166 THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS OF KWEICIIOW 



Some of these tribes are quite small : in fact we were 

 told that the one called "West of the Eiver Tribe" numbered 

 no more than six villages. The tribes seem to keep quite 

 distinct, however, but if peace once reigns between them the 

 barrier of inter-marriage may tend to> get broken down. 

 The Chinese have always held them in such strong contempt, 

 not only on account of their illiteracy but also on account of 

 their lack of morals, that up to the present time they have 

 not been absorbed to any large extent among the Chinese, 

 and they have kept their own customs singularly unaffected 

 by their neighbours. In former times no Chinese ever lived 

 among the Miao*, nor had they any friendly intercourse with 

 them, the more so that Chinese children were not infre- 

 quently stolen by the tribesmen. Nowadays they are in 

 much closer touch, and Sir A. Hosie in his recent book ''On 

 the Trail of the Opium Poppy" describes how he had a 

 meal in a Miao hut in the neighbourhood of Kwei Yang 

 where formerly there was a large colony of Miao, but now 

 scarcely any are left : they were very harshly dealt with by 

 the Chinese. The strongest of the tribes is the Han Miao 

 or Shwei Hsi Miao. 



Although nominally under Chinese rule, they are practi- 

 cally autonomous. They have no temples or altars, and 

 their religious beliefs are frankly animistic : their creed might 

 be summed up in one sentence — "I believe in evil spirits, 

 necromancy, and ancestor worship." The only sacrifices 

 they offer are to the dead and to evil spirits, and S. E. 

 Clarke in his interesting book "Among the Tribes," after 

 working among them for fifteen years, saw no other worship 

 and does not think they have any belief in a Supreme Being 

 (p. 62). They associate forests with religion and no doubt 

 ■connect trees with evil spirits, or possibly look on them as 

 the abode of the dead. 



They have periodical festivals where music and dancing 

 take place, but it appears to have no religious basis. The 

 songs and playing of long fifes seem to be only used for 

 amorous purposes, so that the songs are hardly suitable for 

 translation. Sexual morality (in our sense of the word) is 

 unknown to them, hence the inevitable resultant disease is 

 widespread. 



The Flowery Miao are scarcely ever to be seen away 

 from their own haunts, or on the highroads; so that should 

 they be so met, it will almost certainly be the case that 

 they are on the way to a Christian service, and for that 

 they will travel forty or fifty li. They have no commercial 

 interests, and cultivate all they need for food or dress. In 

 times of scarcity and bad harvests many die of want, as 



