Old customs and traditions
Welcome Ceremony with Guns: Visitors to Basha frequently are greeted outside the village in the traditional manner by a group of the Basha men carrying weapons of long rifles. Please don't be frightened!! They are the locals practicing a traditional welcoming ceremony.
Adult Ceremony: Like men of the Imperial Dynasties, most Basha men-folk still wear their hair long. As little children, Basha boys, like girls, have to keep their hair until they are 16 years old. The Adult Ceremony is when the boy becoming a man is held and he is allowed to decide whether to keep his long hair. The Adult ceremony is held to have a young man's head shaved or to keep his hair which is twisted and coiled atop the head.
Worshipping Trees: Around the Basha Village, there are many large tall trees. Like many other tribes, who take an animal or material as their totem, Basha people worship trees. On important occasions or some traditional festivals, villagers usually burn incense under big ancient tress to pray for heath and happiness.
A tree is planted on the birth of a baby. Often it will be cut down to make a coffin for burial purposes when that person eventually dies.
Unique Dress Code: People in Basha maintain their unique code of dress dating back to the Qin Dynasty. Basha men usually wear a collarless coat with buttons on the left side or down the front with baggy short trousers. Basha men don't usually wear shoes, even in the cold winter. However women's clothes are more colorful. A coat buttoned down the front, a kilt and more colorful wrappings are the usual make-up for women.
Unique Fossilized Lifestyle
A horizontal board is hanged above the entrance to Biasha Village, inscribed with ‘China’s First Village of Tribe Culture. In pubilc holidays, When visitors arrive, a group of villagers with long guns will stop them outside the village, while another group loads a homemade cannon. In fact, they are preparing a special Miao welcoming ceremony for the visitors.
Belief
In the Miao language, "Biasha" means a place where trees flourish. Biasha villagers still burn incense under ancient trees on festivals to pray for bliss.
The ancient trees, including maples, firs, pines, and camphors, each hundreds of years old, have been protected as carriers of ancestor's spirits for enerations. No one dares to cut any branch of these ancient trees, even if it is dead. Anyone who cuts any branch will be penalized severely. They will have to give 60kg of wine, meat and rice to fellow villagers. Penalties are also imposed in cases of crimes like theft, robbery or drug-taking, according to village rules.
As most of China's minorities carry on their traditional funeral ways, Miao people here still bury their dead,in firewood coffins. Firs of more than 60 years old are the only wood used for this purpose. Villagers plant trees for themselves or their descendants on hills every year.
Basha Village has their own unique festivals such as Eating New Food Festival, Lushen Festival, and Ghost Festival etc. During the festivals, Basha people will play on a swing, hold water buffalos fighting, and run after the pigs.
For more details about the village and its people, please trip with us. The village is incorporated in the below package, which is well designed by our travel specialists. If you are interesed in it, they can customize the itinerary according to your requirements.
The custom of drinking a bowl of mandatory rice wine has been remained among Miao villages. One of the distinguishing features of Miao’s culture is that they pass down their history by embroidery for there is no available written language. The Miao woman, known for her fine embroidery skill, begins to make her ceremonial clothing since she has fully learnt the art. Lusheng, a kind of Chinese wind instrument, is highly developed by Miao. The other unique feature of Basha people is that they are allowed to carry guns. It is the only such kind of tribe in China
