Gelao Costume

Gelao Costume

Both men and women of Gelao nationality wear skirts (short for men and long for women). With a picture of cloth at the waist, no wrinkles, like a bucket, called "bucket skirt". Men wear short clothes, women wear short clothes or long clothes, or short clothes and long gowns. Materials are Pueraria, hemp, wool, silk, cotton, etc. Most men and women wrap their heads with long handkerchiefs, and some women cover their heads with cloth.

summary

Most of the Gelao people live in the northwest, southwest and north of Guizhou Province, including more than 20 cities and counties such as Zunyi, Renhuai, Anshun, Guanling, Pu'an, Qingzhen, Pingba, Qianxi, Dafang, Zhijin, Jinsha, Zhenfeng, Qinglong, Liuzhi and Shuicheng; a few are distributed in Longlin Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangnan, Maguan and Funing of Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province And other counties. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the population of Gelao is 579357. Because of the small number of Gelao people, they live in different places, and even the Gelao people scattered in the same county can't talk to each other. At present, only a few Gelao people can speak Gelao language. Chinese is the main tool for Gelao people to communicate. Many people can speak Miao, Yi or Buyi, and some even speak three or four languages. The Gelao language belongs to the Sino Tibetan language family, and the language family and branch are uncertain. Gelao nationality has its own language, but Chinese is widely used. Gelao people believe in polytheism and worship their ancestors.

history

Gelao people are closely related to Liao people (yinlao) in ancient China. About 2000 years ago, the ancient Liao people lived a settled agricultural life in Guizhou. Later, they migrated and spread to other areas. Since the Ming Dynasty, many historical records have recorded that "Gelao was called Liao in ancient times". Gelao people are mainly engaged in agriculture, mainly corn, followed by rice, wheat, potato and so on. As early as the Qing Dynasty, there were a group of professional blacksmiths among the Gelao people, who cast plows and made shotguns, and they were known as "Gelao blacksmiths". The Gelao people have lived together with the Han people for a long time, so their living customs are similar to those of the local Han people, but they still have some unique cultural activities, festivals and eating habits. Because of the small number of Gelao people and their scattered residence, there are great differences between them. Even their languages are very different. People who live in a scattered county can not communicate. Before the founding of new China, the Gelao people lived in poverty. After liberation, the Gelao people enjoyed equal rights with the continuous development of production and living standards.