The Buyi People

The Buyi live on plains or river valleys in villages composed of several clans. They are located in the Qiannan (Buyi-Miao) Autonomous Prefecture, the Xingyi, Anshu area of Guizhou Province and in the Qujing Prefecture of Yunnan Province. The latter is known as the GuiYun (Guizhou-Yunnan) Plateau. It is honeycombed with deep canyons cut into karst carbonate rock by many rivers and streams. The climate is generally mild (subtropical, wet monsoon) and two crops per year are normal. The Buyi live "in the middle" of the Han and Miao peoples on plains and mountain slopes.

The Buyi have a common ancestry with the Zhuang. Both descend from the ancient Yue people that were widely scattered in what is now the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guizhou and Guangdong provinces. Prior to the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) both the Buyi and Zhuang were lumped together as "alien barbarians." Geographic separation led to the development of difference cultures and life styles. They have been considered separate minority groups since A.D. 900.

During the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907), the central imperial court established a Chinese administrative system in the Buyi region. Near hsien cities village headmen were directly responsible to local Chinese magistrates. In more remote areas intermediate t'u-ssu positions probably formed the basis for an aristocracy or landlord/peasant system. This feudal system was modified somewhat during the Qing Dynasty that appointed officials with limited tenures rather than making the position hereditary. The Buyi were discriminated against and remained economically backward. Like the Miao, the Buyi rebelled against the repressive system. One Buyi rebellion was called the Pan-chiang Riot of 1797. As a result of this rebellion, thousands were either burned to death or beheaded.

According to one source, the Buyi are not clearly distinguishable from the Zhuang either linguistically or culturally. Those who live near towns have been greatly influenced by the Han culture. Buyi tradesmen in towns are often considered Chinese. However, those who live in rural villages are more distinctive. Women still dress as Buyi. The Chinese do recognize the Buyi as a separate and unique culture.

The Buyi are known as masters of resist dyeing (batik) and as lovers of music. Courtship practices include antiphonal singing between the young man and young woman. Old women can sing blessing songs day and night for a week without repeating the words of their ballads.

Staple foods are rice (both glutinous and dry) and wheat. The Buyi also raise vegetables and some fruits and occasionally eat pork, fish or chicken. Their food is tart and spicy. They have a saying that "if a man eats no tart dishes, he can't walk." They also drink quantities of home-brewed rice wine.

Buyi live in "stone villages" surrounded by stone or bamboo blockades. Their homes are either bungalows with separate out buildings or two-story stone dwellings with people living above and livestock below. Traditionally, roofs were thatch. With new prosperity in some villages, traditional homes are being replaced with brick homes with tile roofs.

Buyi who live in urban areas cannot be distinguished from the Chinese. In more remote villages women will wear either trousers with a long-sleeved blue jacket buttoned on the right or an embroidered coat with a long pleated batik-design skirt. The front sleeves and shoulders of the coat will be decorated with batik cloth or embroidery. Women may wear brightly colored aprons. Unmarried women may wear a black or striped kerchief with a bow on their heads. Married women will wear a turban. Men wear long pants and short embroidered jackets.

Hospital care is available in larger towns, and the government reports that immunization clinics and maternity centers are available in each county. Tropical diseases, including malaria, hepatitis, and small pox were endemic, but the government claims that these have largely been eliminated. Health care is usually the responsibility of the work unit. Rural farmers must pay for their own care. One report listed approximately one doctor for every 23,000 persons in Guizhou Province. Guizhou has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. Life expectancy for the Bouyei is 43 years.

Generally monsoon rains provide an adequate supply of water for personal use and agriculture. At times the GuiYun plateau experiences drought or flooding. Water throughout China is polluted and must be boiled. Most towns and villages have some electricity. Government regulations state that buildings below the Yangtze River are not to be heated. Coal fields are located near Buyi areas and hydroelectric power is being developed.

Buyi live in extended family units. Young people are given much freedom in the choice of marriage partners. Often the young woman initiates the courtship by tossing an embroidered silk ball to the man of her choice. If he agrees, they go for a walk in the mountains. In other areas the young people line up on opposite sides of the town square. The young man will send a family member (his sister) to the chosen young women offering her a block of dye. He sends a message that he is eager to see the beautiful cloth she will dye with his gift. If she is agreeable, the young woman will simply smile and accept the gift. The young people then talk together and arrange "dates" after which they announce their engagement. When marriages are arranged, the young people are given an opportunity to "sing out" their true feelings through a process called langshao ("meeting friends"). The courtship process is very public, and often married people will join in the lanqshao in order to express their affection for one another. Following the marriage, the young woman remains in her parents' home until after the birth of her first child. Near Guiyang and Anshun, the Buyi have adopted Chinese patterns of courtship and marriage.

The Buyi participate in the same festivals as the Han. They celebrate June 6 to commemorate the leader of an ancient uprising as well as the Ox King Festival on the first day of spring plowing. For the Ox King Festival each family steams dyed glutinous rice in five colors. After sacrificing to their ancestors, they feed half of the rice to their bulls and let them rest for the day. The Buyi also love to participate in music festivals. Buyi music instruments include the suona horn, yueqin, dongxiao, short xiao and sister xiao (vertical bamboo flutes) and copper drums. They dance the weaving dance and lion dance.

Some sources say that the traditional religion of the Buyi is a mixture of animism and Taoism. Paraphernalia and techniques of priests resemble those of Chinese Taoist priests. Beliefs and practices include the propitiation of ancestral spirits with altars maintained in the homes. Food offerings were left at the roots of certain trees and at small shrines outside the villages. Death is followed by a period of mourning. The corpse is fully clothed and lies in a wooden coffin. The day of burial is chosen by the priest who conducts an "opening the way" ceremony. A bull is slaughtered, then the priest leads the procession to the grave site accompanied by horns and drums. Paper money and incense are burned. Three years after the burial the body is disinterred and the bones are placed in a clay jar for reburial.

French Catholics (the Society of Paris) worked among the Buyi. In the early twentieth century they developed a dictionary using French to approximate the sounds of the Buyi language. This work has been updated and reprinted adding the Romanized Buyi that has now been developed, and simplified Chinese. Known Christian churches exist in areas where Buyi live. The makeup of the churches may include Buyi, although most Christians in Guizhou are Miao.

* Taken and adapted from an unpublished Bouyei people profile.