The Diverse Ethnic Groups of China

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Bronze drums are the most noteworthy instrument of the Bouyei. They are used as a symbol of power to gather the crowds. Moreover, they are played in rituals and events, such as weddings and funerals, for special purposes.
Bouyei houses are easily recognized because of the unique structure. They are usually made of solid stone with an empty ground floor for livestock keeping; while humans live on the upper floor. The Bouyei men all have excellent stonemasonry skills and good at creating elaborate patterned roofs on stone buildings.
Young Bouyei people advocate for a free relationship, unlike the ancient matchmaking tradition in many other areas in China. The weekly market and festivals are the occasions to meet people. A young man asks his loved one out and sings love songs to her. If the girl is attracted to him, she will throw him a ball made of silk strips which she has embroidered herself. If the man is agreeable, they then make a date at which they will sing love songs to each other. It takes very short time to go from dating to engagement. The man will ask a third person (usually the girl’s relative) to propose on behalf of him and give meat and fine wine to her family. Once his future parents-in-law agree, the two families would start preparing the wedding.
One of their famous craft is batik. The Bouyei in Guizhou practice this craft mostly. They make batik garments and fabrics to sell in markets or as an exchange to other goods. They are also good at weaving and embroidering.
Costumes and Ornaments
Bouyei clothing is dark colored and edged with bright colored lace. The Bouyei women wear blue shirts covered by blue half-sleeve jackets with big cuffs embroidered with floral patterns, and skewed collar studded with bronz...

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...s the descendants of the Qiang people who resided on the Tibetan plateau in the first centuries of the Common Era. They migrated to Yunnan during the third to fifth centuries C.E. and in 1730s they took another southern move to the Honghe River in the east and Lancang River in the west and settled in the areas where they live today.
Language
The Lahu language belongs to the Yi language of the Han-Tibetan language family. It is dived into the Lahu Na and Lahu Xi dialects.
Religion
Traditional Lahu religion includes the recognition of a wide variety of natural and ancestral spirits. The Lahu worship an all-powerful creator God named Gui Sha, who dominates the other minor spirits. Gui Sha requires animal sacrifices, as well as of other foods at the important moments in the agricultural calendar, such as planting and the harvest, and whenever a person or animal is sick.

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