Hani living customs

Hani people are an international ethnic group living across borders and one of the ancient ethnic minorities in China. It originated from the ancient Qiang nationality, along with the Yi and Lahu nationalities. The Hani people are mainly distributed between the Yuanjiang River and Lancang River in Yunnan in China, and live in Honghe, Jiangcheng, Mojiang, Xinping, Zhenyuan and other counties, and in the northern mountainous areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam (called the Akha people). The Kazi people in Yunnan Province are mainly distributed in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Region, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Pu 'er City and Yuxi City.

The Hani language of the Hani people belongs to the Yi branch of the Tibetan-Burmese language group of the Sino-Tibetan family, which is relatively close to the Yi language, Lisu language, Lahu language, and Naxi language. Hani language is divided into three dialects: Ha (Ni) Ya (Ni), Bi (yo) Ka (Duo), and Hao (Ni) Bai (Hong). The distribution of dialects is equivalent to that of the areas where the relevant self-proclaimed units are distributed. There are large differences between dialects. Modern Hani people use newly created pinyin writing based on the Latin alphabet.

There are many internal branches of the Hani people and many self-proclaimed units. Among them, six self-proclaimed units, including Hani, Kado, Yani, Haoni, Biyue, and Baihong, have a large number of people, and there are also self-proclaimed units such as Onu, Amu, Duoni, Kabie, and Haini. The mutual names among self-proclaimed units within the ethnic group are also inconsistent with the names of other ethnic groups for the Kazakh ethnic group. For example, the Hani in Yuanyang call each other Nuomei, Nuobi, Gehe, etc.; the Yani call each other Juewei and Juejiao, and the Han people also call them Aini; Haoni is called Budu, Onu is called Ximoluo, etc. In Chinese historical records, the historical names of the Hani people are: Heyi, Heman, Hemi, Hemi, Woni, Eni, Ani, Hani, Oni, Oni, Amu, Luomian, Nuobi, Lu Bi, Kalu, Biyue, Haoni, Lunta, etc.

The main religious beliefs of the Hani people are polytheism and ancestor worship. It is believed that there are powerful gods, earth gods, dragon tree gods, village gods, family gods, etc. with the nature of protective gods between heaven and earth, and they must be sacrificed regularly and prayed for blessings. Various ghosts and gods that bring diseases and disasters to people must be restricted and driven away through sacrifices and witchcraft. The Hani people in Xishuangbanna sacrifice "Longba Gate"(or Zhaimen) every year.

The Hani people are mainly engaged in agriculture and are good at growing tea. The Hani people have a long history of growing tea games. Nannuo Mountain in Granghe, Xishuangbanna, is an important producing area of "Pu 'er Tea" that is well-known across the country. The production of tea games in the Hani people accounts for one-third of the province's output.

There are generally dozens of households in Hani villages, up to 300 to 400 households, and they generally choose to live in the middle of the mountain. Hani families all have ears, or buildings with ears form courtyards. The auricle building is a flat roof, with thick wood on the roof, and then cross-laid with thin wood and straw. Soil is added to consolidate the roof. Nowadays, the roof is often covered with cement) as a drying platform. Grain drying, clothes drying, enjoying the shade, children's games, and women's weaving are often carried out on the drying table. Drying the terrace has become an important place for people's production, labor, daily life and leisure activities. It is an important part of terraced agriculture and home life.

Earths are generally used as housing for unmarried children. Social freedom among young men and women prevails in Hani society. Parents of adult young men and women do not interfere in their free social interaction. In some places, when their children are adults and unmarried, small houses are built next to the house for their children to live in. The ear room is used as a hut, or as a guest room, or for storing farm tools and other debris. Most of the Mojiang area are earth-based buildings with flat roofs and connected between them. The Hani people in Xishuangbanna live in bamboo-and-wood buildings with a balcony next to them.

In ancient times, the Hani people had no surname, and adopted the father-son system, that is, the ending of the father's name was the beginning of the child's name. For example, if the father's name is Songshan, the son's name is Shanda, and the grandson's name is Dapao, and so on, a family pedigree is formed from generation to generation. To identify clans and relatives, it is by reciting the family tree. Daughters can also have father-son names, but they cannot be included in the pedigree. If there is an abnormal death, twins, or physiological defects in a certain generation, they will not have the father's name, and they must escape the generation and have a new name.

The Jiwei branch is named after the zodiac sign on the day the child was born. For example, when the child was born on Ox Day, it is named Niu XX, and when the child was born on Chicken Day, it is named Ji XX. The Jizuo branch is generally named with "Mo Pi". If the eldest son died, the next son is named "Pixiu"; when the child is born on the road, he is named after Lu Lian, such as Ga (Lu) Nan; while the wife is pregnant, the husband dies abnormally outside, and the baby is born with "Luo".

