The Culture of the Huayao Dai and Its Prospects

Home , Dai people, Gejiu

THE CULTURE OF THE as the women's waistband, which has a HUAYAO DAI AND ITS varied cultural significance. 2) Adobe houses, quite different from those of the PROSPECTS - COMPARA• Dai people outside this region. 3) Festi• TIVE RESEARCH ON vals, many of which are shared with the THE CULTURAL CHAR• Han, but have their own features. The ACTERISTICS OF THE Flower Fair Festival is Huayao Dai. 4) An Animist religion, similar to that of DAIPEOPLESLnnNGIN other Dai, but with certain distinguish• THE UPPER REACHES ing features. OF THE RED RIVER Changes in contemporary Huayao Dai culture are discussed in this paper. Al• Zheng Xiaoyun1 though traditional forms of dress and housing, tooth dying, tattooing, ethnic Abstract language, festivals and traditional reli• gion are preserved, there have been changes since the 1950s, due to modern Tai people, formally !mown as of Dai education and health care, as well as nationality in China, number 1.1 million. greater contacts with other cultures. One of the greatest concentrated region Tourism has expanded rapidly, as out• ofDai people in China is the reaches of siders become attracted by the colourful the Red River, called the Yuan Jiang culture, and this has led to greater mo• River. Here their ethnic culture is par• bility among the Huayao Dai people. ticularly to be found. The Dai people There have been economic changes also. of the Red River number about 150,000 The goal of agricultural production has which is 13% of the total Dai popula• changed from fulfilling local needs to tion of China. Furthermore about half meeting the needs of the market place. of those 150,000 live in Xin Ping and Many cash crops such as sugar cane and Yuan Jiang counties, on the upper tropical fruits and vegetables are now reaches of the river. Traditionally, the grown. This has led to increasing in• Dai people of the upper Red River were come and an improved standard of liv• called Huayao Dai, or "Flower Waist" ing, which also has great impact on Dai, because of the long and colourful Huayao Dai culture. waistband which is an ethnic symbol of the women. The Huayao Dai comprise various sub-ethnic groups, such as Dai I. Introduction Ya, Dai Ka and Dai Saai in Xin Ping county, and Dai Ya, Dai Zhong, Dai The population of the Dai Nationality Zhang and Dai De in Yuan Jiang county. in China is more than 1.1 million. The The Huayao Dai have various cultural Dai people mainly live in the south of features which distinguish them from Yunnan Province. Most of them live in other Dai. 1) Ethnic fmery, such the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Dehong Jingpo Autonomous 1 Deputy Director and Professor, Institute for Prefecture and Lincang Prefecture. Dai Ethnology, Yunnan Academy of Social Sci• settlements are concentrated in some ences, Kunming, Yunnan, China. particular areas, but some groups have

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migrated and settled along big rivers, Due to the long history of immigration such as in the Me-Kong Valley and the and social closeness, the Dai People in Red River Valley in China. The Red the Red River Valiey have formed a va• River' Valley is a very important area riety ofethnic sub groups who call them• because Dai people, who make this area selves differently. In the upper reaches culturally unique, densely populate it. ofXinping county, there are 3 ethnic sub Therefore research on the Dai people's groups who call themselves Daika, culture in this area will be significantly Daisaai and Daiya. There are 7 Dai sub• valuable, but until today research on the groups in Yuanjiang County: the Dai, essence ofthe Huayao Dai peoples' cul• Daizhong, Daika, Daiya, Dailang, Daide ture and knowledge of the culture are and Daizhang. rather insufficient. In this article, the particular essence of the Huayao Dai In the middle and lower reaches of the people's culture will be studied and Red River, there are the Daiduan, Daiyu, evaluated, and its prospects will be pre• Dailu, Dailang, Dailiang and so on. dicted. Among them the Daiduan and Dailu are culturally different from the other Dai The source of the Red River is Mao ethnic subgroups. For example, they like Caoshao in Dali Bai Nationality Au• to insert artificial gold teeth, and their tonomous Prefecture. From here the houses are like those in Xishuangbanna river flows southeastward through 12 and Dehong which are railing style counties, covering 692 kilometers in structures, while other local Dai people China: Weishan, Nanjian, Nanhua, like to dye their teeth black and live in Chuxiong, Xinping, Yuanjiang, Honghe, two or three-floor adobes made of earth Yuanyang, Gejiu, Mengzi, Jinping, and with flat roofs. Although most ofthe Dai Hekou then into Vietnam. It is called the ethnic subgroups in the Red River val• Yuan Jiang River in China and the Red ley call themselves differently, tt~y pos• River in Vietnam. (1) sess roughly the same cultural charac• teristics, and most ofthem are called the Huayao Dai is a conventional name Huayao Dai people. (2) given by other nationalities to the Dai people living in the Red River Valley II The uniqueness of the areas. The name originated from the special long colorful belt worn by Dai Huayao Dai people in Dai women living in these areas. ethnic peoples' culture.

