Pianzhai Village is composed of three natural zhai (villages): Pianzhai, Shijiazhai, and Yangjiazhai. Locating merely 30 to 50 meters apart from each other with the Qingshui River encircling the village and flowing from north to south, these three settlements form a crescent-shaped layout.
Pianzhai Village is one of the largest gathering sites for the Sisters Festival. Every year, from March 15th to 17th of the lunar calendar, lively and traditional festivities, centered around Pianzhai, include drum dancing and sharing of the Sisters meal. Young Hmong men and women, attired in festive style, will invite their chosen partners to engage in festive celebrations: courting ceremonies, antiphonal singing, Lusheng and wooden drum dances, as well as gift exchanges.
However, if one believes that the Sisters Festival only starts till March 15th of the lunar calendar, they would miss out on a lot of excitement. In fact, we encountered a lively prelude to the Sisters Festival on March 12th in Pianzhai. Later, the villagers from Pianzhai informed us that the event was part of a reciprocal feast, where they invited villagers from Jiuzhai to enjoy the Sisters meal. Last year, Jiuzhai hosted Pianzhai for the meal, and this year, it is Pianzhai’s turn to be the host. Not only in Pianzhai, but every Hmong village that participated in the Sisters Festival extended such mutual invitations to neighboring villages to partake in the Sisters meal. This tradition has already been ongoing for a month.
Following the grand welcoming procession of Pianzhai as it moved along the national highway, we saw two men at the forefront of the procession holding up a wide red banner that wrote, “Warmly welcoming Jiuzhai to Pianzhai for the joint celebration of the Sisters Festival.” At the back of the procession was a male with a handheld bluetooth speaker that played pop dance music playlist, even including songs like Drunken Butterfly.
Interestingly, the mythical origin of Hmong history is closely connected to the butterfly. In Hmong mythological narratives, the Maple Tree God gave birth to the Butterfly Mother, who subsequently laid 12 eggs that encompassed all creatures in the universe, with the last egg giving rise to humans. This narrative reflects the Hmong emphasis on the equality of life, highlighting the equal and harmonious coexistence of humans with all other living beings.
Alcohol is one of the most indispensable elements in Hmong festivals as the people here are known for their fondness of alcohol. Perhaps Hmong people’s appreciation for the song Drunken Butterfly stems from its link to the Hmog myth and culture given the common symbolic elements like alcohol and butterflies.
In the welcoming procession, women were all dressed in Hmong clothing made from bright fabrics with distinctive embroidery patterns. In young women’s garments, the embroidery often featured lively and cartoon-like animals, characterized by vibrant colors and intricate designs. On the contrary, the embroidery on the clothing of elderly women often predominated in shades of blue and purple. Additionally, the embroidery patterns on their garments featured more abstract diamond shapes and geometric lines, covering a relatively smaller area compared to those on the young girls’ attires.
The Hmong is an imaginative and creative ethnic group, as a saying goes: “If you meet a hundred Hmong people, you will witness a hundred different styles of attire.” With no standardized framework, their clothing serves as a canvas, with needle and thread functioning as pen and paper, allowing the Hmong to depict vivid stories of their lives on their attire.
An elderly woman who spoke Mandarin in the procession told us that Hmong traditional garment also follows its fashion trends from generation to generation. In her youth, the embroidery patterns were more abstract, with simple diamond shapes and geometric designs representing flowers, grasslands, birds, human figures, butterflies, and so on. This might be affected by material scarcity at that time. The trend toward cartoonish and figurative designs had only emerged in the past decade. In terms of color, the embroidery on the attire of unmarried young girls is predominantly in red and other warm tones, whereas after marriage, the colors shift to cooler and darker tones like blue and purple.
Regardless of the clothing style, Hmong women always wear their hair in high chignons, adorned with traditional silver ornaments, combs, and flowers. While most Hmong men wear more casual attire, though some may also wear brightly colored garments and traditional hats.
