Find A Lover In The Dating Festival—A Story Of The Chinese Long Horn Miao

The Long Horn Miao are a tribe of the Miao minority group. Unlike other Miao tribes who wear beautiful silver jewelry from head to toe, the Long Horn Miao are distinguished by a big wooden horn that adorns their hair.

With a population of 5,000, the Long Horn Miao reside in a remote village at 1,800 meters above sea level. Until 1994, when a European anthropologist came here, the village was unknown to the outside world.

The local people lead a pure, simple life, and have kept their ancient customs alive. The Flower Dancing Festival held between the 4th and 14th day of the first lunar month is for single youngsters to get together and seek for their lifelong partners. Usually children start to date when they are 12 or 13 years old.

Before the festival, boys will make straw sandals to dance in. They usually make a few additional sandals to give to the girls who grab their heart. Some people don’t like straw sandals, so they use cowhide to make the sole and flax for the straps.

During the festival, boys and girls get dressed in their colorful ethnic clothes and play their Lusheng wind instrument while singing and dancing.

If a boy finds a girl he is interested in, he will follow her to the door of her home. Then they sing together. Usually one brings up a question, and another answers by singing. If the boy loses, he will have to lick a hammer used for pounding capsicum.

Only if he wins is the boy allowed to enter the girl’s home. Then the two cook and eat together. The boy may spend the night there, but he can only sleep on a pile of straw in the living room.

The next morning, the girl warms some water for the boy to wash his face. After breakfast, they dress up and go out to the mountains to join the festival again. They dance and sing outdoors until evening.

Many funny things can happen during the festival. Sometimes a group of girls will go to a market with one boy and stop to look at shoes. Suddenly the girls grab a pair of straw shoes and run away. The boy has no choice but to pay for all the shoes the girls take.

If a girl finds a boy she likes, she will go and hold his arm. Then she pulls the boy out of the crowd and runs away.

If the boy also likes the girl, they will decide to continue their relationship. In the evening, they go out together to sing and talk under the moon.