The ethnic Dai living along the Red The Dai people have their own common River Valley in China number 150,000 cultural characteristics wherever they which is about thirteen percent of the live, but owing to the diversity caused total Dai Nationality's population in by their historical development (such as China. More than 50 percent of them immigration and mixing with other eth• live in the upper reaches of the Red nic groups), and geographically differ• River called Xinping and Yuanjiang ent environment, Dai people living in Counties. This area is located in the cen• different areas have formed different tral section ofthe famous Yunnan Ailao ethnic subgroups and geographically Mountains, a geographical area of varied cultural features. Today the Dai mountains and rivers, which is the cul• people in the Red River Valley area also tural center of the local Dai people.

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possess both characteristics common to ished with wood tar until they become . other Dai and their own cultural char• shiny which is a token of the Huayao acter. Dai women's beauty. Tattooing is done on the back of the Haoyao Dai women's First let's take a look at 5 common cul• hands. The tattoo patterns are usually tural characteristics shared by the Red flowers and animals. River Valley's Dai people and the other areas' Dai people: d) Common Language. Since the Red River Dai peoples and other regions' Dai a) One of the typical cultural character• peoples belong to the same linguistic istics is the preference for living in flat branch--the Dai linguistic branch, there valley areas. The best location for Dai are the same common basic elements in people is a place facing water in front their languages. However, due to influ• of mountains. Both the Dai people in the ences in the different regions and sub• Red River Valley and the Dai people in groups, their languages bear some dis• Xishaungbanna and Dehong areas hold tinct characteristics of individual Dai this idea which has made them rather ethnic subgroups and their dialects. different from the other nationalities liv• Even among the Red River Valley's Dai ing in the mountain regions in their pro• People, there are some linguistic differ• duction methods and way of living. ences among the various subgroups. For instance, there are 3 Dai ethnic sub• b) Dai people engage in agriculture. groups who can communicate with each From ancient times rice has been the Dai other in Xinping County, but their ways people's major agricultural product of expression and tonal systems are dif• wherever they live. The Red River ferent from each other. Valley's Dai People also live by grow• ing rice, and like other regions' Dai e) What a nationality calls itself is are• people they eat glutinous rice. However, flection of its sense of identity. Even recently in order to increase production though Dai people in the Red River Val• of other grain crops to meet market de• ley are divided into different ethnic sub• mands and their own grain consumption, groups like other regions' Dai People, the production of glutinous rice has they all put the Chinese character "Dai" gradually decreased. before the names of their subgroups. This conventional way of naming has c) Teeth dyeing and tattooing are Dai existed since ancient times and has been people's most ancient customs, having the evidence showing that various Dai been recorded in a variety of historical subgroups' unanimously identify them• literatures as Dai people's typical fea• selves as an integrated Dai nationality. tures. Dyeing teeth black is popular with This phenomenon is also a characteris• the Huayao Dai women: they mix a kind tic of all the Dai peoples living in the of wild grass called smelly vine berry whole of Yunnan Province. and niter, and then after mincing the mixture, they put it on palm leaves, and The 5 features mentioned above are the before going to bed, they cover the front major aspects of the common cultural of their teeth with the mixture. A couple characteristics of the Dai nationality. As of days later, the front oftheir teeth will we can see, the Red River Valley's Dai tum black. Then the teeth will be fin- people share common cultural charac-

