Chinese Nationalities
(Hani Minority) (Akha)

Hani Nationality

The Hani ethnic group shares the same origin with the Yi and Lahu ethnic groups. According to the historical records, they all evolved from the ancient Qiang people. The Qiang people used to be a nomadic tribe living in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Later one branch of them moved south and early by the 3rd century, their forefathers had inhabited the swampland along the Dadu River and Yalong River. In the 7th century, they immigrated into the area near Mt. Ailao and Mt. Wuliang. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms successively reined in this area. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) established a prefecture to rule the Hani and other ethnic groups in Yunnan. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) exercised its rule through local chieftains, who were granted official posts. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) court officials replaced the chieftains.

The Hani ethnic group comprises over twenty subgroups. They used to be called Hani, Heni, Budu, Biyue, Yani, etc. With the founding of the PRC in 1949, following consultation with the ethnic group, it was decided to agree upon the official name of Hani ethnic group.

The Hani people have their own language. Their language consists of three dialects and belongs to the Yi branch of the Tibetan-Burmese language group of the Chinese-Tibetan language family. They have no written script in the past and used to keep records by carving notches on sticks. In 1957, with the help of the central government, a script system based on the Roman alphabet was created, but failed to achieve a popular use. The Hani (also known in adjacent countries as the Akha) are of Tibetan origin. The Hani people live wooden houses that are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The roofs are flat and used to dry grain. They stick to the hills, cultivating rice corn and the occasional poppy. Trading takes place at weekly markets where the Dai obviously dominate the Hani, who seem only too keen to scamper back to their mountain retreats. Hani women wear headdresses of beads, feathers, coins and silver rings. The Hani are found in Yunnan Province. The practice polytheism and ancestor worship.