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Achang and De'ang
Dehong is a Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. Besides these two peoples, and the Lisu in the northern and western mountains, Dehong is also home to most members of two of Yunnan's smaller ethnic minorities-the Achang and the De'ang.The former are more numerous, about 27,000, 90% of whom live in Lianghe and Longchuan Counties. The latter number about 17,000 and are more dispersed in Dehong and reside in parts of Lincang Prefecture as well. Both have been heavily influenced by their Dai neighbours in domestic architecture, agriculture and religion. Yet they retain distinct cultural differences and are among the most conservative and traditional peoples in western Yunnan.
One of the main Achang areas of settlement begins just 2 km east of Lianghe, on the road to Dachang township, 19 km up in the hills from the city. The road climbs at once to the first Achang village, on a long narrow plain, slightly higher than the one around Lianghe. Achang settlements continue along the plain and halfway up the hill to Dachang, an old Han township in a tea-growing area. The Achang raise the same crops as the Dai, but they are said to be particularly good at wet-rice cultivation. The variety grown in this area is called haogong'an and has a reputation as the King of Wet-Rice Crops.
Achang
In Longchuan County a larger community of Achang inhabit the long valley of the Husa River, a southern tributary of the Dayingjiang. The rice variety here is slightly reddish and the Achang grind a portion of it into flour to make rice noodles for a special dish called guoshou mixian. Besides a big bowl of the noodles, the diner is served a bowl of chopped roast pork, ground boiled pork, peanuts, chilli and coriander, with a sauce and a bowl of turnip soup.
The Achang silversmiths and blacksmiths in Husa are famous throughout western Yunnan. The former make the jewellery the Achang women wear on festive occasions. They also inlay silver for the scabbards that hold the renowned Husa swords. The traditional beginning of this craft was in 1388 and six centuries of practice have made Achang blacksmiths the best sword-makers in the region. The most skilled can forge a blade so thin it can be wound around the waist and then straightened out perfectly for use. Shops and stands in Husa and other county towns sell the swords, as well as daggers with decorative sheaths. And all the customers will be Dehong men, of various nationalities, who want them not only for work, but also as adornment.
Achang men, when they dress traditional style, wear black trousers and usually black jackets, though some like white or blue, with a white or black turban. The women mostly prefer the Achang costume. Marital status can be determined at a glance, for the married women wear long skirts and the maidens wear trousers. Married women may wear a blue or black wraparound turban, but most pile their hair on top of their heads and don a black tubular turban, as much as 30 cm high, festooned with small pompom tassels on silver or pearl chains. Unmarried women coil their braided hair round their heads and secure it with chains of coloured yarn and pompoms. They both wear long-sleeved blouses that fasten down the front, sometimes with silver buckles.
As Buddhists the Achang celebrate the Water-Sprinkling Festival in April. They also observe other Buddhist holidays that their Dai neighbours do not. The last lunar month sees the Burning of White Firewood. The Achang construct roofed and decorated stacks of the wood near the pagodas. In the evening they set fire to them to symbolically give Lord Buddha some warmth on this cold winter night.
A much bigger festival is held in the 8th or 9th lunar month to greet Lord Buddha on his return to earth after a 3-day excursion to Heaven to read scriptures to his mother. Called Adu in the Achang language, it involves the making and procession of two fancy palanquins. One carries the Green Dragon, with fresh flowers in its mouth. The other image is a white elephant with a tall, thin pagoda on its back. Their appearance together is considered to be exceptionally auspicious.
Formerly known as the Benglong, De'ang communities exist in isolated pockets of all Dehong counties and as far east as Gengma, in Lincang Prefecture. The largest set of contiguous De'ang villages in Dehong is in Santaishan township, about 30 km southwest of L. Besides the slopes near Santaishan village, a string of De'ang villages lie in the hills 6-12 km above Zhefang, on the road to Sanjiaoyan.
De'ang
The next biggest concentration is over the Lincang border, in Junnong township of Zhenkang County. Some De'ang live as minority communities in Han, Dai, Jingpo or Wa villages. De'ang also reside in the mountains of Myanmar's eastern Shan States, and in the plain around Kengtung, where they are known as Palong (or Palawng). A handful of Palong villages have been established within Thailand's borders, in the wake of the ethnic wars in northern Myanmar.
They are perhaps the most ancient community in Dehong and the "dragon bamboo" they raise in Zhenkang County has been famous in China since the establishment of Yongchang (Baoshan) in the first century A.D. Very long, and with a stem diameter of 15-17 cm (slightly smaller in Santaishan), it makes a strong building material. Most De'ang houses are of wood and "dragon bamboo," raised on stilts and with tiled roofs.
Traditionally all sons lived in their father's house until he died, even after they married and had children of their own. So sometimes this extended family occupied a Jinuo-like longhouse, with separate hearths and enclosed bedrooms for the sons' families. Longhouses are rare nowadays, for the custom of each family having its own house has caught on since 1949.
Where they occupy level land the De'ang are excellent wet-rice cultivators. In the hill areas they have acquired a regional reputation for their tea. Besides the village's commercial gardens, each family has its own tea bushes in its compound, among the fruit trees and vegetable patches, and De'ang children start drinking strong tea at an early age.
The De'ang costume style varies slightly according to which sub-group: the Red, Black or Colorful De'ang in Yunnan and the Gold or Silver Palong in the Shan States. Red and black are the dominant colours, with lots of silver ornaments. White cotton shoulder bags with red trim and festooned with pompoms and long fringe are common to both sexes. The men wear a black, side-fastened jacket, white turban and knee-length, loose trousers. In the old days they wore heavy silver jewellery ear rings, torques, bangles and necklaces as much as the women. This practiced is reserved for festivals nowadays, but men still like to tattoo their arms and chests with dragons, tigers, Buddhist prayers and other designs.
In the old days married women used to shave their heads and wrap them in a black turban with the two ends hanging loose. Now they let their hair grow, but keep the turban. Younger women may adorn their locks with silver hair bands with pendants attached. Women of all ages wear waist hoops, usually of lacquered rattan, sometimes of silver, the more the merrier. These have customarily been a measure of a woman's attraction, so some wear up to 30 at a time.
The De'ang woman's ankle-length sarong is either black, black with a broad red band at the shins, or striped black and red. The Colourful De'ang, who wear the striped sarong, don a long-sleeved blouse of light or medium blue, red at the cuffs, and fasten it with big silver buckles down the front. The other De'ang women put on a long-sleeved blue or black jacket over a blouse, fastened below the beast, trimmed in red and sometimes sporting silver studs down the lapels.
Like their Dal neighbours, the De'ang are Theravada Buddhists. Each sizable village has its own monastery or temple. They have never been great pagoda-builders like the Dai and their temples are modest constructions. But they can be equally sincere and fervent in their beliefs, even when it seems counter to their interests. Reckoning that good Buddhists never kill animals, and that karma means acceptance of what happens apparently "by chance," the De'ang do not take action against wild boars that sometimes come and devastate their crops.
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