Miao Dragon Boat Festival

    Name: Dragon Boat Festival for the Miao people

    Date: between the 24'h and 27'h of the fifth lunar month

    The Mao ethnic group has a population of 8.9401 million according to the fifth national census

Dragon Boats of the Miao Ethnic Group.

    The Miao people have their own language that belongs to the Miao-Yao group of the Sino-Tibetan language family. They used to believe in many gods and worship their ancestors and nature's power. In their belief, gods or evil ghosts possess irresistible power and they need gods and their ancestors' blessings so as to get fortune and children, expel evil spirits and get rid of diseases.

    The Han people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year to honor the memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. However, the Miao Dragon Boat Festival, held later in the same month, has its own origin.

    It is said, once upon a time, there lived a big black dragon in the Doushui River. The dragon was very cruel to people living along the river. At the time, an old fisherman lived with his only son along the river. One day in the fifth lunar month, the dragon kidnapped the son who was fishing on the river at the time. Hearing the news, the old fisherman, in great anger and sorrow, made up his mind to kill the dragon and save his son. Carrying a steel knife and kindling, the old man dived into the dragon cave deep under the sea. Having fought with the dragon for nine days and nine nights, the old man finally chopped the dragon into three pieces, saved his son out of the dragon cave and set fire the dragon cave.

     Suddenly, thick smokes hung over the Doushui River where the corpse of the dragon drifted downwards. The heaven and the earth were in a state of chaos and darkness. Fortunately, at the time, a Miao girl came out to the riverbank to fetch water.

The Miao men wearing splendid attire are rowing the boat as fast as possible.

      To commemorate the heroic deeds by the old fisherman and the girl, the Miao people hold celebrations from the 24" to 27'" of the fifth lunar month by organizing dragon-shaped boat rowing contests along the Doushui River.

     A dragon boat made by the Miao people, unlike the one used  by the Hart people which is just one larger and longer boat, is in  reality a body made up with three canoes bound together ¨C one  large in the middle and two small on the sides. All of them are made of fir trees. The middle one is called mother boat or the main boat, while the other two known as son boats or boats attached. The bow of the middle one is decorated with a more-than-one-meter-high carved dragonhead, which is made from the trunk of a weep willow tree and painted colorfully. These dragon boats are actually exquisite and interesting craftwork.

     On the day of the contest, every dragon boat is painted brand new and decorated with colorful flags. In each boat, the coxswain rides straddling the dragon's neck on the bow of the mother boat, beats the drum to set the pace for the oarsmen behind him. The oarsmen all wear horsetail-shaped hats, blue jackets and trousers, and embroidered waistbands pinned with silver ornaments. They look very powerful.

    The contest starts. The coxswain beats drum with exciting rhythms, and the oarsmen row the boat as fast as possible while singing folk songs altogether. For audience on the riverbanks, it seems as if dozens of real dragons were riding the waves and forwarding quickly in the river.

     Up to this day, some unique customs are still kept when the Miao people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, villagers are allowed to send their boats down the river after the 16th before the festival, provided that they have finished weeding their fields. The earlier appearance of the boats on the river testifies to their efficiency. The diligent farmers consider it a shame not to finish weeding before the festival begins.

    What's more, no matter how bad some oarsmen get on in daily life, they will shake hands once they are on board and cooperate with each other as one man during the contest. At the end of the contest route, the organizers will put a big duck into the river, which is then chased after by all the oarsmen arriving the final stop. The scene is just joyful.

     Every Miao family attaches great importance to the Dragon Boat Festival and takes great care of their dragon boats. A special wooden-framed shelter with tile roof to house dragon boats has been built in every Miao village. Because of the well keeping, a Miao dragon boat can survive dozens of years, even more than one hundred years.