The Four Seals Miao is a small tribe of the Miao minority group who inhabit the mountainous area of southwestern China. Although they don't have silver jewelry like other Miao tribes, they attract tourists home and abroad with their unique and ethnic culture. They got their name Four Seals from women's garments sporting four bright square designs embroidered on the front, back, and sleeves, which are exactly like four large seals.

Their lovely hometown, a village named Maige, has lots of thrushes that are well known for their bright, sweet songs. Every morning you can enjoy the birds singing happily like a song competition held in the forest. So the village won a nickname home of thrushes.

Most thrushes have brown or yellow plumage and beautifully spotted breasts. The rest have plumage in pure white, silvery, or red. Singing beautiful songs, the birds also imitate the sounds of other birds and animals. In the forest, when you hear the sound of a duck, a goose, or even a cat, don't be surprised to find out that it is made by a thrush.

Thrushes enjoy fighting. In the forest, they have their own territories. If one thrush's home is invaded by others, a fight will occur.

The local people like to raise thrushes. Wherever they go, a market, a friend's home, they always carry their birds with them in a cage, so that they can enjoy listening to the birds singing, and watching them fighting.

Thrush fighting competition is held frequently. A thrush which is raised carefully for a few months can be a great fighter and sell for a good price. Birds business has becoming more and more popular among the Miao area. Some birds are even sold to other areas of China and overseas. In 2007, a thrush raised by a villager in Maige was sold at RMB 280,000 to a man from Hong Kong.

Artists get inspiration from the thrush, and have created lots of beautiful songs and dances about the bird.

Why do the local Miao people like to raise thrushes and watch them fighting? Read this story, and you will know.

Long time ago, an old couple lived harmoniously with their ten sons in a village. When the sons grew up, they were married one after another. With ten daughters-in-law's arrival, the peaceful life of the old couple was over. Everyday the women fight with one another, which eventually ruined the good relationship among the sons. So they made a decision to break up the family and live apart. Each son and his wife got some land and property. The old couple chose to live together with their youngest son and his wife.

Of the ten wives of their sons, nine were lazy and stupid. Only the one with the youngest son was smart and diligent. This diligent couple worked hard on their farmland, and began to live a prosperous life. Lazy and poor, all other sons and wives eventually had to start borrowing money from them. But the endless borrowing caused the young couple to run out all of their money and became impoverished themselves. To continue to live, the old couple had to go to the mountains to gather wild fruits for food.

One day when the old couple were in the mountain, an elderly man appeared and asked them why they had to eat wild fruits. And the couple told the man their sad story. After which he said, Just go back to your home, and you will have food.

When the old couple got home, they found many birds chirming around their house. Nine sons and their wives disappeared. Only the youngest couple were cooking in the kitchen.

The elderly man that they saw in the mountain was the Bodhisattva, who made their nine sons and daughters-in-law into eighteen thrushes.

From then on, the 18 thrushes lived around the house, singing and fighting everyday. Feeling sorry for them, the old couple built bird cages for them to stay. This was how the Miao peoples tradition of keeping thrushes started.

Once in Maige, you will like this beautiful ethnic village and want to visit other Miao tribes to see their extraordinary silver jewelry.

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Written by Clare Liu using tags: Asian, Chinese culture, Chinese people, culture, Four Seals Miao, Miao, Pets, silver jewelry, song thrush