Bai Ethnic Minority

          

The Bai ethnic minority, mainly living in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province in southern China, is mainly engaged in agriculture and plants paddy rice, wheat, maize, buckwheat, broad bean and yams. Snow pear, citrus and tea are their local specialties.

Food

The Bai people residing along lakes or rivers live on rice and wheat, while those in mountainous areas live on maize, buckwheat and potatoes. The Bai people make rice food,Baogu(maize) food and various rice and wheaten food, and are good at cooking pot-stewed beef, mutton, pork and pickles. The Erhai Lake is rich in fishes, among which Gong yu(bow fish) is the most famous one. The Bai people are fond of casserole and pickles, etc., and sour, cool and hot dishes.

The Bai people attach importance to the celebration of festivals, and have one or more kinds of special food for nearly every festival. For example, Dingding candy, pickled rice tea, and Jiangzhai rice for the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year); steamed pastry and Liang fen jelly for the March Day; cold assorted food dressed with sauce, and Zhai yan xiang(fried crisp meat) for the Qing ming Day (traditional Chinese memorial and tomb-sweeping day); glutinous rice dumplings and realgar wine for the Dragon Boat Festival on lunar May 5; fresh bean, tender melon, and stale grain mixed with new rice for the Chang xin Festival(new food festival); sweet food and candies for the Torch Day; toadstool, and Jian yu Bao rou(Jianfish with meat in it) for the Zhong wu Festival; blank cake and Zui bing(drunk cake) for the Mid-Autumn Festival on lunar August 15; fat mutton for the Chong yang Festival lunar September 9; fried buckwheat kernel and mutton soup for the Midwinter Day (a traditional Chinese solar term).
The Bai people are fond of wine. Jiaojiu and Ganjiu(both are wines) are traditional vintage wine. There is also a kind of sweet wine specially made of glutinous rice for women. It is said to be very nourishing and capable of promoting lactation.

Drinking tea is another habit of the Bais, who take morning tea and noontea seriously. Morning tea is called early tea or refreshing tea. Adults drink tea as soon as they get up. Noontea is also called break tea or thirst-quenching tea, which is added with fried rice and milk. Even children will have a cup afternoon tea.

The Bais have their dietetic taboos. On the first day of the lunar New Year, in particular, iron knives must not be used; women must cook silently; people are forbidden to blow out lamp; and must carry new water from the well. During the funeral period, food must be simply boiled or fried without red ingredients or red color. When dining, the seniors take the honorable seats, while the juniors sit on both sides in proper order, and add rice or tea for the seniors.

Ethnic Costumes

The Bais' costumes and ornaments are eye-catching and exquisite. Clothes of men have little difference, simple and unadorned. But costumes of the Bai women vary a lot from each other. In general, the upper clothes and headgears are gaudy and the lower dress is relatively simple. Girls and children tend to wear gorgeous clothes, while middle-aged and old people prefer simple and elegant clothes. In terms of color, both men and women of the Bai ethnic minority adore white, and regard white clothes worshipful. Bai people, no matter old or young, all like to wrap sheepskins around themselves. Before the 1930s, the majority of Bai women practiced foot-binding.
The Bai men used to wear eight-square hat, eight-square headcloth, straw hat, and white or black turban. The men usually wear a white jacket buttoned down the front, a black collared unlined jacket and a pair of short loose trousers. Middle-aged and old men used to tie a leather bag made of muntjac or sheep skin to hold tobacco leaves. Now, the Bai men wear the same costumes as men of Han people, and they only dress traditionally in some festivals of the Bai ethnic minority.

Girls usually daintily arrange their hairs. They make beautiful hairstyle by combing the hair in one pigtail, coiling it up heads with a red cord, and wrapping it with a colorful embroidered towel and the tassel swaging to one side beyond the left ear. A married woman usually wears a white shirt matched with a red sleeveless jacket, or a light blue shirt matched with black velvet collared jacket, ties a short embroidered girdle, and wears blue broad trousers and embroidered shoes.

Marriage

The Bai ethnic minority, mainly living in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province in southern China, is mainly engaged in agriculture and plants paddy rice, wheat, maize, buckwheat, broad bean and yams. Snow pear, citrus and tea are their local specialties. The Bai people attach importance to the celebration of festivals, and have one or more kinds of special food for nearly every festival. For example,Dingdingcandy, pickled rice tea, andJiangzhairice for the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year); steamed pastry andLiangfenjelly for the March Day; cold assorted food dressed with sauce, andZhaiyanxiang(fried crisp meat) for the Qingming Day (traditional Chinese memorial and tomb-sweeping day); glutinous rice dumplings and realgar wine for the Dragon Boat Festival on lunar May 5; fresh bean, tender melon, and stale grain mixed with new rice for the Changxin Festival(new food festival); sweet food and candies for the Torch Day; toadstool, andJianyu Baorou(Jianfish with meat in it) for the Zhongwu Festival; blank cake andZuibing(drunk cake) for the Mid-Autumn Festival on lunar August 15; fat mutton for the Chongyang Festival lunar September 9; fried buckwheat kernel and mutton soup for the Midwinter Day (a traditional Chinese solar term).