Tribasia Blog

(picture by Babasteve)
After four months spent on improving our Chinese vocabulary and hand talking, we were able to say 'hello, 'bye', 'no', 'no need', 'no have', 'how much is it?', 'thank you', 'where do you go?', 'room', 'bus', 'bus station', 'train', 'water', numbers and hand talk them (which is is quite confusing since the sign for '6' looks like the sign we use for 'telephone/calling' in Europe, the sign for '5' ressembles the one for 'shut your mouth' and the sign for '7' looks like your finger got broken, etc).

The language barrier was indeed an obstacle but it did not prevent us from meeting and communicating with locals. We met lovely people along the way as well as disgusting ones (the ones spitting on bus floors and puffing in their kids' faces -and ours).

We got frustrated with the state's Big Brother's stance and its paranoia. The clampdown on many Internet sites made blog posting difficult, if not impossible. We still -sarcastically- laugh at CCTV9 (China Central Television, THE 'International' channel of China)'s comments that 'China is developing Human Rights from a collective and economic perspective whereas the West is focusing on individual and political rights.' As if Human Rights were a dish which could be prepared with different ingredients,depending on the Chef's whim, regardless of his customers' identical needs.

China is indeed booming and our guide book could not cope with the rapid changes and growth it is undergoing. However, freedom of speech is still in its infancy and will only improve if Chinese citizens slowly -but surely- rise to the challenge.

Some people might ask us why we spent so much time in China? Because Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces are treasures of natural and ethnic beauty. Despite the huge distances we had to cover and other logistical challenges, we were happy to come across minorities we had not encountered before and travel through stunning landscapes.

We are now leaving China for a smaller and more relaxed country with a wealth of history and nature: Laos. And -sigh of relief- we will now be able to blog freely!! :))

Labels: China, Guangxi, Guizhou, human rights, Laos, Sichuan, Yunnan

We left the comforts of Jinghong city (Xishuangbanna area, southern China) to go trekking alongside the Burmese border.
We started off with the usual few hours' ride on a local bus followed by an overnight stay at the small bricked town of Bulanghsan (literally meaning: the mount of the Bulang), where we indeed met many Bulang people.

Rather than folk lullabies at bedtime, we were treated to the blasting sound of overzealous karaoke singers.
In the early hours, we were awoken by the town's speakers relaying news from the national radio (propaganda starts at home!). With bags under our eyes and sore ears, we were ready to leave Bulangshan.

It took us another 20 minutes and a dozen enquiries with locals to find the path leading towards Yako, our intended destination. We were finally on track!
Our enthusiasm got crushed when 5 minutes out of town, we were stopped by soldiers at a military checkpoint. With our smattering of Chinese and their abysmal English, we quickly understood that they would not let us go through. When I asked them 'Why?', the answer was '"No why'. It made sense, we were in China after all!
We then opted, with a bit of hesitation, to become strategic and bypass the checkpoint.

How? We sneaked through by hiding in the fields behind trees and bushes besides the military station. Our strategy was risky but it paid off. We were able to come back on the dirt path at some point and free to trek -although we did watch our backs.
We first went through a traditional Bulang village with houses built on stilts still made of wood. We had little time to explore it as we still had another 7 hours' walk ahead of us.

We then went up and up and up until we reached a viewpoint overlooking a luxuriant valley with a wall of mountains in the distance. Behind these mountains laid Myanmar/Burma. We were that close to it but not up to some illegal border crossing. Instead, we kept on the track for another 2 hours before meeting a Hanni man and thereafter a group of Akha women in the fields pointing us to a shortcut. It took us another 2 hours to reach a village, which we believed was Yako.

Instead of it, we realized by conversing (or shall we say hand talking?) to a local woman that we had landed in Bupa, a village from the Hani minority. Luckily enough, we were only 5 minutes away from our intended destination. We went to Yako for a walk around the village but in the end we preferred the atmosphere of Bupa.

Besides, the lady we had met had offered us to provide us with accommodation for the night. She was a 55-year old Hani lady with three grown-up married daughters and a house spacious enough to welcome us. Her husband came back from working in the fields just before night fall.
We spent a lovely evening in their company. Our dinner consisted in bowls of boiled rice, pickled vegetables, fried greens and sweet pumpkin.Yummy!

The following day, we left our hosts after breakfast to trek onto our next destination: the village of Guangming. We walked again up and up and up. Our shoulders were starting to feel the weight of our bagpacks quite badly.

Fortunately, this time the trek was a shorter one and we arrived three hours later in what we thought was Guangming. It wasn't! We were instead in a beautiful Akha village surrounded by the jungle on one side and vegetable patches on the other - shame about the dogs!
Luckily again, we were only a short stroll from our final destination: Mengshuo. From there, we rode to Damenlong and then onto our starting point, Jinghong, for a nice shower.
We cannot tell you how good it felt to walk without a bag pack the following day! :))

Labels: Akha, Bulangshan, China, Damenlong, Guangming, hani, Trekking, Xishuangbanna, Yako

We went visiting Menghun market, Xishuangbanna, southern China, in the hope of coming across new groups.
We came across Akha, a sister group of the Hani, as well as a few Lahu people and a couple of Bulang women. Some of them were sporting their traditional costumes but the most surprising of all groups' attire were the Dai' s.

