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The Jinuo nationality was not ascertained until
1980. The population of the Jinuo us only 18,000. They live in
compact communities in the Jinuo mountain area of Jinghong
municipality in Xishuangbanna Prefecture. Some are distributed in
Mengla and Menghai counties. They called themselves "Jinuo" which
means the offspring of the uncles. But they were called "Youle "by
others. Their ancestors were one branch of the ancient Qiang
people. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman Branch of the
Sino-Tibetan Language Family (Yi Branch). They have no writing
system, and use Han characters. Before Liberation,
the Jinuo nationality still remained at the stage of the late
primitive commune. And there was also the trace of their past
matriarchal society. The traditional houses were wood or bamboo
houses with straw roofs. There was also the "Big House" in Jinou
village where several generations of the patriarchal families
lived. Every village had a "Zhuoba" (the male head of the village)
and a "Zhuosheng" (the female head of the village ) who were in
charge of the affairs of the village. But with the development of
productivity and the increase of consumption, the "Big House "
system has disappeared. The Jinuo people believe in
primitive religion. They worship the sun and have their costumes
and bags embroidered with the patterns of the sun. The Sun Drum is
their important religious tool and Sun Drum Dance is their unique
dance. Their principal festival is the New Rice Festival
celebrated after each autumn harvest. But the grandest one is the
Temuoke festival that falls in December or January on the lunar
calendar. On this occasion, people kill oxen to offer a sacrifice
to Heaven. They sing and dance to the music of the Sun Drum. Since
the festival is a time for people to caste farm tools for the next
farming season, it is also called the Iron-Casting festival.
The costumes of the Jonuo people are simple. The men usually wear
white collarless coats, the backs of which are embroidered with
patterns of the sun. They wear loose trousers. The women wear
collarless seven-color short skirts, and triangle-shaped white
linen hats. |
