[This blog post is written by Ligaya Beebe, who is our liaison with the Shambala Foundation in Dali and who has taken the lead to design and join in our activities for our CFI in Yunnan. Ligaya has been a terrific addition to our team over the past week, and she generously volunteered to write this blog report. - Adam R.]
As soon as you land in Kunming's airport, you're greeted with images of breathtaking wilderness. Yunnan's geological diversity ranges from snow-capped mountains in the north to sub-tropical jungles in the south. Prominently displayed as part of these these advertisements, all beckoning you to visit Yunnan's far reaches, you'll also see images of smiling women in bright clothes and elaborate headdresses.
These women represent Yunnan's incredible racial or ethnic diversity. Minority culture here in Yunnan is, for better or worse, on display in every day life. As one of the first things you notice as you get off your plane, minorities, or images thereof, are an integral part of the narrative interested parties tell about Yunnan.
These women represent Yunnan's incredible racial or ethnic diversity. Minority culture here in Yunnan is, for better or worse, on display in every day life. As one of the first things you notice as you get off your plane, minorities, or images thereof, are an integral part of the narrative interested parties tell about Yunnan.
On Wednesday, CAIS' inaugural China Faculty Institute visited Yunnan Minorities Village. The village is somewhere between an International Expo and a living natural history museum. A cynical view of the place might call it a live-action version of the "It's a Small World" ride in Disney World.
Viewed through a more optimistic lens (thank you, Adam), the Minorities Village is an important source of education about China's minority groups.
Viewed through a more optimistic lens (thank you, Adam), the Minorities Village is an important source of education about China's minority groups.
At various times throughout the day, Minorities Village staff members participate in choreographed shows. These highlight the diverse traditions of song and dance nurtured by each ethnic group.
CAIS CFI participants left the village feeling like they had learned a lot about minority cultures in China. Of course, nobody felt as if they were suddenly an expert on the Mosuo or the Dai people. But we felt like we had learned something. One CAIS teacher told me, "I didn't even know China had minorities," to which I responded, "It's okay, most Americans probably don't know either." The Minorities Village is effective in terms of providing visitors with a hands-on, easy to understand introduction to Yunnan's ethnic diversity.
CAIS CFI participants left the village feeling like they had learned a lot about minority cultures in China. Of course, nobody felt as if they were suddenly an expert on the Mosuo or the Dai people. But we felt like we had learned something. One CAIS teacher told me, "I didn't even know China had minorities," to which I responded, "It's okay, most Americans probably don't know either." The Minorities Village is effective in terms of providing visitors with a hands-on, easy to understand introduction to Yunnan's ethnic diversity.
Ethnic minorities in Yunnan account for 34 percent of its total population. Of the 55 registered ethnic minorities in China, Yunnan is home to 26, including the Yi, Bai, Hui, Naxi, and Tibetan. These 26 ethnic minorities are the main attraction of the Minorities Village.
The Minorities Village presents each ethnicity through a mix of architecture, religion (and folk traditions), clothing, food and craftsmanship. Each ethnicity has its own mini village within the site. The Tibetan Village for example features a working temple adorned with prayer flags and flanked by prayer wheels. Monks sit in the temple and offer prayers for visitors. Our guide told me that a Lama from Shangri-La was also in attendance.
The Minorities Village presents each ethnicity through a mix of architecture, religion (and folk traditions), clothing, food and craftsmanship. Each ethnicity has its own mini village within the site. The Tibetan Village for example features a working temple adorned with prayer flags and flanked by prayer wheels. Monks sit in the temple and offer prayers for visitors. Our guide told me that a Lama from Shangri-La was also in attendance.
Here is a summary of some of the fun facts we shared with each other after our visit:
- The Bai women's headdress features two lengths of tassels. Shorter tassels indicate that the woman wearing the headdress is married. Longer tassels mean that a woman is single.
- There are only 300,000 Naxi people in China. Their written language is a form of pictographic script.
- The Mosuo, a matriarchal society in Yunnan's northern regions, is not actually classified as its own ethnic group but is a sub-group of the Naxi. Children often do not know who their fathers are, as villagers engage in a custom called "walking marriage" (i.e., partners come and go as they please).
- The Yi minority group is the biggest of the ethnic groups in Yunnan. They are known to be more aggressive and less welcoming of strangers.
- The Tibetans live in northern Yunnan. Many Tibetan women are named Drolma and many men are named Tashi.
The visit to the Minorities Village was also effective in that it inspired ongoing conversations about ethnicity, authenticity, and authority. We sat in the back of taxis and asked each other hard questions: Who decides what is authentic? Who decides what is true and what to share about that truth? Doesn't tourism, in its own way, promote cultural preservation which is the very thing visitors come to experience?
- Ligaya Beebe
- Ligaya Beebe