Presenting the Li

There are named Li the inhabitants indigenous to the island of Hainan. An island placed in the south of China, opposite to the coasts of the province of Guangdong. His population is 1,1 million inhabitants in 1990. Inside his autonomous area there were in 1977 approximately 620.000, and the others in the nearby areas. In this area it is 37 % of the population. Being especially numerous in 8 districts: Ledong, Already, LIngshui, Baoting, Qiongzhong, Baisha, Dongfang, Changjiang. Especially Baisha and Baoting, which together with Ledong form the heart of the prefecture.

Li is the name with which they have been named from the exterior. It is considered that there exist five branches well differed from peoples Li, who are the autoso called ones:

They Are, that 58 % of the Li constitutes.
Ji, 24 %.
Bless them, 6 %.
The Meifu, 4 %
The Jiamao, 7 %.

These branches speak different dialects, sometimes in intelligible between themselves, dress of different form and preserve a few the same way different customs. For it, in fact it is possible to consider to be Li as a generic name, the "tribes Li", who are, at least five mentioned peoples.

The majority they live in the Autonomous Prefecture Li of the Island Hainan. A mountainous area, with abundant forests and tropical climate.

His language there belongs to the family Dong - Zhuang. Each of the called branches has its own language considered in China a dialect.

The Ha and Ji look alike between themselves, as well as the Bendi and the Meifu.
The language Jiamao does not look alike to others.

Another ethnic group exists also, called Danzhou, whose origin possibly has blown up in centuries of slow interaction between the peoples Li and the immigrants of origin Have installed in his neighborhood, which it requested also to be recognized like national minority, without success.

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