|
According to the
latest census data, the Jingpo ethnic ethnic group has a population
of about 119,209 people. Most of them are Zaiwa. Sharing land with
the Deang, Lisu, Achang and Han people, the Jingpo people are
concentrated in the Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in
Yunnan Province in southeastern China. Some of the Jingpo people
also live in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture.
History
Historical records indicate that the ancestor of the
Jingpo ethnic group has a close relationship with the Qiang and Di
people. They used to live in the southern mountain area of the
Xikang-Tibetan Plateau. Later, they gradually migrated to the
northwestern Yunnan Province, west of the Nujiang River. The local
people, together with the newly-arrived Jingpos, were called "Xunchuanman”
(Xunchuan Barbarian). In the 15th – 16th century, aiming to avoid
the warfare, they continue to move west and finally settled down in
the Dehong area, living together with the Deang, Achang, Lisu, Han
and other nationalities.
They have been variously known as the “Echang”, “Zhexie”, and
“Yeren” since the Yuan Dynasty and, with the founding of the PRC in
1949, following consultation with the ethnic group it was decided
to agree upon the official name of Jingpo ethnic group.
Language
The Jingpo people have their own language which belong to
the Tibetan-Burmese family of the Chinese-Tibetan language system,
called Zaiwa and some speak Jingpo. An alphabetic system of writing
based on Latin letters was created and introduced to the Jingpo
people about seventy years ago however, is not as popular as Han
language.
Religion
The Jingpo people practice polytheism. Influenced by their
primitive religion, the Jingpo people are Animists, believing
everything in the nature as such the sun; the moon; birds; beasts;
fishes and all other living creatures having souls. The Jingpo
people worship their ancestors, who they believe bring safety and
prosperity to their offspring. Furthermore, some foreign religions,
such as Christianity, are also practiced by a small number of
Jingpo people.
Economy
Agriculture is the way of life for the Jingpo people with
rice and corn being the primary crops. Situated in the mountain
area some 1,500 meters above sea level, the area populated by the
Jingpo people has a warm climate, vast fertile land and abundant
rainfall, giving rise to the success of agriculture. Major
agricultural products are rice and corn. Other profitable cash
crops include rubber; tea; shellac; silk cotton; coffee and tung
tree.
Additionally, animal breeding, handicraft and other sidelines also
develop as useful components of their economy.
The Jingpo area also abounds in unique woods, medicinal herbs and
rare animals. Primary natural resources here are iron; copper;
lead; coal; gold; silver; precious and semi-precious stones.
Diet
Typically, the Jingpo people have three meals per day.
Rice is the staple food, which is served with the beans, potatoes
and wild fruit. Their daily vegetables include beans; Murphy;
bamboo shoots; cress; greens and other garden faire. Chicken and
pork are their main sources for meat protein.
Zhutongfan (rice cooked with bamboo tubes) is the Jingpos' favorite
food. To prepare Zhutongfan, a fresh and tender bamboo tube is
stuffed with rice and soaked in water for some time. Both ends of
the tube are plugged with bamboo leaves and roasted until the
surface of the tube turns brown. Rice prepared this way is said to
be sweet and very tasty. The Jingpo people enjoy drinking fermented
beverages. Wine is usually home produced and will likely be carried
in containers at all times. The Jingpo people also enjoy chewing
tobacco, Luzi, and betel nuts to prevent poisoning and sunstroke.
Fashion
Jingpo men usually wear black or white short
round-collared jacket with buttons down the front and short and
loose-fitting trousers. They often wrap their head with white or
black turbans, which are usually decorated with flower lace designs
and small colored balls. When the Jingpo men go out in public
places, they invariably wear long knives on their waist, or take
rifles with them to show their valor and dignity
Jingpo women usually wear black jackets with buttons down the front
middle or front left. Their jackets are always sewed with numerous
silver bubbles and pieces. Matching the jacket is a colorful
knitted skirt and a woolen shinguard. Women like wearing silver
ornaments. Jingpo women also wear a red or black lacquered rattan
rings on her waist; neck; wrists and ankles. It is believed that
the more rattan rings a woman wears, the more beautiful she is.
Social Life
The friendly Jingpo people are known for being good
dancers and good singers as well as good musicians. They always
celebrate harvests; new buildings; welcoming honorable guests;
marriages and funerals through traditional singing and dancing
activities. Group dancing which are their major dancing form
represents their travels; life; work; wars and sacrificial rites.
It sometimes involves more than 1,000 people, with their singing
reverberating in nearby mountain valleys. Popular music instruments
are wooden drums; "elephant-leg" drums; gongs; cymbals; bamboo
flutes and traditional pipe instruments such as shangbi tuliang,
kouxuan and, lerong.
