Who are the Miao?
The Miao minority group inhabit the mountainous areas of south and southwestern China, and they have an old history and interesting culture. Their embroidery, silver jewelry, and batik art is second to none in the world. Among different groups in the Miao areas, there are some unusual games which you may have never learnt.
Climbing a knife ladder
A Miao knife ladder is 12 meters high, with 72 knives as rungs. The Miao climbers will first cut a piece of cloth or their hair with the knives to prove how sharp they are.
The unshod performers then start to climb the knife ladder, and their feet don't get any hurt. While climbing, they will also show their acrobatic skills such as flips and somersault.
Walking on the flaming iron board
To start this game, an iron board has coals burned on it for over 1 hour and can reach temperatures over 800 degrees Celsius.
The barefooted Miao performer then steps onto the iron boards. You can see smoke flying off of his/her feet, but miraculously their feet aren't hurt at all.
Then the iron boards are thrown into the cold water, which quickly becomes fizzy and a mist of white steam uprises.
Horse fighting
Horse fights and horse races are all held on June 6 of the lunar calendar, to express the Miao wishes for a good harvest.
The breathtaking horse fighting sports draw the attention of a lot of people. Girls will dress up with beautiful silver ornaments like silver bracelets, as this is also a holiday for them to have fun.
Two fellows walk their horses into a large field, then the game begins. Once the two horses see each other, they immediately start fighting and biting. They fight each other by biting and kicking ferociously. After a few bouts of fighting, one horse fails and escapes, and the other runs after it.
People around the circus are so excited that they halloo and yell for the horses. Finally the champ will have a red ribbon decorating his body.
Horse races
Horse races are held on steep mountain roads. When the game starts, the rider is 5 or six meters behind the horse.
The rider then goes to mount the horse, which right away runs at a full gallop. The horse isn't saddled, and the rider sometimes has to struggle to keep his legs close to the body of the horse and keep from falling off.
It's really a breathtaking race. The one who win the game will be rewarded, and maybe he will also win the love of the local women.
The Miao have even more exciting games and sports, visit my website to learn more about Miao culture and silver jewelry here.