Each branch of the modern Hani ethnic group has its own surname, which is called "Agu" in Hani language, but this surname is not widely used and is not used with a given name. Only used when you need to prove your clan affiliation. There are many types of surnames, such as "Dangcan Agu","Yuniao Agu", and "Dangqie Agu". The names of these surnames are generally the names of the ancestors of each clan.

Hani names are also divided into infant names, nickname names and large names, and different names are used for different occasions. Tuba is only used in reciting family trees, naming children, or more solemn sacrificial ceremonies. The most commonly used is the nickname. Nowadays, the Hani people also take Han names. It is now a common custom to use the surname "Yang" for "Dangsan Agu". "Shenxian Agu" uses the surname "Li" and so on. However, when taking Shani names, the traditional custom of "father and son naming" is still maintained.

The Hani people like to make clothes with navy blue earthen cloth. Men usually wrap their heads in black or white heads, and the elderly wear melon-skin hats, double-pronged tops and trousers. Wear cloth shoes or wooden shoes made of wooden boards or brown rope. Hani men in Xishuangbanna wear a right-open jacket with two rows of large silver bubbles along the front. Every New Year's Day or on a date with a girl, the boys put beautiful feathers or flowers in their heads. Men in the Lancang area are wrapped in black cloth head and wear double-pricked tops with two rows of silver coins on the front, and geometric patterns are embroidered on both sides.

Women's costumes have their own characteristics in various places. The Honghe area wears a collarless shirt with a right open front, buttons made of silver coins, and trousers under it. When dressed up, a shawl is added. Some even tie a flower waist and wear flower leggings. There are several colored lace inlaid on the shoulder supports, plumes, cuffs and trousers of the clothes, and the waistcoats are trimmed with embroidered flowers. Wear high-tube pointed embroidered shoes. Women in Xishuangbanna and Lancang wear knee-length folding skirts and leg protectors. I usually go barefoot and wear embroidered shoes during festivals. Women have hair and braids, while girls often have hair and braids. Older women wrap their braids around their heads, wrap their heads with black or blue cloth, or wear homemade hats. The hat is inlaid with small silver bubbles, material beads, or many tassel woven with silk thread hangs down. Some also like to use silver chains and strings of silver coins and silver bubbles as breastpieces, and wear earrings and earrings. Women in Lancang like to wear large silver earrings.

During the festival, Hani women like to wear an indigo turban embroidered with beautiful patterns with colorful silk threads, and bundles of gorgeous flowers will be hung in front of their foreheads and behind their heads. The chest of the coat is decorated with silver bubbles and silver buttons, and an octagonal silver medal hangs in the middle. The calves should be wrapped with an embroidered cloth with a pair of velvet flowers made of red wool tied on it.

As long as a Hani boy reaches a certain age, he will take off the hat on his head, use a cloth head, and dye his teeth red red, indicating that he is an adult and can talk about love. Hani girls need to wipe their hair with lard and comb it into a drooping single braid. When a girl reaches a certain age, she must also dye her teeth red, tie her lapels, and wear silver ornaments, which shows that she is mature and can participate in the "girl string". Adult women of the Hani nationality often weave double braids and wrap the braids around their heads. Some girls in Mojiang wear white or pink waists, but after marriage, they wear blue waists. The height of the waists is a symbol to distinguish whether a woman is married or not.

The Hani people have always been hospitable. Whenever guests come, they must treat each other with wine. After the guests sit down, the host first respects a bowl of rice wine and three large pieces of meat, calling it "drinking braised pot wine." Serving guests and serving guests pays attention to the large amount of food, sincere and affordable. During the banquet, there is often wine and song. When guests leave, some also serve a piece of big cake and a package of cured meat, crispy meat, tofu dumplings and other delicacies wrapped in banana rice. The Zhuni people in Xishuangbanna have the habit of dividing tables for men and women when they entertain guests. According to traditional customs, there are men's rooms and women's rooms in the home. Only men can eat at the same table with guests, and women generally do not accompany guests. The seat during dining is headed by the side close to the fire pond, and the chief seat is usually the elderly. When dining in the men's room, the male elderly sits at the head of the meal, while the female elderly sits at the head of the meal.

Hani people have two meals per day. Rice is the main food and corn is the supplement. They like to eat dried rice, cake, rice noodles, rolled flour and pea jelly. They chop lean meat and make porridge with rice, minced ginger, star anise, and grass fruits. They love to eat glutinous rice cake and wrap it with banana rice and eat it with cured meat. Hani people also regard fire as the life of the family, carefully protect the fire, and worship the fire pond piously. Each of them has several different firehouses. Not only should the fireworks be burned for a long time, but they should not be mixed. The first fire pond cooks rice and stir-fried dishes in small pots, the second fire pond specializes in steaming rice, and there is another fire pond that only cooks pig food. A "fire class" made of hard strips similar to a hammock is hung above the fire pond to smoke food. During the festival, each household specially prepared a bowl of rice, meat vegetables and spicy wine to sacrifice to the sacred fire pond.

