The Maonan people (;
Maonan: ''Anan'', literally "local people") are one of the
56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the
People's Republic of 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 ...
. There are a total of 101,192 Maonan as of 2010, mostly living northern
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
and southern
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
in
southern China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
.
The Maonan people's
autonyms are ''ʔai
1 na:n
6 ''(a Maonan person), ''kjɔŋ
5 na:n
6'' (the Maonan people). Their language is called ''va
6 na:n
6'' (Lu 2008:33).
[Lu, Tian Qiao (2008). ''A Grammar of Maonan''. Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers. .]
Language
Society
More than 80% of the Maonan share the same surname: ''
Tan
Tan or TAN may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...
'' (). Maonan with the surname ''Tan'' believe that they are descended from the old inhabitants of the province of
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
that migrated to
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
and married Maonan women. Other common surnames found in this ethnic group are: ''
Lu'' (卢/盧), ''
Liu
/ ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...
'' (刘/劉), ''
Shi
Shi or SHI may refer to:
Language
* ''Shi'', a Japanese titles#Shi, Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun
* ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun
* Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries
* Shi language
* ''Shī'', transliteration of ...
'' (石), ''Tan'' (覃), ''
Wei'' (韦/韋) and ''
Yuan'' (袁).
The towns of the Maonan do not surpass more than 100 dwellings. Their towns are organized by clan. Their dwellings, are very similar to those of the Zhuang, they are usually made up of two floors and constructed out of plank and clay. The upper floor is used as the living quarters while the lower one serves as a granary and stable.
Traditionally, the marriages were arranged by the parents when the future newlyweds are still children. Traditionally when a Maonan woman became a widow, the brother of her late husband took her as his wife.
During the funeral service, the children of the deceased had to "buy" water of a river to be able to wash the corpse. Before proceeding to the burial, the blood of a chicken was poured on the land to purify it and to bless the spirit of the dead person.
Cuisine
Maonan cuisine includes many pickled dishes, of which the most famous ones are known as the ''sa:m
1 səm
3 ta
5 ma:u
6na:n
6'' (three-sour-middle-Maonan) "The Three Maonan Sour Dishes" (Lu 2008:47).
These three dishes are:
#''na:n
4 səm
3'' - pickled meat
#''zo
5 fa:t
7'' - fermented soup
#''ʔɔŋ
5 ʔwu:i
5'' - (dish preserved with) lime in an urn
Rice wine is also popular among the Maonan.
Religion
Traditional Maonan religion is both animistic and polytheistic, with heavy
Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
influences. Many deities and rituals are borrowed from
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
. Important figures and deities are listed below (Lu 2008:51).
*Kitchen God - for the family's welfare
*God of Earth - for peaceful outdoor activities
*General Li Guang - A historical figure from the Western Han Dynasty who is venerated as a protector of villages.
*Shentu and Yulei - These two legendary figures protect homes from malevolent devils by feeding them to tigers. They are placed on front doors to ward off evil.
*Thunder God
*The Thunder Soldiers
*Flower God
*
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
*''muŋ
2 ku:n
1 '' - an evil immortal
*''lu
2 pa:n
1'' - a historical figure who was a master carpenter
*''lɔk
8 gi:u
2'' - a legendary figure who was a bridge builder
*''
ʔbi:u
2'' -
Emperor Yao
Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Ancestry and early life
Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...
*''sa:m
3 ȵɔn
2'' - a religious figure
*''za
4 wa:ŋ
2'' - the God of the Earth
*''ni
4 fa:n
1 su:i
5'' - the Goddess of Birth
Maonan household shrines are called ''ji:ŋ
1 wa
3'' (Lu 2008:51).
The shrine consists of a wooden plate on a wall facing the front entrance. Names of deities and family ancestors are written on the plate.
The Maonan people also perform a redemptive ritual called ''vɛ
4 da:u
4'' in order to show gratitude to ''ni
4 fa:n
1 su:i
5'' (cf. Chinese: ''Wansui Niangniang'' 万岁娘娘, the birth goddess). During Maonan weddings, couples ask the birth goddess for fertility. After the couple has children, they thank the birth goddess by offering 26 animals (1 ox, 7 small pigs, and 19 chickens and ducks).
References
External links
* http://www.china.org.cn/e-groups/shaoshu/shao-maonan.htm (Chinese government site)
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Ethnic groups officially recognized by China