"A maple tree gave birth to a butterfly, which laid twelve eggs,
one of which became Jiangyang, our forefather," explains clan elder
Gun Genxiang, about the origins of people of Basha, a
Miao
hamlet.
Though besieged by modernization, Miao people in the hamlet, in
Congjiang County in southwest China's
Guizhou Province, still keep alive their beliefs, rites and
daily life.
Villagers still burn incense under ancient trees on festivals to
pray for bliss.
"No one dares to cut any branch of an ancient tree, even if it is
dead," said Jia Yuanliang, the village accountant and one of the
few who can speak fluent Mandarin Chinese here in a place where
people talk in the Miao language.
The ancient trees, including maples, firs, pines, and camphors,
each hundreds of years old, have been protected as carriers of
ancestor's spirits for generations.
Anyone who dares to cut any branch of the ancient trees will be
penalized severely. They will have to give 60 kilograms of wine,
meat and rice each to fellow villagers, a penalty also imposed in
cases of crimes like theft, robbery or drug-taking, according to
village rules.
As
most of China's minorities carry on their traditional funeral ways,
Miao people here still bury their dead in fir wood coffins.
Firs are the only wood used for this purpose and only those firs
over 60 years are big enough, said Jia, adding that villagers plant
trees for themselves or their descendants on hills every year.
Basha is a place where ancient culture is most completely
protected, and this group is quite different from other Miao groups
in terms of clothing and daily life, said Zhang Xiaosong, a
respected anthropologist in the province.
They dress like ancient warriors, wearing guns and knives everyday.
Their clothes, made in the village, are dyed a glittering sapphire
color with indigo blue and egg white. The hair on their heads is
mostly shaved except in the middle, where it is twisted and
knotted.
The 2,140 villagers, more like a tribe, seldom connect with the
outside world and lead a self-sufficient life in the hilly areas.
Basha is about seven kilometers away from the center of the county
and has been crossed by a highway for over 30 years.
(Xinhua News
Agency October 28, 2002)