The Jingpo people have a rich and colorful ancient culture. They
have many legends, folk tales and stories. These culturally rich
tales explain the Jingpo history, imparts knowledge and expresses
their feelings to one another.
Residence
Usually built of bamboo and wood, homes are usually two stories,
with the second floor reserved for the family accommodations and
the ground floor used for keeping and tending to the livestock.
Their house is oblong shaped with two entry doors, in which, the
front door is used for the guests and the back door only for the
family members.
The house of Jingpo people is often rebuilt every seven or eight
year's. Building and rebuilding homes is a communal affair and the
entire village will come together and help. When the new home is
completed, the owner will fire a shot from his rifle in
celebration. As soon as they hear the gunshot, the villagers flock
to the house and gather around it, singing and dancing with
delight, accompanied by the beating of the wooden drums. At the
festive celebration, they congratulate the owner upon finishing the
house, wishing him good luck and hoping his house will last
forever.
The family's move is completed with the transfer of the fire with a
torch from the old house to the new. They believe that an unbroken
fire will allow the family lineage to continue for eternity.
Festival
One could say that the Jingpo people will celebrate most
any occasion, but the most ceremonious festival of the Jingpo
people is Munao festival. Muano is a large gathering intended to
celebrate good harvests, to drive out evil spirits and to pray for
happiness and success in cultivation and healthy crops to harvest.
Munao means "group singing and dancing" in the Jingpo language.
The festival normally comes on the fifteenth day of the first lunar
month and lasts two or three days. Traditionally, four wooden
poles, each about twenty meters high, are erected at the center of
the stage, separately standing for good luck, victory, unity and
bravery. The patterns painted on the poles portray scenes from
their history, pictures of the Himalayas, and the route their
ancestors traveled when migrating to their current homeland. All
festival activities are conducted around the four Munao Poles.
The most wonderful part of the festival is the scene of chaotic
dancing, participated by thousands of Jingpo people. The
choreographed dance steps and sequences dramatize the route
depicted on the Munao Poles. The singing and dancing festivities
continue nonstop for two or three days.
Jingpo Lake
Jingpo
Lake is situated at the boundless range of mountains to the
southwest of Ningan County of Heilongjiang Province, 80 km from
Mudanjiang City, which is a famous high mountain clogged up lake of
China. There is water in the mountains and mountains in the water
with charming and gentle scenery. The lake water is so clear that
you can see bottom through it and fish swimming around. There
exists the tranquility in the environment.
Situated at the outlet to the north of the Lake
basin lies the cataract of the Water Dropping Tower, ceaselessly
flowing all the year round. During the overflow period in autumn,
the fall is 25 meters with 40 meters in width, flying down from the
precipice, which gives rise to clouds upon clouds of water vapor
forming one rainbow after another like the Milky Way standing
upside down and thunder rolling. It can be heard miles away. The
scenery is simply magnificent. There is a deep pool below known as
Heilong (Black Dragon) Pool in the form of slightly round shape,
the diameter of which is 70 meters with a depth of 60 meters.
The Dagu Hill is an isle in the lake. It looks
like the back of a water buffalo, which is formed with weathered
rocks. Green and luxuriant are the trees on hilltop. Wild flowers
are vying with each other among the trees. All this combines to
create the cream of the picturesque beauty in the lake.
The underground lava cave is otherwise known as
Lava Tunnel. At the place, 30 km to the northwest of Jingpo Lake,
there is a stretch of the cave extending as far as several km in
the form of zigzag way. Its height is about 3 meters, width over 5
meters, the greatest diameter of which is 10 meters. The basalt
spilled over from the crater flowed along the lower valley and the
lava at the upper reaches became solid as it cooled down whereas
the lava at the lower reaches with high temperature continued to
flow and became underground lava river. The lava cooled down and
the underground forest and the Jingpo Lake were thus created. A
marvelous deep and quiet Jingpo scenery appeared. "The Underground
Forest" is located at about 50 km to the northwest of Jingpo Lake,
distributed with green and luxuriant posture in the 7 caves big and
small and deep and shallow. In these 7 rarely seen ever green
palace, it is extremely rich in a great variety of plants, such as
the purple pine, the dragon spruce, the fir etc, fresh and green.
There are also many precious birds and beasts, such as the
northeast tiger, horse tiger, black bear and leopard etc. The caves
are distributed in over a hundred km among the Mountain Forest. |
|
The Lisu ethnic group numbers 574,600 people,
and most of them live in concentrated communities in Bijiang,
Fugong, Gongshan and Lushui counties of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous
Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan Province. The rest are scattered
in Lijiang, Baoshan, Diqing, Dehong, Dali, Chuxiong prefectures or
counties in Yunnan Province as well as in Xichang and Yanbian
counties in Sichuan Province, living in small communities with the
Han, Bai, Yi and Naxi peoples.
