Ethnic Collection: Exploring the Ancient Tea Farmers of the De’ang Tribe in Yunnan (Photo)

The De'ang ethnic group is the eighth ethnic group that the "Chinese Ethnic Sports" film crew came to Yunnan to film, following the Wa, Dai, Lahu, Nu, Lisu, Hani, and Naxi ethnic groups. On December 8, 1998, after finishing the filming of Nu and the Lisu people on the banks of the Nu River, the crew returned along the Nu River to Liuku, then passed through Baoshan and arrived in Mangshi, the capital of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture that night.

Scenery of the Nujiang River (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

Photos of the Liuku Bridge on the Nujiang River (Photography: Guo Gang)

Comrades from the Propaganda Department of Mangshi, Dehong Prefecture accompanying them The introduction said that the De'ang people who live in the vast mountains and deep valleys of our southwest have an ancient culture, but today they live in scattered and sparse populations. The De'ang ethnic group is also one of the ancient ethnic groups with a long history in China. It originated from the "Pu people" in ancient China.

One of the De'ang villages (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

It is said that the ancestors of the De'ang evolved from the leaves of a tea tree in the sky falling to the earth. This certainly has some kind of myth. color; but this nation has enjoyed the reputation of "ancient tea farmers" since ancient times, which is enough to illustrate the close historical relationship between the De'ang people and tea. "De'ang" means "cliff, cliff cave". In the past, this ethnic group was called the "Benglong" ethnic group. In September 1985, it was officially renamed the De'ang ethnic group.

Two villages in Santaishan (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

The De'ang people, characterized by their farming culture, have used their diligence and wisdom to write a historical chapter in the development of the national agricultural economy. At the same time, many traditional cultural, sports and entertainment activities with a strong local flavor created by labor and life have also added endless fun to their lives.

A drum-playing young man of the De'ang ethnic group (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

In the De'ang ethnic village of Santaishan Township, we first started shooting with "Elephant Foot Encouragement". "Elephant Foot Drum" is a dance that combines fitness and entertainment. It is very popular among some ethnic minorities such as the De'ang, Dai, Jingpo, Achang and other ethnic groups in Yunnan Province, China. However, regardless of the elephant foot drum used by each ethnic group, , or the dance movements are all different.

"Elephant Foot Drum Dance" performance (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

The Elephant Foot Drum Dance of the Deang people in Santaishan Village has its own distinctive characteristics. The drum used is about 1 meter long. , is a medium-sized elephant foot drum decorated with brightly colored cloth strips. During the performance, the dancers dance solidly and steadily, with ups and downs in their movements; although they are rough, bold, and powerful, they are not without their tenderness and expressiveness.

Two generations of the De’ang people (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The De’ang people’s elephant-foot drumming must also be accompanied by percussion instruments such as cymbals and gongs. Also participate in backup dancing. To the accompaniment of percussion, the actors clapped their hands like foot drums, dancing singly or in pairs. When the accompanist is doing movements such as rotating the drum and tuck-in and jumping, the person playing the cymbal should accompany the drum in front of the drum. In the performance of elephant foot drumming, usually a good drummer and a cymbal accompanist work well together; they are in perfect harmony, and every movement and every gesture seems to be understood, so it gives people a pleasant feeling. .

Gathering in the small square of the village (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

When we were shooting in Santaishan Village, we were catching up with the groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of a temple in the village. Villagers came from all directions, and the small village was as lively as a festival. The elephant-foot drummers, all dressed in festive costumes, gathered in a small square in front of the village temple. They are both lead dancers and backup dancers. In a warm and jubilant atmosphere, they danced wildly to express their joy. In the De'ang village under the blue sky and white clouds, you can often see children wrestling and playing, but what adults love are various traditional folk martial arts sports, such as "sword skills", "stick skills" and nunchucks. It is often performed by the Deang people in their labor leisure or during traditional festivals. These projects are different from traditional martial arts in that they are the product of a combination of martial arts and dance. It is said that most of the routines for these projects are passed down from ancestors of the Deang people. The movements during the performance are graceful and smooth, which not only strengthens the body but also brings physical and mental pleasure.

