Tradition : The Ordain ceremony

To be ordained (Gwatung). “Gwatung” in Mien means hanging a lamp. This is a way to give a merit to have a bright and the Mien people t have respects for who pass this ceremonial will have 3 lamps.  This ceremony was influenced by the Taoist ancestry. This ceremonial for a man and it is a make a prestige for the person who to be ordained, give a merit to the ancestor.

The ceremony has a history of about 2361 years, when “FarmChingHung” who commanded the Mien people to have this ceremony because FarmChingHung was the person who created the spirit and the human world. FarmChingHung told the Mien people to hold the Gwatung ceremony to help the people who had died, to go to heaven or to stay with the ancestors and not to go to hell. This ceremony is the first ordain for the Mien man and do not specific the age. In the Mien ceremony especially the man want to become successful in making a living must pass this ceremony.          The Gwangtung ceremony involves hanging the 3 lamps and is very important because this is to devolve upon the heir and give merits to the ancestor. In this ceremony, the people will hang up pictures of gods for worship, and all of the people who ordained can go to heaven when they die. The importance of this ceremony is to pass the influence from the teacher who conducts the ceremony to the person who wants to be ordained. Whoever went through this ceremony will call the person who influenced him teacher as long life. For the person who will be the teacher is not the same person who give the ceremonial but pass the Gwatung ceremonial or the pas the first of the ordain ceremonial.          After a man who goes through this ceremony, he will be successful in his life, will have a new name and will put this name together the ancestor directory. If they do not put his name in ancestor directory, they can not receive the blessings or offerings of food.

In other the people who pass the Gwatung ceremonial will have a little position in the spirit world.  They conduct the ceremony over 3 days, in which the people dedicate themselves to the Taoist god, such that when they die, their spirits will stay in the same place as their ancestors and be protected by a god.

When he becomes an adult, he can join all the ceremonies that the Mien people have. During the ceremonies, the people who participate must have a vegetarian diet and have sexual abstention. For a man who passed the Gwatung ceremony can accompany the person going through the ceremony and also show respect for others. As for a married man, when he participates in the ordain ceremony, his wife will join this ceremony with him, will have a lot of people have a ceremonial the same time but must be a relative or have the same lineage.   The ordain ceremony has 3 levels. GwaFarmToyTung, this ceremony is the first step for the ordain ceremony and takes place over 3 days. GwaCheatFitTung, this ceremony is the second step, and takes place over 7 days. TowChai or GwaLorTung, this is a big ceremony, and takes 7 days to complete.

For the ordained ceremonial, sometime ceremony one step or together to other step also.

Preparing the ceremony. - The women must be dressed in a newly sewn clothes. - Clothes: A square white calico for the person who will be ordained.  - A chair for the person who will be ordained in the ceremony. This chair must be made from new wood. - A pillar to put the lamps, which are made from banana trey and make it like a body, put to arms and put the lamps on the top of the tree. - Paper for the ceremony, have 2 patterns are JueyKong and Jueyma, paper made from the paper mulberry and other plants. Use a from that made from the steel thump on the paper until has a spoor and put a black ink in to the paper. - The salt cover used for inviting the leader who will lead the ceremony. Put the salt on the banana leaf, cover and tie with a white and black ribbon.  - Rice bag for the worship the teacher. Put around 400 grams of rice in a bag made from calico, together with a coin and tie the bag.   - Boat and the evil model. Boats made from the corn or rice leaves and weave it into a boat. As for the evil model, it is made from straw. - The lamps, in the past made from a big bowl like put the milled rice around ? of bowl, for the lamp wick made from a string put into the milled rice and put sesame oil. Nowadays, a white candle is used instead and is put into the milled rice.   - Food for offerings and for the guests, which usually include chicken, pork, rice, tea and Mien sweets.

The equipment 1. Three star picture this is to be like a shirt of god when invoke to the ceremonial, the god will stay in this picture. 2. Jaw is a 2 lumber to put together, for consult the oracles of god who satisfied the food that the people give offering. 3. A knife for a black magician, the character is a short, the end of a knife have a cluster of coins, this cluster for drive out the wicked and to bring the good to them self.  4. A sacred walking stick, which has a piece of metal at the end of the stick. 5. Buffalo horn to invite the Sun god.

6. The handbook for the ceremony consisting of the note of chant, the directory book about the ancestor lineage when they have to invite the ancestors to the ceremony.
7. A marker made from wood with carvings of Chinese alphabet. Paper, Chinese ink, a paintbrush to be used for writing messages to the Sun god.
8. A container made from bamboo for the joss sticks.      
9. Ngagen made from a flat bamboo.
10. Mat and strings.
11. A bell.
12. The three musical instruments for this ceremony: Drum, a gong and cymbals.  
13. A suits for the ceremony leader has a black hat and decorate with a red knitting wool, shirt do not have sleeves and long until the hips. Tung Jun like a women skirt but do not sew from waist till the ankle and lie on top of the pant. The leader ceremonies wear the clothes up to the ceremony.