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ters with other Dai groups living in other upper reaches of the Red River is re• reg1ons. markably different from the style of other regions. They live in an adobe Since Dai people live in different areas, house with a flat roof that usually has they have also formed their own particu• two floors. They live on the upper floor lar cultural characteristics. The Huayao with a wide balcony that can be a rest• Dai people have also formed many of ing place, a suntrap space, or a work• their own distinctive cultural character• shop for making farm tools, pottery, istics. Only after recognizing these dif• earthenware and so on. The lower floor ferences, can we be fully aware of the can be a kitchen, a guestroom, or a store• cultural value of the Huayao Dai in the house and so on. The Dai houses along Red River Valley. the lower reaches of the Red River are usually one-floor houses, whereas most We will discuss five aspects of the of the Dai people in Yunnan Province Huayao Dai people's cultural differ• live in a kind ofrailing-styled two-floor ences: house mainly made of bamboo and wood. According to the records in dif• 1) The culture of costume. The reason ferent historical periods, the railing• why a majority of the Red River Dai styled house is a very important cultural people are cal1ed Huayao Dai is that characteristic of the Dai people in gen• Huayao Dai women habitually wear eral. colorful long cloth belts around their waists. The Dai women in Xishuang• 3) Marriage and family. The Huayao Dai banna and Dehong also wear belts but people living in the upper reaches ofthe they wear silver belts. Red River can freely choose to marry anyone. Historically the Dai people in The second feature ofthe costume is that this area live in a warm valley, where the Red River Valley's Huayao Dai young people fall in love and get mar• decorate their costume with silver. A set ried comparatively early. When they of the silver ornaments for one Huayao reach the age of sixteen or seventeen, Dai woman often weighs 4 or 5 kilos, they can meet and choose their future which is very unique and special among mate various festivals, such as the typi• the Dai people. cal flower fair in January. On market days they get to know each other, fall in The third feature is the wide-brimmed love and exchange presents. If every• bamboo hat commonly used by the Dai thing is all right, they get engaged. The people in the Red River Valley. Al• new couple of the Huayao Dai should though other Dai women use a hat to live with the groom's family, but after shield the sunlight, they prefer wearing the wedding the bride returns to her own a large turban.The Huayao Dai women family until she is pregnant and moves not only regard the hat as an inseparable to her husband's family before the birth part of their costume but also as a sym• of the new baby. While she stays with bol of their own ethnic subgroup's fash• her own family, the groom can visit his IOn. wife now and then or on festival occa• sions. When the new baby grows up, the 2) The culture of housing. The housing parents can consider living separately style of the Huayao Dai living in the from the husband's parents. The hus-

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band and wife are equal. They both share there is a sacrifice ceremony to pray to family obligations and rights. Tradition• the divine spirits for a pumper harvest, ally the husband and the wife have sepa• which is a big annual event. After a rate roles and functions both in farming bumper crop, they also pray to thank the and social life. If there are troubles in spirit. Before going hunting in the moun• the marriage, divorce is a way out. A tains they pray for good hunting and af• divorce is up the couple's own free will, ter it, they pray to thank the spirit. and the procedures for divorce are very simple. Once the husband and the wife There is a big dragon tree in every vil• live separately, they can be considered lage, which is the center of the village. divorced. Every year the grandest sacrifice is held to worship the tree. Every spring all the In Xishuangbanna, young Dai people villagers kill pigs and cows to offer to can also choose their husbands and the dragon under the tree and ask for wives freely, and after the wedding, the good weather and abundant harvests. groom should go to live with the. bride's When somebody is ill, it is believed to family for about 3 years before the be caused by devils and sacrifices to couple can live separately from the drive off the devils are held. bride's family. In Dehong Prefecture, arranged marriage is very popular. Mar• The Dai people in the Red River Valley riages should be approved by the par• do not believe in Buddhism, which ents. Without parents' permission the makes them different from the Dai marriage is impossible. After the wed• people in other regions who believe in ding the bride should live with the Buddhism of the southern Hinayana groom's family, and divorce is restricted. sect. Buddhism has been fused into Dai culture and become an inseparable part In Lincang Prefecture, which is between ofit. For example, it is customary that a Xishuangbanna and Dehong, the Dai man should become a Buddhist monk people's marriage customs are some• for some time during his lifetime, and thing between those of these two areas. in social life human actions and activi• Sometimes marriage is decided by the ties Buddhist teachings are observed. couple, and sometimes it is arranged. In The ways ofthinking are also influenced some cases the new couple live with the by Buddhist ethics, which emphasizes groom's family, while in other cases they the present life and at the same time of• live with the bride's. Later, they live fers hope for the next life. Buddhist separately from their parents. scripture, arts, song and dance, festivals and so on have all become part of the 4) Religious belief.The Huayao Dai Dai's culture. This difference in beliefs people as well as other regions' Dai has caused remarkable cultural differ• people believe in a kind of animism ences between these two groups of Dai which advocates that all things in the peoples in their ways of thinking, so• world are endowed with spirits and cial behaviors, daily life, and arts. souls. They believe that rivers, moun• tains, woods and crops all embody indi• 5) Festivals: The festivals celebrated by vidual spirits; therefore primitive wor• the Red River Valley's Dai people are ship of and sacrifice to various spirits strikingly different from the other re• are practised. Before spring ploughing, gions' Dai festivals since most of the

