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Drung is a small nationality with population of 5816 according to population census in 1990. Most of them live in GS Drung and Nu Autonomous county Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture Yunnan Province. Small part of them lives in banks of Nujiang. Drung still keeps many primeval customs.
It has less record about origin and history. It was named "qiao" in Yuan Dynasty and called "qiuren" after Qing Dynasty. Drung has 50 father clans. Each father clan has several brother clans.
The way of traditional living is primeval communist system, working together and having materials together. The leader is in charge of coordinating. Wives cook in turn and attribute food to everyone. So the primeval clan was in the stage of separation.
Drung gorge is in the state of separation with the outer, keeping the character of a primitive society and the primeval exchange of articles. Drung people engaged in agriculture, picking and hunting. In the past, they named "dulong" "dima" after P.R.C was founded. They was named Drung based on their characters and will.
They belonged to Nanzhao,Dali in Tang-Shong Dynasty and was controlled by Mushitusi in Yuan-ming-qing Dynasty.(further information, please look "county government")
They founded GS Drung and Nu Autonomous County with Nu nationality in 1956. The county appropriated founds to improve transportation and develop producing. From the on, Drung walked in the road of prosperous.
Drung people keep good manners of society. No one picks up and pockets anything lost on the road. No one lock the door. They never worried about being stolen. If one family is in hot water, others will help him. Now, modern life has changed the face of Drung, but these customs are still keeping.
Not only man but also women are all drinking wine and smoking. The famous handicrafts are Drung carpet and exquisite basket. Generally people drape a Drung carpet pulling from armpit to chest. Before outing, women will carry a basket on the back. It has become a part of their ornament.
Drung is good at singing and dancing. Regardless of producing, hunting or festivals, they all like singing and dancing to express their feelings.
Drung people must be come with presents when meet wedding and funeral affairs. You will receive corns from guest at first. Then you will serve the guest with "cialia" and "jimi".
Drung has his own language which belong to Tibetan Burma language family of Hai-Tibertan. They carve the wood rope to record and communicate because of no written words of their own.
Folk stories and poem of Drung are colorful such as Creating century, Great floods beyond sky, Hunter shoot sun and Tangenggeng are fairy tales. Stare girl, Girls and guys, sun mountain and An orphan fenggan are published. They express their feeling in way of singing in folk songs with dancing and instruments.
The way of marriage is complicated in history. The monogamy was established. But polygamy exists. The most common are "wife sisters" and " change room". But now it has been changed. The burials have water burial, soil burial and fire burial. When soil burial, a coffin is made of only one wood.
Drung villages where are close to a river and wood house are built on the mountainside. The floors and walls are made from bamboo or round wood.
Drung has only one festival whole year, that is " Kaquewa". It hasn't regular time. Sometimes it is in the last moon of the lunar calendar. At that time, all the villages invite each other to celebrate in the memorial party. Drung believe in sprite in everything and worship natural god such as mountains, rivers, trees and stones. Little number of them believes in Christiarity.
Marriage custom of Drung - saying marriage
Saying Marriage
An interesting marriage custom of Drung -----saying marriage Saying marriage of Drung is an interesting and civilization. If some guy loves a girl, he will invite a married man who is good at speaking to act as the person of saying marriage. The man accepts the task and to the girl's house with a teapot, a colorful bag of tea, cigarette and a tub.
After reaching the girl's house, the man must put teapot on the fire at once, taking bowels from shelf. He gets ready to make tea. At this time, whether the girl's family agree or not, they will around the fire when water is boiling. The man will put bowels to father, mother, brothers, sisters and the girl in sequence. Then, the man talks about marriage if the parents drink at once, others do too. It means they approve. If talking until 1-2 AM, tea from hot to cold, cold to hot. But no one drinks it the next evening. The man come again, no one drink tea, the third day evening the man come again, if also no one drink, it means failure. The guy still love the girl, he must invite a matchmaker after one year.
