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The Nu Nationality
The Nu nationality presently has a population
of over 27,000. They mainly live in Gongshan, Bijiang and Fugong counties
in the Nu and Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, mixing with the
Lisus, Drungs and Tibetans. The Nu's oral language belongs to Tibet-Burman
group of the Sino-Tibetan family. They do not have a writing system.
The high mountains and deep gorges have made their lives difficult,
but the rigors have also tempered the character of this nationality:
courageous and tenacious.
In the Hengduan Mountain Region, running south along
the Gaoligong and the Biluoxue Mountain is the Nu River, carving out
a deep narrow valley between the two mountains. The climate there is
very special: four seasons assemble in the same mountain and the weather
is different every 3 miles. More than 27,000 Nu people live on the slopes
and flatlands beside the Nu River. They had struggled for thousands
of years to live and develop in this place, which was almost cut off
from the rest of the world.
They have two housing types: plank houses and bamboo-slip houses. The
plank house is relatively larger, built in the shape of a square. Usually
it is divided into an inner room and an outer one. The inner room is
the host's bedroom. The outer one is for the guests, furnished with
one or several hearths. An iron or stone tripod is often set up on the
hearth for cooking. Most houses are enclosed by planks or bamboo slips,
and the roofs pressed with planks or stone slabs. A large number of
stakes and pillars are used to support the lower part of the house,
which is figuratively described as "house propped on the ground
by "thousands of legs." Simply structured and easy to construct,
it is a unique creation under a special circumstance.
The Nus began to manage agriculture very early in history. According
to Biography of the Various Species written by Li Sicong in the Ming
Dynasty, the Nu people were growing bitter buckwheat at that time. He
also recorded: "the people are skilled in making bamboowares,
and they weave linen cloth with red threads." So it seems that
their handicraft was quite developed as well. The wide use of iron plough
in farming since modern times has certainly made further and rapid progress
over their former slashandburn cultivation.
The Nus like drinking. They make wine with their surplus grain at home.
When a distinguished guest comes, they always entertain him with good
wine. If they regard the guest as a bosom friend, they ask him to drink
the "one-heart wine." Face to face, mouth to mouth, one hand
on the other's shoulder, the host and the guest are to share the same
cup of wine. The "one-heart wine" is a symbol of the Nu people's
profound sentiments of friendship. A guest becomes their real friend
only after he has drunk it.
Men's costume of the Nus is similar to that of the Lisus. They put on
linen robes over shorts. Most of them keep their haircut to ear length.
Almost every man wears a string of corals on the left ear, hangs a chopper
on the left waist, and carries a bow and quiver on the left shoulder.
They look very chivalrous and heroic indeed. Women often wear linen
or cotton robes buttoned on the left to go with long skirts. They like
to put on necklaces lined with colored plastic beads on the chest. Some
make beautiful head or chest ornaments with stringed corals, agates,
shells and silver coins. They wear big copper earrings hanging down
to the shoulder.
The most characteristic costume of the Nus is called Yueduo. Men carry
it with them whenever they go out. They wear it like a coat in the day,
and use it as a bed quilt at night. Women wear it around the waist like
an apron. It is a practical piece of clothing, keeping them both warm
and clean. Nu women are especially good at weaving Yueduo. They have
reached such a high artistic level that their handicrafts are very popular
among people of the area.
With waters billowing noisily like galloping wild horses and towering
rocks as well as overhanging cliffs lining both sides, the gorge along
the Nu River stretches hundreds of miles. The huge mountains and wide
rivers have posed great obstacles for the people travelling out of the
gorge area. However, nothing can stop their strong wish to communicate
with other people. They have set up one "overpass" after another
over the Nu River. These gliding ropes hanging over the Nu River are
called " Nu river overpasses."
The Nus used to make gliding ropes with bamboo strips twisted together
and put them up across the river. They also make wooden gliding boards
and hang them on the rope. Then they glide over to the other side on
it. They can also put their goods, animals on the gliding boards and
send them over to the opposite bank. In history, the Chinese goldthread
rhizome monkey native to the Nu River valley was sold to many faraway
places with the help of these gliding ropes.
Gliding ropes are still used by people living in some remote mountainous
areas, though some old bamboo ropes have been replaced by iron chains
which are strong and fixed with pulleys. Even so, the thrill of hanging
on it and rushing over the torrents still renders many people breathless.
Dabian is the most common traditional instrument played by the Nus.
It looks like Pipa, a Chinese plucked string instrument, but can be
elliptic or triangular in shape. It has four velvet strings, producing
very clear charming sounds. All Nu youths can play this instrument to
voice their aspirations. When it is played as a dance accompaniment,
its distinct rhythm always breathes remarkabl vibrancy into the atmosphere.
Vigorous and straightforward, both music and dance are full of its national
flavor.
The Nus have varying religious beliefs based on their traditional worship
of the ghosts and deities. The northern Nus also believe in Tibetan
Buddhism as they live together with the Tibetans. The southern people
believe in Christianity after it was spread to the area in late 19 century.
They have also established more than 140 parishes. People often attend
sermons and services at the churches deep in the mountains.
The Gaoligong Mountain and the Biluoxue Mountain facing each other had
hindered the development of the Nus. Until in the 1950s, many places
still observed the growing and withering of trees and flowers to keep
the time, passed information by tying knots and carving wood as well
as managed agriculture by slash-and-burn cultivation. Now the new times
has arrived, and the economic tide has also reached the Nu River gorge.
Here, numerous herbs are incessantly sold to many other places, and
rich underground mineral reserves have become economic advantages. Even
the surging waves of the Nu river are no longer a problem they have
been turned into an invaluable hydraulic resource to be utilized.
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