Population and Distribution
The De'ang ethnic group has a population of 15,400 that is widely
distributed over a vast area of 30,000 square kilometers, mixing
with the Dai, Jingpo, Va and other ethnic groups. Most De'ang people
live in Luxi County in Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Preference and
in Zhenkang County in Lincang Preference in Yunnan Province. Some
are also scattered in Yingjiang, Ruili, Longchuan, Baoshan, Lianghe,
Longlin and other counties in Yunnan.
History
De'ang ethnic group is one of the oldest tribes living in the south-west
frontier region. They date back to the ancient "Pu" people
who lived in the Nujiang River region in the second century. In
the Sui (581 - 618) and Tang (618 - 907) dynasties, they were called
"mangman" (mang barbarians), "puziman" (puzi
barbarians), etc. They successively submitted to the Han (206 BC
- 220 AD), Jin (265 - 420) dynasties and Nanzhou and Dali kingdoms.
After the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), they were brought under the
control of the Dai ethnic group.
Historically, at their peak, the De'ang ethnic group dominated
western Yunnan. This was especially during the 12th to 15th centuries,
when the Gold Teeth Kingdom founded by their ancestors held sway
over the whole region. Later, however, the De'ang ethnic group gradually
went into decline and was exploited and oppressed by other tribes.
After the founding of PRC in 1949, they were named the Benglong
ethnic group and in 1985, officially renamed the De'ang ethnic group
at the request of the De'ang people.
Language
De'ang people have their own language, which belongs to the Wa-Ang
branch of the Mon-Khmer group of the Austroasiatic language family.
Most De'ang people can speak Chinese and languages of Dai and Jingpo.
The De'ang people have no written script of their own and Chinese
is widely used.
Religion
The De'angs believe in Hinayana Buddhism and their daily life is
closely connected to Buddhism. Most boys will become monks and study
Buddhist scriptures in the temples after they reach the age of ten.
Except for a few boys who are raised to the rank of Buddha, most
will resume their secular life several years later.
Economy
De'ang people mainly live on agriculture. The areas they inhabit
are endowed with fertile land and a mild climate. The major crops
include rice, corn, buckwheat, potato as well as walnuts and jute.
De'ang people are particularly adept at cultivating tea, while some
engage in fishing and hunting. Handcrafts such as bamboo weaving
are also undertaken.
Covered with primitive forest, these areas are abundant with precious
Chinese medicinal materials such as fritillary, coptia, snow lotus,
cordyceps sinensis, angelica sinensis, poria cocos, musk and bear
gall. In addition, wild animals such as the wild ox, flying squirrels
and many varieties of rare birds and animals are also found there.
Residence
De'ang people like to build their houses near the mountain, with
the doors facing the east. Their houses are mainly constructed with
bamboo, with the frame made of wood and roof covered with couch
grass.
De'ang houses have two shapes: the square one and oblong one, in
which the square ones are most popular. This kind of houses normally
has two stories with the upper floor serving as the living area
for the family and the ground floor is used for storage and provides
accommodation for the livestock.
Tea trees can be seen everywhere around De'ang houses and villages.
Diet
Rice takes a dominant place in their diet, corn, wheat and beans
come next. The De'angs are adept at making various snacks such as
bean curd, rice cake, tangyuan dumplings, etc. They have a choice
of many vegetables, of which bamboo shoot is available all year
round. Influenced by the Han people, many foods such as preserved
bean curd and pickles are also can be found on their tables.
The De'angs have been great tea drinkers since very early times,
and now every family has tea bushes growing around the house. The
wine they drink is mostly home-produced.
Fashion
The men of De'ang ethnic group generally wear a short black or
blue jacket buttoned to the left side and short and loose trousers.
They used to wrap their heads with black or white scarves decorated
with colored pile beads on two sides. However, nowadays, many De'ang
boys have the same hairstyle as the Hans and do not like to burden
their heads with so many ornaments. The Men also like to wear large
earbobs and silver neck rings. In some areas, men have the custom
of tattooing their bodies with designs of tiger, deer, bird and
flowers.
Women's dress varies depending upon the area in which they live.
Most women like to wear a black or blue sharp-collared short jacket
buttoned down on the front. The jackets are decorated with velvet
balls in various colors on the lower hem and the collar. They generally
wear a long colorful skirt with horizontal stripes rather than trousers.
The skirt covers the breasts above and reaches the ankles below.
Women of different clans are distinguished by the color and designs
of their skirt. Women from the Black Benglong (a branch of De'ang
people) have several scarlet stripes on their black skirt; those
from the Hua Benglong have four white stripes and one red one on
their skirts. Women from the Red Benglong are characterized by a
mass of red on the bottom of the skirts.
By tradition a De'ang girl, upon coming of age, begins to wear
dozens of rattan rings of varying thickness at the waist. Most of
these waist rings are colorfully painted and carved with different
designs. Some are plated with silver. Great pride is taken in the
waist rings, because a woman wearing those which are finely made
is considered diligent, clever and virtuous.
Festival
The most important traditional festival of De'ang ethnic group
is Caihua Festival (The Flower Picking Festival). It is mainly celebrated
in Luxi County on Qingming day (April 5th). In the morning of the
festival, all the De'ang people will get up early and, bringing
along their musical instruments, climb the mountains. They pick
flowers and then sing and dance during the rest time. In the afternoon,
they return home with their baskets full of flowers that are then
used to decorate their houses and the whole village will be graced
with the fragrance.
De'ang people also have many festivals related to Buddhism. of
these, the most important one is "The Water Splashing Festival."
It falls on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival. People
wash the dust off Buddhist statues with "water dragons."
They also splash water at each other as an expression of good wishes.
Then, they form a long line behind elephant-foot drums and throng
to the waters beside springs and rivers, celebrating the New Year
by chasing and splashing water at each other. The most distinctive
aspect of the De'ang Water Splashing Festival lies in the tradition
of presenting food to the elders and helping them wash their hands
and feet. In this way, the young show their respect for their elders
while seeking pardon for any misdeeds they may have done in the
past year.
Both the "Close-Door Festival" and "Open-Door Festival"
are also important.
Close-Door Festival
This is held on 15th September in the Dai ethnic group calendar.
On that day, all recreational activities cease. For the following
three months the fast days of Hinayana Buddhism are observed. During
this period travel is forbidden, monks will study the Buddhist scriptures
and accept provision in the temples; while practicing Buddhists
attend lectures and sermons in the temples.
Open-Door Festival
This comes three months after the "Close-Door Festival",
namely on 15th December. It marks the end of the fasting. Grand
celebrations will be held in each village. Recreation and relaxation
become the order of the day. For the workers in the farming community
this is a quiet season and folk activities such as traveling, visiting
relatives, courting, espousal and marriage flourish again!
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