Overview
Chinese Name: 毛南族
English Name: The Maonan people
Languages: Maonan language 毛南语, Chinese 汉语
Total population: 1.01*105(China mainland 2022)
Distribution: Mainly living in Huanjiang County, Guangxi
Brief introduction
The Maonan people 毛南族 is one of the mountain ethnic groups with a small population in China. The national language is Maonan language, and Chinese is commonly used. The Maonan ethnic mainly live in Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County 环江毛南族自治县 .
The history of the Maonan people
There are few historical records about the origin of the Maonan people, and it is generally believed that the Maonan people developed from the Baiyue branch 百越族, which were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of South China. In October 1949, under the leadership of the party, the Maonan people fought against the oppression of the Kuomintang 国民党 together with the Han Chinese 汉族, Zhuang people 壮族 and other nationalities, and established a profound friendship with all ethnic groups.
The religion of the Maonan people
The Maonan people believe in polytheism. Before the end of Ming Dynasty 明朝, the Maonan nationality mainly believed in primitive religions. In the early Qing Dynasty 清朝, Taoism 道教 was introduced into the Maonan inhabited areas, which laid the foundation for the later Taoism to occupy a major position in the confluence with Maonan culture. Wishing and fulfill a vow by sacrificial activities are the most important and common collective religious activities of Maonan ethnic group.
The Cultures of the Maonan people
The diet of the Maonan people 毛南族饮食
The food of the Maonan nationality is mainly rice and corn, and the sour food is the favorite of the Maonan people. The most famous one is an acid food called “Nanxing”, which is a symbol of Maonan people’s deep enthusiasm. The production method of “Nanxing” is to cut pork and beef into thin slices, marinate them with salt. Then, place it in a ventilated place to naturally dry the water produced by the pickling for two or three days. After finishing the above procedure, knead the steamed glutinous rice and the sliced meat evenly, put it in a jar and seal it tightly. The longer it marinates in the jar, the more delicious it will be.
The costumes of the Maonan people 毛南族服饰
Men and women of the Maonan nationality like to wear blue and cyan cardigans and cardigans, and they are not allowed to wear white clothes because they are only worn during funerals. The characteristic of Maonan men’s clothing is that there are five bright copper buttons on the clothes. Wearing a black turban when dressing up. When it is necessary to dress up on important occasions, a black turban is usually worn on the head and a black belt around the waist.
Maonan women mostly wear cyan or blue right-breasted tops. The biggest feature of women’s clothing is the left-breasted tops and trousers with three black laces. In addition, the Maonan girls wear a small rectangular waistband embroidered with beautiful patterns. Maonan women love to wear embroidered shoes, often with lace on the upper. These embroidered shoes are usually locked in cupboard and are only taken out and worn when going to wedding banquets and visiting relatives. Normally, black cloth shoes are worn at home. Nowadays, Such ethnic costumes with mountain and village characteristics are only worn on festive festivals.
The carving of the Maonan people 毛南族的雕刻
The carvings of the Maonan ethnic group are very famous, among which the carvings of the stone tombs are the most distinctive. The tomb is entirely made of large blocks of marble, on which are engraved neat calligraphy couplets and exquisite and beautiful story patterns.
Because the stone tombs are regarded as historical witnesses of the development of the Maonan group, the ancient tombs of the Maonan ethnic group have been approved as key cultural relics protection units at the autonomous region level.
The handicraft of the Maonan people 毛南族的手工艺
Because the Maonan people’s residence is rich in bamboo, this also makes the Maonan nationality generally good at weaving various bamboo hats and mats with bamboo. The bamboo wares woven by Maonans are exquisite in craftsmanship and durable. The most famous is the flower bamboo hat made of locally produced golden bamboo and ink bamboo. This kind of hat is exquisite, beautiful and very practical, which is s a prominent example of the Maonan’s handicraft. The production method is to split bamboo into bamboo strips as thin as half a matchstick, and weave them into fine and beautiful patterns.
The bamboo mats made by Maonan people are also famous. The Maonan mat is mainly made of “bamboo” which is abundant in the local area. It is first cut into thin strips with a knife and woven by hand.
The festival of the Maonan people 毛南族的节日
The “Dragon Splitting Festival” is the largest folk festival of the Maonan people in Guangxi, which is held in the fifth month of the lunar calendar. When the Festival is arriving, people are happy to wear festive costumes. Each family will steam five-color glutinous rice and steamed pork, and some even roast fragrant pigs. In order to pray for a good harvest in the new year, people commonly knead five-color glutinous rice into balls and stick them on the willow branches.