The Lisu language belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language family.
In 1957, a new alphabetic script was created for the Lisu people.
Geography
The Lisus inhabit a mountainous area slashed by rivers. It is
flanked by Gaoligong Mountain on the west and Biluo Mountain on the
east, both over 4,000 meters above sea level. The Nujiang River and
the Lancang River flow through the area, forming two big valleys.
The average annual temperature along the river basins ranges
between 17 and 26 degrees Centigrade, and the annual rainfall
averages 2,500 millimeters. Main farm crops are maize, rice, wheat,
buckwheat, sorghum and beans. Cash crops include ramie, lacquer
trees and sugarcane. Many parts of the mountains are covered with
dense forests, famous for their China firs. In addition to rare
animals, the forests yield many medicinal herbs including the
rhizome of Chinese gold thread and the bulb of fritillary. The Lisu
area also has abundant mineral and water resources.
History
According to historical records and folk legend, the forbears of
the Lisu people lived along the banks of the Jinsha River and were
once ruled by "Wudeng" and "Lianglin," two powerful tribes. After
the 12th century, the Lisu people came under the rule of the
Lijiang Prefectural Administration of the Yuan Dynasty, and in the
succeeding Ming Dynasty, under the rule of the Lijiang district
magistrate with the family surname of Mu.
During the 1820s, the Qing government sent officials to Lijiang,
Yongsheng and Huaping, areas where the Lisus lived in compact
communities, to replace Naxi and Bai hereditary chieftains. This
practice speeded up the transformation of the feudal manorial
economy to a landlord economy, and tightened up the rule of the
Qing court over Lisu and other ethnic groups. In the years
preceding and following the turn of the 20th century, large numbers
of Han, Bai and Naxi peoples moved to the Nujiang River valleys,
taking with them iron farm tools and more advanced production
techniques, giving an impetus to local production.
For a long time the Lisus, under oppression and exploitation by
landlords, chieftains and headmen, as well as the Kuomintang and
foreign imperialists, led a miserable life. In Eduoluo Village of
Bijiang County alone, 237 peasants out of the village's 1,000
population were tortured to death in the 10 years prior to
liberation by local officials, chieftains, headmen or landlords.
The Lisus also suffered exorbitant taxes and levies. The household
tax, for example, was 21 kilograms of maize per capita, accounting
for 21 per cent of the annual grain harvest. Moreover, there were
unscrupulous merchants and usurers. The arrival of imperialist
influence at the turn of the 20th century put the Lisus in a far
worse plight.
During the period between the 18th and 19th century, the Lisus
waged many struggles against oppression. From 1941 to 1943,
together with the Hans, Dais and Jingpos, they heroically resisted
the Japanese troops invading western Yunnan Province and succeeded
in preventing the aggressors from crossing the Nujiang River,
contributing to the defense of China's frontier.
Socio-economic Conditions Before 1949
The social economy in the various Lisu areas was at different
levels before China’s national liberation in 1949. In Lijiang,
Dali, Baoshan, Weixi, Lanping and Xichang, areas closer to China's
interior, a feudal landlord economy was prevalent, with
productivity approaching the level in neighboring Han and Bai
areas. Some medium and small slave-owners had appeared from among
the Lisus living around the Greater and Lesser Liangshan Mountains,
taking up agriculture or part-agriculture and part-hunting, and
using ploughs in farming.
As for the Lisus living in Bijiang, Fugong, Gongshan and Lushui,
the four counties around the Nujiang River valley, their
productivity was comparatively low. They had to make up for their
scanty agricultural output by collecting fruits and wild vegetables
and hunting. Their simple production tools consisted of iron and
bamboo implements. Slash-and-burn was practiced. The division of
social labor was not distinct, and handicrafts and commerce had not
yet been separated from agriculture. Bartering was in practice.
Some primitive markets began to appear in Bijiang and Fugong
counties.
Improvement in productivity brought about changes in ownership.
Prior to 1949, private ownership of land had been established in
the four counties around the Nujiang River valley, though
landholding was generally small. The rural population had split up
into classes, but the remnants of primitive public ownership and
patriarchal slavery still existed. Land ownership was in three main
forms: private ownership by individual peasants, ownership by the
clan, and public ownership by the clan or village. Among the three,
the first was dominant, while the second was a transitional form
from the primitive public ownership of land to private ownership.
Only a small portion of land was publicly owned.
As a result of the penetration of landlord economic factors and the
instability of the small peasant economy, more and better land came
under the ownership by some clans, village chieftains or rich
households. An increasing number of poor peasants became landless.
They lived on rented land or as hired farmhands.