Youth present a token each other to engage to girls after loving together. Usually girls present a Drung carpet or puttee that she waves elaborately. Guys present a hoe or a basket.
Wedding
On the wedding ceremony, parents of both sides will introduce the conditions of their children and encourage them to be industrious and thrifty in managing a household. Regardless of disability, they can't divorce. Accepting wine, bride and groom facing guests express: helping each other, depending on each other for existence and remaining a devoted couple to the end of their lives. At last, they drink the wine off together. Hence the name "wine with one heart".
Feast are simple, foods are baba and wine that the guests brought. Host attributes the foods to every guest with a piece of meat. It means host respect guests.
On wedding, all of the people come to congratulate. After ceremony, they are dancing and singing to celebrate the wedding.
Dress and personal adornment of Drung
Dress is always simple. Usually they dress hemp clothes and cotton clothes of red, black and white stripes.
Man's clothes are similar with woman's. The most character custom is a Drung carpet which pulling from left shoulder to chest. Man's clothes are simple. They wear shorts with arrows and swords. Girls tie a rattan to decorate waist with hair disheveling.
After 1950s, clothes have been great changed. Women wear long skirt with colorful pearls. And now women wear shirt and pants, hanging a piece of hemp prints. It has national character. Furthermore, they still have a tradition of wearing many necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Some women wear shell accessories effected by Lisu.
A book information of Nuqiubianai read: a guy wears shorts to cover thigh with knife in left hand and basket in right. Women wear a piece of cloth pulling from right shoulder to knee. Some guys tie a hemp rope and cover the body with hemp prints. Local name is "Drung carpet". Most of children are naked or covered with a small cloth. Baby is warped in the carpet of people.
Now, only some older are still keep this custom. They are always naked around the fire. Adults are same as us. However, when working in the hills, they are used to wearing a Drung carpet. It is not only a bed but also having a function of keeping warm.
Recording about hairdo: people are all loosing hair, the longer hair is cut. So this hair cut with a cloth covered. In the upper reaches of area, the old women are used to leaving a lock of hair. This hairstyle is called "wuqineng". Only girls like wearing their hair in braids. Drung people all like wearing earrings, necklaces and accessories. A book information of Nuqiubianai record: two ears wear earrings on or two. Necklaces are made of peals. Some people even wear dozens of necklaces. Children wear musquash to avoid ghost and snake. Girls wear bracelets around waist, hands and legs. Now girls still have this custom especially for old women. Some wear earrings made of slivers. If is said that these are exchanged from Chayu. Women especially like wearing broad brackets.
Carving face
Carving face originates from old belief and is only limited to women. The local name is "drawing face". The custom is banned 50 years age. There are several explanations about origination: 1. Carving face is a beautiful symbol. 2 As a sign to tell every family from others. 3 you can avoid evil after drawing face. 4 to prevent Chawluo leader from robbing Drung women as slavers. The fourth explanation accord with the social reality.
Local old men said:" it is said that ancestor hadn't the custom of drawing face". Until two hundred years age, Drung women would be robbed as slaves if they didn't hand in the articles of tribute to slavers. The style of drawing face is similar in the middle and upper reaches of Drungjiang. Girls will draw face from 12 years old. It means grown up. When you carve face, washing faces first. A women draws pattern in her face with bamboo sticker dipping in smoke. Then she use brambles assassinating from up to down of pattern, kneading dough. About one week, when swelling has gone down, the blue vein left the face forever. The vein in upper and middle reaches of Drungjiang is "^"assassinated in the meet of eyebrows, four " " are assassinated in the nose. " " vein in the two sides of the nose. Four " " in the mouth. There are ten strips in the lower mouth. However, in the middle and lower reaches of Drungjiang area, only 3-5 stripes were carved in the chin. The character of vein is drawing prominent parts of face. Moreover, the style of vein is related with distributed condition of face muscle.
Drung dining
Dinning custom are usually determined by natural environment and life style. A small quantity of rice is planted in the middle and lower reaches. Middle and upper reaches have planted upland rice and coarse gain. The staple food include sweet corn, millet, buckwheat, highland barley, potatoes, soy bean and a little rice wide animals.
