The Mulam Nationality

The Mulaos, with a population of nearly 160,000, are mainly distributed in the northern mountainous areas of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with ninety percent of the total living in the Luocheng Autonomous County. The Mulao language belongs to the Zhuang-Dong branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. Chinese and the Zhuang language are also in use among the Mulaos. Mulao's economy is dominated by agriculture, particularly rice-growing. Coal-mining also plays an important role in it.


The Mulaos inhabit a mountainous region in Guilin District, one of the most beautiful places in China -- the famous Guilin and Yangshuo scenery. The place where the Mulaos live boasts eight scenic spots of natural wonders, thus enjoys the reputation of being the "Lesser Guilin."

The Mulaos are the descendants of the ancient Baiyue clan, who lived in the vast country to the south of the Lingnan Mountain Ranges as far back as 3,000 years ago. Around the Springª²Autumn and the Warring Period (770B.C - 221B.C.), they settled down in the area of today's Luocheng district. Ever since the Ming Dynasty, the term "Mulao" has been used for their nationality.

In the beautiful Mulao hill villages, clusters of well laid-out residential buildings are scattered among green groves of trees. The Mulaos' houses are mostly low bungalows with brick walls and tiled roofs. What is special about the houses is the ground stove used for cooking and warm-keeping. The brick-laid stove is usually set near either side of the entrance to the main room inside the house, or in the kitchen. To construct it, first a hole is dug on the ground. Then a stove is set in the hole and a big uncovered water vat put by the stove. Except for the fuel-loading gate of the stove, all the openings or fissures of the stove are sealed with cement. It is kept burning day and night so that there always remains hot water in the vat, and people in the household can cook at any time. During the Spring Festival, the family, with their close relatives and friends, often gather round the stove enjoying the huoguo, or hot pot (a special Mulao dish), as well as the happiness of reunion. As the Mulao district abounds in the production of anthracite, or smokeless charcoal, stoves like these are very popular among people living in there.

The Mulaos mainly eat rice, corn and potatoes as their staples. They like to eat sticky rice, and love hot and spicy dishes. Traditional Mulao food includes white steamed buns, rice balls boiled in water, Zongzi (triangular rice paste wrapped in the leaves of a local plant), sticky rice cakes, and fiveª²colored steamed rice. Duck meat seasoned with soybean jam is a necessary dish on their dinner table during Spring Festival. The Mulaos prefer food cooked tender. In the countryside, they eat the nutritional Doufu (beancurd) cooked in various ways.

The Mulaos prefer the black color. Their national costumes look simple except for some strips of embroidery decorating sleeves and trouser legs. During the Qing Dynasty, Mulao women wore tubeª²shaped skirts while jackets with slant openings on the right side, together with long trousers, are more popular nowadays. Men wear the front-buttoned Tang-style suits without exception.
Water vats and other containers in Mulao households bear distinctive features of Mulao's folk ª©arts. Madeªª of coal mixed with grit and durable as they are, the utensils are used for cooking and wineª²distilling.

Mulao festivals are diverse and colorful. The Mulao people have quite a few traditional festival occasions to celebrate each year, including the Maternal Goddess Festival, Ox King's Day on April 8th, Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth of May, and Youth Day on August 15th. Of all their national festivals, the Yifan Festival is the most grand. According to an old legend, the place the Mulaos inhabited suffered frequently from attacks of a monstrous lion. One day a girl riding a white horse came to kill it with her arrow and thus regained the grain seeds the monster had plundered from them. More than this, she gave her people oxen and buffalo created out of taro and sweet potatoes to help them with the farm work. She taught Mulao young men martial arts and archery to fight against monsters. Ever since then, the Mulaos' homeland has been blessed with favorable weather conditions and good crop harvest. In order to commemorate the event, upon the coming of every winter season, families related by blood take turns to host banquets called "Yifan," literally meaning "to offer meals in turns." At the same time, sacrifices are offered at the public shrine and elaborately decorated door frames set up. The Mulaos perform their folk dances named after the performers' patterns of movements such as balancing bowls, holding incense and playing cymbals. Dances play a major part in the festival. They express the Mulao people's wishes for fine weather, good harvests and, above all, a peaceful prosperous life.

Different from those of many other nationalities engaged in farming, young Mulao men and women have long been enjoying the freedom to decide in their pursuit of love and marriage. Besides the opportunities offered by festivals, gatherings and fairs, their main means of seeking partners takes the form of dialogue songs called "Zoupo" meaning "walking the slope."
The activity takes place in March and August - the best time of the year - when young people dress up and take a walk through the market, hoping to find someone with whom to sing the dialogue song. The partners then go together to the slopping meadow with a beautiful view and there start the singing. Meanwhile, they exchange gifts when both agree to start a regular dating relationship. With the dialogue song as an important match-maker, the Mulao youth, like their parents, find their future spouse in the romantic atmosphere of "walking the slope."

Born with the fertile land nurtured by exquisite mountains and waters, the Mulaos do not hesitate to grasp every chance to cultivate the rich resources of the place with all their intelligence. They have preserved their ancestors' tradition of developing economy by supplementing agriculture with commerce. In the meantime, they have introduced manufacturing and mining industries, and thus changed the traditional economic model.