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NICHOLAS TAPP
themselves as members of a single group; dispersed sections of single minority groups who were either subsumed under the same term but exhibited great cultural differences, or had been endowed with different appellations under which they registered; assimilated sections of national minorities who continued to be recognised by their original names; and originally Han groups who had become recognised, or recognised themselves, as distinctive ethnic groups (Fei 1980).
Out of some 400 names of these groups submitted for recognition by 1953 (nearly three quarters of which came from Yunnan), so far only 55 have been officially designated as ‘national minorities'. This leaves some curious anomalies. Under the Yi, for example, are linguistically classed the distinct nationalities of the Hani, Samei, Sani, Lahu, Lisu and others, resulting in the formation of an overarching ‘Yi' identity over and above individual ethnic affiliations. The officially designated ‘Miao' of Hainan Island (and who also identify themselves as 'Miao') speak a language which is clearly Yao in affiliation (although the Miao and Yao languages are distantly related). A number of Hmong speakers have identified themselves to me as 'Bai Miao' (White Miao), although clearly speaking a dialect of Hmong Njua (Green Miao), which ought therefore to be classified as ‘Qing Miao' (Green Miao). Officially designated ‘Qing Miao' have moreover identified themselves to me as ‘Hmong She', a group which is becoming assimilated to the larger category of Qing Miao, and has no official recognition. Meanwhile the group whom the Chinese know as (ta or xiao) ‘Hua Miao' (Flowery Miao), are classed as Miao along with the Bai and Qing Miao, although they identify themselves as 'A Hmo' rather than "Hmong' which is the term of self-identification for both Bai and Qing Miao.3
Here, although the Miao languages are certainly related, the official designation of ‘Miao' is in contradiction to local ethnic identifications, with many Bai and Qing Miao denying that the 'Hua Miao' are 'Miao' at all. This is doubly paradoxical, since 'Miao' is a Chinese term originally and still resented by both Hmong and A Hmo, although such resentment may be mitigated in individual circumstances by occasional perceived political advantages: there are cases of Han fathers claiming minority status