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The Dulong (Drung) Nationality |
The Dulong nationality has a population of over 5, O00 people, mainly found in the Gongshan Dulong Autonomous County of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. They have their own spoken language, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family, but no written form. They are chiefly involved in agriculture, but retain their fishing tradition too. They attach great importance to their standing in the community and keeping their words is a moral imperative. To this day they have maintained their local custom of "locking no doors and taking no lost items."
The Dulong Gorge is a magical place to people outside. Straight fir and dense pine trees cover both banks of the winding river. Here in the shade, various rare birds, animals and valuable raw materials for drugs are found. However, as soon as the Moliwang pass of the Gaoligong Mountain is blocked by heavy snow every October, the whole gorge is locked in winter stillness, awaiting the early return of spring.
The Dulong River starts in Cayu County in snow-covered Tibet and runs to the west of the Gaoligong Mountain in Yunnan Province. There it rushes and roars down the high mountain ridges and forms the spectacular Dulong Gorge along part of the Sino-Burman border. People living on both sides of the Dulong River believe that they are sustained by its water, so they name themselves the Dulongs after it.
The Dulongs living by the river have built their lives round the gorge. Villages of all sizes are on the steep mountain slopes and along the river. Their houses are often two-storied wooden buildings with a ladder to go up and down. People live on the second story and their livestock is kept downstairs. Each hearth in the house symbolizes one little family unit ¨C married sons and daughters don't separate from their parents; they just set up a new hearth in the house.
The Dulongs have a varied diet. Different grains provide the staple, and they also enjoy all sorts of wild game of the mountain. They are good at catching fish in the rushing current of the Dulong River, too.
Dulong tapestries can be seen everywhere as house decorations. They are woven by hand with colorful threads spun from cotton and flax, and are soft and well designed. Cloaks made of these beautiful tapestries have become their unique traditional costume. Dulong men like to carry hunting tools such as a cross-bow, quiver and chopper because hunting has always supplemented their income in the past.The women like to wear long-sleeved upper clothes and long skirts. They sometimes tie a flower-patterned linen apron around the waist. Their leg wrappings are also made of linen cut in strips.
In the past, girls aged 12 or 13 were tattooed in the face to show that they had come of age. It was said that the tattoo design of a beautiful butterfly was chosen because the souls of the deceased turned into butterflies. Whilst these beautiful insects hovered over the gorge, the Dulong girls pierced their faces with indelible butterflies using bamboo needles and indigo ink.
Their relatively closed natural environment has enabled the Dulongs to maintain their old imple folkways through the centuries. "Respecting the old and protecting the young" and "living in harmony" is not at all empty talk for the Dulongs. Wild game caught must be divided equally and it is shameful for one person to enjoy it alone. If one family is in difficulty, all their neighbors will come to help without being asked.
The Dulongs are known for being as good as their word. They never lock their doors when they go out. They store the harvested grain on slopes far away from home. In order to lighten the burden when they trudge over long distances, they usually hang their haversacks for the return journey from the branch of a tree. No one will touch others' belongings. "Everything has a owner, and never pick up someone else's lost property on the road" are admirable traditions the Dulongs have kept.
The Dulongs love singing and dancing. Perhaps because the hunters in the depth of the mountains used to feel lonely, or maybe because their young wives in the wooden buildings missed them too much, the Dulongs got used to expressing their innermost feelings through a string instrument called the "Mangguo." This can be played solo or in unison, and the music is soft and sweet. There is also a special dance to go with it.
Their annual traditional holiday is called "Kacuiwa." It is held on a lucky day chosen from the last month of the year by eiders in the villages. After worshipping the mountain gods comes the festive joyful "bull-robbing banquet." As the gongs and drums resound to the skies, everyone starts to sing and dance. Kacuiwa used to be a rite performed to celebrate victory, but now it has become a festival when the whole valley is caught up in joy and fun.
The Dulong Gorge is steep and cruel,but it is also beautiful and gentle. Now when groups of their young people travel beyond its rough mountain paths,when butterfly tattoos have disappearedfrom the Dulong girls' faces, their ancient gorge too is quietly undergoing changes. Once so faraway, the Dulong Gorge and stories of the hard life there are coming closer to us day by day. |
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