We witnessed groups of women in matching coloured short-length tops and feet-long narrow tubular skirts going about the market. Their hair was coiffed in a bun or/and a flattened piece of hair at the back, held by dozens of carefully placed pins whose shape seemed to mimic an open fan. Colourful brooches were providing this hairdo its final feminine touch. The silky material and intricate design of the dresses they wore were astounding compared to that of the Dai people we had seen in other parts of this region. Groups of women were all fitted in purple, others all in red, others again in yellow with green designs... a rainbow of colours and a great display of the Dai wealth.

We were aware that market day is of great importance to locals but we were highly puzzled. Why dressing up so ostentatiously to go and browse the stalls?
We found the answer when we left the market and followed a group of Dai women.

Dai people are Hinayana Buddhists (whereas China's majority follows Mahayana Buddhism) and these ladies were going to the temple. We left our shoes by the entrance (customary for Dai women). As soon as we got in, we realized that a celebration was under way: a peacock chariot was being adorned with white flowers -albeit plastic ones- offerings were laid inside the temple and hundreds of people (mostly Dai) seemed to be waiting for something major to happen.

Waiting for what? All temple-goers knelt down and bowed at once. A four-wheel drive was driving through the temple gates, and another, and another. The passengers got out. Here was the answer we had been waiting for: A very senior monk and other high-ranking religious figures were visiting the temple and lead the day's prayers. The locals wanted to show their fervent faith by giving them a ceremonial welcome.

Following the prayers, the peacock chariot was pulled out of the temple with the help of a line formed by monks and two others by civil men. Behind the chariot, Dai women were forming a parade whose array of colours were mimicking the peacock feathers. The groups we had seen earlier in the market were each forming part of this colourful display. All ladies danced gracefully at the strum of traditional bronze and long drums. The parade went round the small community before heading back to where it started, the temple.

We left Menghum not so much under the spell of his market as his Dai impromptu celebration. That was a good surprise which left us with sparkling eyes and a big smile!

Labels: Asia, Buddhism, China, Dai, Markets, Menghun, peacock, temple

After spending a couple of days resting in Jinghong, the capital city of Xishuangbanna, southern China, we decided it was time to go for some good old exploration! We left Jinghong in a local minivan to visit one of the smallest -officially recognized- minorities in China: the Jinuo.

Numbering 20,000 individuals, Jinuo township is the only area in the whole Chinese territory where this minority can be found in numbers.
Their villages are sitting on top of hills, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation.
We visited a traditional wooden longhouse on pillars where many families could live under the same roof. A long hearth is built at the centre of a common room. A series of private rooms for each family were built either side of the building entrance for some privacy.
This type of structure is on the wane as Jinuo's way of living have changed. In the last ten years, they have built invidual homes and opted for long-lasting cement and bricks instead of wood for building them.

Jinuo clothing takes months to weave. Both man and woman's cotton clothing were dyed using traditional techniques with natural plants. Men wore long white-legged pants with a sleevless jacket and a fitted tubular headdress whereas women wore a long-sleeved jacket, a knee-length skirt and a white pointy headdress. They used to adorn their pierced earlobes with flowers. The more flowers you could fit inside, the better. Now again, the young generation has discontinued such practice.

Traditionally, the woman's pointy hat is adorned on its back panel with colourful embroidered shapes. The fitted knee-length skirt and short-length top are also richly embroidered with colourful stripes.
The young generation sports sun and star-like embroidered shapes on their outfit and sometimes opt for cheaper silky materials instead of cotton for their clothing.

Unlike most minorities, the Jinuo people have no festival of their own but they follow particular customs when it comes to wedding ceremonies and the likes. They also have a rich dancing and singing culture.
The Jinuo language has not written form. The young generation can speak it but we realized that they were not fluent. The Jinuo's main language is now 'putonghua', i.e. mandarin.

The Jinuo are undoubtedly losing their distinctive way of living. Another micro-culture is going down the drain...

Labels: China, ethnic minorities, Jinuo, tribal, Xishuangbanna

We follow on the previous entry with our exploration of the Drung valley...
There are different possible reasons for the face-tattoing custom of Drung women:
1) The Dulong wanted to avoid slavers - such as the neighbouring Tibetans and Yi kingdoms of the time.
2) The Dulong were animists and women believed that their souls would be reincarnated as butterflies if they tattooed their face with the design of a butterfly spreading its wings.
3) The Dulong women would be considered ugly without a tattoo, i.e. a tattooed face was beautiful. However, to this day, no one -not even the Drung- knows exactly how this custom started.

After three days in the Dulongjiang area, we started to despair. We still had not met any tattooed-face woman. Finally, we met one by chance. She was walking on the dirt road in the valley. One led to another and in the next three days, we managed to meet five of them and heard about two more -beyond our reach unfortunately.

