Why China Miao ethnic group moves houses at night, dances with soot on faces upon completion

China’s Miao ethnic group is marked out from others thanks to their observance of a unique tradition known as “moving house at night”. The custom sees young men smear soot on their faces, dance, turn lights on and off and conclude the relocation by firing a hunting rifle before sunrise. The tradition is long-standing in a Miao ethnic township in Xiangyun county, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, southwestern China. The Miao people, who primarily live in the mountainous regions of...