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Dai people living outside the Red River industries has been continuously regu• Valley have been influenced by Bud• lated; therefore, outside culture has dhist culture. The latter's festivals are made a great impact on every traditional generally originated from Buddhist fes• culture. For minority groups living in tivals. For example, they celebrate the China, this social change is unprec• Dai New Year's Day, which is called edented; however, the influences of the the water-sprinkling festival by other impact on the ethnic culture are differ• nationalities. They also celebrate other ent according to every nationality's his• festivals related to Buddhism such as the torical and cultural traditions, environ• Buddhist Fast at the beginning of July, ment, degree ofcontact with the outside called the closed door festival, and the world, and the population. open door festival at the end of the fast. In this process of great change, Dai In contrast, influenced by Han culture, people's culture is also subject to un• the Huayao Dai people's major festivals avoidable transition. Understanding the are the same as the Han's such as the rules of this transition is very important spring festival, the dragon boat festival, for the protection and preservation ofthe the mid-autumn festival and so on. The ethnic minority's culture. The follow• Huayao Dai people's festivals have also ing discussion will deal with the situa• developed many local features and fla• tion of the Huayao Dai people's culture vors. For instance, during the spring fes• during this modem social transition. tival, local Huayao Dai people hold a special flower fair. On this special oc• 1) Today, the traditional culture of the casion, the young Huayao Dai people Red River Valley has been well pre• make friends and find future mates. served. Today if you come to the major They also dress in their special Huayao Dai people's living areas, such subgroup's costume to show their own as Xin ping and Yuan j iang, you can still ethnic beauty. The flower fair is also a taste a strong flavor ofDai ethnic tradi• very important local trade fair. The tion. Here some observations of typical Huayao Dai 's festival culture is strik• cultural elements. ingly different from other Dai people's. This reflects the extent of influence of Traditional Costume: whether in their different regions on cultures. The Red homes or in the street on a special occa• River Valley Dai people are influenced sion you can see most Huayao Dai by Han culture while other regions' Dai women with their traditional wide• people are influenced by Buddhist cul• brimmed bamboo hats on their heads ture. and the floral bamboo baskets hung around their waists. They will dress in III. The Huayao Dai people's colorful traditional costumes with shin• culture in the social transition. ing silver decorations. Young people, however, prefer wearing clothes bought Today in China the social economy and from shops, because the traditional eth• culture are developing rapidly and have nic costume is too complicated to make. stimulated the fast cultural transition of· Only on special occasions, such as fes• every nationality. Ethnic society has tival or holiday, can you see the young changed from closed to open. The tra• Huayao Dai people in their traditional ditional economic structure of various costumes.

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Housing: Today's Huayao Dai people stored in 1991 and has become so popu• still preserve their traditional adobe lar that it is now the most important an• houses; however, some richer families nual festival to the local Huayao Dai have built new houses with traditional people. structure and conventional layout. From this, we can see that the traditional style Religion: Today's Huayao Dai people of construction and housing has settled still hold the animistic ceremonies in Dai people's culture. mainly to sacrifice to Mother Nature. Every year there are two major sacrifi• Teeth dyeing and tattooing: today most cial ceremonies to the dragon. These of the middle-aged Huayao Dai people animistic sacrifices remind us ofthere• especially the women still dye their teeth lationship between humankind and and have tattoos, and many young Mother Nature. They express man's people follow suit. This phenomenon good wishes for a bumper harvest and reflects the fact that this very important happiness. In animistic the conception custom, which is different from other that gods and ghosts control birth, ag• people's customs has been passed down ing, illness and death is fading away. from generation to generation as a local Most young people do not believe in the Dai tradition. Chewing betel nut, which mentioned conception. They take a sci• is a custom closely related to teeth dye• entific approach in their view of birth, ing, has also been kept as a pastime of aging, illness and death. It is necessary local people. Now this custom is popu• to point out that in the upper reaches of lar with young people. When guests step the Red River, these religious sacrifices in a Dai house, the hospitable Dai people to nature are intergrated in the culture entertain them with betel nuts. ofthe Dai people in all areas. However, in other Dai people's areas especially the Language: in recent years, many people areas of those Dai people who believe especially young people attend school in Buddhism, sacrifice to nature are not and even work outside the Dai region. as equally observed. They can speak standard Chinese, but the ethnic Dai Language is still the ma• The above-mentioned facts are some of jor language of the Huayao Dai People. the typical Huayao Dai 's important cul• tural elements. In fact, in their social life Festivals: traditional festivals are still many more traditional cultural elements celebrated. The Spring Festival, the are preserved. Today the Huayao Dai Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-autumn people are still imbued with their own Festival and so on are also local Huayao unique traditional culture handed down Dai people's traditional festivals, but the from generation to generation. most significant thing is that they have retained and even d'eveloped their own 2) Great changes in economic life: the unique ways to celebrate these originally Huayao Dai people live in a subtropical Han festivals. A typical example of this valley. From ancient times they have is that during the spring festival, the lived mainly on rice growing. Other ag• Huayao Dai people's flower fair has ricultural products are sideline products. become more and more flourishing and In fact, rice growing is the important grand. Interrupted for 40 years, the base of the Huayao Dai people's social Mosha township flower fair was re- culture. Their knowledge of nature in-

