Shui Ethnic Group
The Shui people originated in the Suishui River Basin and then migrated to blend into the Baiyue people. In the Tang Dynasty, they were officially recorded as the Shui in the annals of Chinese history.
With a population of more than 400,000, the Shui ethnic group lives mainly in Sandu Shui Autonomous County of Guizhou Province, and the rest are scattered in a number of counties bordering Guizhou and Guangxi. In the south of the Miaoling Mountains and the upper reaches of the Duliu River and the Longjiang River, the Shui people live in an area which, with dense forests and picturesque sceneries, is home to fish, rice, flowers and fruits. They often describe their hometown as "beautiful as the feathers of a phoenix" in folk songs.
Sandu is the only Shui autonomous county in China where 60% of the country's Shui people live. Forest coverage in the county is 72.47% and negative oxygen ion concentration is 10,000-50,000 ions/cm3. It is honored as a "Forest Oxygen Bar of China" and a "County of Ecological Charm in China", with scenic spots such as Yaorenshan National Forest Park, Duliujiang Provincial Scenic Area, and Gulu Egg-laying Cliff, a 3A scenic area of China.
The Shui people have a rich culture and diverse arts. In addition to oral literature such as mythology and poetry, there are also arts and crafts such as paper cutting, embroidery, dyeing, and carving. In particular, horsetail embroidery is the most characteristic embroidery technique which was put on the first list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. There are also other types of stitches adopted in Shui embroidery, including flat, hollow, knot, spiral, twist, and wrinkle stitches.
The Shui people are hospitable and consider alcoholic drinks very important. Pig's head and chicken's head are considered as symbols of honor, so chicken's heads would be used to treat guests and pig's heads would be used as sacrifice at farewell banquets.
The Shui people have their own written language called "Shui writing", a kind of ancient pictographic and ideographic writing similar to inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells. There are now more than 400 known characters. The Shui's calendar is basically the same as the lunar calendar, but the difference is that the year begins in September and ends in August. The Duan Festival, lasting from late August to early October, is the biggest festival for the Shui people, equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han people. Some Shui people also celebrate the Mao (one of the 12 earthly branches on the Chinese calendar) Festival on Mao days of September and October on the Shui calendar.
水族
水族发祥于睢水流域,自称为“睢”,后迁徙融入百越族群,至唐代正式以“水”立名载入中华民族史册。
水族人口40余万,主要聚居在贵州省三都水族自治县,其余散居在贵州和广西交界的多个县。水族居住地位于苗岭山脉以南,都柳江和龙江上游,森林密布,山水如画,是鱼米花果之乡,水族在民歌中常以“像凤凰羽毛一样美丽”来形容自己的家乡。
三都是全国唯一的水族自治县,全国六成水族人口聚居三都。全县森林覆盖率达72.47%,负氧离子浓度为每立方厘米1万-5万个,荣获“中国森林氧吧”“中国生态魅力县”等称号。境内有尧人山国家级森林公园、都柳江省级风景名胜区和国家3A级旅游景区--姑鲁产蛋崖等。
水族文化艺术丰富多彩,除了神话、诗歌等口头文学之外,还有剪纸、刺绣、印染和雕刻等工艺美术。其中,水族马尾绣是最具特色的刺绣工艺,2006年,被列为首批国家级非物质文化遗产保护名录。此外,水族的刺绣还有平绣、空心绣、结线绣、螺线绣、绞绣、皱绣等。
水族热情好客,以酒为贵。猪头、鸡头象征尊贵,所以鸡头要敬给客人,猪头留作饯行席的供祭品。
水族有本民族的语言文字。水族文字被称为“水书”,是一种类似殷商甲骨文的古老象形表意文字,现在已知的有400多个单字。水族历法与夏历基本一致,不同的是,以八月为岁末,九月为岁首。从八月底至十月初的端节是水族最隆重的节日,水语称“借端”,相当于汉族的春节。也有部分水族过卯节,即以水历九、十月卯日为节日。