http://mien.hilltribe.org/english/

Be under interdiction

Be under interdiction in wickedness day.  The Mien call this day ging. This day comes from the beliefs of the ancestors and is passed down from generation to generation. Mien people will be under interdiction from the Mien New Year ( that being the same as the chinese calendar). The first day of the new year starts in january or february in the Thai calendar and on this day Mien people stop working the field, do not kill any animals and do not hang clothes out. They believe that if they do not strictly follow the "no work" rules during this time bad things will happen to the village and the person who does not obey. Each village follows the chinese calendar and therefore each follows interdiction on the same day.
The tiger sleep wickedness day ( Ging Da maw Puay). On this day the people must let the tiger sleep. They cannot make much noise or disturb the tiger because they believe that bad things will happen to the village. The people in the village will ask for help from the ancestor spirits to protect the tiger and not to make trouble for the people in the village.

	The tiger walk wickedness day (Ging Da Maw Yang Jaw). This day is after tiger sleep    day. This day the people ask their god to inspire the tiger away from the village. The knife wickedness day (ging Hyu). On this day the people stop to working in the field to protect them from knife and axe. The storm wickedness day (Ging Jyaw).On this day the people in the village are under interdiction so the storm does not damage their lives and properties.  The bird wickedness (Ging Hnor). On this day the people are under interdiction to protect their plants from the birds that come to damage them. The rat wickedness day (Ging Hnaw). On this day the people in the village are under interdiction to protect the plants in the field from th rat. The snake wickedness day (Ging Nang) this day the people in the village are under interdictions to protect the snake come to the house and ban a snake go to the forest when the people go there. The caterpillar wickedness day (Ging Gang PAye) this day the people in the village are under interdiction to protect the caterpillar come to the house or interfere.
8. The Sky wickedness day (ging Ba Ong) this day the people believe that is the god birth day. Mien people do not go to work in the field or pestle rice.      9. Flood water wickedness day (Ging Hlow) this day the people are under the interdiction to protect their life, properties and vegetables from the flood.      10. The Chinese New Year wickedness day (Ging Cheng Meng) this day the people in the village will offering food to ancestors’ spirits.      11. The Chun Pun wickedness day. This day the people in the village greet the new season and the rainy fallow the season that make the agriculture completely.        12. Liew Gha wickedness day. This day is the season change from the Chinese style. Some village the people believe that a man can not sleep in the day time because they believe that their heart terrified to live in the country that have only woman.      13. The Pua Chun wickedness day. This day is the people in the village will give offering food to ancestor’s spirit and other spirit in the village to protect them from the bad things and drive out the animal interfere their agricultures.       14. The Leab Chiaw wickedness day (Ging Lieb Chiaw). This day the people in the village will give offering food to the mountain, forest to ask them to protect their agricultures.      15. The ear of rice (Ging Gu Dong Jyud). This day the people in the village are under interdiction for the rice has an ear.      16. The Jeab Huem wickedness day. This day the people are under interdiction for the spirits to go to travel.      17. The Mien Poi Bua wickedness day. This day the people in the village take a tree star god come to dry in the sun. mien said “this is open one’s eyes  ears”
The Jea Chun Yang wickedness day, this day is the day for season change to winter. Some village call this ceremony is ban the rain to make a problem with the agricultural. In writing, Mien people will light the joss sticks in front of the door’s house and in that day the people in the village wear the Mien traditions clothes or hang in front of the house because they believe that the ancestor spirit will protect their lineages http://mien.hilltribe.org/english/

Dresses

When you see the women wear a black shirt and a red fluff around their neck and wear a black pant with many stripes assemble around to sew the clothes. You will know this a Mien village.

Mien dress    Mien wear a long pants with many stripes and a cloak to the ankles. Around their neck has a knitting wool, has a clothes on the waist, wrap the head. Wrap the head has two steps, the first wrap by the clothes and the second wrap a stripes clothes cover on the first, it has two forms, the first is a big head and a headland and the Mien people wrap their head even they sleeps. Mien women wear a black long pant with many beautiful stripes. The stripes take a long time to make like 1-5 years depending on the detailed and a time of Mien women.     That why Mien would like to show the stripes that they take a time to make it. They keep the end of the shirt 2 side to tie on the back and use another cloth to be a belt.  They use black cotton to make a dress event a cloak will use from a textile. The Mien stripe in the villages depend on the people in the village to like it.

A men’s dress. A cloth for Mien are a undershirt. Wear with a short pant, a shirt and pant made from a navy blue cotton or a black cotton. The older wear a velvet cloth when the village has a ceremonial. A child cloth, similar to the elder, a child will has a small group of color like a do not have a stripe on the pant because her could not preserve or keep it clean. For a boy be the same the elder man, a boy has a cap such as a girl also but has a small detail different like a boy sew by alternate a black and a red cord.