Patriarchal slavery existed in the Nujiang River area in the period
between the 16th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The
slaves were generally regarded as family members or "adopted
children." They lived, ate and worked with their masters, and some
of the slaves could buy back their freedom. The masters could buy
and sell slaves, but had no power over their lives. The slaves were
not stratified. All these reflected the characteristics of
exploitation under the early slavery system.
In post-1949 days, the remnant of the clan system could still be
found among the Lisus in the Nujiang River valley. There were more
than a dozen clans there, each with a different name. They included
Tiger, Bear, Monkey, Snake, Sheep, Chicken, Bird, Fish, Mouse, Bee,
Buckwheat, Bamboo, Teak, Frost and Fire. The names also served as
their totems. Within each clan, except for a feeling of kinship,
individual households had little economic links with one another.
The clan and village commune played an important part in practical
life. The "ka," or village, meant a place where a group of close
relatives lived together. Some villages were composed of families
of different clans. Every village had a commonly acknowledged
headman, generally an influential elderly man. His job was to
settle disputes within the clan, give leadership in production,
preside over sacrificial ceremonies, declare clan warfare
externally, sign alliances with other villages, collect tributes
for the imperial court. Under the rule of a chieftain, such headmen
were appointed his assistants. When the Kuomintang came, they
became the heads of districts, townships or "bao" (10 households).
When there was a war, the various communal villages might form a
temporary alliance; when the war was over, the alliance ended.
Apart from common ownership of land and working on it together,
clan members helped one another in daily life. When there was wine
or pork, they shared it. When a girl got married, they shared the
betrothal gifts given to her parents; and when a young man took in
a wife, the betrothal gifts for the bride's family were borne by
all. Debts too, were to be paid by all. These collective rights and
obligations in production and daily life made it possible for clan
relations to continue for a long time.
Religion
In the past the Lisu people worshipped many gods, nature and a
multitude of other things. This appeared to be a remnant of
totemism. Religious professionals made a living by offering
sacrifices to ghosts and fortune-telling. During the religious
activities, animals were slaughtered and a large sum of money
spent. In the middle of the 19th century, Christianity and
Catholicism were spread into the area by Western missionaries.
Customs and Habits
The monogamous family was the basic unit of Lisu society. Sons left
their parents and supported their own families after getting
married. The youngest or only son remained with the parents to take
care of them and inherit property. The daughter had no right of
inheritance but could take her husband into her parents' home
instead of being married off. Marriages were arranged by parents,
with enormous betrothal gifts.
The dead were buried. Generally the village or the clan had its own
common graveyard. For a man, the cutting knives, bows and quivers
he had used when alive were buried with him. For a woman, burial
objects were her weaving tools, hemp-woven bags and cooking
utensils, to be hung by her grave. When an elderly man or woman
died, the whole village stopped working for two or three days.
People tendered condolences to the bereaved family, bringing along
wine and meat. Generally the mound on the burial ground was piled
one year after the burial, and respects to the dead were paid three
years after the burial, and offerings ended.
In most areas the Lisu people wear home-spun hemp clothes. Women
put on short dresses and long skirts. Their heads are decorated
with red and white glass beads and their chests with necklaces
formed by strings of colored beads. Men wear short dresses and
pants reaching the knee. Some of them wear black turban. A cutting
knife dangles at a man's left waist, and a quiver hangs at his
right waist.
Their main staple foods are maize and buckwheat. Hunting yields
abundant meat. During their major festivals, they slaughter oxen
and pigs. Both men and women are heavy drinkers.
The Lisu people live in two types of house. One is of wooden
structure, with the four sides formed with 12-foot-long pieces of
timber, and on top of them is a cover of wooden planks. It looks
like a wooden box. The other is of bamboo-wooden structure,
supported by 20 to 30 wooden stakes and surrounded with bamboo
fences, with a thatched or wooden roof. In the center of the house
is a big fireplace.
The festivals of the Lisus living closer to the hinterland are
nearly the same as those of the Han, Bai, Naxi and other peoples
around. During the Lunar New Year, the first thing they do is to
feed their cattle with salt to show respect for their labor. They
have the Torch Festival in the sixth month of the year, and the
Mid-Autumn Festival in the eighth month. The Lisus in the Nu River
and Weixi areas enjoy their "Harvest Festival" in the 10th month,
during which people exchange gifts of wine and pork. They sing and
dance till dawn.
Life After Liberation in 1949
The Chinese People's Liberation Army liberated the vast area in
northwestern Yunnan Province in early 1950, bringing a new life to
the Lisu people.
In August 1954 the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous District was
established, covering Lushui, Bijiang, Fugong and Gongshan
counties. The autonomous district was changed into an autonomous
prefecture in January 1957, and Lanping County, too, was placed
under its jurisdiction.
|
