China's Dai Minority
China's Dai people live in the hot jungles of southern Yunnan province, close to the border with Laos and Myanmar. One of the 56 recognized ethnic groups of China, the Dai minority has a population of just over 1 million, according to a 2006 census, and are part of the same Zhuangdong language family as three other Chinese minority groups: the Zhuang, Buyi, and Li peoples. This unique culture adds its own special touch to the unique tapestry of people that make up the Chinese population.
The religion of the Dai people
Like many Southeast Asian peoples, the Dai people are predominantly Buddhist. The Buddha, called Gongdama (贡大玛) by Dai, is revered in most households, and throughout southern Yunnan, young Dai men will go to Buddhist temples to cloister themselves as monks, spending the rest of their lives learning Dai language, Buddhist doctrine, astronomy, geography, and other subjects. In Dai culture, education is largely taught in the monasteries, so becoming a monk is the only way to a complete education. Monks are therefore revered as the educated elite in the eyes of the Dai people and are often looked to for guidance and teaching.
Language and Culture
The development of Dai literature falls into four categories: ancient poems and fairy tales, epics, legends and ballads, stories and narrative poems. The Dai people love poetry, especially narrative poems telling of the lives of their ancestors in primitive periods, centuries ago. The remaining samples of these literary works are a precious legacy in China, not only for the Dai people but for all Chinese people. Dai opera, one of the well-known types among minorities in Yunnan, is top-rated and subjects are often based on ancient Dai epics and stories.
The Dai people also have their own calendar. There is a 638-year difference between the Dai calendar, which begins in A.D. 639, and the Western Gregorian calendar. The Dai calendar actually utilizes both solar and lunar means of calculating time, which makes it uniquely different from the Western calendar and other Eastern calendars, as well. In the Dai calendar, years are reckoned using the sun (solar calendar) as a guide, while months are determined by the moon (lunar calendar).
Climate
Due to their unique calendar and the relatively small variations in climate in Dai areas, there are only three seasons in the Dai calendar: the first four months are called the cold season, the middle of the year is known as the hot season, and the last four months are called the rain season. Every fourth year, the first month in the rainy season (September) will invariably be a leap month.
Dai Food Practices
Generally, Dai people eat two meals every day. Rice is their staple food and the most characteristic is rice steamed in bamboo tubes (竹筒饭 - Zhútǒngfàn). It is often surprising to many to learn that the Dai people eat moss as a vegetable, in addition to bitter gourds and bamboo shoots. They also enjoy seafood and have their own unique ways of preparing it. For example, they will mash crab meat together with the shells to make a crab paste that is eaten with rice.
Other typical snacks of Dai include chicken cooked in earthenware pots, fried fish, sour meats and pickled ox head. To drink, Dai people enjoy a weak wine which they brew themselves, and Pu'er tea, named for the Pu'er region of southern Yunnan where it originates, is a local specialty of the Dai people. Pu'er tea has become popular across Asia and in parts of the West and now enjoys a ready market in China, Japan, and Europe.
China's remote southern areas, including the border areas of Yunnan province, have some of China's most fascinating minority peoples.
Dai Minority Traditions and Customs
The Dai minority of China are a colorful people who live in the steamy jungles of southern Yunnan province. Their culture and customs have grown up largely independent of the rest of China and are a unique aspect of Chinese today that is rarely seen.
Dai ornamentation and typical costumes are certainly worthy of note. Women of the Dai nationality are usually slender and elegant, earning them an association with the regal peacock. They usually wear colorful cutty skirts and enjoy getting festively adorned - ornaments like bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces are used when dressing up and a silver waist belt is common, as well. Older Dai women usually tie their hair in a white scarf and carry a tongpa (铜帕), a kind of handbag made of silk with intricate patterns, while younger Dai girls prefer to carry less ornate leather bags.
Dai men today usually wear a collar-free Duijin (对襟), a kind of Chinese-style jacket with buttons down the front, and baggy trousers. They will frequently wrap their head in white, black, or dark red cloth or don a wool hat.
Together with colorful and festive clothing, Dai people love performing elaborate dances. Folk dances such as the elephant-leg drum, the egret dance, and the pavane are all popular. To Dai, the peacock is a symbol of happiness, beauty and benevolence. The elegant and graceful Dai peacock dance called a pavane in English, features up to three performers imitating the activities of peacocks, such as flying off the nest, strolling leisurely, and looking around alertly.
Dai’s Festivals and Holidays
The most well-known of all Dai holidays is the Water-Sprinkling Festival, which is also one of their most important festivals. It falls on the fourth month of the lunar calendar and generally lasts three to four days. The first day is called Mairi (麦日) and is similar to New Year's Eve. On this day, people will do a thorough cleaning of their house and prepare a big dinner. The second day is called Naori (恼日); nao means 'empty' in Dai language, and this day is considered to fall between the past year and the upcoming year, not belonging to either.
Water-Sprinkling Festival actually originated in India and is a type of ancient Brahmanistic rite. For the Water-Sprinkling Festival, Dai people, old and young, man and woman will go out on Mairi and throw water on each other. This raucous, joyful occasion generally turns into an all-out water fight, with everyone laughing the whole time.
However, water-sprinkling is not the only activity held on this day - other festivities include dances, setting off fireworks, and dragon boat races. Along with the festivities and sprinkling of water, the Water-Sprinkling Festival is an occasion for young girls and boys to find future mates. They will play games together and girls will give out elaborately made flowery bags to boys as a token of love.
The fun-loving, laid-back Dai people of southern Yunnan are a fantastic addition to the 56 people groups of China. With their peacock elegance and colorful decorations, Dai culture is instantly inviting and appealing. Make sure to travel through the warm jungles of Yunnan to see this unique piece of China today!
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