her fingers, and walked into the brothers’ home stealthily. She ate some dried fish in the kitchen.
When the two brothers got home and saw the tiger, they asked in anger, ” Why do you come to our home and eat our fish?” The tiger answered, ” I like your fish, and also I like you to be my husband.” The tiger snatched the elder brother, and ran away. The younger brother got scared, and tried to get his brother back. But how could he fight against a big tiger? Eventually the elder brother was taken away. When they left, the younger brother found a tail showing under the fat lady’s skirt. So he knew the lady was in fact a tiger.
The younger brother ran to call in the villagers. They took bows and arrows to seek for the elder brother everywhere in the mountains. However a few weeks passed, and they still couldn’t find the brother. Until one day, they climbed to the top of the mountain, and heard a bird twittering, ” They are here, they are here!” They followed the sound, and came to a cave where the elder brother was captured. The younger brother and villagers killed the tiger, and saved the elder brother.
The elder brother was so happy that he played excitedly his Lusheng music. People sang and danced around him to celebrate their victory.
Since then, Lusheng musical instrument started to be popular in the Miao area. In lunar January, June, and August, people get together with men playing Lusheng music, and women dancing around with elaborate silver rings on their fingers. The activity is often held in the evening when there is a bright moon in the sky. So the festival is called ” the Moon Dance Festival”. It also has a nickname ” Looking For Brother Festival”. The women’s silver rings shine especially beautifully in the moonlight.
C. Liu writes about the world’s silver jewelry, especially silver rings. In particular, Miao silver rings are popular almost everywhere. Get in touch with the writer, check out the silver rings from China.