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culture. Their lmowledge of nature in• ments. With the transformation and the cluding the use of land and water re• opening of their society, and by means sources, the growing of farm products, of educational news media, social ex• their various agricultural sacrifices to the change and so on, outside culture is be• divine for an abundant harvest as well ing introduced into Huayao Dai areas as their daily farm work are all associ• where people have digested many ele• ated with rice growing, which is their ments of other cultures and integrated vital means to survive. This kind of them with their own traditional culture. single economic structure of production For example, the young generation of had been sustained until the midl980s. Huayao Dai people have received el• After enforcement of the policy of indi• ementary or high school education and vidual responsibility for agricultural become a new well-educated generation. production, and the open door policy, They can speak standard Chinese and the industrial structure in Huayao Dai write Han characters. Even in the above• regions has changed tremendously. The mentioned Nanjian village, there are five changes include the development of a high school graduates and 21 middle variety of industries and the transforma• school graduates. The education level tion from a self-supporting economy to of this village is th~ same as that of the one of meeting market needs. Since the Xishuangbanna and Dehong regions. Huayao Dai people live in a subtropical valley which is suitable for growing There are many aspects in Huayao Dai various subtropical farm and economic people's culture which have been products, with the help of the local gov• adapted to modem society. For ex• ernment and under the condition of ample, the young people have the free• maintaining rice growing in this area, dom and right to choose their future they have actively developed production mates. In family life, husband and wife of tropical fruits and vegetables, such are equal. A woman can manage big as sugar cane, lychees, bananas, man• events and financial affairs in her fam• goes and so on. Some local governments ily. These good traditions have played have also helped the minority nationali• an active role in the efforts of family ties by introducing some excellent for• planning, because woman can make de• eign species, such as foreign lychees, cisions on the birth of a child. Today, it Taiwan purple dates and fast-maturing is well lmown that family planning grapes. In order to develop vegetable policy is smoothly carried out among planting activities at the same time, they Dai people. The majority of Dai fami• take advantage ofthe warm local climate lies have observed the family planning to plant fast-maturing winter vegetables regulations by having one or two in large areas, including beans, melons, children.Very few families have more peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, sugar than one or two children. Another ex• beets and so on. During the winter sea• ample is that while engaging in produc• son these products enjoy increasing de• tion and following the regulations of the mand and are sold not only in Yunnan production structure, Dai people have but also in other provinces. strengthened their awareness of the commodity economy and learned new 3) In the modem social transition, the production techniques, which has laid Huayao Dai people's culture has di• the basis for future development. In the gested a large quantity of modem ele- process of today's development, the cui-

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MANUSYA: Journal ofHumanities 5.2, 2002

