NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 69 



those of the Chinese, the most important tools being the hammer, 

 ax, hatchet, saw, plow, sickle, and hoe. Most of them are made by 

 Chinese blacksmiths and sold in Chinese markets. 



Travel and transportation are generally on foot. People walk 

 through the fields and over mountain paths and roads to visit their 

 friends, and to towns and marketplaces. Loads are carried on their 

 backs or at the ends of carrying-poles. They have few horses or 

 mules, and these are generally used for riding. 



The domestic animals are dogs, pigs, cattle, water buffaloes, horses, 

 mules, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, and geese. Every home has 

 one or more watchdogs, and there is a special breed of hunting dogs. 

 Water buffaloes are generally used to plow in rice paddies, and cattle 

 on dry land. Much of their land is so steep that it can only be culti- 

 vated by the hoe. The sickle is used to reap crops, to cut grass, and 

 to cut down small bushes and trees. The ax is used on large trees. 



The Ch'uan Miao do not have stores or markets. There is con- 

 siderable barter, but many of their commodities are bought and sold 

 in the Chinese markets. Going to market is both a social and a busi- 

 ness affair. 



Some rice is grown on low, level ground where there is plenty of 

 water for irrigation, but the main product is maize. Other farm 

 products are fruit, vegetables, pork, beef, mutton, chickens, ducks, 

 and geese. The principal food is maize ground into meal and boiled. 

 It is eaten from bowls with chopsticks, like rice, and is generally mixed 

 with vegetables and meat. The more prosperous Ch'uan Miao eat 

 rice part of the time. 



Many Ch'uan Miao houses have floors and walls of pounded clay 

 and roofs that are thatched. Some are built of wood and have tile 

 roofs. Other houses have walls of bamboo covered with plaster. The 

 poorest have walls of cornstalks and roofs of straw. 



The family is the social unit and is patrilineal. Marriages are made 

 not by individuals, but by families through go-betweens. Land, 

 houses, furniture, domestic animals, tools and utensils belong to 

 families instead of individuals. As soon as a woman marries, she 

 belongs to the family of her husband, for a family includes all men 

 and their wives, their sons, and their unmarried daughters. 



People having the same family name cannot marry, for even if 

 there is no blood relationship they are regarded as relatives. There 

 is also a feeling of relatedness between all Ch'uan Miao, so that to 

 some extent they are all brothers and sisters. 



The main amusements of women and girls are gossiping, making 



