I wasn’t going to write before the end of this week, but I just have to tell you about the amazing day we had yesterday (Sunday). We left home at 9 am, and after 2 hours of navigating winding, increasingly narrow mountain roads, we arrived at a tiny village of Miao people, about 200 inhabitants. The Miao are one of the 55 minority groups in China in addition to the dominant Han ethnic group (92% of China’s population). According to a 2002 census, there are about 9.6 million Miao people in China, most of them in Yunnan province! 

Village Street

We had already developed a tenuous connection with the Miao people when we were in Kunming in 1999 performing Handel’s Messiah at an International Arts Festival. At that time we had heard about a Miao village that sang a number of selections from Messiah, so we were interested to meet them. More than 100 years ago, missionaries from Great Britain taught them sections of Handel’s Messiah, as well as Gregorian Chant. The Gregorian chant seems to have disappeared, but the singing of Messiah has been passed down aurally, and the tradition continues. The “quasi” auditioned choir sang amazingly well – good strong voices, especially the tenors! Many a Canadian choir would be happy to have that sound emanating from its ranks! They also treated us to “Auld Lang Syne”, in Chinese no less, with one stanza sung in English with a soprano soloist and the choir humming. Methinks it sounded better than some of our New Year’s Eve party renderings of same!! They also sang some hymns with melodies I remembered from the southern Alberta Mennonite church in which I grew up.

What I was totally blown away by was evident joy, the serenity, and yes, even contentment of these people. They are so poor and work so hard on the land to eke out a living. Howard and I passed out Canada pins to all of them, for which they seemed to be very grateful. This simple gesture gave us an opportunity to shake hands with everyone, and I was struck  by the work-hardened, black hands, women as well as men. They were reserved, but very friendly and hospitable to a fault. 

The special lunch prepared for us us was somewhat difficult to eat, especially after I saw the kitchen where it was all cooked! There was no running water. The  food was “interesting”, and I wasn’t too hungry! Strange how one’s appetite can disappear at the mere sight of black chicken  feet and claws!  When they prepare a chicken for soup, they use ALL of the bird, wasting nary a neck, a foot or an organ! We also had deep fried potatoes (potatoes are a staple in the country), corn, pig fat (yes fat, not bacon), boiled cabbage and other unidentifiable delicacies. Oh yes, the fried eggs weren’t too bad! And of course there’s always rice. We were given chopsticks (they had been used many times previously) and tiny napkins, and later we had some tea.

I left feeling grateful for everything I enjoy every day, and very grateful I don’t live on that mountain! However, I wouldn’t have missed yesterday’s experience for anything! It was a rare privilege to share a few hours with these lovely folk who, despite their grinding poverty, are unfailingly kind and generous. Lesson learned! 

Maggie