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Dai Minority
- Updated:
- Sep 11, 2009;
- by:
- China Highlights;
- Clicks:
- 97;
The Dai (alternatively, Tai) are one of the 56 official ethnic minorities in China, whose ethnic majority are of course the Han Chinese. The Dai Ethnic Group comprises several smaller ethnic groups living mainly in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, both located in the southern part of Yunnan Province, though smaller pockets of Dai live in and around the Yunnan cities of Xinping and Yuanjiang, as well as in other autonomous counties in Yunnan Province. In all there are roughly 1.2 million Dai living in China. However, the Dai of China belong to a larger family of Dai/ Tai ethnic groups that also exist in neighboring Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Dai have their own special writing system, which is written in an alphabetic, as opposed to a character, script. There are five different branches of this writing system spread throughout the various Dai communities in China. The Dai people are exceptionally good at dancing, with Peacock Dance being the most famous. They observe Buddhism.
History
The forebears of the present-day Dai Ethnic Minority of China first organized themselves into a semi-unified political organization during the Qin (221 – 207 BC) and Han (206 BC – 220 AD) Dynasties. In 109 BC, Emperor Wu Di of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD) set up the prefecture as a special area to house the Dai people in southwestern China, corresponding to present-day Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. With plentiful rainfall and fertile land, the areas that these Dai groups inhabited were suitable for the planting crops. The Dai are believed by scholars to be one of the first ethnic groups to employ oxen to till the land.
Eating Habits
Rice is the staple of the Dai diet. The Dai are fond of pork, beef, duck, chicken, and fish; they seldom eat mutton. In some areas, dog meat is also popular among the Dai. In general, the Dai love flavors that are sour and/or spicy hot. They are known for their roasted chicken and pickled fish, but also for their pickled bamboo shoots, pickled peas, and pickled meat.
Since the Dai live in areas that are hot and humid, replete with a cornucopia of large insects, they have learned to incorporate this rich protein source into their diet. Therefore, dishes and snacks made of insects constitute a large part of the Dai diet, and enhance it with their special flavors. The Dai also have a liking for partially-fermented wine that is generally homemade. Although tea is a local specialty, the Dai prefer their tea made of large-leaf tea sorts that are not highly perfumed.
Architectural Style
A traditional Dai house is two-storied, and roughly square in shape. The upper storey serves as the living quarters for the family, while the lower storey, which may be only partially walled in, but is generally partitioned into more than one room, serves as a storeroom for grain, etc., and as a shelter for livestock. The living quarters contain, besides bedrooms, room for working, for dining, and for receiving guests. There is traditionally a balcony for washing clothes. It is here that the household water supply, its water tank, is located. The advantage of having the living quarters raised above ground are obvious: it reduces the risks to life and property during high water conditions (flooding), being well above ground, it is free of dampness, ground chill, and it is generally free of insects, especially mosquitoes.
Costumes
Traditionally, Dai women wear tight-sleeved short dresses and sarongs, which accentuated their slim but shapely figure. Dai women's clothing, particularly in the Xishuangbanna region, comes in a wide variety of styles. Undergarments are typically of a light shade such as white, light green, sky-blue or pink. Over this is worn a jewel-collared short-waisted shirt that rides above the hips, exposing part of the lower back. The skirt, or sarong, is tight-fitting as well, and is quite long, reaching, in some cases, almost to the ground. They wind their long, beautiful hair into an elegant bun, fixed with a shapely comb, atop her head.
Dai men wear collarless, tight-sleeved short jackets - with the opening down the front or along the right side, as seen in the Dai woman's shirt - and long, baggy pants. In winter, Dai men drape a blanket over their shoulders in lieu of a coat. To finish off his rather austere wardrobe, a Dai man wears a turban in black, white, or blue.
Songs and Dances
The Dai are exceptionally good at singing and dancing. Their most popular dances are the Peacock Dance, the Lion Dance and the Drum Dance. The most important musical instrument in accompanying Dai dances is the so-called elephant-foot drum, which can be played by people of all ages, from young to old.
The elephant-foot drum is typically long, and made of a section of log that has been hollowed out, and then covered with the skin of a python, though today sheepskin is used (otherwise pythons might soon be on the endangered species list). The drum is painted in a variety of bright colors, and adorned with the feathers of a peacock - a bird that is especially auspicious in Dai culture, hence the dance of the same name. A stout ribbon is attached to the drum so that it can be carried by the performing dancer. The performing dancer carries the elephant-foot drum slung over his left shoulder, beating the drum mainly with his right hand, while his left hand helps to steady and/or shift the position of the drum so as to facilitate the playing rhythm.
The graceful Peacock Dance is the favorite dance of the Dai. It is marked by undulations of the waist and the arms and involves a number of fixed elements that imitate the behavior of the peacock. These imitative elements include: launching into flight from the nest; flying about; strolling about; searching for a water source; peering intensely, combined with suggestive eye movements; bathing in a water puddle; spreading the wings and shaking them to dry off; and spreading the tail feathers as if to announce its presence as the most exquisite creature in the whole of the animal kingdom.
Festivals
The Water Splashing Festival falls during the New Year of the Dai Calendar. The Water Splashing Festival is not only the first Buddhist festival of a new year, but also the most important festival observed by the Dai.
Water Splashing Festival usually lasts for three days. In the first two days, they hold dragon-boat competitions to say farewell to the old year; on the last day, they carry out the "lucky" activities to welcome the New Year. All people in a village will take a bath and change into new clothes and go to worship Buddha in the first morning of the Water Splashing Festival. People assemble in the Buddhist temple, building a tower with sand. Then all people sit around the tower and listen to the chanting of Buddhist scripture. Then again a Buddhist statue will be carried out into the yard and splashed by all women in the village, which is so-called bathing for the Buddha. After such religious rite, all young people will go out of the temple and splash water on each other for pleasure. All pass-bys are involved in water splashing and congratulations are expressed onto each other. Spray flies everywhere, and everyone is shouting for fun. The water brings good luck and happy cheers to all the villages around.
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See Also
- Bai Minority
- Naxi Minority
- Miao Minority
- Dong Minority
- Zhuang Minority
- Yao Minority
- Uygur Minority
- Tibetan Minority
- Hui Minority
- Tujia Minority
- Kazak Minority
- Hani Minority
- Manchu Minority
- Mongolian Minority
- Qiang Minority
- Shui Minority
- Yi Minority
