Kam people
The Kam people, officially known in China as Dong people, a Kam–Sui people of southern China, are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They are famed for their native-bred Kam Sweet Rice, carpentry skills, and unique architecture, in particular a form of covered bridge known as the "wind and rain bridge". The Kam people live mostly in eastern Guizhou, western Hunan, and northern Guangxi in China. Small pockets of Kam speakers are found in Tuyên Quang Province in Vietnam. The Kam people call themselves Kam, Geml, Jeml, or Gaelm.
History
The Kam are thought to be the modern-day descendants of the ancient Liáo peoples who occupied much of southern China. Kam legends generally maintain that the ancestors of the Kam migrated from the east. According to the migration legends of the Southern Kam people, their ancestors came from Guangzhou, Guangdong and Wuzhou, Guangxi. The Northern Kam maintain that their ancestors fled Zhejiang and Fujian because of locust swarms. Some scholars also believe that the Kam were a branch of the Bai Yue from the first century CE. The Bai Yue inhabited the Yangze Riber basin after the collapse of the Yue Kingdom around the first century CE which led to the establishment of many small chiefdoms.The first explicit mention of the Kam people come from Ming Dynasty sources. Many Kam rebellions took place during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but none were successful in the long run. The Qing developed extensive irrigation systems in the area and rice harvests increased significantly but this mostly benefited the local landlords. The Kam were further exploited after the first Opium War of 1840-1842 by western forces, capitalists, landlords, usurers, and Qing officials.
As a consequence of these events, many Kam helped or joined the Chinese Communists soon after its founding in 1921. They supplied food and resources to the Red Army as it passed through Guangxi during the Long March. Some Kam also allied with the People's Liberation Army through establishing guerilla units against the forces of Chiang Kai-Shek. After 1949, infrastructure was quickly developed in Kam areas. Schools, roads, small factories and more were built. Many Kam also became government officials.
Although the Kam and Han Chinese peoples generally get along well today, the history of Guizhou is marked by innumerable tensions and conflicts between the Han Chinese and non-Han minority groups. Today, many Kam are assimilating into mainstream Chinese society as rural Kam move into urban areas, resulting in intermarriage with the Han Chinese and the loss of the Kam language. However, various attempts to preserve Kam culture and language have been very successful, and improving living conditions in rural Guizhou may entice local Kam villagers to stay rather than move to major urban areas.
Language
The Kam language is a Tai–Kadai language. Ethnologue distinguishes between two Kam languages, with the codes for Southern Kam and for Northern Kam. Sui, Maonan, and Mulao are the languages most closely related to Kam. Historically, Northern Kam has been influenced by Chinese much more than has Southern Kam.The Kam language has no traditional script of its own. The Kam people sometimes use Chinese characters to represent the sounds of Kam words. A Latin alphabet was developed in 1958, but it is not much in use due to a lack of printed material and trained teachers.
Distribution
By province
By county
;County-level distribution of the KamCounty/city | % Kam | Kam | Total |
Guizhou province | 4.62 | 1,628,568 | 35,247,695 |
Tongren prefecture | 11.41 | 376,862 | 3,302,625 |
Tongren city | 33.72 | 104,051 | 308,583 |
Jiangkou county | 8.99 | 17,011 | 189,288 |
Yuping Dong autonomous county | 78.09 | 98,757 | 126,462 |
Shiqian county | 30.49 | 101,990 | 334,508 |
Songtao Miao autonomous county | 2.56 | 14,025 | 547,488 |
Wanshan district | 73.40 | 40,130 | 54,674 |
Qiandongnan Miao Dong autonomous prefecture | 31.40 | 1,207,197 | 3,844,697 |
Kaili city | 5.10 | 22,099 | 433,236 |
Shibing county | 2.53 | 3,464 | 137,171 |
Sansui county | 48.89 | 83193 | 170,167 |
Zhenyuan county | 32.23 | 71,800 | 222,766 |
Cengong county | 32.50 | 61,006 | 187,734 |
Tianzhu county | 67.54 | 235,241 | 348,302 |
Jinping county | 49.64 | 94,537 | 190,429 |
Jianhe county | 34.47 | 65,170 | 189,085 |
Liping county | 70.85 | 324,867 | 458,533 |
Rongjiang county | 38.38 | 115,295 | 300,369 |
Congjiang county | 40.88 | 123,270 | 301,513 |
Leishan county | 2.08 | 2,752 | 132,004 |
Danzhai county | 1.07 | 1,452 | 135,400 |
Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region | 0.69 | 303,139 | 43,854,538 |
Guilin city | 1.04 | 48,166 | 4,614,670 |
Longshenggezu autonomous county | 26.57 | 42,718 | 160,796 |
Liuzhou prefecture | 6.51 | 229,162 | 3,522,322 |
Rong'an county | 2.93 | 8,303 | 283,029 |
Sanjiang Dong autonomous county | 55.98 | 170,248 | 304,149 |
Rongshui Miao autonomous county | 11.28 | 48,020 | 425,608 |
