Population and Distribution
The Jinuo (also Jino) ethnic group, with a total population of
18,021, reside primarily in Jinghong County of Xishuangbanna Dai
Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. Named after the Jinuo
Mountain in Xishuangbanna, their name means "Descendants of
uncle" or "ethnic group which respects the uncle".
Among all the 55 ethnic groups in China, Jinuo was the last one
to be classified as an independent nationality by the Chinese government
 in
1979.
History
There is several versions of the origin of the Jinuo ethnic group.
Some people think that the Jinuo people are the native dwellers
of Jinuo Mountain while some claim they are descendants of the Qiang
people who migrated into the Jinsha River area.
Language
The Jinuo people have their own language which belongs to the Tibetan-Burmese
group of the Chinese-Tibetan language family. They have no written
script and historically kept records by notching wood or bamboo.
Nowadays, the language of the Han people is in common use with the
Jinuo people.
Religion
The Jinuo people are animists, believing that all things on earth
have souls. They worship their ancestors, who they believe can bring
good future and prosperity to their offspring.
To the Jinuo people, the sun-drum is not only a musical instrument,
but also a most divine object to worship. Usually, each village
has two sun drums - the Father Drum and the Mother Drum. They are
regarded as the embodiment of the divine spirits and the symbol
of the village. They worship them in hopes of good harvests and
prosperity. People are forbidden to touch or strike them except
during the Spring Festivals.
Economy
Agriculture is the mainstay of the nationality. The areas populated
by the Jinuo people are blessed with a mild climate, plentiful water
resources and abundant rainfall; all of which provide excellent
support for agricultural production. Main crops produced here are
dry rice, paddy and maize. The Jinuo people have a long history
of tea-growing. The famous Pu'er tea grows on Jinuo Mountain. The
primitive forest on the mountain also abounds in a variety of wild
animals such as hornbills, wild elephants, monkeys, etc. In addition,
this area is also rich in mineral resources.
Diet
The Jinuo people have three meals per day. Rice makes up of their
staple food, which is complemented with maize and beans. They often
have their breakfasts and suppers at home while have their lunches
in the farmland.
Residence
Jinuo villages are usually built on the mountain slopes that face
the sun. The Jinuo people follow a tradition of people with the
same surname living in the same house. Made of bamboo or wood, their
houses are usually oblong in shapes with a capacity of ten to twenty
small families sharing the same name. Their houses normally have
two stories with the upper floor serving as the living area for
the family while the ground floor is used for storage and provides
accommodation for the livestock.
The second floor is divided into the outer room and inner room.
The outer room serves as a meeting hall and kitchen as well as a
dining room. The inner room, which is subdivided into small rooms
according to the number of occupants, is used for bedrooms. A central
fireplace in the meeting room is used for cooking as well as a source
of both heat and light. Each small family also has a fireplace in
their own room. In recent years, the tradition has been changing
and families now tend to live separately.
Fashion
The women of Jinuo usually are dressed in embroidered collarless
jackets with buttons down the front and short black skirts hemmed
with red lace. They also wear a pointed cap with its back reaching
the shoulders like a cape.
Jinuo men often wear a white, colorless, short jacket buttoned
down the front and white or blue trousers made of flax or cotton.
The back of their jacket is embroidered with patterns of the sun.
In the past, men used to divide their hair into three tufts. The
one in the middle was said to commemorate the Marquis Wu while the
rest two are in memory of their parents.
Both men and women go barefoot, and have thick bamboo or wooden
sticks plugged into the holes in their earlobes. Those with the
largest holes in their earlobes are considered the most beautiful.
The Jinuo people also have a unique custom of tooth painting with
the soot from pear tree branches.
Social Life
Jinuo people are all adept at singing and dancing.
The Sun drum is the most holy sacrificial vessel and instrument
of the Jinuo people. Every year in December of the Chinese Lunar
calendar, the Jinuo people will perform the "Sun drum dance"
to celebrate the harvest. The elder people of the village will hit
the bull-skin drum. People dance with the drumbeats around the big
drum in a rough and bold style.
Their dance "Echeguo", which means Big Drum Dance, is
also famous. The dance is often performed at religious rituals such
as celebrating ceremonies of building a new house and on certain
festival occasions.
Besides drums, the Jinuo people are also proficient on a number
of other unique instruments such as bamboo cylinders, bamboo flutes,
mouth strings, three-stringed guitars, etc.
The Jinuo ethnic group also has a rich oral folk literature, which
includes fairy tales, legends, stories, riddles, etc.
Festivals
The festivals of the Jinuo people include the New Year, "Temaoke",
the Earth God Worshipping Festival, and Harvest Festival.
The Temaoke Festival is the most important festival of the Jinuo
people. It is held from January 6th-8th on the Gregorian calendar,
quite similar to the traditional Han people's Spring Festival. During
the festival, Jinuo people of all ages put on new clothes, form
a circle, beat their gongs (drums), and dance and sing with focus
on their holy drum. The celebration often starts in the morning
and continues throughout the night.
|