Most of these women are well in their eighties and nineties. Despite their age, some are still strong enough to go working in the fields.
We also met one who just seemed to await death by staying all day close to the fire in her hut.
Unfortunately, as days pass, more and more of these women will pass away and the facial tattoo custom of the Drung will be confined to history books.

We left the valley and arrived after a 30-hour journey back to touristy Dali for a rest.
Tomorrow, we are back on the road. Our next destination is Xixuangbanna...

Labels: China, Drung, Dulong, Dulongjiang, tattoo, Yunnan

We just arrived in Chendgu, the capital of Sichuan province in south-west China.
Sichuan's main minority people are Tibetans- mainly Kham Tibetans.

We are looking forward to exploring this region further. We will try and publish the blog entries whenever possible. When this is beyond our means- i.e. read Big Chinese Brother watching- we will write offline and publish the posts once we have left China, i.e. in November.

Labels: Chengdu, China, Sichuan

Sorry for the interruption in our 'tribal' adventures but as we feared, the Chinese authorities are not fond of free speech, even on the net!
We have been in Mongolia for over a week now! We have already explored the Gobi desert and its wonders. We are hoping to also see the central or northern part of the country before we cross again the border to go back into China.

The last two months (July and August) spent in south-west China, mainly in the provinces of Guangxi and Guizhou were difficult at times but also very enriching. We came across different ethnic minorities such as the Miao, Dong, Shui, Zhuang, Bouyi, Yao and Gejia people. We even got invited to a 'tribal' wedding and got drunk with our hosts on the local rice brew.
Too many stories to sum up in a single blog entry and we are trying to find a way to blog from China next time round so you don't loose anything :))

We will write a couple more entries for Mongolia as we also hope to visit some ethnic minorities here. However, transportation can be quite critical and internet access , outside of Ulanbataar, the capital, is virtually impossible, so thanks again for your patience :))

Don't hold your breath but keep your eyes peeled!

Send us your comments and suggestions if you have any for Mongolia and China :))

Labels: China, desert, Gobi, Guangxi, Guizhou, Mongolia, southeast Asia

The People's Republic of China officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups (see picture by James Cambridge - left). However, the real figure might be much higher. Indeed, so-called 'undistinguished' groups are not officially recognized by Beijing. Other groups, such as the 'Mosuo' in Yunnan, have been erroneously assimilated to one existing group (in this instance the Naxi), despite not being affiliated to them.

Most of the minorities' population is concentrated along the border areas of China, the West and South autonomous regions, i.e. strategic areas. Over centuries, minorities have fled south into the bordering countries of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. As a result, most of South-East Asia's minorities are originally from China.

Non-Han minorities may comprise only 9% of China's total population but there have been ongoing tensions between them and the Beijing authorities. The recent Tibetan protest is only the tip of the iceberg.

The "Hanification" (the process through which the authorities encourage minorities to fully adopt the mainstream Chinese culture, language and customs to the detriment of theirs) is a silent killer of minority cultures.

Despite this bleak introduction, we should also mention that during our last visit to China, we came across resilient minorities. The Hanification might have gained ground but it has not killed the spirit of these ethnic cultures.

We hope to bring you many testimonies of their survival over the next few weeks.

P.S. Let us know your comments to our posts! Just click on the comment link below.

Labels: China, ethnic minorities, PRC

After a short break, we are now back on our tribal quest!
As you all know, China is as much a growing economic power, not only in Asia but also on a global scale, as it is a land struggling with freedom of speech.

The Chinese authorities use an iron fist to control information flow. Censors are pretty much active on the Internet as well. Websites, such as Wikipedia, the BBC, etc. are blocked from being accessed on the Chinese territory.

We do not think that we will have a problem using blogger.com, the blog publishing tool we use via our server, but we'll only be certain once we are on the spot!
Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Labels: China

At first sight, the namesake capital of Lang Son province (northeastern Vietnam) is not a pretty town. Many travellers only pass through it with a view of crossing the border into China, or vice-versa. However, if you linger long enough to discover its sights (beautiful caves), markets and meet the locals, you might feel drawn to linger a little more!

Historically, Lang Son and its region suffered a lot during the -last- Chinese offensive in 1979. Luckily for its inhabitants, relationships between Vietnam and its northern neighbour have much improved and trade boomed.

The main ethnic groups in this area are the Tho, Nung, Man and Dzao.
Intermarriage between ethnic groups, mass education and 'modern' lifestyle have eroded traditional ways and tribal cultures. As a result , we only witnessed older Nung women still dressed in traditional attire: long silky dark trousers worn with a long sleeve indigo Mao-style top and their hair tied in a crown shape. Younger generations all wear western-style clothing.

We left Lang Son after an overnight stay to go to Cao Bang province where we have just arrived today. The town is peaceful and its markets packed with local fruit and vegetable stalls. We bought 2 kilos of lychees to up ou Vitamin C intake, watch this space ;0).

We'll need all the vitamins we can get as we are off very early tomorrow, 6th June, to our first Montagnard market by riding out north!

Labels: China, Lang Son province, Markets, North Vietnam, Nung