Do you know why roosters crow in the morning? The Miao minority group in southwestern China have an interesting story about it.

A long time ago, there were seven suns and seven moons in the sky that come out in turn to give people light and warmth. However one year, after a big fight among them, these seven suns and moons got very angry. So they came out together. Almost everything was destroy by the heat. The lakes and rivers dried up; the plants and crops died.

A man called Nuo Ya made a decision to help people out of this situation. He crafted a big bow and arrow with the branches and trunk of an old tree, then climbed to the top of the highest mountain to shoot the suns and moons. Soon, he shot down six suns and moons. Then Nuo Ya talked to himself: the sun is male, and the moon is female. I should keep each one of them for the world. So he stopped shooting and left.

It was cooler at once without the six suns. However a new problem appeared: the sun and moon feared to be shot, so they hid and dared not come out. Without the sun and moon, it was dark, freezing, and scary.

People were so upset that they talked to Nuo Ya, Our life is in hell! Nuo Ya asked them, In this world, who has the loudest voice? We can send him to ask the sun and moon out. The men replied, A tiger’s voice is the loudest. After the tiger came, he roared to the sky like thunder, which only make the sun and the moon more scared.

Nuo Ya asked again to his people, In this world, whose voice is the most beautiful? The girls answered, A rooster sings the most beautiful songs. We can ask him to call out to the sun and the moon.

After a good rest, the rooster got up very early the next morning to crow loudly to the sky. His intoxicating songs woke up the sun and moon. The rooster continued to sing. The sun slowly climbed in the sky and finally got to the peak of the mountain. The beautiful sunshine looked so amazing. People were so excited that they sang and dance around the proud rooster.

However the timid moon only liked to appear in the evening.

Today, the Miao family always like to keep a rooster at home.

The GuZang Festival is a great occasion for the Miao people to worship their ancestors. They sacrifice bulls, beat drums, and hold other exciting ceremonies. In the Chinese language, the word Gu means a bull, while Zang means viscera of an animal. The festival only happens once every 13 years, at end of September or November.

One of the most important part of the festival is beating drums. A Miao drum is crafted with maple wood. People use cowhide to cover both ends of the drum. The Miao think the soul of their ancestors exists in this huge drum. So during the festival, they beat the drum very loudly to wake up their ancestors, who take part in their exciting worshiping ceremony.

Two different kinds of drums are used in the festival. One is the double drum, which includes two identical drums. All together they reach 170 cm in length and 30 cm in diameter. The double drums are usually put in a couple’s home, who has been married for a long time but doesn’t have a child. They worship the double drums to expect that the drums can give them children. On the day of festival, people take the double drums out for the ceremony.

For each Guzang Festival, the Miao have a new single drum. After the festival is over, they place the drum in a cave until it decays. The single drum is quite smaller than the double drums.

In the August before a Guzang festival, the Miao drag the old single drum out of the cave, then they will hold a praying ceremony. After that a new single drum is ready to be made.

An elderly man is selected as the leader, who presides over the worshiping ceremony a full two years before the festival! This man is in charge of choosing the sacred bulls. The sacred bulls can’t be used for farming, and they are fed carefully until the ceremony.

The most conspicuous person during the festival is the leader in a special costume. He wears violet shirt, with some dried fish tied up around his head. This suggests that their ancestors ever resided along the Yangtze river in east China and lived on fishing.

On the first few days of the festival, people sing, dance, and hold numerous banquets to feast friends, neighbors, and relatives. Anyone who visits their village is warmly welcomed! They have meat and bean curd, but they can’t eat vegetables. The festival lasts 13 days.

There are a few more exciting things about the secret Miao GuZang festival, so visit my website below to learn it now!

The Miao minority in southern China celebrates the all-important GuZang festival every 13 years. They wear literally pounds of silver jewelry and take part in activities that date back thousands of years!

During the festival, the Miao always use good words to describe any detail of the occasion. For butchering a pig, they say kiss the big official; for taking a butcher knife, they say give me the leaf; for heating the stove with some straw to cook the pork, they say use the quilt to cover the official. By doing this, they try to avoid any unhappy feelings.

On the 5th day of the GuZang festival, the sacred bulls are led around the village, with firecrackers exploding all around. The bulls are adorned with colorful decorations.

The bulls are slaughtered just before dawn the next day. Their heads are put together facing east, which suggests the ancestors of the Miao come from east China. A ceremony is then held to release souls of these bulls from purgatory. At last people sing the old sacrificial songs together.

After the ceremony, the meat of bulls is divided and distributed for people to hold feasts at home.

In the next few days, the Miao continue to revel in their festival. They sing and dance with the beautiful drum music echoing through the mountains.

Bullfighting is an exciting game held during the festival. Bullfighting means two bulls fighting with each other. The bull killed in the game is considered a hero and will be buried with a big funeral. On the gravestone, his battle story is recorded.

You must be interested in learning the origin of this mysterious GuZang festival. Go to visit my website below to take a look!