The De'ang Nationality

With a population of 15,000, the De'ang people are mainly inhabited in Luxi County in Dehong Prefecture and Zhenkang County in Lincang District in Yunnan. Their spoken language belongs to the Va-Ang branch of the Mon-Khmer group of the Austroasiatic language family. They have no written language of their own. They mainlywork in agriculture and have always been known as "ancient tea-growers" because of their skill in tea growing. They are apt at weaving bamboo wares, too. They are culturally influenced by the Dai nationality in many ways.


The Hengduan Mountainous Region in western Yunnan Province has been a place where many nationalities have lived together since ancient times. Though different in histories, traditions and cultural features, they are on good terms with each other under the same sky. The De'ang nationality has been an old member of this big national family. Her 15,000 people scatter over a vast land of 30,000 square kilometers, mixing with the Dai, Jingpo, Va and other nationalities.
Every nationality has its own way to record its ancient history. The De'angs linked its national history with a tea tree, as shown by the old song handed down to this day. It was said that 102 leaves were blown off a tea tree in heaven, and they were turned into 51 brothers and 51 sisters on Earth. They fought against devils on the land and finally won. They all returned to heaven except Daleng and Yaleng, who stayed on Earth and created an intelligent and valiant De'ang nationality.
The song goes: Tea has been the lifeline of De'ang, where there is tea, there is De'ang.
This magic "old song" is handed down and down, the fragrance of tea will always be on the De'ang.
This old song is sacred and vigorous. It not only tells the ancient history of the De'ang nationality, but also expresses their love for tea.
In history, the De'ang nationality had dominated western Yunnan with its armed might. Especially during the 12th to 15th centuries, the Goldª²Teeth Kingdom founded by their ancestors had held sway over the whole region. Later, however, the De'ang nationality gradually went on the decline, and for a long period of time could only make a living by renting other people's land. They had no land of their own until the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
Like many nationalities in the south, the De'angs like to live in bamboo towers. It was said that these square towers were built to resemble the sage Zhu Geliang's cap. Many stories about Zhu Geliang's southern expedition can be heard in Dehong areas.
Tea trees can be seen everywhere around their houses and villages. Tea is not only a daily comfort for them, but also an important source of income.
Rice also takes a dominant place in their diet, corn, wheat and beans come next. Because most De'angs believe in Buddhism, which strictly forbids the killing of animals, they didn't eat much meat in the past.
In Zhenkang County in Lincang District, a tradition of presenting food to the old people has been kept to this day. On Waterª²Splashing Day, every household sends portions of their best dishes to the oldest person in the village. This is a way to show their respect for the old people.
Probably because the vicissitude of their history has tempered their deep character£¬their costumes are mostly dark. Men usually wear indigo or black robes buttoned on the right together with short broad trousers. They wrap their heads with black or white scarves decorated with colored pile beads on two sides. Women often wear black or dark blue blouses together with long skirts. To add to their charm, they put on silver neck rings, earrings and red pile beads as well. The most eye-catching ornaments are the several to several dozens hoops around a girl's waist. The hoops are woven with rattan twigs painted in red, black, green or other colors; some are even twined with silver threads. Legend had it that De'ang girls used to dance all over the sky. In order to tie them down to the ground, men had to make rattan hoops and loop them over the girls' waists. Gradually this has become a custom. It is said that the more hoops a girl wears and the more elegant the hoops are, the more intelligent and capable the girl is proved to be. Trying to win their sweethearts' favor, young men often present the girls with elegant waist hoops as a love token.
The De'angs believe in Shangzuobu Buddhism, and their daily life is closely connected to Buddhism. Most boys will become monks and study Buddhist scriptures in the temples after they reach the age of ten. Except few boys who are raised to the rank of Buddha, most of them can resume their secular life several years later.
Their traditional holidays are mostly related to Buddhism as well. The most important one is "Waterª²Splashing Festival." People wash the dust off Buddhist statues with "water dragons." They also splash water to each other as an expression of good wishes. Then, they line up in a long queue after the elephant-foot drums and throng to waters beside the springs and rivers, celebrating the New Year by chasing and splashing water to each other.
The custom of presenting bamboo baskets is often followed after a young man has found a lover. He sends his sweetheart the prettiest basket he has woven to show his love. A girl may receive several baskets, but who does she love? It depends on whose basket she carries on the Water Splashing day. This keeps the boys quite busy that day. They open their eyes real wide looking at all the baskets very carefully to see whether the girl is carrying his basket. When he discovers his own, he splashes water on the girl, which is returned happily, both wild with joy.