Presenting the Ake

In the western end of the municipality of Menghun, in the district of Menghai of the Autonomous Prefecture Dai de Xishuangbanna, there are three villages placed in three small hills separated only by the highway that he leads to Talou and the border with Myanmar (Burma)

There are three villages where they live through the Ake.

The Ake are one of not recognized minorities of China. Due to his scarce population, about 500 persons, cannot even request the government his official recognition as minority (since a minimal population of 5.000 persons demands the law). In 1985 there was included to them officially between a series of groups "for being still identified", recognizing of some form his differences after him with the peoples that surround them.

His three villages are called: Old village, New Village and Village Comes up. As they say earlier all together were living, but the population excess provoked numerous problems, and they were separating in these three villages.

His economic life centers on the cultivation of the rice. His well elegant fields spread up to the foot of the mountains Bulangshan. Also they cultivate numerous vegetables for his consumption, commercializing his surpluses on the Menghun market. They have a good number of domestic animals, especially funks, gluttons and cows.

In his villages there is electricity and running water. There is a school in the Village of the Way to which all the children come, and on having spent along with his houses the highway of Myanmar, they have a few communications especially good. His general economic situation can be considered to be good.

His housings are similar to those of the Dai of the area, but the low apartment is usually with wood and been habitable persisted. The roof is of tiles.

As other peoples of the area, the men dress like the nearby peasants, that every time it looks alike more to the way of dressing of the males of any latitude. The women preserve his traditional garment, which they usually dress. There is times that for serviceability take the jacket from themselves to work, but they put themselves it again proud if they decide to pose for a photo.

They do not have a special footwear. Possibly they were barefooted till not long ago. The most aged women still take a few leggings of the ankle to the knee, with five or six stripes of different colors. The youngest have replaced them with a few black pants with several colors stripes in his low end. The top part of the body covers it a jacket buttoned in the center, whose top half is the black and the low one it has between 15 and 20 stripes of showy colors. They are covered with a square cap that they hangs for the back up to the waist.

They usually take the children to the back, tied by a long handkerchief. His head is covered with a cap of colors in which numerous coins have been sewed. These caps are common between other peoples of the area, and it are considered that from some form it protects the child.

The most aged have big holes in the ears deformed by big earrings. The young people takes smaller earrings.

They say that formerly they were living more above in the mountain. Approximately 20 years ago went down to this more fertile ground, but they do not know from which his ancestors came.

They can only have two children in spite of his scarce population.

They say not to remember stories not myths, that the elders do not tell them histories. But it is normal that they do not want to communicate his secrets to a stranger.

They do not have an organized religion, but it is thought that they produce cult to his ancestors.

His principal holiday is the New Year, which they celebrate lunar November 24.

His traditions only seem to have survived in the garment, which they do themselves.

How many elders stay that they know something about his culture?

It is difficult to know it. But the news on the enlargement of the highway that Menghai communicates with the border of Myanmar, he makes to be afraid that in a few years a few years his culture gets lost forever.

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