Hubei province | 0.12 | 69,947 | 59,508,870 |
Enshi Tujia Miao autonomous prefecture | 1.79 | 67,440 | 3,775,190 |
Enshi city | 2.27 | 17,187 | 755,725 |
Xuan'en county | 13.93 | 46,817 | 335,984 |
Hu'nan province | 1.33 | 842,123 | 63,274,173 |
Suining county | 4.12 | 13,973 | 339,235 |
Xinning county | 0.05 | 283 | 557,120 |
Chengbu Miao autonomous county | 1.45 | 3,498 | 241,517 |
Huaihua city | 17.42 | 808,155 | 4,639,738 |
Hecheng district | 2.99 | 10,370 | 346,522 |
Huitong county | 52.49 | 173,947 | 331,392 |
Xinhuang Dong autonomous county | 80.13 | 193,678 | 241,690 |
Zhijiang Dong autonomous county | 52.37 | 175,030 | 334,229 |
Jingzhou Miao Dong autonomous county | 26.06 | 63,962 | 245,444 |
Tongdao Dong autonomous county | 75.96 | 156,719 | 206,327 |
Hongjiang city | 5.43 | 26,360 | 485,061 |
Culture
The Kam people are internationally renowned for their polyphonic choir singing, called Kgal Laox in the Kam language, which can be literally translated as Kam Grand Choir or Grand song in English. The Kam Grand Choir has been listed by UNESCO as a world-class intangible cultural heritage since 2009. Kam choral songs include nature songs, narratives, and children's songs.One-part songs can be sung by one or many people. They include:
- Duo Ye songs
- Love songs - accompanied by the pipa or niutuiqin
- Drinking songs
- Bride's songs
- Mourning songs
- Pipa songs
Kam oral literature contains a rich array of legends and folk tales. Many of these popular tales are about the leaders of past uprisings. Celebrated leaders include:
- Xing Ni - An ancient figure, whose legend dates possibly from the Tang Dynasty.
- Wu Mian - Leader of a 1378 rebellion during the Ming Dynasty due to drought and famine.
- Lin Kuan - Led a 1397 rebellion but was later executed. Popular among the Northern Kam and is commemorated by an ancient tree.
- Wu Jinyin - Wu revolted in the 1740 to resist grain taxes, but was killed in 1741.
- The two orphan brothers
- The unfriendly eldest brother
- Ding Lang and the dragon princess
- Zhu Lang and Niang Mei
- Shan Lang and E Mei
- Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai
- Suo Lao
- Mei Dao
- The frog and the swallow
- The dog
- The singing tree
- Liang Niangni
- Lou Niang
Society
Kam common law is known as kuan and is practiced at four levels.
- Single village
- Several villages
- Single township / entire local rural area
- Multiple townships / large portion of the Kam population
Courtship and marriage
- Early meeting phase where men and women sing songs and recite poems to one another.
- Deepening love phase where the courtship is one-to-one and the songs are more spontaneous.
- Exchanging a token phase where a man gives a woman a gift, with the woman expected to make excuses to test her suitor. The token is usually a minor gift without much monetary value. However, it is highly important symbolically, as it is the equivalent of an engagement ring in Western cultures.
Birth
The birth of a child is complemented by the following events:- The "stepping-over-the-threshold person," the first person to enter the home where the child was born, will influence the child's future personality and success.
- Several fir trees are planted at the birth which are gifted at age 18 for marriage and new home.
- Neighbors are invited and bring food and gifts.
- Announcing the birth to the mother's family.
- Visit from the female relatives on the third day or so; gifts are brought.
- Homage expressed to the land god for the birth of a male child.
- Building a "bridge" - Three wooden planks are lined up side by side to express goodwill to passing people.
- Wrapping the hands - The child's hands are wrapped to help prevent him or her from stealing things later on in life.
- First haircut at the age of one month.
- First eating of fermented rice at the age of about one month.
- First eating of meat dipped in wine at six months old - considered a major milestone.
Funerals
- Receiving the breath - listening for last words and the person's the last breath.
- Drinking clear tea - Three spoonfuls of "clear tea" and a small pieces of silver are placed into the recently deceased person's mouth.
- Buying water for washing the corpse.
- "Washing" the corpse - The corpse is covered with wet money paper.
- Putting on the graveclothes - Old clothes are taken off.
- Arranging the "dream bed" - The suona is played during the vigil.
- Starting on the road - A red cock is killed, and the corpse is removed from the dream bed and placed into a coffin. White headcloths are worn by the mourners.
- Digging the "well".
- Holding the memorial ceremony - Presents are distributed.
- Going up the mountain - Coffins are usually placed high up on a mountainside.
- Placing the coffin into the "well" - A chicken is killed and prayers are said. The chicken is then lowered into the grave and pulled back out again for later consumption.
- Holding the funeral receptions - Lunch and dinner are held.