We followed the procession for more than twenty minutes and finally met the procession from Jiuzhai at an intersection. Unlike Pianzhai, the girls from Jiuzhai were dressed in complete and magnificent Hmong costumes, including silver ornaments on their upper torso and pleated skirts. They were adorned with various silver jewelry on their heads and bodies, looking very exquisite. Some of them were even wearing high heels.
Clearly, the differences in attire between these two villages were carefully considered. The villagers from Pianzhai told us that today's event was hosted by Pianzhai to welcome villagers from Jiuzhai. The villagers from Jiuzhai, being guests, came dressed in their most extravagant clothing, Hmong costumes that took over a year to prepare. Regardless of how hot the weather might be, they wanted to showcase their most beautiful side.The relationship between these two villages is very good, and they hold these community events before the Sisters Festival every year.
Other villages also hold similar events within a month before the Sisters Festival. The purpose is to allow young men and women from different villages to get to know each other and even to provide an opportunity for those who are already married to meet their exes again. This aspect adds a certain human touch to the festival. The Hmong Sisters Festival, a female-led Valentine's Day, has beauty, emotions, and social interactions as its most prominent features.
Upon returning to the village, everyone prepared to start dancing officially. The villagers of Pianzhai first gathered in a plaza about the size of a basketball court. They formed a circle and danced around a large drum placed in the center. The guests from Jiuzhai, on the other hand, performed ancestral rituals with chickens and alcohol in a small alley at the entrance of the plaza before entering.
As the drumbeat began, people started dancing to the rhythm of the drum. The hosts from Pianzhai formed the outer circle, while the guests from Jiuzhai formed the inner circle. The dance began with rhythmic movements, and their graceful dance moves seemed quite complex to us, requiring a strong sense of rhythm. Even a minor mistake could result in the breakdown of synchronicity, yet the Hmong women were incredibly proficient and coordinated.
In addition to the significant social attributes mentioned above, the drum-stepping dance is also of importance in its ceremonial meaning. Hmong people believe that the drumming ground, about the size of a basketball court, is the closest place to the divine and is considered the most sacred spot in the village.
As night fell, Pianzhai prepared a feast and rice wine for their friends and relatives from Jiuzhai. Of course, the colorful Sisters meal was one of the most important dishes of the Sisters Festival. Sisters meal is made from different types of flowers and, according to folklore, eating it can expel parasites in the body. Additionally, homemade rice wine was essential, and as villagers went table-to-table with toasts, everyone had to drink a full glass for each toast. The air was filled with the aroma of rice wine and food, and the laughter and joy of the people filled the entire square, marking the beginning of the villagers' celebration.
In the festivals and celebrations of the Hmong people, we witnessed a unique and profound pursuit of life: the integration of the material and the spiritual. The Hmong people demonstrate their unique understanding of beauty through intricately designed costumes and a variety of colorful foods. This not only reflects their appreciation for traditional culture but also expresses their emotional connection to self-identity.
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On a spiritual level, the Sisters Festival represents a celebration of emotion, social interaction, and shared experience. These culturally related techniques, behaviors, symbols, and customs connect relationships between individuals, shaping their social identities and ways of interaction. At the same time, they provide the fundamental basis for the formation of Hmong community structures. It is evident that the Hmong place a strong emphasis on building interpersonal relationships and the division of labor within the community, which aligns with research in cultural anthropology re- garding social structures and social networks.In Hmong celebrations, the emotional and spiritual connection reflects the ties with their ancestors and different communities; The long period of preparation and wonderful festival events demonstrate their respect and commitment to the preservation of traditional culture; The invitations and joint celebrations among communities highlight the mutual support and fraternity in their cultural values. All these features align with theories in cultural anthropology regarding communal identity and cultural experience.
Overall, the Hmong people's expression of delightness in these celebrations and their pursuit of beauty not only reflects their unique understanding of material and culture but also deeply expresses a strong sense of identification with interpersonal relationships, social identity, and traditional values.
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