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The Gelao are one of the minorities of China which study turns out to be more problematic. It is supposed that he is the progeny of the ancient ones Tie up to you that they inhabited the north region of Guizhou 2.500 years ago.
But today it is difficult to find the sense of the word "Gelao", since it names nearly half a million persons, who are autonamed of a dozen of different ways, which speak mutually unintelligible languages extended in a myriad of small communities in the oriental part of Province of Guizhou and in the nearby grounds of the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi and Sichuan.
Most of the Gelaos they live in the Province of Guizhou, especially in Zunyi, Renhuai, Anshun and Zhenning.
In spite of having his so merry population, the Gelaos are provided with two autonomous administrative entities, the two in the Zunyi region:
Autonomous county Gelao and Miao de Wuchuan. It was established in 1987. It has a surface of 2766 square kilometers, and a population of 329.000 inhabitants. Of them, 84.000 are Gelao and 64.000 Miao.
Autonomous county Gelao and Miao de Daozhen. Established in 1987. It has a surface of 2156 square kilometers, and a population of 380.000 inhabitants. Of them, 75.000 are Gelao and 41.000 Miao.
The population gelao reached 493.000 inhabitants (according to the census of the year 2000).
In 1990 his population belonged to 438.200 persons and: only 53.800! in the third national census of 1982. The dramatic increase in the population Gelao in only eight years can be the result of two convergent processes:
1. Some persons who earlier were afraid of declaring his ethnic belonging, lost it before the political changes happened in China.
2. Some ethnic groups which identity was not clear before 1990, were include you with the Gelaos in the census of this year.
One believes that the Gelao language belongs to the family But Tibetan, branch Zhuang-Dong, sub-branch Geyang, but not all the linguists who have studied his languages agree. It is said that it has four principal dialects, each of them with some local differences. But the idiomatic situation of the peoples Gelao is so complex that sometimes, even the persons of a village cannot communicate with the persons who live to any kilometers of distance.
The disparities between the "dialects" of the Gelao, the ways different from autodenominarse, the sudden increase of the population Gelao from 1982 to 1990, makes us think that the denomination "Gelao" is at present an umbrella under which an investigation in detail will find different ethnic groups.
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