Chinese Nation – Hani nationality

Hani people are mainly distributed between Yuanjiang River and Lancang River in Yunnan, China. They live in Honghe, Jiangcheng, Mojiang, Xinping, and Zhenyuan counties, and the northern mountainous areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.

The religious belief of the Hani nationality is mainly polytheism and ancestor worship. It is believed that there are powerful gods of heaven, earth, dragon, and tree, as well as village gods and family gods with the nature of protective gods between heaven and earth, which must be sacrificed regularly and prayed for a blessing. For all kinds of ghosts and gods that bring diseases and disasters to people, they should be restricted and expelled through sacrifice and witchcraft. The Hani people in Xishuangbanna sacrifice “longbowmen” (Zhaimen) every year.

In the Hani society on the South Bank of the Red River, the gods and ghosts are primary and secondary. The main gods are God of heaven, God of earth, God of a mountain, God of the village, and God of family. These gods should not be neglected for a moment. They should be sacrificed regularly. “Dragon tree” is considered to be the protective god of human beings, which is sacrificed every year. Each village has a public dragon tree. In some places, such as the South Bank of the Red River, there are family dragon trees. In the Hani nationality area of Xishuangbanna, the sheep day is the death day every year. In case of bad luck, such as dead people in the village, wild animals entering the village, dogs climbing on the roof, fire, and so on, it is also considered the death day. Production must be stopped and sacrificial activities must be carried out to avoid disaster.

Hani people eat two meals of the solar eclipse, mainly rice, supplemented by corn. They like to eat dry rice, Baba, rice noodles, roll powder, and pea jelly. They chop lean meat and cook porridge with rice, ginger, star anise, and grass fruit. They like to eat glutinous rice Baba, wrapped with banana leaves, and eat with bacon.

The Hani people love to eat meat very much. Pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks eat in large pieces. Drinking in large bowls is the host’s courtesy. The guests follow the way of thinking. They gather together and part happily. In the village, some people killed pigs and chickens or made delicious food. All the elderly men and women were invited to eat together, and the liver and other tender and delicious parts were offered to the elderly.

Hani people make fresh pork and beef into smoked bacon and dried pork with a special flavor, and reserve them for hospitality all year round.

Hani people like drinking and have many festivals. Such as the mother’s festival, old people’s day, the yellow rice Festival, the naming Festival, Dragon Festival, uncle recognition Festival, etc. Every festival brings good wine. The most interesting is the love banquet of “Sabado” wine and song.

Long Street Banquet: it is called “Ziwudu” in Hani Language, and is translated as “Longbicai”, “Long Street 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 whole village was divided into three groups to host in turn. Each family held a table of exquisite food and wine, which was carried out to the center of the street together with tables and chairs. A feast of more than 100 meters was held in the center of the street. A highly respected old man was promoted to hold the Dragon sacrifice ceremony.

Salted banana heart: it is called a Roche in Hani Language. When cooking, cut the tender stem heart of the banana into small pieces, add the appropriate amount of salt and porridge, mix well, put it into a tile jar and marinate for 1-2 days, then serve.

Bee Chrysalis sauce: a special snack of the Hani ethnic group, which is made of chopped Bee Chrysalis and seasoning.

Boiled snake balls: Hani flavor dishes, with snake mud, squeezed into balls, fried first, and then cooked.

Olive fish in clear soup: traditional Hani cuisine, made from olive bark and small white fish.

Other characteristics of the Hani diet are fried muntjac meat with sour bamboo shoots, provincial meat paste, crab stewed egg white, bamboo tube chicken, fried bamboo worm, etc.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Christianity was introduced into some Hani areas, and Buddhism was also spread in some areas. There were not many believers and had little influence. After 1949, the above religious activities have gradually decreased.

Hani people like to use Tibetan indigo cloth to make clothes. Indigo dye is put into a container, dissolved in water and wine, and dyed after seven or eight days. After dyeing, soak the cloth in the glue made of cowhide, rinse and dry with water. In some areas, clothes should be dyed once after washing to ensure bright colors.

Yeshe is a branch of the Hani nationality. Yeshe women in Honghe County usually wear white pointed hats and indigo split short sleeve earth cloth clothes. They have no collar and buckle and are tied by wide five-color belts. Cloth clothes are worn one by one, ranging from seven or eight pieces to more than ten pieces. The number of clothes can be seen from the length of the inside and the length of the outside. Yeshe people believe that the more the number of clothes, the more beautiful the clothes are, and the more affluent the family is. They wear black shorts, with proper pleats at the bottom of the trousers. The number of pleats is roughly equal to that of the top, and all of them are exposed below the thighs.