China officially recognises 55 different ethnic minorities, such as Uyghur, Tibetan and Miao. However, these state-approved classifications are often made up of hundreds of smaller groups with entirely different cultural practices and histories. There are about nine million Miao people living in villages scattered across the mountains of southern China, many with their own dialects and their own traditions.
The Suojia (Long Horn) Miao number about 5,000 people, living in just 12 villages in Guizhou province, southern China. The Long Horn Miao are best known for their women's elaborate headdresses worn by their women. Each giant wig is made by wrapping wool, linen and the hair of the woman's ancestors around a pair of animal horns or a wooden clip, and securing it in place with a white ribbon. The materials and the hair are passed down from generation to generation.
Teenage girls of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group wear headdresses as they prepare as they gather for the Tiaohua or Flower FestivalKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA girl of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group holds a wooden hair clip as she has her headdress put onKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA girl of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group has her headdress put on before the festivalKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA girl sits as a headdress is put on her before the Tiaohua or Flower Festival as part of the Lunar New Year celebrationsKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA girl of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group has her headdress put on her before the festivalKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesYang Jialan,10, wears the headdress typically worn by women of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group as she prepares for the festival in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA teenage girl kisses her younger sister after they put on the headdresses traditional worn by women of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority groupKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesGirls wearing the traditional headdresses chat as they prepare for the Tiaohua or Flower Festival in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty Images
Nowadays the headdresses are worn only for special occasions – or for tourists. As China opens up, the age-old traditions, language, and culture are fading. Young adults leave their remote rural villages and head to the cities for better opportunities. Farming and labour remain the mainstays of life for the Long Horn Miao, leaving the area relatively poor in comparison with many parts of China. The government has invested significant amounts into local infrastructure and the tourism industry to try to bolster the local economy.
Award-winning photojournalist Kevin Frayer visited the Long Horn Miao as they were preparing to celebrate Tiaohua, or the Flower Festival, held around Lunar New Year. The festival draws young Miao people from remote communities to the village of Longga, where they spend several days singing and dancing and, perhaps, falling in love and finding someone to settle down with and keep the Miao traditions alive.
Standing on the steps of her home, one of the last remaining wooden houses in Longga village, Xiong Shaofei, 85, holds hair and linen she used in the headdress she would wear daily as a young womanKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA photograph of Xiong Shaofei, 85, wearing a headdress she used to wear daily as a young woman, is seen on the wall of her home in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA young girl of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group eats food on top of a rubbish bin in a housing area that is part of a tourism project in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesBoys of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group walk in a housing area that is part of a tourism project, in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA woman of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group walks her cattle in an area developed for tourismKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA woman of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group carries a baby in traditional clothing in Bukong village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA woman of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group carrying a baby on her back cooks a meal in Xiaobatian village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA teenage girl wears a headdress during preparations for the Tiaohua or Flower Festival as part of Lunar New Year celebrations in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesLong Horn Miao girls dance to music at a gathering before the festival in Longga villageKevin Frayer/Getty ImagesGirls of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group wearing traditional clothing stand near a fire while listening to music at a gathering before the Tiaohua or Flower FestivalKevin Frayer/Getty Images
