Alu () is an unclassified
Loloish language
The Loloish languages, also known as Yi in China and occasionally Ngwi or Nisoic, are a family of fifty to a hundred Sino-Tibetan languages spoken primarily in the Yunnan province of China. They are most closely related to Burmese and its relat ...
of
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It is spoken in
Jinping Miao, Yao, and Dai Autonomous County
Jinping Miao, Yao, and Dai Autonomous County () is located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China, bordering Vietnam's Lai Châu Province to the south. Jinping is home to the Red-headed Yao () minority group who wear ...
,
Lüchun County
Lüchun County () is located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in the south of Yunnan province, China, bordering Vietnam's Lai Châu Province to the south.
Administrative divisions
In the present, Lüchun County has 4 towns and 5 towns ...
,
Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County
Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County (; Hani: ) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu'er City, in southern Yunnan, China, bordering Laos and Vietnam to the south, making it the only county in the province to border more than on ...
, and
Yuanyang County, Yunnan
Yuanyang County (; Hani: ''Yeiqyaq'') is located in Honghe Prefecture in southeastern Yunnan province, China, along the Red River. It is well known for its spectacular rice-paddy terracing. In 2013, part of the county formed the Honghe Hani R ...
. The Alu are also referred to by other ethnic groups as Luwu 鲁乌 or Luowu 倮乌.
There are also 500 to 600 Alu people in two villages of Ou Tay District,
Phongsali Province
Phongsaly province ( Lao ຜົ້ງສາລີ), also spelled ''Phôngsali'', is a province of Laos in the extreme north of the country. The capital of the province is the city of Phôngsali. Phongsaly is between Yunnan (China), and Điện ...
,
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
.
The Alu also have a
mouth organ
A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed.
Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, an ...
with five pipes that they play during the "Abei festival 阿卑节" ("maiden festival").
Classification
Hsiu (2017) suggests that Alu may be related to
Lalo, but that this is uncertain due to the lack of data.
Distribution
In
Jinping County, Alu is spoken in Yakouzhe Village 丫口遮村, Laojizhai Township 老集寨乡 (in the villages of Luopan 罗盘,
Tiantou 田头,
Huilongzhai 回龙寨,
Laozhai 老寨,
Zhongzhai 中寨,
Xihadi 西哈底,
Heishan 黑山,
Amilong 阿咪笼,
Kabianzhai 卡边寨,
Anlezhai 安乐寨,
Nanlu 南鲁,
etc.
) (''Jinping County Ethnic Gazetteer'' 2013:101). There are 1,264 households and 5,307 persons as of 2005.
Alu is also spoken in Hama Village 哈马村
of Huangcaoling Township 黄草岭乡,
and Xinjie Town 新街镇,
哈尼族支系及服饰
(2016) Yuanyang County. It is also spoken in Dashuigou 大水沟, Lüchun County
Lüchun County () is located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in the south of Yunnan province, China, bordering Vietnam's Lai Châu Province to the south.
Administrative divisions
In the present, Lüchun County has 4 towns and 5 towns ...
.
References
{{authority control
Loloish languages
Languages of China