The ancient society of the Hani

Hani Apeicongpopo (1) is a poem of the Hani that reports his migrations from the ground in which his ancestors were living, up to his current territory in the Yunnan south.

The first chapter contains an interesting description of the society of his ancestors in his ancestral hearth, before initiating his migrations. If it is not possible to assure that this ancient society was really like that, at least it shows us the concept that the Hani have of this time. Curiously his legend reflects interesting evolutionary aspects, as well as successive ecological crises that force his ancestors to adapt themselves to new conditions.

The family is described of the following form:

"There is neither father's concept nor mother,
the brother does not meet his brother,
the sister does not know who his sister is,
it imports for nobody who his uncle is,
nobody thinks who his aunt is."

What enough good seems to fit to the times of the marriage of group described by Morgan (2)

In those times the people were living in caves. Learning of the animals to survive:

"Seeing to the monkey that takes a fruit, they learn to take them,
Seeing to the rat of bamboo that excavates the bamboo sprouts, they learn to excavate them
Seeing to the scaly anteater that has the covered scales body, they use trees sheets to dress themselves.
Listening to speak to the parrot, they learn to speak."

After a big fire they take the fire to the cave, and snakes understand that since then they must not be afraid of leopards not.

When the population grows the first ecological crisis takes place. They do not fit already in the caves. Then his houses learn from the magpies to be done in the branches of the trees, warm in winter and fresh airs in summer. With his round door they are already afraid neither of wolves nor tigers.

In historical times there have been described the Dulong and other peoples who speak languages related to the Hani, living both in caves and in nests in the trees.

Seeing thousands of ants that take a rat, the hero Redou cheers the men to join up and go out of fighter, obtaining elephants, deer, leopards and jabalíes. Redou has many ideas, invents the arch and the arrows, which they use since then to go out to the mountain. As a result of the hunting the second ecological crisis is generated, since as it counts the poem:

"Earlier the men were fleeing before the wild animals,
but now there are the wild animals those that flee,
and soon the people do not obtain meat."

The solution comes to them from the fishing:

"Along with the river they see one animal going fishing
that, on having extended his wings, forms a network species,
the people imitate him beginning the river to go fishing
and they extract fish to the shores."

After the fishing they discover the way of cooking the food:

"One day to an elder him falls down a fish to the fire
and for his surprise the people saw that it was turning out to be delightful,
since then they began cooking the food."

This must increase the fish demand, since it is not late in producing the third ecological crisis to him:

"The fish of two rivers is more and more scarce.
Following the route of the wild animals
and the main current of the waters
the ancestors turned out to be forced to emigrate."

"Aidigeye led them to a new ground,
with wide ponds where they settled."

There have not been realized yet studies detailed on the cultures indigenous to China and his role in the protection of the nature. During several decades the students have devoted themselves to try to frame his social systems in the narrow corset that was providing the Marxism to them, and to praise the progress that the new diet was taking them. Only in the latter years, the Chinese, freer and freer anthropologists of ideological determinants, are beginning discovering and describing the role played by the indigenous cultures in the nature conservation. The role of the forests, mountains and sacred rivers in the regulation of the rains so necessary for the survival.

After his first migration the Hani they experience a new step in the economic development of his society with the discovery of the cattle and the agriculture, it works both of two women, who even in his myth create together the calendar. There is not doubt that this one has had to of being a much longer process extended possibly along hundreds of years, but the leading role of the women in this phase of the social development Hani is clear.

This way it describes as after killing to a javelin, the men take the pups to the village. Then a woman, Zhesi has the idea of feeding them so that they grow and to have them at his disposal. With her there begins the baby of domestic animals, of which the Hani soon are provided with 18 species. Doing wooden fences so that they do not escape.

This does that everybody praises Zhesi and all the importance matters are discussed by her.

Zhenu is the woman who discovers the agriculture. According to the legend gathering, burying and watering the seeds of the plants. Further on, reflecting with Zhesi on the reason of which not all the seeds germinate, they realize the importance of the stations. Meetings divide the year in 12 months and the month in 30 days. They assign years, months and days to 12 animals, starting starting from the rat. Since then they plant according to the calendar.

With the grain that they cannot consume they make liquor, which turns into inseparable partner of the Hani.

(1) Publishing house of the Minorities of Yunnan. Kunming.1986
(2) Morgan, Lewis.-Ancient society. 1873

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