CHINA'S 35 MILLION NON-CHINESE
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Among the Wu-man or Yi people, settlement tends to be more sedentary than among the Miao and Yao, although where forests existed, fire-field cultivation also has been practised. Dry-land crops such as corn, buckwheat, wheat, barley, beans and (since its relatively recent introduction) white potatoes are the main crops. In the higher altitude, horses, sheep and cattle, including yak, are raised on the grasslands. Hunting and fishing are practised where feasible. The material culture includes wooden houses with shingle or slat roofs, but traditionally, beds are on the floors with skin or felt bedding. Clothes of felt or coarse wool accompany the use of leather shoes and leggings. The hair of the noble men (Black-bone) is worn in a forward pointing horn. The beard is plucked out. Weapons include cross-bows, shields, armour, bows, swords and lances. As with the Tibetans, the Yi use milk, butter and tea.12
The Yi possess their own writing, but the written language has been used mainly for religious or superstitious purposes rather than for ordinary communications. Sorcery is a strong part of their religion, and animal sacrifices are made in connection with it. Divination is accomplished through the use of plant stalks. In the social organization are signs of an early matriarchal system which is reflected in the significant status of women in Yi society. A caste system of nobility and commoners differentiates them from most other non-Han tribes of southwest China.13
An interesting amplification of the Yi social system as well as those of the Wa or K'a-wa † and Ching-p'o 景颇 is provided by Alan Winnington14 who purportedly travelled under Chinese Communist auspices in western Yunnan in 1956. Although the book parrots the Communist line in making overmuch of Communist achievements and in vilifying the Kuomintang handling of the minorities problems, there is much useful information if the reader is careful to discard the chaff. The purported intention of the writer was to investigate slavery and this no doubt limited his observations of tribal society. Concerning the Black-bone Yi, Winnington found that, without a central administration among them, each family was a law unto itself. Nevertheless,
12 Ibid., 50.
13 Ibid.
14 Alan Winnington, Slaves of the Cool Mountains, Lawrence and Wishart, Ltd., London, 1959.