The Hani people love to eat meat very much. Pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks are eaten in large chunks. Drinking in a large bowl is the courtesy of the host. The guests follow the idea, and everyone gathers together and leaves happily. There were people in the village who killed pigs and chickens or made some delicious food. The elderly men and women in each household were invited to eat together, and the most tender and delicious parts such as livers were given to the elderly to enjoy. The leftover pork and beef will also be made into unique smoked bacon and dried pork, which will be stored all year round for hospitality.

The Hani people like to drink alcohol and have many wine festivals. Such as Mother's Day, Elderly People's Day, Yellow Rice Festival, Naming Festival, Dragon Sacrifice Festival, Uncle Recognition Festival, etc. There is good wine every festival. The most interesting thing is the "Abbado" love party with wine and song.

The most distinctive feature of the Hani people is the Changjie Banquet, which is called "Ziwudu" in Hani language and is translated as "Sacrifice to Dragons and Compare Vegetables","Changjie Banquet" or "Unity Banquet of the Whole Village". The "Long Street Banquet" was held during the Hani New Year in October of the lunar calendar. It lasted for three days. The farmers in the village were divided into three groups to take turns to host-each family held a table of exquisite wine and vegetables, and carried them out to the center of the street together with tables and chairs. It was arranged into a more than 100 meters long street feast. The whole village publicly recommended a highly respected old man to preside over the dragon sacrifice ceremony.

The Hani marriage is monogamy, which is relatively strict in Xishuangbanna. It is generally believed that polygamy is not in line with the customs of the Hani people. If you abandon your wife and remarry it, you will be condemned by public opinion. You will also have to give gifts to your ex-wife and her uncle's family to compensate for their wrongs. If you marry a concubine after many years of marriage, you will be allowed. Young men and women of the Hani ethnic group can socialize freely and talk about love before marriage. Marriage requires parental consent, and arranged marriages are practiced in many areas.

Men and women from the Yichhe people of the Hani branch who live on the edge of the Red River often choose their lovers through pairing and banquets. Generally, before pairing and banquets, the man will ask the woman to agree, and the young man will chip in the money and hire a chef to cook the chef to kill cocks, cook fat meat, stir fry, brew wine, and soak glutinous rice for preparation. The banquet was held around 10 o'clock at night, with about 10-30 participants and bustling onlookers. The lights will be brightly lit and the tables will be filled with various dishes. First, place the cooked cock head up on the dining table, and hang two chicken testicles and a live crab on the chicken. The "guy head" and the "girl head" sit up from the head, and the rest of the men and women pair up in turn. Sit down, then raise a glass to toast and sing songs, and then leave to enjoy. At this time, the young men wrapped glutinous rice and vegetables with banana rice and gave them to the girls to eat on the way home. If a man and a woman are in tune, they can make an appointment for the next meeting. Locals call this method of courtship "Abado" and are held during slack farming.

There are many branches of the Hani people, which have created slight differences in the wedding and funeral customs of each branch. Marriage of aunt and cousin is popular among Biyue people. When a girl grows up, she has to obtain the consent of the male family before she can marry an outsider. The same goes for Kado marriages. The marriage is for an uncle and a cousin, and the marriage contract is mainly arranged by the parents. During marriage, when the bride enters the woman's millibar door, the woman must organize young people to greet the bride with "olives", which means using a letter to beat away the evil spirit carried by the bride. The Rami people's uncle's family has priority in choosing parental power. When getting married and picking up a new person, the groom, accompanied by a matchmaker, accompanying him and a gongs and drum player, will go to the girl's house with gongs and drums singing a tune. The bride is carried out by the eldest brother and will cry while singing "Cheniu Duye"(daughter tune) to ask for a dowry from her parents and older brothers. In fact, she is mainly to express her difficulties in leaving her parents 'hometown.

Among some Hani people in Ailao Mountain District, different forms of "not leaving her husband's home" marriage customs still exist, that is, the bride lives in two places: her mother's home and her husband's home. When the bride returns to her husband's house from her mother's home, she uses a small and exquisite bamboo box to fill delicious rice and smoked pork, and brings it with pickled duck eggs. This is called "Hejiatuo" in the local Hani language. It is said that this was specially prepared by a mother for fear that her daughter would be uncomfortable, shy, and hungry in her husband's home. Of course, this box of delicious food is not eaten by the bride alone when brought to her husband's house. Sometimes it is enjoyed by the couple together, and more often it is given to the husband's siblings to eat together.

The Hani people in the Mojiang area of Yunnan Province, whoseis located in the Hani people have the traditional custom of "stepping on the road" to engage. In the interaction between men and women of the Hani Yeche people, if both parties are interested, they can talk in detail under a white umbrella. Most weddings for Hani people living in Ailao Mountain in Yunnan are held at dusk. In the Biyue branch of the Hani ethnic group, the bride started crying three days before getting married.