Special food is stuffed buckwheat. Buckwheat is baked into cookie, stuffed with chives, fish, chicken and pork. This kind of food is easy to carry. It has been the main food in hilly area working.
Braised chicken with wine and Chinese sauerkraut is the meat dishes with most distinctive features (It is called "xiarea" in Drung language). Placed chopped chicken in a pan and cook over very high heat. When chicken turns opaque add wine pepper and bring back to boil. It tastes delicious. The way of braised eggs with wine is also like it. At usual, every ten eggs and 500g wine, Chinese saucer kraut is a kind of bamboo shoots. Dig it from the earth, pare the bark and cut it into pieces and shine upon until it become dried vegetable (It is called "Meibal" in Drung language). Hot water soaking before eating. It is usually used for making soup and meat. With good tasty Chinese saucer kraut manufacture process : cut the bamboo shoots into little pieces. Pound it until soft. Seal in the thick bamboo tube with banan leaf. Put it in brook. After several clays, it ferments and turns sour. Then take it out and shine upon it dry. Using Chinese sauer kraut soup made by it quench our thirst. It is the suitable soup in the summer.
People have a custom of " drinking tea" in upper reaches of Drung River, effected by Tibetan possibly. Drung people buy tea instead of planting tea, after boiling, tea is drunk by them. They treat guests with it. A tool is a thick bamboo tube with a 70cm long and 10cm wide. In addition, there is a piston with 90cm long. Add some salt, fat (pig fat, meat fat, chicken fat and bitter), melon seeds and eggs, pouring boiled tea in them. Then handle piston up and down. You can drink it. The color are brown, it tastes good. It makes you refresh yourself. So it is a nourishing beverage.
Accommodation
A book information of Nuqiubianai record: the custom of accommodation. "This year planting this and the next year planting that, leaving old house and moving to new house". The village has population of 700-800 from to 8 mile. The poor always build a simple house with bark of the trees. So Drung's living condition is related with primeval life style.
Drung gorge is very danger. Their house bares the building of "column" style. One point is on the land, the other is facing gorge. Pillars of a house that become the whole structure with house are buried in land.
In the area of middle and upperreaches of Drungjiang. Terrain is higher and weather is colder and there are more flat lands. So the house which like square is called "Muduo house". That is made of round wood. However, in the area of lower reaches of Drungjiang. House which like a rectangle but isn't solid is called "zhumie house".
A couple and their children live in "Mude house" in middle and upper reaches of Drungjiang. The old always lives in another house with his small son. But they are working together.
" zhumie house" like a rectangle. Married son usually builds houses next old one. They all have a big roof. This house is made of several rooms. Every room accommodates a couple and children. It is called "Kanmuba". That is "male house". A side facing mountains has a passengeway which its two side have two doors connected with balcony and outer. According to custom, you can't come in from this door but go out from another door. All rooms are separated by "mieba " and the members are descendants of the host. Compared with "male house". There is another large house having a long history. It is called "Kamuma". That is "festival house". The corridor is in the middle of the house and two sides of the corridor are rooms, accommodating descentants of the host. This type of house has gone now.
Some Drung lived in trees. 50 years ago, robbers wave rampant, killing people and robbing women. Drung people had to fell to the forest. Some people built house on the trees. It was called "cinadang ". It provides materials for us to know about a nest. This house is made of rough wood, cutting branches and putting bamboo in it. The roofs are made from grasses, barks and banana leaves. The sizes are determined by spreading of branches. The big can accommodate two stoves. Th small can accommodate one stove. So it is easy to observe situation in trees. Once the situation has changed, all run away.
Agriculture
Drung people are engaged in hilly agriculture with picking, fishing and hunting. The tools are simple such as iron knife and iron axis. Bamboo and timber tools are used widely. Productive forced is very poor. But basic means of production land belongs to family's commune. Drung who continue to use slash-and-burn cultivation run primitive agriculture with dry rice.