A master dress in the ceremony Mien people take essential for a cloth to wear in the ceremonial, A Mien women will take respond this to sew this cloth. The cloth similar to a Tao graven (Mien) that Mien people give respect. Before ordain, Mien women prepare a cloth. The way of sew a cloth for. The Master who will take a role to be a ceremonial and the people who attend the ceremony.     The ornament Mien people very famous about make a silver because Mien to like to use a silver the same other hilltribe and a form of ornament is labored. When in the village has a ceremony, the women will adorn the silver ornament with full option. To dress the clothes  The way to make a dress, sew and use the color to make a stripes for a wares in daily life and in the ceremonial especially in the ordain (Gwatung) and in the wedding like a veil for a woman in the big wedding. The favor for Mien like to stripes is a bag to carry a baby and a wallet, the thing that Mien people to dress in this like twine a cord to catch up the shirt, This is the old way of Mien tribe that influence from China. Usually Mien people who like to wrap the head like a cape to like to patch up. For women will use a red ball tassel long line and a small beads for a ball tassel made from a red knitting wool a couple string to stick in the side of a women shirt about a wrist.

Art : Mien Song

Art : Mien musical instruments

     The musical instruments of Mien people are not complicated, but the only chance to hear Mien instruments is during big and important ceremonies and worship – they are not played just for leisure. Instruments are used in the Mien wedding, ordainment, funeral and Chew-Ta-Hyua (calling a spirit back from hell) ceremonies. Some ceremonies do not have the whole set of musical instruments – it depends on the ceremony in question and the person hosting the ceremony. For example, music in a funeral ceremony that do not be ordained cannot use the flute, while in the ceremony to call the spirit back from hell, a cymbal and drum are used. We can not hear the music from Mien people if they do not have the ceremonies or we can not hear the voice even they practice the Mien music.

The beat and melody of Mien music vary depending on the ceremony. In the wedding ceremony, when the bridal pair pays its respects to the ancestor spirits, the sky and the earth, the music will have its own melody and beat, while when the guests eat, the music adopts a new beat and the melody. Those who understand the meaning of the beat and melody are able to understand the story or the situation without seeing anything. Since Mien is unique among the tribes in only playing music on special occasions, they do not have the same forms of entertainment as other tribes.

Mien musical instruments come in two categories:      There is one wind instrument: a flute or Jyud in Mien language. Miens have only one flute. It is made from copper and brass.      1.There are three kinds of Mien percussion instruments: drums, gongs and cymbals.      2.Drum: The Mien calls this Choy or Lor-Choy. It has two faces. The drumhead is made from cowhide. Around 300 small sticks decorate the drum.      Gong: Mien calls their gong Mung. It is made from a metal alloy and is similar to the Thai gong. Cymbal: Mien calls their cymbal Chao-Juey orChaw. It is made from brass. It is similar to the Thai cymbal and has two pieces, which are hit together.

http://mien.hilltribe.org/english/

Calendar : Months

The Meaning of Month in the Mien language is Hla. There are 12 months in the Mien calendar and each month is named with numbers, for example the first month, second month etc. There are two different kinds of month – the big month (30 days in a month) and the small month (29 days in a month). Mien knows when the big months or small months are by comparing with the Chinese calendar and in some years, certain months will be repeated within the same year

Mien months. Compare with the international calendar. Thai month. The first is Jee-Hla 1 February The second is Hyuey-Hla 2 March The third is Fah-Hla 3 April The forth is Fuey-Hla 4 May The fifth is Huem-Hla 5 June The sixth is Luey-Hla 6 July The seventh is Chead-Hla 7 August The Eighth is Ped-Hla 8 September The ninth is Jua-Hla 9 October The tenth is Jeab-Hla 10 November The eleventh is Jea-Ead-Hla 11 December The twelfth is Jea-Yuey-Hla 12 January

Month of Mien people do not similar to the Thai calendar like The New Year (Chinese New Year) in 2003 is on 9, February and in 2004 The Chinese New Year is 22 January. In the same month but different year have not the same number of the days. Each month have waxing moon or waning moon only 14 days that month is a small month and have only 29 days in month and also have waxing moon or waning moon 15 days that month has 30 days in a month.

Information: From the book “The Local knowledge of Mien” 

http://mien.hilltribe.org/english/

Calendar : Day by Day of Mien people

     The meaning of day in Mean language is Hnoy. Mien does not use the system of weeks to calculate number of days, but a system unique to the Mien. One cycle contains 12 days and are named after animals. The cycle starts with the day of Rat and ends with the day of Pig, each consisting of 12 days and the cycle repeats until the end of the month. The Mien knows the meaning of each day. For example, the fifteenth

         

Mien day Meaning Symbol The first day is Juey-Hnoy Rat The second day is Chaw-Hnoy Cow The third day is Yean-Hnoy Tiger The fourth day is Hmaw-Hnoy Rabbit The fifth day is Jan-Hnoy. Dragon The sixth is Juey-Hnoy Snake The seventh day is Hum-Hnoy Horse The eighth day is Muey-Hnoy Goat The ninth day is Sean-Hnoy Monkey The tenth day is Yeaw-Hnoy Chicken The eleventh day is Fud-Hnoy Dog The twelfth day is Hoy-Hnoy Pig

Information: The local knowledge of Mien

http://mien.hilltribe.org/english/