Local-Style Dwelling Houses of Dai Ethnic Groups in Yunnan

Bai Yan

As a research librarian， Bai Yan is now president and editor-in-chief of Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Video Publishing House. She has studied in the fields of film and television， ethnology， literature， archaeology， and audio-visual publishing. Over the years， she has been dedicated to fine-tuning the publication of Yunnan ethnic cultural audio-visual publications， focusing on the recording， preservation， and inheritance of excellent ethnic culture by leading all the staff to explore the rich and unique Yunnan ethnic cultural resources.

Local-Style Dwelling Houses of Dai Ethnic Groups in Yunnan is an audio-visual publication recommended by Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Visual Publishing House. It is an intangible cultural heritage documentary in Chinese， English， and Dai language. This documentary records the architectural environment， forms， history， and features of the local-style dwellings of Dai ethnic groups in Yunnan， and presents a historical landscape of Dai ethnic groups’ architecture. After three years of planning， shooting and elaborate production， it has been officially published.

Local-Style Dwelling Houses of Dai Ethnic Groups in Yunnan

Bai Yan

Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Video Publishing House

December 2021

238.00 （CNY）

The population of Dai people in Yunnan Province is about 1.22 million， mainly distributed in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture， Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture， as well as Gengma， Menglian， Lancang， Jinping， and other counties. Among them， Xishuangbanna and Dehong are the central inhabited areas of the Dai people in Yunnan. The traditional folk houses of Dai people in these two areas are mostly bamboo buildings---the stilt-styled architecture mainly built with bamboos and woods.

Where there is water， there is a field， and where there is a field， there is a stockaded village. Ten thousand hectares of rice fields are enclosing the stockaded villages and ten thousand bamboo buildings are embracing the rice fields. The traditional Dai villages in Xishuangbanna are constructed through the organizing of several key components， such as the village center， village gate， village shrines， temples， pagodas， dragon forests， folk houses， roads， wells， and Bodhi trees， endowing them with the specific environmental order. Each component not only has unique functions， but also has rich ethnic connotations.

The heart of the village is called “Zaiman” in Dai language， which formally refers to the giant rocks， bamboos， or woods buried in the center of the village. It is the junction point connecting the east， south， west and north of the village， the soul of the original Dai village and the symbol of the village life. It functions as the mark of the regional center and national cohesive force， which is of great importance to the stability， continuation， and development of the village.

The gate of the traditional Dai village， called “Bamandu” in Dai language， is usually located at the entrance of the road leading to the outside of the village， which is the regional boundary sign of the village. The gate of the Dai village is not to guard against outsiders. When religious sacrificial activities are held， “Daliao” will be hung on the gate to show that the village is carrying out some religious sacrificial activities. Once the straw rope and “Daliao” are hung， it means that outsiders are not allowed to enter. Outsiders can come and go at will during normal times.

The shrine of the village， called “Diulaman” in Dai language， is usually located beside the main road of the village. It is the place for villagers to offer sacrifice to the gods. Ancestors of Dai people believed that there was a village god who protected and blessed the harvest of rice and the safety of people and animals. Therefore， when building the village， Dai people will usually build the religious places first for the rest of souls and the dwelling of the god. Thus， the Dai ancestors followed the primitive religious view of “all things have spirits”.

Dai people’s stilt-styled dwelling houses in Xishuangbanna have herringbone-shaped roof frames， short roof ridges， and gablet roofs with steep roof slopes. It is obvious that this design is conducive to protecting the houses from wind and rain in the Dai Township， located in a rainy subtropical area. Mandan Village in Xishuangbanna is a typical Dai village on the border. It is one of the best-preserved villages in Xishuangbanna in terms of folk traditions， customs， culture， and religious activities of the Dai peoples.