Butuo County () is a county of southern
Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. It was incorporated in 1952,
and has continuously existed since 1960. The name 'Butou' is based on the
Yi language words for
hedgehog and
pine tree
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
, giving it the name "a place with hedgehogs and pine trees". It is the unofficial capital of the
Yi People
The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with eac ...
and the birthplace of the
Torch Festival
The Torch Festival or Fire Festival (; Nuosu language: ; YYPY ''Dut Zie''; Bai: ) is one of the main holidays of the Yi people of southwest China, and is also celebrated by other ethnic groups of the region. It is celebrated on the 24th or 25th da ...
. The county has a population of 215,800, 97.2% of whom are Yi People.
Butou is considered very impoverished, traditional and still significantly influenced by the
legacy of feudalism and slavery, which was only reformed in the 1950s. Most villagers make a living through animal husbandry. Almost all of the non-agrarian economy is concentrated in the county seat.
It is a 'key county' for National Poverty Alleviation and Development work, with as of 2018, 122 poverty-stricken designated villages in the county, and 57,000 poor people.
The bamboo mouth harp (''
Kouxian'') of Butou County was included as intangible cultural heritage of the Yi People.
Administrative divisions
Butuo County administers 3 towns and 27 townships.
Towns:
* Temuli (特木里镇)
* Longtan (龙潭镇)
* Tuojue (拖觉镇)
Townships:
Climate
References
External links
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture
Amdo
County-level divisions of Sichuan
Yi people
{{Sichuan-geo-stub