Bulans ( Chinese р 布朗族 , pinyin : Bùlǎng Zú ) are a people living in southwestern China in Yunnan province . The number is 91,882 people (according to the 2000 census). It is among 56 officially recognized peoples of China [1] .
| Bulans | |
|---|---|
| Abundance and area | |
| Total: 91,882; 2000 | |
| China : Yunnan ; several settlements in Myanmar and Thailand | |
| Tongue | Bulan |
| Religion | animism , buddhism ( theravada ) |
| Included in | Mon Khmer peoples |
| Related peoples | Wa |
Content
Traditional Social Organization
A traditional community settlement of Bulans consists of one or more related groups united in a tribe . The community is led by an elected elder. There are customs of ransom for the bride, blood feud, the leaders - polygyny . The locality of the marriage is patrilocal , the system of kinship terms is bifurcative-collateral [1] .
Language
They speak the Bulan language (plang), which belongs to the Palaung Wa group of the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austro-Asian family. There are two dialects: Bulan and Arva . Part of the Bulan also speak Dai , Wah or Chinese . There is no written language, they use either Chinese characters , or give the written language of the people [1] .
History
Chinese ethnologists consider Bulans to be the descendants of the ancient Pu tribe ( Chinese 濮 ) (Its 1972: 73), which lived on the banks of the Mekong River in ancient times. It is believed that this tribe was part of the baipu ( Chinese ex. 百 濮 , pinyin : Bǎipú , literally: “Hundred Pu”) [2] .
Culture
The traditional standard of beauty for bulans is black teeth. This effect is achieved by chewing betel nut [3] . Women usually wear shirts with black pants. Men usually tattoo their chest and abdomen. They wear wide black pants and white shirts with buttons. Black and white turbans are often worn [4] . Bulans are traditionally divided into several small clans , each clan has its own land. In each city of Bulans there are cemeteries, which are also divided into sections belonging to certain clans. They bury everyone, cremate those who died an unnatural death [4] .
Religion
Most bulans profess animism . They also combine their ancient beliefs with Theravada Buddhism [1] .
Activities
In addition to cattle breeding, rice growing, horticulture and gardening, they specialize in growing tea , including elite and rare puerh varieties, the center of production of which has long been the mountain village of Bulan Shan in Menhai County, Xishuangbanna-Dai Autonomous Okrug [5] [6] . The name of this famous variety of post - fermented Chinese tea, in honor of which in 2007 the Chinese authorities officially renamed the historical center of its sale the city of Simao in Yunnan province , is supposedly associated with the name of the Pu people.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Chesnov 1999: 147
- ↑ Cheboksary 1965: 219
- ↑ Zhogolev 1994: 49
- ↑ 1 2 Sergeeva 2007: 44
- ↑ Bulan Shan Tea Village.
- ↑ Puerta mountains, or the main places of production of puer.
See also
- Bulan nationality on the Abirus project (Russian)
- Page about the peoples of China in the China Information Internet Center (rus.)
- The peoples of China and their numbers
Literature
- Chesnov Ya. V. Bulany // Peoples and religions of the world / Chapters. ed. V.A. Tishkov . M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 1999.S. 147
- Sergeeva M. Peoples of South China // China. - 2007. - No. 5. - S. 42-45.
- Peoples of East Asia / ed. N.N. Cheboksarova, S.I. Brook, R.F. Its, G.G. Stratonovich. M. - L.: Nauka, 1965.S. 219.
- Its R.F. Ethnic History of South-East Asia. L .: Nauka, 1972.P. 71-73.
- Zhogolev D.A. Small Nations and Great China M .: Nauka, 1994.S. 49.