Listen to this articleOverview
Chinese Name: 独龙族
English Name: The Dulong people, The Derung people
Languages: Derung language 独龙语, Chinese 汉语
Total population: 6.9*103(China mainland 2022)
Distribution: Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Yunnan Province
Brief introduction
The Dulong people 独龙族 are one of the minority ethnic groups with a small population in China, and they are also the ethnic group with the smallest population in Yunnan Province. They use the Dulong language and have no native character.
The original custom of the original group marriage of the Dulong nationality no longer exists. Both men and women distribute, and girls have the habit of tattooing their faces. The Dulong people are mainly distributed on both sides of the Dulong River Canyon in the west of Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture 怒江傈僳族自治州 in the northwest of Yunnan Province, and both sides of the Nu River 怒江in the north.
The history of the Dulong people
The origin of the Dulong ethnic group and the formation of the nation have not yet been clearly traced and clues, but from the perspective of language family, the Dulong ethnic group should be derived from the Diqiang ethnic group(One of the ancient Chinese ethnic groups). To sum up the legends circulating within the nation, there are mainly two types.
One thinks that the Dulong nationality are indigenous peoples. Others think that the Dulong people originally lived in the Nujiang River area, and then came to the Dulong River Valley独龙河谷 by chance for hunting. Seeing that there is not only a wide hunting ground, but also a relatively flat plateau, they moved here one after another, and gradually developed from north to south.
The religion of the Dulong people
Under the control of the traditional concept of animism, the Dulong ethnic group generally believe in the existence and function of ghosts. Their understanding and worship of the natural world are concentrated in the belief and sacrifice to various ghosts. They believe that all misfortunes in people’s lives are determined by ghosts.
The Cultures of the Dulong people
The architecture of Dulong people 独龙族的建筑
Most of the Dulong nationality live on the hillsides and terraces on both sides of the Dulong River Valley, and form natural villages of varying sizes according to their family and blood relatives. The houses of the Dulong people are generally small, and the building materials are mainly winter melon trees, bamboo and grass.
There are two types of houses: wooden houses and bamboo houses. The houses are thatched roofs with dripping water on both sides. The food warehouses of the Dulong people are generally located 20 to 30 meters away from their houses. The grains harvested in one year are placed in it, and are only used before consumption. Their habit of building another granary outside the house reflects the virtue of not stealing within the Dulong ethnic group.
The living habits of the Dulong people
Whether drinking, eating or eating meat, the food is divided among the housewives in the Dulong family. When guests come, they will be given an equal share. After nightfall, the man drank beside the fire and said congratulations, and then threw the wine bowl on the bamboo stand above the fire, with the mouth of the bowl facing the sky as a good omen.
The Dulong people are very hospitable. If they hunt wild animals or kill pigs and cattle, they form a feast for distant relatives and neighbors. In addition, the Dulong nationality also have the custom of entertaining passers-by who have never known each other. They are warmly treated to passing and staying guests whenever they come to their homes.
The diet of Dulong people 独龙族的饮食
The traditional diet of the Dulong people is naturally unique. Due to the influence of social and economic development and the surrounding natural ecological environment, their food sources were relatively scarce in history, and they belonged to an omnivorous structure with half of food and half of wild plants.
There are not many kinds of staple foods, mainly corn, potatoes, barley, oats, etc. Among them, starchy foods often account for the vast majority. Cooking utensils are simple, mostly made of bamboo and wood, coupled with the lack of non-staple food and seasonings, so the method of making food is also very simple, and most of them follow the previous cooking methods of burning, roasting and boiling.
In recent years, with the introduction of various legumes and vegetables, the food habits of the Dulong people have also changed. The daily diet is only two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. The breakfast is mainly fried noodles and barbecued potatoes, and the dinner is mostly corn and other grains. Due to the limited conditions, the Dulong people generally have a light taste and not much oil and salt.
Dulong people clothing 独龙族族服装
The traditional clothing of the Dulong people is very simple. Both men and women bare their arms, and their calves are wrapped in sackcloth leggings. The man wears a striped linen blanket diagonally, which is flanked around his chest and tied in knots. A small piece of linen bib is usually tied around the crotch with hemp rope. Women use two long linen blankets around their knees and outflank them forward.