"Stick Skills" performance (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

In Santai Mountain, we also saw the "Sword Skills" movement, one of the folk martial arts of the De'ang people. Although it is called "Knife Skills", they perform with homemade wooden double swords. This sport, like nunchaku, is also a solo exercise. Although its performance routines are similar to nunchucks, it also has the characteristics of flexible skills and a combination of strength and softness. From the performance of double swordsmanship, we can see the Deang people's continuous pursuit and love for the development of folk martial arts. "Gunshu" is also one of the traditional sports that De'ang people often play. Although it is a sport suitable for all ages, young people dare not look down on the old De'ang people who have certain skills. During the stick performance, the performer first warms up by doing a set of fancy fists with his bare hands, and then takes the wooden stick and starts playing. The movements are free and easy, every move is precise and orderly. Sometimes the legs are flying and the knees are bent, sometimes the legs are flying, and sometimes the body is moving around. It can be said that the strong and vigorous figure is as strong as ever.

"Twisting Stick" Performance (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

Folk sports activities of the Deang people are very common. Some projects are not only simple in equipment, but also easy to perform. For example, the activity "stick twisting" is deeply loved by Deang people. Its origin comes from the production practices of the Deang people. Most Deang people are accustomed to using round bamboo sticks as poles for carrying things. The bamboo used to carry the burden gradually evolved into an instrument for folk sports activities, thus creating the activity of "stick twisting". Perhaps because of the abundance of bamboo, many ethnic minorities in Yunnan, such as the Jingpo, Lisu and Nu ethnic groups, have a "stick twisting" competition. De'ang youths often use their free time to engage in wrestling competitions in which two people fight against each other by twisting sticks. During the competition, the two held the two ends of the bamboo and twisted it in opposite directions. Whoever can hold one end of the bamboo stick and turn it continuously so that the opponent cannot hold the other end of the bamboo stick firmly is the winner. This sport is not only a challenge to one's wrist strength, but also a test of one's will and resilience. In the stick-twisting competition, it is not uncommon to see two players evenly matched against each other.

Like some other ethnic minorities, the De'ang people also have the traditional sports activity of "Slingshot Shooting", which is widely loved by the De'ang people. Although the De'ang people's "slingshot" bows are also made of bamboo boards, the projectiles are made of yellow mud kneaded into clay projectiles with a diameter of 1.5 cm. Moreover, they also like to use bamboo shells to load the projectiles. The slingshots of the Deang people are different from other ethnic groups and have a variety of practical and entertainment functions. First, at night, whenever children cry, the Deang people use slingshots to shoot into the black night sky at their doorsteps to drive away ghosts and evil spirits; second, they use slingshots as a way of hunting; third, they use slingshots to hunt. Entertainment competitions. Moreover, several young people often compete with each other on their slingshot skills to see who can shoot accurately and who can shoot far.

One of the villagers of Santaishan (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

The clothing of the De'ang people has national characteristics, and it is also an integral part of the simple culture of the De'ang people. Generally, men wear black and white bandannas, large earrings, silver necklaces, blue or black round-necked cardigans, short, fat and wide trousers, and young and middle-aged people have bright decorative ribbons on their upper bodies.

Two Villagers of Santai Mountain (Photography: Feng Ganyong)

Most of the women shave their heads, wear black cloth headbands, tight-fitting tops, long skirts, and rattan striped waistbands , with dark red horizontal ribbons woven on it; some wear red and black tube skirts; some wear tube skirts with 4 white ribbons, and the middle of the white ribbons is decorated with a 5-inch wide red cloth. In today's De'ang village, some women have become modern and fashionable and have grown their hair long. All Deang women can weave cloth, and the time-honored hand-weaving craft is still one of their main household sideline products.

In the traditional and simple cultural life of the Deang people, tea plays a decisive role. In addition to its origins in myths and legends related to the development history of the De'ang people, it also has a wide range of practical uses in the social life of the De'ang people. When visiting relatives and friends, tea is a meeting gift; when a man marries a woman, tea is the number one financial gift; when inviting relatives and friends to be guests, a bag of tea is given first, just like the invitations in today's social life, which looks very solemn. Whenever there is a wedding or funeral, if the gift-giver does not give tea but only money and gifts, he will be considered unreasonable or even make things worse. It can be seen how important tea is in the hearts of Deang people.

The scenery of the tea mountains in Santaishan Township of the De'ang people

The De'ang people are a cross-border ethnic group. Over the past half century, the history of the De'ang people in China has opened a new chapter. Page, the excellent culture of the nation has been promoted and carried forward. The "ancient tea farmers" no longer only have dreams, they are constantly sowing pursuit and hope, always moving towards the bright future, and the road forward is unstoppable.

(Photo: Feng Ganyong)