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The Maonan ethnic minority has a population
of 107,166, living in the northern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region.
The Maonan communities are located in sub-tropical areas characterized
by a mild climate and beautiful scenery, with stony hills jutting
up here and there, among which small  patches
of flatland are scattered. There are many small streams which are
used to irrigate paddy rice fields. Drought-resistant crops are
grown in the Dashi Mountain area where water is scarce. In addition
to paddy rice, agricultural crops include maize, wheat, Chinese
sorghum, sweet potatoes, soybean, cotton and tobacco. Special local
products include camphor, palm fiber and musk. The area abounds
in mineral resources such as iron, manganese, stibium and mercury.
The Maonans are experts in raising beef cattle, which are marketed
in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
People surnamed Tan take up 80 per cent of the population. Legend
has it that their ancestors earlier lived in Hunan Province, then
emigrated to Guangxi and multiplied by marrying the local women
who spoke the Maonan tongue. There are other Maonans surnamed Lu,
Meng, Wei and Yan, whose ancestral homes are said to have been in
Shandong and Fujian provinces.
The Maonan language belongs to the Dong-Shui branch of the Zhuang-Dong
language group of the Chinese-Tibetan language family. Almost all
the Maonans know both the Han and the Zhuang languages because of
long contact with those people.
History
Long subjected to the oppression of the ruling class, the Maonan
areas developed very slowly. At the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
the Maonans still used wooden hoes and ploughs. Various iron tools
were in use by the time of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when land was
gradually concentrated and the division of classes became distinct.
There began to appear farm laborers who did not own an inch of land,
poor peasants who had a small amount of land, self-sufficient middle
peasants, and landlords and rich peasants who owned large amounts.
The landlords and rich peasants cruelly exploited farm laborers
and poor peasants by means of land rent and usury. There were also
slave girls either bought by the landlords or forced by unpaid debts
to serve landlords all their lives.
Economy
The Maonan people are chiefly engaged in agriculture, but also
have sidelines which yield more than half their total income, such
as weaving bambooware, raising beef cattle, making wooden articles
and casting iron. Before liberation, their major farm tools were
ox-pulled ploughshares, iron hoes, foot-pedaled ploughs, scrapers
and scythes. Backward tools and farming techniques kept the agricultural
production at a very low level for a long time.
The land ownership in the Maonan areas was highly concentrated
before 1949. In Yuhuan Township, Huanjiang County, the landlords
and rich peasants -- some 3.8 per cent of the township population
-- occupied 36.1 per cent of the total arable land; whereas the
farm laborers and poor peasants who took up 53.4 per cent of the
population only owned 18.7 per cent of the land. Land rent was mostly
paid in kind at an exploitative rate.
Customs and Culture
The Maonans with the same surnames and from the same clans usually
live together in small villages with only a few households. The
biggest village consists of not more than 100 households. Their
houses and clothes are basically identical to those of their Han
and Zhuang neighbors. Houses have two stories, with mud walls and
tile roofs. The second floor is used as living quarters and the
ground floor for livestock.
The major staples of the Maonans are rice and maize, and then
millet, sweet potatoes and pumpkins. They all enjoy tobacco, alcohol,
tea and hot peppers. They pick out big sweet potatoes with no injuries,
dry them in the sun and leave them in the open at night to be drenched
by dew. Twenty or 30 days later, potatoes are put into cellars or
above the cooking stoves. After another 20 days or so, they are
steamed and enjoyed as a delicacy.
The Maonan families are generally small and monogamous. In the
past, marriages were all decided and arranged by the parents. There
were customs like "not settling in the home of the husband,"
and a younger brother would marry the deceased elder brother's wife
or vice versa. The remarriage of widows was greatly restricted.
When a person died, a Taoist priest would be invited to recite scriptures
and join in the funeral procession, the son of the dead person would
"buy water" at a river or in a well to wash the body.
Before the burial, chicken blood was sprayed into the grave to bless
the spirit of the deceased and protect his or her offspring.
The Maonans celebrate the Spring Festival, Zhongyuan Festival
and Pure Brightness Day, similar to those of their Han and Zhuang
neighbors. However, the Fenglong Festival is unique to the Maonans
and is celebrated by offering sacrifices to God and their ancestors
to pray for a good harvest. Married daughters and relatives living
in other places return to their home villages for the celebration.
A special treat is five-colored rice. In the past, there were many
taboos, such as suspending productive labor on festivals, which
hindered the development of production. After 1949, weddings and
funerals were simplified, and some superstitious activities were
reformed.
Singing is a popular recreational activity of the Maonans. In
addition, they also enjoy "Maonan opera," based on folklore
and legends and portraying love affairs, anti-feudal struggles,
joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, and the lofty ideals of
the people.
Maonan carving and weaving have unique styles. The former comprises
wood and stone varieties, delicate and vivid in imagery. The latter
is famous for flowery bamboo hats and bamboo mattresses.
The Maonans are polite and hospitable, calling each other brothers
and sisters when they meet. When guests visit, they entertain them
with oranges and sweet potatoes. Guests, important or not, are always
solicitously invited to dine with their hosts.
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