Introduction
The Achang ethnic group has a population of 27,700, gathering mainly
in Longchuan, Lianghe, Luxi and Ruili counties in Dehong Dai-Jingpo
Autonomous Prefecture in south-western Yunnan Province. There are
also a small number of them scattered in Dali, Chuxiong, Yuxi, Xishuangbanna
and other counties in Yunnan. Although small in number, Achang people
are one of the earliest inhabitants of Yunnan.
History
Achang people call themselves Mengsa or Echang. Their ancestors
used to live in the area near the Jinsha, Lancang and Nu Rivers.
After the 2nd century, a branch of them moved to the west bank of
Nu River and later, about in 13th century, settled down in Longchuan
County. Another branch later migrated along Yunlong, Baoshan and
Tengchong, and finally made their pitches in Lianghe.
Achang people have their own spoken language, which belongs to
Tibetan-Burmese Austronesian of the Sino-Tibetan Phylum. Most Achangs
can speak Chinese and Dai language. Some live in Husa can also speak
Burmese and Jingpo language. The Achang ethnic group has no written
script and Chinese is widely used.
Economy
Achang people live on agriculture, in particular on rice planting.
Situated on the southern tip of the Gaoligong Mountain, the area
peopled by Achangs has a warm climate, vast fertile land and innumerable
watercourses, which all give rise to the prosperity of agriculture.
Major agricultural products are rice, corn, and beans.
Handicraft industries form another important aspect of the economy
of the Achang ethnic group. Their handicraft industry is highly
developed, boasting of rich traditions. They are adept at forging
iron. In fact, almost every family can do it. Their "Achang
knife" or "Husa knife", which is sharp, tensile,
durable and tasteful, enjoys a high reputation among the people
in the border areas of Yunnan.
Residence
In the form of Siheyuan courtyard, houses of Achang ethnic group
are normally made of four materials: brick, tile, wood and stone.
Their houses have two stories. The upper floor serves as a living
space for the family while the ground floor is used as shelter for
the livestock and a place to put firewood and farm implements.
Diet
The majority of Achang people will have three meals a day. The
staple diet includes rice, corn, and potatoes, which will be supplemented
with meat and fish. Achang people are fond of drinking. Wine make
from sticky rice is especially popular with them.
Fashion
Achangs' costumes are varied in styles. Achang people like to wear
black clothes. For women, their clothes vary somewhat depending
on where they live, but in general married women wear garments buttoned
on the front with narrow, long sleeves and close-fitting knee-length
skirts. They usually wrap their heads with black or blue cloth that
may go as high as thirty centimeters. Unmarried women wear trousers
and plait their hair into a bun on their heads. The plait is wrapped
with a black cloth. Achang women like to wear silver objects on
festive occasions.
Most Achang men tend to wear blue, white or black jackets which
button down the front, while some often wear jackets with buttons
toward the left side. Unmarried men wrap their heads with white
cloth, and married men indigo cloths.
Religion
Most Achang people believe in Hinayana Buddhist while some worship
their ancestors, practice polytheism and animism. Also, believers
of Daoism and Christianism also can be found in Achang villages.
Social Life
Achang people have a rich heritage of singing ballads and telling
folk tales. It is through these songs and stories that the Achang
culture and history are passed down from generation to generation.
Root in life, their songs and stories have a variety in their content.
Some of them tell the origin of the ethnic group, some eulogize
people's fighting spirit against the ruling class while some glorify
the intelligence and industriousness of common people.
Achang people like singing folk songs. When they work on the mountain
or in the farmland, gather at the holiday celebrations, or make
friends between boys and girls, they would like to sing folk songs
and ditties to express their feelings.
Festival
Woluo Festival is the most important festival of Achang people.
It comes in the fourth day of the first month of the lunar calendar.
During the festival, people of all ages come together, dancing and
singing all day and night.
Splashing Water Festival is another important festival. During
the festival, Achang people go and pick flowers in mountains, dancing
and singing, and regard it as Buddha. With cheer, hail and hurrah,
they go to river to wash and bathe their Buddha.
Besides, Dehong Fair Street is also a famous festival in local
area.
Post-liberation Life
Liberation came for the Achangs in early 1950. Two years later,
an Achang autonomous district was established in Longchuan County's
Fusa area, where the Achangs were concentrated. This was followed
by the establishment of three more Achang autonomous districts in
the counties of Luxi and Lianghe in 1953 and 1954. When the Dehong
Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture was created, the Achangs were amply
represented in the prefectural people's congress.
Beginning in the autumn of 1955, a gradual land reform abolished
feudal land ownership in the Achang area. Also abolished were feudal
privileges, taxes and usury. Farmers were organized into cooperatives
in 1958.
Achangs are famous for their rice cultivation. Before 1950, Achangs
were kept so poor by the feudal system that they could not afford
to eat rice. But since liberation, Achangs have been able to build
irrigation systems that have transformed arid land into fertile
paddy fields, ensuring steady rice harvests. They also have built
small hydroelectric stations, and have bought farm machinery such
as tractors, rice mills, diesel engines, threshers and winnowers.
Local industries, built up from nothing, are centered around Lianghe.
They now include ironwork, oil pressing, dyeing, and farm tool,
soap and rosin production. In Lasa, an ironworks produces water-powered
fire blowers, replacing the manual ones that were in common use.
Development of education has been a priority. Before 1950, there
was only one school, in Lasa, and that one mainly enrolled the children
of chiefs. Today, however, several dozens of primary and middle
schools have been set up and almost all Achang children are at schools.
In those areas, epidemics used to run rampant. After 1950, epidemic
prevention stations and clinics have been established, and medical
workers of Achang origin have been trained. Epidemics such as the
plague, cholera and typhoid fever have been eliminated.
|
