The Chinese Miao’s Silver Jewels And Their Lusheng Musical Festival
The Lusheng Musical Festival held in Chinese Miao areas is quite exciting. People dress them up with their colorful ethnic costumes and beautiful silver jewels, singing and dancing to express their feelings of happiness. About the origin of this exciting festival, there is an interesting story.
Long ago, there was a handsome, courageous hunter who was famous for his wisdom. On the mountains where he hunted, he killed countless wild beasts. One day in a village, he found that there were no chicken and ducks, and the villagers told him all their birds were eaten by two huge hawks. Hearing this, the hunter decided to help the villagers to get rid of the hawks. He went to the cliff where the hawks lived, and shot the two big birds down when he saw them flying out of their nest. Hearing the good news, the villagers held a banquet to thank the hunter for his deed.
A girl in this village saw the handsome hunter at the banquet, and immediately fell in love with him. But before she tried to reveal her feelings to him, the hunter left the village. The hunter left, and also stole the girl’s heart.
A few years later, the girl grew up to be a beautiful woman. Many young men in the villages tried to court her, and all were turned down. In her heart, she was still in love with the hunter and hoped to see him someday.
A white pheasant also coveted the girl’s beauty, and dreamed to have her as its wife. But the pheasant knew the girl wouldn’t marry an animal like him. So he thought over and over, and finally got an idea. One day when the girl was doing embroidery, the pheasant made a big storm which took away the girl to a remote forest.
The pheasant put the girl into a cave, and tried to convince her to marry him. But the girl rejected him. The pheasant worried that the girl might escape, so he made her into a coma. Only before daybreak each day, the girl woke up and started to cry. Once the girl cried, the pheasant would utter a strange sound to make her sleeping again. These strange sound and cry scared the local people, who didn’t know what was happening in the forest. So they decided to move and leave this place.
One day the handsome hunter came to the forest and was told of the terrible sound and cry. At night he followed the sound to a huge tree where the white pheasant stood. The hunter shot the pheasant with his gun. He then picked up a piece of feather from the pheasant’s body, and wore it to decorate his hair. With the white feather, the hunter looked more handsome. After telling people about this story, the hunter left the forest.
After the pheasant was killed, the girl woke up and escaped from the cave. After learning her experience, the local residents told her about the hunter who saved her life and left.
With the help of the village people, she went back home. At home, she told her parents that the hunter was the only person she wanted to marry. But where do we find the hunter? they asked.
Finally the girl’s father got an idea, We hold a big party to sing and dance, and invite people from other villages to join us. Maybe the hunter will show up at the party.
Using bamboo, the father made a special musical instrument called Lusheng. He also taught the other villagers to make this instruments. During the Miao new year, they held a big festival to sing and dance, with the beautiful Lusheng music as the background. The exciting festival attracted lots of people from near and far to join in.
On the ninth day of the festival, the hunter appeared, with a white feather adorned in his hair. He was invited to the girl’s home. The father told everything to him. Finally the girl and the hunter got married.
Every year since then, Miao people held a Lusheng Musical Festival to dance and sing. While dancing, they liked to wear a white pheasant feather in their hair, believing that it could drive away evil spirits and help them find a perfect partner. If they couldnt find a white pheasant feather, they would use a piece of silver jewel in the shape of a feather.
Tagged with: Chinese culture • Lusheng musical festival • Miao • Miao culture • Relationships • silver bracelets • silver earrings • silver jewelry • silver jewels • silver necklaces • silver pendants
Filed under: Relationships
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