Haqniq, Hà Nhì | |
|---|---|
 An ethnic Hani girl with a typical Hani headgear for children, pictured inYuanyang, Yunnan Province, China. | |
| Total population | |
| 1,922,250 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 China | 1,733,166 (2020) |
 Myanmar | 200,000 (2007) |
 Laos | 60,000 (2007) |
 Thailand | 60,000 (2007) |
 Vietnam | 25,539 (2019)[1] |
| Languages | |
| Hani •Hanoish languages | |
| Religion | |
| Animism •Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Akha •Yi •Lahu •Karen people | |
TheHani orHo people (Hani:Haqniq;Chinese:哈尼族;pinyin:Hānízú;Vietnamese:Người Hà Nhì / 𠊛何贰) are aLolo-speaking ethnic group in Southern China, Northern Laos, and Vietnam. They form one of the 56officially recognized nationalities of the People's Republic of China and one of the 54officially recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam. InLaos, the Hani are more commonly known asHo.
There are 12,500 Hani living inLai Châu Province andLào Cai Province ofVietnam. The Ho reside in the mountainous northern regions ofPhongsaly Province in Laos, near the Chinese and Vietnamese borders.
Over ninety percent of present-day Hani peoples live in the Province ofYunnan in Southern China, located across theAilao Mountains, between theMekong River and theRed River (Yuanjiang river).
Subdivisions of Hani autonomous counties within prefecture-level cities and a prefecture, within Yunnan are:
The origins of the Hani are not precisely known, though their ancestors, the ancientQiang tribe, are believed to have migrated southward from theQinghai–Tibetan plateau prior to the third century CE.
The Hani oral traditions state that they are descended from theYi people, and that they split off as a separate tribe fifty generations ago. One of their oral traditions is the recital of the names of Hani ancestors from the first Hani family down to oneself.
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Hani houses are usually two or three stories high, built with bamboo, mud, stone and wood.
The traditional clothing of the Hani is made with dark blue fabric. The men dress in short jackets and in long wide pants. They also wear white or black turbans. The women dress depending on which clan they belong to. There is no gender difference in the clothing of children under the age of seven.
Hani are known for their vocal polyphonic singing. Eight-part polyphony was recorded in the 1990s.[2] Their traditional musical instruments include an end-blown flute calledlabi (俄比) and a 3-stringed plucked lute calledlahe.
Terraced fields are a feature of their agricultural practices.[3]
The Hani are polytheists and they profess a special adoration toward the spirits of their ancestors.[3] They are used to practicing rituals to venerate the different gods and thus to obtain their protection.
The religious hierarchy of the Hani is divided into three main personages: thezuima that directs the main celebrations; thebeima, responsible for practicing the exorcisms and the magical rituals; thenima that takes charge of carrying out predictions and to administer the medicinal herbs. This last charge can be performed indistinctly by men and women.
Some Hani also practiceTheravada Buddhism.
TheHani language spoken by many of the Hani belongs to theLolo-Burmese branch of theSino-Tibetan language family. Many Hani speak languages related to Lolo-Burmese languages. Oral tradition tells of an ancient written script, tradition says it was lost on the migration from Sichuan. They now use a romanization of the Luchun dialect as a written script.[citation needed]
The Hani people have made contributions to the biodiversity ofagroecosystems and mountain landscapes through their extensive traditional knowledge and maintenance ofculture.[4] One of the Hani people's most known cultural practices are their cultivatedterraced rice paddy. This has been a traditional practice for over 1300 years, creating a unique agroecosystem attracting both tourists and researchers.[5] The terraces are recognized as aUNESCO Heritage Site and are often cited as an example of traditional farming methods.[5]
The Hani began their rice cultivation in terraced hillside fields about 1,300 years ago, when they started to form a sustainable agroecosystem made up of forests, villages, terraced rice paddies, and river systems.[5] The Hani people's rice seed bank now consists of numerous traditional rice seed varieties adapted to the cold and dry conditions of mountainous regions. In 1984,Yunnan Province, Republic of China reported "5285 rice varieties withYuanyang County alone reporting 196 traditional varieties".[4] This is due to their innovative agricultural practices, such as integrated duck and fish farming, enhanced yield and stabilized agroecosystems. In addition, the use ofgreen manure, such as compositae and crofton weeds, bolstered soil health and combated pests.[4] Their water management skills have sustained the rice terraces for thousands of years by channeling water from forested mountains, without the need for reservoirs. Coupled with the region's hot and humid climate, which frequently produces thick fog, the area remains moist throughout the year.[4] This intricate farming layout, merging terraces, rivers, villages, and forests, embodies the Hani's relationship with nature. As a result, the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces were designated a World Heritage Site in 2013, emphasizing the significance of traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation.[4]
Culture has been important in preserving the terraced landscape, especially in the face of urbanization. Unlike most farmers in China, who migrate to more developed regions for better wages, the Hani people prefer part-time non-farm jobs close to their homes, returning frequently for traditional events.[6] This employment pattern of the Hani farmers, influenced by their culture, is significant in the continued maintenance of the terraces.
Challenges still exist within this ancient farming civilization. Fewer people, especially the younger generation, are able to master the traditional terraced farming techniques. In Aichun village, "about 600 people are between 20 and 40 years old, roughly one-fifth of the total population, but only 40 of them know the whole procedure of growing the red rice".[7] Therefore, to prevent the land from being abandoned, remaining villagers work the fields. Additionally, the local government and tourist businesses partner with farmers. Farmers lease their lands to businesses, ensuring organized land management and providing villagers with steady incomes from both lease payments and farming.[7]
According to You Weiqiong (2013:159–160),[8] Hani subgroups were classified as follows in 1954, with 11 primary branches. Respective locations (counties) are listed as well.
The Hani of Vietnam consist of the following subgroups (Vu 2010:10–11).[9]
In Vietnam, communes consisting almost exclusively of ethnic Hani include Sín Thầu, Chúng Chải, Mù Cả, Ka Lăng, Thu Lủm (all inMường Tè District), Y Tý and A Lù (all inBát Xát District). The Hani of A Lù had originally come fromJinping County ofYunnan, China, and had later spread from A Lù to the communes of Lao Chải, Nậm Pung, and Ngài Thầu.
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| Sino-Tibetan |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austroasiatic | |||||||||||
| Austronesian | |||||||||||
| Hmong-Mien | |||||||||||
| Mongolic | |||||||||||
| Kra–Dai | |||||||||||
| Tungusic | |||||||||||
| Turkic | |||||||||||
| Indo-European | |||||||||||
| Others | |||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||
Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||
| Austroasiatic (Vietic) | |
|---|---|
| Austroasiatic (Bahnaric) | |
| Austroasiatic (other) | |
| Hmong–Dao | |
| Tai–Kadai | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Chinese) | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) | |
| Malayo-Polynesian | |
| Immigrants and expatriate | |
The 54 officially recognised ethnic groups are ranked by population in their language families according to2019 census
| |
| Lao-Tai | |
|---|---|
| Vietic | |
| Khmeric | |
| Katuic | |
| Bahnaric | |
| Khmu-Palaungic | |
| Hmong–Mien | |
| Tibeto-Burman | |
| Austronesian | |
| Other | |
| General grouping |
|