ture of the Huayao Dai people can be Hence in respect of its making, style, mixed with modern civilization so symbolic features and so on, the Huayao smoothly that it can be well adapted to Dai 's costume has rich connotation, the development of modernization. This which is most typical in its traditional is a very significant feature of the ethnic culture. Huayao Dai people's culture in the pro• cess of its new development. b) The Huayao Dai culture is an origi• nal culture. It has not been influenced IV. The modern connotation of by Buddhism. Although we can not the Huayao Dai people's cul• verify the history ofthe Dai people's im• ture and its prospects migration along the Red River, Huayao Dai culture today is most probable the reflection of the most ancient Dai In my opinion, the modem connotation people's cultural history. The ancient of the Huayao Dai people's culture in• customs such as teeth dyeing, tattooing, cludes the following aspects. activities of worship to Mother Nature are still retained in Huayao Dai culture a) The culture of the Huayao Dai people today. They are practised in everyday is a type of costume culture. The sym• life. bolic element in the Huayao Dai people is their costume. It is an important mark c) Huayao Dai culture reflects the har• of the difference between the Huayao monious relations between man and na• Dai people and other nationalities, and ture. From ancient times, Dai people even annoy Dai ethnic subgroups. The have settled in the flat land in the river name of the Huayao Dai people obvi• valleys, and rice growing is their most ously originated from its costume. The important agricultural production. Huayao Dai people's costume culture Therefore, Dai people set great value on has important cultural connotation and water resources. The preservation ofwa• consists of diverse elements such as the terresources and protection of the envi• wide-brimmed bamboo hat, blouses ronment are the very important tradi• with silver decorations, small floral tional common sense of the Dai people. bamboo basket and so on. The different They have a tradition of planting large subgroups also have their own styles. areas of fruit trees and other economic Furthermore, the Huayao Dai's costume forests, and have built up an environ• bears rich cultural connotation which ment ofbeautiful rural scenery for liv• has been closely related to people's work ing. This is a very unique feature of Dai skill, the division of labor between men areas. Today everyone who comes to and women, ways of living, and so on. visit the Dai people's living areas will For instance, in addition to normal farm be greatly amazed and have to admire work, the making of the costume is done the beautiful rural scenery. They perhaps by women and is a very important task do not realize that all this beauty shows for women. From this process, more cul• the sense of cultural value observed by ture has been generated. The ability to the people, and conservation of the en• make a fine costume is a standard for vironment. Because of theirs traditional measuring women's gifts and skills. The cultural value, there is a better ecologi• costume making site is also a place for cal environment in Dai regions which the men and women to get together. has formed a cultural atmosphere ofhar-

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monious relations between man and na• Valley area. For example, in Xiaomengyang ture. Today's Huayao Dai culture typi• in Xishuangbanna, there is a Huayao Dai cally reflects and symbolizes this sense village. The villagers immigrated to of cultural value. Xishuangbanna from Mosa in Xinping County more than one hundred years ago. d) The culture ofthe Huayao Dai people (3) Refer to "The Dai Culture in Social Tra• can adapt to modem development. In the dition - Anthropological Research in a Dai process of development, Huayao Dai Village in Xishuangbanna" by Zheng culture has no contradiction to modem Xiaoyun in the "China Social Science Jour• society. Conversely, it can mix with nal" issue No.5, 1997. modem society, and in the process of modem development, it has introduced References and digested many excellent elements of outside culture, such as education, The County Annals Office ofXinping Yi and science and technology, medicine, Dai Autonomous County (eds.). 1986. health care, the sense of a civilized life A BriefIntroduction ofXinping Yi and style, and so on. There are also many Dai Autonomous County. Yunnan aspects in tradition Huayao Dai culture Minority Publishing House: Kunming. which are valuable in modem develop• The Minority's Affairs Committee of ment. They include the harmonious re• Yuanyang Hani and Yi Autonomous lationship between man and nature, so• County. (eds.). 1999. The Ethnogra• cial harmony, the equality of men and phy ofthe Yuanyang Hani and Yz women in their family life, the freedom Autonomous County. The Press of to marry, colorful ethnic culture and so Yunnan University: Kunming. on. Therefore, today's Huayao Dai cul• ture is a kind of composed culture based The Office of The Ethnography of the on its own ethnic cultural origins mixed Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture (eds.). 1998. Ethnography with modem culture. (3) Like all other ofthe Honghe Hani and Yi Autono• Dai cultures, the Huayao Dai culture is mous Prefecture. The Press of Yunnan now well preserved, inherited, and at the University: Kunming. same time, smoothly developed. The People's Politic Consulting Committee In view of the four aspects above, we of Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous can conclude that Huayao Dai culture County (eds.). Selection ofthe is characterized by distinct ethnic cul• Cultural and Historical Materials tural features as well as elements about Xinping Yi and Dai Autono• adapted to modem culture. It can, there• mous County. Volume I 0 (2000). fore, serve as a unique model for other Wang Gouxian. 2000. In vestigation into the ethnic groups. Ecological and Cultural Resources in Nanjian Village ofXinping County. Notes: (Unpublished Report).

( 1) "The Development and Use ofWater Re• sources in Yunnan Province" by Li Mongrong et al. 1983.

(2) There are also some Huayao Dai people living in the areas other than the Red River

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