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

Local-style Dwelling Houses of Hani Ethnic Group in Yunnan

Bai Yan

Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Video Publishing House

February 2020

138.00 （CNY）

In the territory of China， the Hani ethnic group has a population of about 1.4397 million people. They live together over vast areas， while some live scattered in small areas. They are mainly concentrated in the Ailao Mountain area on the south bank of the Red River in southern Yunnan and the Wuliang Mountains in the Lancang River Basin in western Yunnan.

The mushroom house is the distinctive house inhabited by the Hani people in Honghe. In the form of architecture， the mushroom house belongs to the Qionglong genealogy building. There are few neighboring ethnic architectural civilizations that have influenced their architecture. The earthen palm house of the Qionglong building created by the ancient Qiang people is the prototype of the Hani buildings. The mushroom houses and the beacon towers represent the development and innovation of this prototype building.

There is an old saying of the local Hani people： “To eat meat， you should go up to the high mountains; to farm， you should go down to the low mountains; to have babies， you should live on the mountainside.” The mountains above the village， the rivers and terraces under the forests， as well as the surrounding dense magic woods， palm forests， and bamboo forests， constitute the typical mushroom village.

The Hani villages are usually located on the mountainside which is sunny and warm. They build their villages according to the rend and ridge of the mountains， sitting north facing south or sitting east facing west. There must be a hillock covered by dense forests in front of the village to protect the village. Terraces are reclaimed around the village. The abundant water ensures water storage in the terraces during the dry season. Generally speaking， a Hani village is built depending on the forest， based on the terraced fields， developing and growing steadily with the spring water as the core.

The construction of the buildings in a Hani village focuses on geomancy， and the Hani people have a common understanding of home life. So， when the Hani people build a house or a village， they generally choose to build in a place next to a mountain in a U-shape， called an “armchair.” It is the best place to build houses or villages. The front is wide enough to see the opposite mountain， as well as the terraces and villages on the opposite mountain. In this way， they think their life chimes in with others at a distance.

For example， at the beginning of digging the foundation， people should prepare three bowls of tea， a bowl of glutinous rice and an egg. The egg and glutinous rice should be cooked. In addition， three-grain millet will be planted on the ground where the house is to be built. The first one is for a good harvest; the second is for your livestock; the third is for the people in your family， the flourishing population of your family. The next day after the millet is planted， people can see the results. If the millet is standing when planting it， and one of three is fallen the next morning， it means that this place is not suitable for living， and they have to choose a new place. Or when peeling an egg， if there is a black spot， it also means that this place is not suitable for living or building a house.