Wings of Silver
Every year, during the Sister’s Rice Festival, unmarried Miao women dress head to toe in their finest silver weighing up to 40 lbs. Long ago the Miao carried their wealth in silver as they were forced down from the North. The Miao believe that silver represents light which drives out evil spirits.
Colorful glutinous rice dyed with leaves, berries, and flowers is wrapped in a silk handkerchief with treasures hidden inside and is exchanged between unmarried young women and men. A pair of chopsticks or a red petal represents that the woman also likes the young man. One chopstick, or a red chili pepper, is a sign of rejection. Pine needles signify that the young woman is hinting that the young man should present silk and threads and that she will wait for him.
Mai Bang
Mai Bang is Butterfly Mother in Miao language. Butterfly Mother gave birth to 12 eggs which are the origin of all living things. Everything has life. These eggs are bound in handwoven Dong minority cloth dyed with indigo, wild rose roots, and tree bark, and pounded with egg whites, and then steamed.
Chuan Dong, 19 generations of Papermaking in a Cave
Miao people have been making paper in a limestone cave since the middle of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). A nearby spring provides unpolluted, neutral PH water, and neighboring mulberry trees flourish. Wang Xingwu learned papermaking from his father and is the 19th generation to continue the tradition. Nothing is wasted, as leftover materials are irrigated to the fields, fed to the pigs, or used for firewood.
Opening and Closing Demonstration