Yangweng village

Extract from the diary for the 2005 trip:

"Saturday 14 May - Sandu / Rongjiang

We stopped after about 30 minutes and walked up a steep path to a Shui village – Yangweng village of Bajie township - see on map, Sandu county. The sun was shining and it was quite hot climbing up. At the entrance to the village, on a flat area surrounded by a wall, were four Miao women fully dressed in their festival costumes, three Miao men playing on Lusheng pipes, two Miao men dressed in buffalo costumes and at least two Miao men dressed as women. Apparently the Miao village – also called Yangweng village – was higher up the mountain above the Shui village. Two of the women were wearing embroidered festival costumes which included bird motifs and two were wearing costumes with panels of weaving. The embroidered costume was made of silk felt applied to cotton and then embroidered with large colourful motifs of butterflies, birds and flowers. Apparently green satins are sometimes used instead of silk felt. The silver jewellery and crowns were particularly interesting. The Miao are known as 'Hundred Bird Miao' from the many birds embroidered on their festival costume.

The Miao danced for us. Gina drew out a couple of the women so that we could see their festival costumes and headdresses in detail and also their ordinary day wear which they were wearing underneath the festival clothing. The festival costume was a coat and, under this a skirt with similar ‘tails’. They then danced for us again.

After this performance we were welcomed into the Shui village with a drink and then a pyramidal rice ‘lollipop’ on a stick with embedded fruit. This had been wrapped in leaves to cover and shape. We then walked through the Shui village and down to a place near a spring where the Miao and Shui women (in separate groups) laid out their clothing for us to buy."