Hilly county where is burned. Local name is " huoshan land", is widely spread in ridge of a hill. Generally, the land was discard after planting two years. About ten years later, it will use again. At the beginning of this century, the main ways of sowing seeds are broadcasting. Hoeing plough was appeared after spreading in iron hoe.
Procession right of " huoshan land " is not fixed in custom. Whole family moves to hilly area where has spring in May every year. Host delimits a boundary at first, women and children pull up weeds. Then strong men cut down trees. If it is cloudy, grasses and woods will lay for half a month, firing from down to up. So this is appropriate planting corn, rice, potatoes, cabbages and so on.
When planting corns, people use a long bamboo pale to dip a corn into soil. When planting rice, experienced people sows with a basket, others cover it with soil after him. Most of them have no habit of fertilizing. Pulling up grasses should pull up clean at first. Next time you do it at ease.
With the help of other nationalities, Drung began to plant rice in the middle of 1950s, they are not good at planting rice, so they have to put some rotten grasses under the water area. Threshing is in one area laid bamboo mat, putting two stones on it. After hitting the rice, thresh will be finished. Nearly each family dip a hole around bamboo buried in soil.
Hunting
Hunting is a sideline of Drung. People who hold primitive crossbow, bamboo pick can kill animals. They are good at using venom. Beat shot by poisonous arrow will be dead at once.
Hunting was called " nianshan". It is arranged by season and agriculture production. Group hunting is always in slack season of winter. Because poisonous snake are slim in forest.
Three or five people go hunting with crossbow, arrows, knives, ropes, foods and dogs. If a hunting group fails three times, they will be regarded as " renmuda". So the group will be dissolved and they will find new partners to go hunting.
Before hunting, Drung people offer a sacrifice to "renmuda" for blessing. The ceremony for "Renmuda" is hold in forest. People cut off bark and draw beast pictures in it. If you shoot this kind of beast, it means you will hunt this kind of beast. So hunting ceremony has become the mental pillar of hunters.
Hunters search animals in different directions in forest. Once you find track, let dog pursue and capture. If near the river, people and dogs should defend. Then people shoot or case them.
The way of distribution is in the light of amount of animals. If they hunt one animal head of beast belong to the first hunter. Others have a leg of beast. If they leave a leg, it will distribute to every family. So do internal organs. If they hunt two beasts, heads also belong to first hunter. One beast attributed hunters. The other beast attributed residents. It is glorious that house hang a skull of beast. In custom, beast skin belongs to first hunter. If other hunters need, he has to turn in or the hunters distribute the money that they sold it.
Handicraft industry
Textile
Women are engaged in spinning and weaving. Put hemp poles into the water, then peel stem off and hang it on the bamboo pole. After drying by airing, people wind wire into a ball and twist hemp into thread. Then they are soaked, boiled in the dye water. So they can be weaving after bleaching and drying. When you are weaving, bamboo stake is stuck in soil with colorful threads. Now you can weave clothes.
The tools of weaving are thick bamboo tube, wood tube, bamboo slice and wood slice about nine. They are so simple that can carry easily. When weaver is weaving, one point of thread is hanged on pole, the other is tied her wrist, weaving is slow.
The traditional textile of Drung are Drung carpet and Bargtue that are symbol of traditional clothes.
Beast skin processing
Monkey, beat, sheep, donkey skins are always used to pad and arrow bags but scarcely used to shoes and caps. People cut off muscles and fats from skin, drying skin by a fire. It can be used after pressing with stones. People don't further process.
Picking and further process
Drung people can pick wild plants about 3000 around living area. But most of them taste bitter. So they should soak and boil them before eating. Wild palms grow in middle and lower reaches of Drung River. Local name is "Alei". Starch extracted from outer of the trunk is the most popular food.
Bark processing
A palm bark that contains tough fibre is directly used to rope, pad and something covering roof. They have a function of preventing damp and keeping warm.
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