China’s Miao people believe human life symbolised by trees, depicting birth, hardship, death

China’s Miao ethnic group reveres trees, believing that they symbolise the life of humans; they also worship vegetation at important stages of life.

The Miao people, whose population numbers over 10 million, inhabit central and southern China’s Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi provinces, and have a traditional Flower-Jump Festival every year.

At this time, people gather around a 10-metre-tall flower tree made by the revered elderly in the village with evergreen tree branches, and dance around it on every sixth day of the first lunar month.

The Miao people believe that the maple tree is the origin of their life. They believe that such a tree bred the butterfly mother, who gave birth to 12 life eggs, and a human was born in one of the eggs.

When they build new villages, they would first plant a maple tree. If the tree does not like the place, they would seek another spot.

In some villages, people celebrate the life of their mother tree once a year.

They worship sacrifices and burn joss paper, asking for another year’s protection from the tree, before snapping some branches to take home.