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The Jingpo ethnic minority
 The Jingpos, numbering 119,300, live mostly in the
Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, together
with the De'ang, Lisu, Achang and Han peoples. A few of them are found
in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture.
The Jingpos mainly inhabit tree-covered mountainous areas some 1,500
meters above sea level, where the climate is warm. Countless snaking
mountain paths connect Jingpo villages, which usually consist of
two-story bamboo houses hidden in dense forests and bamboo groves.
The area abounds in rare woods and medicinal herbs. Among cash crops
are rubber, tung oil, tea, coffee, shellac and silk cotton. The area's
main mineral resources are iron, copper, lead, coal, gold, silver and
precious stones. Tigers, leopards, bears, pythons, pheasants and
parrots live in the region's forests.
The Jingpos speak a language belonging to the Tibetan-Myanmese family
of the Chinese-Tibetan language system. Until 70 years ago, when an
alphabetic system of writing based on Latin letters was introduced,
the Jingpos kept records by notching wood or tying knots. Calculation
was done by counting beans. The new system of writing was not widely
used, however. After 1949, with the help of the government, the Jingpo
people have started publishing newspapers, periodicals and books in
their own language.
 History According to
local legends and historical records, Jingpo ancestors in ancient
times inhabited the southern part of the Xikang-Tibetan Plateau. They
gradually migrated south to the northwestern part of Yunnan, west of
the Nujiang River. The local people, together with the newly-arrived
Jingpos, were called "Xunchuanman," who lived mainly on hunting.
During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the imperial court set up a
provincial administrative office in Yunnan, which had the Xunchuan
area under its jurisdiction. As production developed, various Jingpo
groups gradually merged into two big tribal alliances -- Chashan and
Lima. They were headed by hereditary nobles called "shanguan." Freemen
and slaves formed another two classes. Deprived of any personal
freedom, the slaves bore the surname of their masters and did forced
labor.
During the early 15th century, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which
instituted a system of appointing local hereditary headmen in national
minority areas, set up two area administrative offices and appointed
Jingpo nobles as administrators. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the
area inhabited by Jingpos was under the jurisdiction of prefectural
and county offices set up by the Qing court.
Beginning from the 16th century, large numbers of Jingpo people moved
to the Dehong area. Under the influence of the Hans and Dais, who had
advanced production skills and practiced a feudal economy, Jingpos
began to use iron tools including the plough, and later learned to
grow rice in paddy fields. This learning process was accompanied by
raised productivity and a transition toward feudalism. Slaves revolted
or ran away. All these factors brought the slave system to a quick end
in the middle of last century.
 Before China's liberation in 1949, there were primitive commune
vestiges in Jingpo society. An area ruled by a "shanguan" was a rural
commune. Each village in the commune was headed by a tribal chief who
assisted the "shanguan" in administrative affairs. Even though private
ownership had taken root, the waste land and mountain slopes within
the boundaries of the rural commune belonged to all its members, who
had the right to reclaim a piece of land and would forfeit it if left
in waste again. Paddy fields, however, were either privately owned or
tilled permanently by certain people. Often, noblemen or headmen,
taking advantage of their privilege to allocate land, gradually gained
more paddy fields for themselves, or even took paddy fields away from
village members by force. This was followed by the selling, buying,
mortgaging and leasing of paddy fields. At the time of the liberation
of the Jingpo areas in 1950, landlords constituted one per cent of
total Jingpo households, and rich peasants two per cent. The two
groups had possession of 20 to 30 per cent of all paddy fields and 20
per cent of farm cattle. Of the common Jingpo peasants, only 15 per
cent owned some paddy fields and farm cattle, while the majority were
poor laborers with little land and few farm cattle and tools. Apart
from being exploited in the way of land and cattle rent, usurers'
interest rates and ultra-low pay, poor peasants each year had to pay a
certain amount of "official rice" to their "shanguan" and do three to
five days of corvee.
 The basic unit of Jingpo society was the small family of husband and
wife. Some "shanguans" and rich peasants practiced polygamy. The
family was headed by the father. A family with only daughters might
have a son-in-law to live with it, but the son-in-law did not change
his surname and his children would take his surname instead of that of
his father-in-law. A childless family could adopt a son, who was
required to support his foster parents and had the right to inherit
their  property. Elderly people without children were usually looked
after by their relatives. The Jingpo family retained the system of
inheritance by the youngest son. While the eldest son would set up a
separate family after marriage, the youngest son would remain to
support his parents and inherit most of their property. The youngest
son had a definitely higher status than his brothers. Women had a low
status in Jingpo society.
The Jingpos practiced a hierarchical intermarriage system, that is,
intermarriage between "shanguan" families and between common peasant
households. While young people could freely socialize, their marriage,
often involving many betrothal gifts, was arranged by their parents.
Bride snatching was a common occurrence. When people died they were
buried in the ground except for those who died an unnatural death.
They were without exception cremated and their ashes buried.
Jingpo people lived in thatched cottages of bamboo and wood except a
few "shanguans" and headmen, who had houses of brick and tile. The
cottages, oblong in shape, had two storys. The lower floor, about one
meter above the ground, is for keeping animals, while the upper floor,
usually partitioned into four to ten rooms with bamboo walls, is the
living quarters for family members. In the middle of every room is a
fireplace, around which people sleep. Every seven or eight years,
cottages have to be rebuilt. Rebuilding, having the help of all
villagers, is completed in several days.
Rice is the staple food, although maize is more important in some
places. Vegetables, beans, potatoes and yams are grown in cottage
gardens. Jingpos also gather wild herbs and fruit as supplementary
food.
Jingpo men usually wear black jackets with buttons down the front and
shor t and loose trousers. Elderly people have a pigtail tied on top of
their head and covered with a black turban. Young people prefer white
turbans. Jingpo men going out invariably wear long knives on their
waist or take rifles with them. All carry elaborately-embroidered bags
containing items such as areca and tobacco. Jingpo women usually wear
black jackets with buttons down the front middle or front left.
Matching the jacket is a colorful knitted skir. |
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