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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.
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