Chinese. An ethnic group of people in
China, that dwells in the
foothills of the
Himalayas, mainly in the northwestern part of
Yunnan, as well as the southwestern part of
Sichuan Province. This geographical determinant is reflected in
their name, which can be translated as ‘brought into the West’. They
are believed to be the descendants of the Qiang (羌), a previously
nomadic ethnic tribe that mainly inhabited the Tibetan plateau, but
nowadays are mostly mountain dwellers in northern Sichuan. They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the
People's Republic of China, but which also includes the Mosuo (摩梭)
as part of the Naxi. However, the Mosuo are actually another ethnic
group of Yunnan and Sichuan, that –despite similar origins and
linguistic roots– are culturally distinct, with the Naxi being more
inspired by the Han Chinese culture, whilst the Mosuo are more
influenced by Tibetan culture. Traditionally,
the Naxi are followers of the Dongba religion (fig.).
Naxi subgroups include those from Jiuhe (fig.), Baisha,
Sanba, Eya, etc. The traditional dress of Naxi people varies per subgroup,
which usually correspondents with their dwelling place, yet the
women's dress typically has a piece of goat's skin
attached to it at the lower back (fig.),
and the women of many groups wear a skirt with –usually white or
blue– strips that are crossed in
front of the chest (fig.).
To indicate their marital status, married women will cross these strips
in a knot. The Naxi women of Baisha often wear their traditional
dress with the former Communist-style cerulean cap, typical of
Chairman Mao's time (fig.).
The traditional dress of Naxi
men also varies widely, depending on the
subgroups as well as the
occasion, i.e. casual or formal (fig.),
with fewer men than women dressing up the
traditional way. Interestingly, some Naxi men still carry on the
ancient Chinese tradition of hunting with falcons (fig.), a practice which is
nowadays rarely found elsewhere in China. Akin to most other hill tribe people from southern China and northern mainland Southeast Asia, the Naxi use a small mountain horse for riding (fig.) and as beast of burden, a kind of hybrid that resulted from crossbreeding between Mongolian and Asian horses, and similar to the Thai Pony or mah klaeb (fig.), and the horses used on the Tea Horse Road, known in Chinese as Cha Ma Dao (fig.).
Also spelled Nakhi. See
also TRAVEL PICTURES.