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The Bouyei ethnic minority
 Most of China's 2,548,300 Bouyei people live in several
Bouyei-Miao autonomous counties in Xingyi and Anshun prefectures and
Qiannan Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province. Others
are distributed in counties in the Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous
Prefecture or near Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou.
The Bouyei region is on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which slopes from
an altitude of 1,000 meters in the north to 400 meters in the south.
The Miaoling Mountains stretch across the plateau, forming part of its
striking landscape.
 The famous Huangguoshu Falls cascade down more than 60 meters near the
Yunnan-Guizhou highway in Zhenning Bouyei-Miao Autonomous County. The
thunder of water can be heard several kilometers away, and mists from
the falls contribute to a magnificent view.
The Bouyeis are blessed with fertile land and a mild climate. The
average annual temperature is 16 degrees Centigrade, and an
essentially tropical environment, receiving between 100 and 140
centimeters of rain a year, is ideal for farming. Local crops include
paddy rice, wheat, maize, dry rice, millet, sorghum, buckwheat,
potatoes and beans. Farmers also grow cotton, ramie, tobacco, sugar
cane, tung oil, tea and oil-tea camellia as profitable cash crops.
As the Red River valley is low-lying and tropical, paddy rice yields
two harvests annually. Silk, hemp, bamboo shoots and bananas
complement the local economy, and coffee and cocoa have also been
planted there recently.
The valley is also rich in trees, yielding a variety of timber, which
is good for construction, such as pines and China firs. The remote,
heavily-forested mountain and river areas provide a habitat for
tigers, leopards, bears, musk deer, foxes, golden pheasants and
others. Medicinal herbs are abundant in the woods, and the area is
also rich in mineral resources, such as coal, iron, zinc, antimony,
copper, petroleum, asbestos and mercury.
The Bouyei language is of the Zhuang-Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dong
group belonging to the Chinese - Tibetan family of languages. In the
past, the Bouyeis had no written language of their own, and used Han
characters instead. After 1949, the government helped formulate a
Bouyei writing system based on Latin letters.
This ethnic group possesses a rich folk literature, which includes
fairy tales, fables, folk songs, proverbs and poems. During weddings,
scores of young men and women are invited to join in antiphonal
singing of a rich ethnic quality. In the Biandan Mountain area of
Zhenning County, old women are invited to sing songs of blessing by
firesides. They can sing day and night for up to a week without
repeating the words of their ballads.
Popular musical instruments of the Bouyeis include the suona horn,
yueqin, dongxiao, short xiao, and sister xiao (all vertical bamboo
flutes) and a copper drum. Their favorite dances include the weaving
dance and the lion dance.
 The Bouyeis are skilled in arts and crafts. Their colorful and
beautifully-patterned batik dates far back to ancient times. In 1953,
a batik factory was built in the city of Anshun with the help of the
local authorities, and traditional technology was improved. Now, batik
has become one of their best-selling handicrafts, popular both on
domestic and foreign markets. In addition, their colorful embroidery,
exquisite summer sleeping mats and bamboo hats are not only durable
and attractive, but also highly artistic.
They live mostly on plains or in river valleys in villages composed of
families from several different clans, in two-storied houses,
bungalows or a combination of the two. Often people live on an upper
floor, and keep livestock on the lower.
Young Bouyei males generally wear short buttoned jackets and long
trousers, with scarves on their heads. Women wear jackets buttoned on
the right (although some young women prefer lace-trimmed jackets
buttoning down the middle), and long trousers or pleated skirts. They
also wear scarves and a variety of silver jewelry.
They are monogamous, but young people of opposite sexes mix freely.
When they go to fairs or other festivities, unmarried young men and
women get together to sing songs. If a woman is attracted to a man,
she will throw him a ball made of silk strips which she has
embroidered herself. If the man is agreeable, they then make a date at
which they will sing love songs to each other. After several dates,
they may announce their engagement.
 In the past, the Bouyeis believed in spirits and worshipped ancestors,
although many living near missionary outposts were converted to
Christianity. In general, they observe the same festivals as the Hans.
On June 6 and April 8, however, they celebrate their own festivals in
commemoration of the leaders of ancient uprisings and their ancestors.
On "Ox King Festival," April 8, special cakes and glutinous rice dyed
in five different colors are made and offered to ancestors. After the
ceremony, half of these offerings are given to their cattle, which are
also granted a day of rest as a reward for their hard work.
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