Just another dimension?

Sunday, April 29, 2007
Yunnan Trip Photos are online -vvv vwv

I've posted photos from my Yunnan trip here. I've kept them low-resolution this time.

Here are some photos from the collection with some interesting things I learned about some of the minority races.

I encountered primarily the Yi (彝族), Bai (白族) and Naxi (纳西) tribe on my trip. They are based in Kunming (昆明), Dali (大理) and Lijiang (丽江) respectively. For the Yi tribe, all women are referred to as Ashima (阿诗玛, as in the 1964 movie) and all men are A Hei Ge (阿黑哥). It feels quite strange having to call strangers 阿诗玛 and have the locals call me 阿黑哥. It sounds like you know each other when you really don't. For the Bai tribe, it's Jinhua (金花, literally golden flower) and A Peng (阿鹏). This should be familiar for those who have seen the popular 1959 movie "五朵金花".

For the Naxi tribe, it's Pan Jin Mei and Pan Jin Ge. The Naxi tribe reflects the interesting Dongba (东巴) culture. The Dongba script uses pictographs that look like children's drawings to me. Naxi women are a hardworking lot. I think Naxi tribe is men's paradise. Supposedly, if you are a men and you know "qin qi shu hua yan jiu cha" (zither, board game, calligraphy, painting, smoke, liquor, tea), you don't have to work, women will work their fingers to the bones for you. The best part is that slim women with fair complexion are considered low quality. Then again, maybe the tour guide was exaggerating.

Back to the Yi tribe, currently the second largest minority group after the Zhuang group in Guangxi. Here's a picture of the representative stone Ashima and a tourist dressed in Yi attire.

Notice the pointy thing in the headdress. They represent butterflies. Two upright triangles represent singlehood, one flattened triangle for attached ladies and two flattened triangles for married women. If you fancy a lady, you show it by touching those triangle thingies on her hat. What a brilliant system, no guessing games or awkward hints, everything is spelled out clearly.

This is a picture of a few Jinhuas wearing their traditional attire at this place where they show us the traditional way of welcoming guests with three different teas.

If I remember correctly, the middle or middle left is the bridal costume. Anyway, notice the headdress for the one on the extreme right. 大理 is famous for its four scenes of 风花雪月 (wind, flower, snow, moon). As the saying goes, "下关风、上关花、苍山雪、洱海月" (windy Xiaguan, flowers of Shangguan, snow on Cangshan mountain, reflection of the Moon at Erhai lake). These are all reflected in the head dress. The white streamers at the side represents wind. The front is full of embroidered flowers. The furry white rim represents snow and the crescent shape of the hat represents the Moon. Interesting eh?

Disclaimer: Most of the info is from the tour guide. I wouldn't know if he is making things up, which I suspect he is sometimes.

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Yiheng made 12:26 PM

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Categories MyLife Opinions OnTheNet Shows Miscellaneous RandomKnowledge Links My Sister S & M Jiangzheng Yiheng's Photos Shuquan's Photos Pei Yee's Photos Yun Qin's Photos #!/usr/bin/girl Archive February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 November 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009	Sunday, April 29, 2007 Yunnan Trip Photos are online -vvv vwv I've posted photos from my Yunnan trip here. I've kept them low-resolution this time. Here are some photos from the collection with some interesting things I learned about some of the minority races. I encountered primarily the Yi (彝族), Bai (白族) and Naxi (纳西) tribe on my trip. They are based in Kunming (昆明), Dali (大理) and Lijiang (丽江) respectively. For the Yi tribe, all women are referred to as Ashima (阿诗玛, as in the 1964 movie) and all men are A Hei Ge (阿黑哥). It feels quite strange having to call strangers 阿诗玛 and have the locals call me 阿黑哥. It sounds like you know each other when you really don't. For the Bai tribe, it's Jinhua (金花, literally golden flower) and A Peng (阿鹏). This should be familiar for those who have seen the popular 1959 movie "五朵金花". For the Naxi tribe, it's Pan Jin Mei and Pan Jin Ge. The Naxi tribe reflects the interesting Dongba (东巴) culture. The Dongba script uses pictographs that look like children's drawings to me. Naxi women are a hardworking lot. I think Naxi tribe is men's paradise. Supposedly, if you are a men and you know "qin qi shu hua yan jiu cha" (zither, board game, calligraphy, painting, smoke, liquor, tea), you don't have to work, women will work their fingers to the bones for you. The best part is that slim women with fair complexion are considered low quality. Then again, maybe the tour guide was exaggerating. Back to the Yi tribe, currently the second largest minority group after the Zhuang group in Guangxi. Here's a picture of the representative stone Ashima and a tourist dressed in Yi attire. Notice the pointy thing in the headdress. They represent butterflies. Two upright triangles represent singlehood, one flattened triangle for attached ladies and two flattened triangles for married women. If you fancy a lady, you show it by touching those triangle thingies on her hat. What a brilliant system, no guessing games or awkward hints, everything is spelled out clearly. This is a picture of a few Jinhuas wearing their traditional attire at this place where they show us the traditional way of welcoming guests with three different teas. If I remember correctly, the middle or middle left is the bridal costume. Anyway, notice the headdress for the one on the extreme right. 大理 is famous for its four scenes of 风花雪月 (wind, flower, snow, moon). As the saying goes, "下关风、上关花、苍山雪、洱海月" (windy Xiaguan, flowers of Shangguan, snow on Cangshan mountain, reflection of the Moon at Erhai lake). These are all reflected in the head dress. The white streamers at the side represents wind. The front is full of embroidered flowers. The furry white rim represents snow and the crescent shape of the hat represents the Moon. Interesting eh? Disclaimer: Most of the info is from the tour guide. I wouldn't know if he is making things up, which I suspect he is sometimes. -- permalink -- Yiheng made 12:26 PM 0 Comments: Post a Comment	Previous Posts If you ever go to Kun Ming -vvv Do I look that old? -vwv Pulau Ubin Cycling Trip -vvv Free Hugs Ain't Free -vwv The Future Is Dismal -vwv Random Picture -vwv Upgrade! -vwv Weekend Activities: Sa Chen Piano Recital -vvz Weekend Activities: Titoudao -vvz I am a Greater Mind! -vwv Current Read 七侠五义 Last Three Books 道德經 The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology Arthur Cotterell, Rachel Storm Momo Michael Ende Those Before 孫子兵法 Paycheck: And Other Classic Stories By Philip K. Dick Mirror Mirror: A Novel Gregory Maguire American Gods Neil Gaiman Maya 5 Fundamentals Garry Lewis, Jim Lammers Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling