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Chinese Name: 畲族
English Name: The She nationality
Languages: She language 畲语, Chinese 汉语
Total population: 7.09*105 (China mainland 2022)
Distribution: Mainly distributed in the vast mountainous areas of Fujian and Zhejiang.
Brief introduction
The She nationality 畲族 is one of the minority ethnic groups in China with a small population, most of which are distributed in the mountainous areas of Fujian 福建 and Zhejiang 浙江. The She nationality has its own language, which belongs to the Sino-Tibetan languages 汉藏语系. They do not have its own national language, and the Chinese language is commonly used.
The history of the She nationality
There are different opinions on the origin of the She people, and there is no consensus. Regarding the origin of the She people, there are mainly two theories. One is that She and Yao 瑶族 are of the same origin which is a branch of the Jiuli tribes 九黎族 in ancient China. The other is that the She nationality is the descendant of the ancient Baiyue 百越.
The religion of the She nationality
The religious beliefs of the She people are mainly ancestor worship and totem worship. The She people living in the Minyue area mostly use snakes as totems, and they hold respectful and cordial feelings towards snakes.
The Cultures of the She nationality
The traditional costumes of the She nationality 畲族的传统服饰
The traditional clothing of the She people is characterized by gorgeous colours. The clothing they advocate is dark Blue, and the clothing is mostly self-woven linen. Although the clothing of She men is no different from that of the Han nationality 汉族, the clothing of She women still retains a distinct national style.
In particular, the hairstyles of women are different from those of the Han Chinese. The girl likes to use red wool to entangle her hair into a long braid and wrap it around her head. Married women usually wear a phoenix crown, a small and refined bamboo tube wrapped with a red cloth, and a red silk one foot long hanging from the bottom.
The craftsmanship of costumes of the She nationality 畲族的工艺技术
She women are good at weaving and embroidery. Their handicrafts are rich in variety, colourful and unique in style. For example, the woven ribbons have various patterns, and the colour matching is beautiful and generous. The embroidered handkerchiefs or ribbons carefully woven and embroidered by the girls are given to their beloved couples.
The weaving craftsmanship of the She nationality is most praised, except for the ribbons, which are bamboo weaving. As the She nationality area is rich in bamboo, it provides abundant raw materials for the production of bamboo handicrafts.
The dance ritual of the She nationality 畲族的舞蹈祭祀
She ethnic group dance has become an important part of religious sacrificial ceremonies and has been passed down in various major sacrificial ceremonies of the nation. Almost all of the She folk dances that people can see and find are integrated with religious ceremonies and sacrificial ceremonies, are closely integrated and are interdependent.
The She people have their own totem beliefs, and religious sacrifice is an important part of their spiritual life. Religious sacrificial dance is one of the manifestations of this spiritual life, and the dance has played an indelible and multifunctional role in the history, cultural history and national history of the She nationality.
The physical activity of the She nationality 畲族的体育活动
The She people are fond of sports activities. Festival mountaineering, horse riding and bamboo forest competition are all very interesting and unique sports activities spread among the She. In particular, the practice of boxing and martial arts is prevalent. After thousands of years of inheritance, it has formed a unique folk martial arts. The people of the She achieve the purpose of strengthening their body, cultivating their temperament and enriching their cultural life by practising martial arts.
The traditional festival of the She nationality 畲族的传统节日
The She family attaches great importance to traditional festivals and ancestor worship. The third day of the third lunar month is a traditional festival of the She people. Its main activities are to go out in the wild and eat black rice 乌米 which is dyed black glutinous rice with the juice of a plant. In addition, She also celebrates the Spring Festival.
During the Spring Festival, in addition to slaughtering chickens and pigs, it is also necessary to make glutinous rice cakes, wishing good luck in the New Year and a sweet life year after year. On the morning of the first day of the new year, the whole family worshipped Pangu ancestors. The old man talked about the difficulties of his ancestors in starting a business. After that, the whole family reunited, sang folk songs and sent congratulations. Young men and women go to villages and villages to share their friendship with each other through songs.
