Without Silver Jewelry, How Do The Chinese Four Seals Miao Astonish The World?

Among all the tribes of the Miao ethnic group in southwestern China, the Four Seals Miao is a conspicuous one. The women don’t have silver jewelry like other tribes, but wear colorful garments embroidered with four square patterns. Their pleated skirt are usually white or light blue. Some women like to use a long, wide blue cloth to wrap their hair bun.

The Four Seals Miao reside in a village called Maige, which in Miao language means a place with lots of woods. A long time ago, a tribe of Miao was forced by their enemies to move to a remote mountainous area in southwestern China. Wanting to lead a peaceful life and not be harassed by the enemies again, they decided to destroy everything that might reveal their identities. When a Shaikh was about to throw the four big seals, the symbols of the tribe, into fire, a girl stood up and said: Please print the patterns of the seals on my clothes before you burn them. This way, the soul of our nation will live forever.

Since then, the tradition of embroidering four colorful square patterns on womens clothes began in this tribe, which got them the unique name the Four Seals Miao.

The Four Seals Miao are famous for their extraordinary batik technique with a history of over 2,000 years. Women use a special knife dipped into melt wax to paint exquisite patterns like animals, birds, and flowers onto a white cloth. The cloth is then dyed in blue liquid, and placed into boiling water to take away the wax. At last lovely blue designs are printed onto the cloth.

The local women spin, weave cloth, batik, sew, and do embroidery all by themselves. To prepare a set of clothes for holidays, they often spend seven to eight months on sewing and embroidery. Their frocks have a big, multiple layered collar embroidered with colorful designs. The largest seal- a square pattern on the front of the frock is especially noticeable. Their pleated skirt are highlighted with the embroidered horizontal lines which represent the rivers and lakes their ancestors ever crossed during their migration throughout China.

Their houses are constructed with dirt and stones. Corn is their staple food. Rice is expensive food which they can only eat in holidays or new years. They farm on the mountainside. Everyday women have to climb the mountain to fertilize their farmland with manure. Sometimes they go back and forth 6 to 7 times between their home and the farmland. Their life isn’t easy.

Festivals are held especially for single, young people to choose their partners. Every year, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, they will hold a famous Flower Dance Festival where young people get together to talk, sing, and dance. For several nights, they will have a bonfire party where they sing songs to express their love.

During the festival, a ceremony is held to release the soul of a dead tribe member from purgatory. In the ceremony, a man will be chosen to wrap his body with the dead members clothes, and then sing and dance to the Lusheng music in the background. This way, the dead members soul could ascend to the heaven.

The local people enjoy raising thrush in their spare time. Kept in a cage, a thrush sings beautiful songs. After getting trained for a few months, some thrush can imitate the sound of other animals, including dog, cat, goose, and duck. Visit their village on a sunny day, you will hear the intoxicating songs of a thrush.