Population and Distribution
The Hani ethnic group is one of the many unique tribes in Yunnan
Province. With a population of 1.25 million, they are mainly distributed
over the mountain areas between the Red River and the Lancang River
in Yunnan Province.
History
The Hani ethnic group share the same origin with the Yi and Lahu
ethnic groups. According to the historical records, they all evolved
from the ancient Qiang people. The Qiang people used to be a nomadic
tribe living in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Later one branch of them
moved south and early by the 3rd century, their forefathers had
inhabited the swampland along the Dadu River and Yalong River. In
the 7th century, they immigrated into the area near Mt. Ailao and
Mt. Wuliang. In the Tang and Song dynasties, this area was successively
reined in by the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
established a prefecture to rule the Hani and other ethnic groups
in Yunnan. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) exercised its rule through
local chieftains, who were granted official posts. During the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911) court officials replaced the chieftains.
The Hani ethnic group comprises over twenty subgroups. They used
to be called "Hani", "Heni", "Budu",
"Biyue", "Yani", etc. With the founding of the
PRC in 1949, following consultation with the ethnic group, it was
decided to agree upon the official name of Hani ethnic group.
Language
The Hani people have their own language. Their language consists
of three dialects and belongs to the Yi branch of the Tibetan-Burmese
language group of the Chinese-Tibetan language family. They have
no written script in the past and used to keep records by carving
notches on sticks. In 1957, with the help of the central government,
a script system based on the Roman alphabet was created, but failed
to achieve a popular use.
Religion
The Hanis believe in polytheism and practice ancestor-worship.
Economy
The Hani people mainly engage in agriculture. Situated in the subtropical
climate zone, the area inhabited by the Hani people is blessed with
a mild climate, abundant rainfall and fertile soil, providing an
ideal condition for the development of agriculture. Main crops include
rice, corn, cotton, peanut, indigo, etc. The Hani are also good
at planting tea and the tea produced here occupies one third of
the total tea yield of Yunnan Province.
This area also abounds in natural resources, such as plants, animals,
and mineral resources. Growing on the rolling Ailao Mountains are
pine, cypress, palm, tung oil and camphor trees. It is also a habitat
for many wild animals, including tigers, leopards, bears, monkeys,
peacocks, parrots and pheasants. Besides, this area also has rich
deposits of mineral resources such as tin, copper, iron, nickel,
etc.
Diet
The Hani people have two meals per day. Their staple food is rice,
which is complemented with corn and a kind of locally produced purple
rice. They prefer spicy and acidic food and are adept at making
various pickles. Deep-fried locusts and cooked chicken heads are
the dishes the Hani consider the best to offer important guests.
Hani people, men or women, all favor tobacco, drinking wine and
tea. Some who live in Xishuangbanna also like to chew betel-nut.
Residence
The Hani people usually build their villages on the south slopes
of the mountains. A village comprises from ten to as many as 400
households, which are related by blood ties.
The houses of the Hani people vary depending on the area they lived
in. For those who live in Honghe, their houses are built with mud
walls and thatched roofs and are supported by wooden pillars placed
on stone foundations. While in Xishuangbanna, houses are built of
bamboo. With the roof covered with straw and wood, this kind of
house normally have 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. The shape
of the whole structure resembles a mushroom, hence the name "mushroom
house." Viewed from a distance, the stockaded villages with
their terraced fields, bamboo forests, and "mushroom houses,"
make a tranquil rural scene.
Fashion
The Hani people prefer clothing made of home-spun dark blue cloth.
Children before 7 years old have no sexual divisions in their clothing.
The grown men often wear short jacket buttoned down on the front
and long trousers. They like to wrap their head with black or white
cloth turbans. Old people often wear skullcap.
The costumes of the Hani women show diversity among different clans.
Women in most areas wear collarless short blouses with buttons on
the right side and long trousers. Women in Xishuangbanna and the
Lancang area wear jackets buttoned on the right side, short skirts,
leggings and caps decorated with silver ornaments. Women from Baihong
branch in Mojiang area wear a short and tight jacket, tube shaped
or long pleated skirts, embroidered waist belts and girdles. The
Hani women of the Yeche branch wear white pointed caps and short
sleeved, collarless jackets opening at the front without buttons.
They always tightened their jacket with a colorful waistband.
Young women like to wear earrings, silver rings and necklaces.
Married and unmarried women wear different hairstyles.
Social Life
In the past, the Hani people had only an oral literature, which
includes legends, fairy tales, poetry, fables, ballads, mythology,
proverbs, riddles, etc. Some of them tell the origin of the world,
some narrate people's conquest of the natural disasters and some
relate the history of their tribe.
The Hani people are good at singing and dancing. The music instruments
they usually used are three- and four-stringed instruments, flutes
and Sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument). Famous dances include the
"Hand Clapping Dance", "Fan Dance", and the
"Dongpocuo" dance which is popular in Xishuangbanna area.
Festival
Like the Han people, the Hanis celebrate the Spring Festival and
Mid-Autumn Festival. Their traditional festivals include October
Festival, June Festival and etc.
June Festival, called "Ku Zha Zha" festival in Hani language,
is one of the three most important festivals of the Hani nation.
It is held around June 24 of the Chinese lunar calendar and lasts
for three to six days. During the festival, people sacrifice to
the heaven and the cattle, and enjoy the festival by swinging, wrestling,
singing and dancing. The main activities of the festival are those
of killing an ox for sacrificing, preparing the green grass for
the horse of God, playing the turn-swing, having the long street
party, dancing and singing and wrestling.
The October Year, also known as Amutu Festival, is the most ceremonious
traditional festival of the Hani people. It comes on the first dragon
day in the tenth lunar month and is celebrated as the New Year's
Day by the Hani people. On the first day of the festival, every
stockaded village holds a big banquet in the center of the main
street. The banquet is so large in scale that many tables piled
high with different dishes are laid end to end along the street
like a colorful dragon, hence the name Long Dragon Banquet
When preparing this kind of banquet, all the families get their
tables line up along the street. The villagers then sit along the
table with the priest and the head of the village sitting in the
seats of honor. Food and drink offered by each family are presented
and people eat and drink and wish each other good luck and happiness.
The New Year's celebration lasts for five to fifteen days. All
other activities break off. Any intruder will be kept in the village
until the celebration is over.
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