Xiangxi Dialect
Tujia language in western Hunan can be divided into northern dialect and southern dialect. The northern dialects are distributed in Longshan, Yongshun, Baojing, Guzhang and other places, and can be used for communication in various places. The southern dialects are mainly distributed in Luxi County, with significant differences in pronunciation and vocabulary compared to the northern dialects, so the two dialects cannot communicate.
Xiangxi Miao language is the eastern dialect of Miao language, which can be divided into eastern Subdialect and western Subdialect. The eastern Subdialect is distributed in Luxi, Jishou, Guzhang, Longshan, Yongshun, etc. The western Subdialect is mainly distributed in Fenghuang, Huayuan, Jishou, Baojing, Guzhang, etc. The vocabulary of eastern and western Subdialect is quite different.
Xiangxi Marriage customs
The unique feature of Tujia people's marriage custom is crying for a long time. The bride began to cry about her marriage half a month before leaving her home. The content of the "Crying Marriage Song" includes crying about her parents, brothers and sisters, sisters, ancestors, and the matchmaker. Crying for marriage is often a way of telling the feelings of parting. Usually, the bride cries alone, with her mother and sisters crying together.
Miao walking marriage, also known as elopement in Hakka, is different from the elopement in Hakka. It is both humorous and unique, yet pure and simple, depicting the free love between Miao men and women and opposing the arranged marriage system. Miao young men and women are relatively outgoing. They gradually get to know each other through activities such as visiting relatives and friends, and catching up on sidelines. Through multiple interactions, they deepen their understanding of each other and develop a love relationship, which is called "first acquaintance". Through another period of contact and interaction, the two of them deepened their affection, so they communicated with each other and privately agreed to a lifetime. This kind of private engagement was not done through matchmaking or with the consent of both parents.
Local Festivals in Xiangxi
Tujia people festivals include Tujia New Year, April 8, June 6, Dragon Boat Festival and July 15. The Tujia New Year is celebrated one day earlier than the Han Chinese, with a month greater than 29 and a month smaller than 28. After the founding of the China, the People's Government of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture implemented the Party's ethnic policy and listed the Tujia Year as a local statutory holiday, taking a day off.
There are many traditional festivals among the Miao people, including the Miao New Year, April 8th, Dragon Boat Festival, New Food Festival, and Autumn Festival. Among them, celebrating the Miao New Year is the most solemn. The Miao year is equivalent to the Chinese New Year, usually held after autumn.
In order to commemorate the establishment of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, every year, on September 20, the founding anniversary of the autonomous prefecture, all citizens in the administrative region of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture have a two-day holiday.
Taboo in Xiangxi
Taboos of Tujia : When guests come to the home, the Tujia owners will treat each other warmly. On holidays, one cannot say inauspicious words; Cannot carry a hoe, wear a coir raincoat, or carry an empty bucket into the house; Do not use footrests or tripods; Do not whistle indoors; Guests cannot sit on a bench with young women.
Taboo of Miao: Do not open an umbrella and enter someone else's home; Don't casually step on the doorstep of others' houses; When visiting someone else's house, men and women cannot stay in the same room; When visiting Miao households, do not step on their tripods or sit in the main position of the main hall (in the direction of the shrine); Try not to get close to married women in Miao villages; Don't whistle casually (to attract ghosts) in Miao and Tujia villages.
Architecture of Xiangxi
Xiangxi is located in a mountainous area with abundant wood. The mountain people have always liked to build wooden houses, and wooden structures are commonly used for living. The wooden house is a full wooden structure, with wooden columns, beams, walls, windows, doors, floors, and roof tiles. The wooden structure with three pillars, four chess pieces, and four rows and three rooms, especially the stilted building, is the most commonly used type of residential building in the mountainous areas of Xiangxi.