Puyi (Bouyei)
The Puyi (Bouyei) is currently numbering 2,971,460 in population and mainly live in South and Southwest Guizhou province. They can also found in some areas in the Yunnan province.
The area where the Puyi live is considered to be subtropical karst highland.
The famous Huangguoshu waterfall is located in this area. Their main crop is rice, but also has some cotton, cole, sugar cane, tobacco, tea and chestnut.
The Puyi speaks a language based on the Zhuang-Dai branches of the Zhuang-Dong group belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. In the past, characters were modeled on Chinese Characters and the people named it "Puyi" character. In 1956, the current writing systems based on Latin letters was created.
The Puyi use a traditional bronze drum musical instrument which has designs drawn of sun, clouds, thuner, or boat. This drum is often used on special occasions and for the Bouyei opera.
One of the popular courtship traditions of the Puyi is the "langshao". This dating period is signified by a young man and young woman singing song to each other during courtship. Because of this ritual, singing is a highly priced quality in a prospective husband.
In the past, a bride did not live with her husband after the wedding ceremony. Instead, she stays in her family from three to five years and would not come to the husband's home until she gets pregnant. When she does, she wears a headwear called "gengkao". While the gengkao is still worn, this tradition is no longer being practiced by Puyi.
The main religion of the Puyi are ancestor and nature worship. They are Polytheists. Traditionally, the Puyi practice the Mo religion. A small portion of the Bouyei believe in Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity.
The Puyi mostly wear clothing in green, blue, and white. Most of the men wear Han modern clothing, but the women continue to wear their traditional clothing of brocade and batik jackets, batik long trousers or batick long skirts. They often wear silver jewelry and like to wear a headwear. The unmarried women braid their hair and wear an embroidered scarf, while the married women wear a headwear made of bamboo shell called "gengkao".
The Puyi women are expected to learn embroidery, weaving, and batik. The Puyi Batik is exquisite and intricately designed.
The Puyi villages are often located at the foot of a hill and beside a brook. The houses are typically two storey homes with the first floor reserved for the livestock, and the people live on the second floor. Houses are built in stone. Stones are also used for household utensils such as stone milling, stone jars and stone troughs. The use of flat stone is used decoratively but is also a surefire way to waterproof and fireproof homes.
Copyrighted 2006. Amihan Makayan. Images, videos, and audio maybe used by permission only.