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Chinese Name: 阿昌族
English Name: The Achang people
Languages: Achang language 阿昌语, Chinese 汉语
Total population: 3.96*104 (China mainland 2022)
Distribution: Mainly distributed in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province
Brief introduction
The Achang people 阿昌族 are one of the seven ethnic minorities unique to Yunnan with a small population. The Achang nationality is fluent in both Chinese and the language of their own ethnic group, but they do not have their own characters and normally use Chinese.
The Achang people are mainly distributed in Husa Achang Ethnic Township 云南德宏陇川县户撒阿昌族乡and Jiubao Achang Ethnic Township 云南德宏梁河县九保阿昌族乡, Longchuan County 陇川县, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture 德宏傣族景颇族自治州, Yunnan Province. In addition, there are also some Achang ethnic groups in neighbouring Myanmar.
The history of the Achang people
Same as the Pumi people 普米族, the Achang ethnic group originated from the ancient Diqiang ethnic group 氐羌族 (an ancient nomadic nation in China). In the process of development and formation, the Achang ethnic group have had close contact with Han, Bai and other ethnic groups, and they have also merged with each other.
The religion of the Achang people
Due to the influence of multiculturalism, the religious beliefs of the Achang ethnic group have formed a state of coexistence of multiple religions. Among them are nature worship, ghost worship, ancestor worship and so on.
The Cultures of the Achang people
The diet of the Achang people 阿昌族饮食
The Achang people’s diet is mainly rice, and they also like to eat fire-roasted pork. Among them, hand-made rice noodles and Huanghua Baba are the more distinctive national flavour foods. The practice of Huanghua Baba is to wash and dry the yellow flowers first, then crush the Huanghua (A species of Compositae) 黄花 and steamed glutinous rice together, add white sugar, stir again, so that the glutinous rice and the Huanghua are more perfectly integrated, and finally, the hands are kneaded into round cakes In this way, the Huanghua cakes are formed.
The Achang nationality like to drink alcohol, and most of them make their own rice wine. Most married women like to chew betel nut. In their spare time, they pass on betel nuts to each other, and their teeth are dyed black for beauty.
The costumes of the Achang people 阿昌族服饰
Traditionally, Achang men usually wear blue, white or black shirts with front and black trousers. The traditional dress for girls is a light-coloured blouse with dark trousers. The waist is tied with an embroidered apron, and the braid is pulled over the top of the head, with flowers arranged on the braid.
Since the reform and opening up, some Achang women have bought cloth and lace to sew aprons, replacing the labour-intensive and time-consuming woven aprons. The dressing is being simplified, with trousers replacing tube skirts, and head wraps being improved. Many young people have changed to Han and Dai costumes. Only the head decoration still retains some ethnic characteristics, but they still have to wear ethnic costumes during festivals and when receiving guests.
The architecture of the Achang people 阿昌族建筑
Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the life of the Achang ethnic group was difficult, and most of them lived in thatched houses. This situation improved after Chinese economic reform 中国改革开放.
A typical house of the Achang people is the main house plus two longitudinal wing rooms. Generally, it is a civil structure tile house or a brick and wood structure tile house, and some also build a flat roof house with a brick and concrete structure. When building a new house, people also have the custom of setting off firecrackers and hanging red (A folk custom of avoiding evil and seeking good fortune).
The festivals of the Achang people 阿昌族节日
There are many festivals in the Achang ethnic group. From the national festivals of the Achang nationality, it can be seen that it is influenced by Han Chinese 汉族, Dai people 傣族 and other national cultures and Buddhist culture. The most solemn national festival of the Achang people is the Aluwoluo Festival 阿露窝罗节.
“Aluwoluo Festival” is held from March 20th to 21st in the Gregorian calendar every year, and the festival symbols are the turquoise dragon and White Elephant. Starting from March 20, 1994, each festival, the Achang people all over the country celebrate the festival, and each village and each branch send representatives to each other to celebrate the festival.
The festival is rich and colourful. The Achang people not only show their talents, singing and dancing, and costumes to the guests and friends who come to the event, but also hold various friendship competitions. The event promotes national unity and progress.
The rituals of the Achang people 阿昌族礼节
Like other ethnic groups, the Achang people are known for their hospitality. The characteristic of hospitality is reflected in the hospitality of wine. If friends come to the house, the host must invite the guests to drink rice wine and eat to show their respect and sincerity to the guests.