- Returning to the mountain - The sons return to the grave to build a grave-mound. The dead person is called to "go back home" to live at the altar to the family's ancestors.
- "Transferring the sons" - This is a ceremony in which the duties of filial piety are transferred from the deceased mother to her eldest brother or the eldest brother's representative.
Environment
- Ganlan-style wooden houses
- Ancient and sacred trees
- Covered bridges
- Wayside pavilions with wooden or stone benches
- Bullfighting arenas, which are fields
- Wells surrounded by stone rims and usually dug near trees
- Fish-ponds, traditionally communally owned
- Racks for drying grain and granaries
- Village entrances - to protect against intruders, and also are where "blocking the way" ceremonies are held
- Drum towers - usually found only in southern Kam areas today. Drum towers may be village towers or extended-family towers.
- Altars to Sa Sui, the main deity of the Kam pantheon
Agriculture and Economy
The Kam people cultivate dozens of varieties of glutinous rice. The Han Chinese cultivate non-glutinous rice, which is called "Han rice" by the Kam. Supplementary foods inclusive maize, millet, vegetables, plums, peaches, pears, mushrooms, mandarin oranges, pomelos, and watermelons. Cotton is cultivated for textile production. Generally the Kam occupy lower-lying land than the Miao and are thus wealthier.Animals frequently raised by the Kam people include:
- Water buffalo: 1-3 per household
- Pigs: 1-3 per household
- Chickens: 2-20 per household. Hens raised by the Kam generally lay around 100 eggs per year.
- Ducks: 2-4 per household. Ducks tend to destroy rice seedlings and are thus less preferable than chickens.
- Geese: 2-4 per household. They are recent introductions from the Han Chinese.
- Fish: raised in fish-ponds and sometimes hunted
The Kam-speaking area is famous for its fir wood. Fir from the Kam area was used to build the ships of 15th-century explorer Zheng He and the Great Hall of the People. Major economic activities include carpentry and the manufacture of silverwork and wickerwork. Baskets and other wickerwork are usually made by men. Baskets can be made from five types of plant materials, namely glutinous rice straw, cogongrass, Guangxi grass, bamboo, and rattan.
In recent years, tourism has become a major source of income for the Kam people.
Festivals
Below is a list of traditional Kam festivals.Two new year festivals:
- Kam New Year
- Chinese New Year
- Sowing seeds
- Planting cotton
- Washing water buffaloes
- Eating new rice
- Mid-Autumn Festival
- Pumpkin Day
- Lusheng Day
- Cultivating new land
- Commemoration of lovers killed by lightning
- Gaoba Singing Festival
- Girls' Day
- King Lin's Day - commemorates Lin Kuan, a northern-Kam hero of the 14th century
- A Dianlong Day
- Jiaxu Day
- Best Weather Day - Jiang Yingfang, the "Robin Hood" of the Kam people who led a rebellion in the 19th century, is celebrated on this day.
- Tidying the graves
- Sweet rice cakes festival
- Fireworks Day
- Dragon Boat Festival
- Zongba Festival
- Bull intestines eating festival
Religion
The Kam people are traditionally polytheistic with many elements of animism. Totems include turtles, snakes, and dragons, and worshiped ancestors include the mythical figures of Song Sang, Song En, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Mei. However, the Kam have been influenced by Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism through historical contacts with the Han. This influence is mainly seen in regards to ancestor worship, funeral rites, and certain festivals like the Spring and Dragon Boat Festivals. The Kam also use rice grains, bamboo roots, snails, and chicken bone, eyes, blood, and eggs for divination. Today, Taoism, Buddhism, and to a lesser extent Christianity are practiced by the Kam.Spirits and deities
Some deities and sacred natural phenomena are also listed below.- Sa Ma Qing Sui, or Sa Sui, is the most important deity in Kam mythology. Sa Sui is a female deity who may have originally been a land goddess.
- Village entrance goddess
- Bridge goddess
- Land gods and goddesses
- Three family prosperity gods
- A love deity actually consisting of five male gods
- Banishing-evil god
- Spirit of the sky and earth
- Sun and moon worship
- Thunder and lightning
- Mountains
- Rivers and streams
- Wells
- Two fire spirits: one good and one evil
- Large stones and boulders
- "Wind-and-water trees" and ancient evergreen trees
- Water buffalo spirits
- Rice seedling spirits
- Fruit tree spirits
Taboos and superstitions
Traditional Kam religion uses many taboos, omens, and fetishes. The fetishes are usually plant parts such as tree branches, reeds, leaves, and roots. Some of the taboos and superstitions are listed below.- Not marrying in the Chinese Year of the Tiger, since they must wait around nine years before giving birth to their first infants.
- Pregnant women cannot participate in marriage ceremonies or arrangements, visit sick acquaintances, or sacrifice to gods.
- Women cannot give birth in their mothers' home. There are many other childbirth-related taboos and superstitions.
- Children cannot have haircuts before the age of one month old. The locks of hair from the first haircut must be stored and not be disposed of.
- Coffins cannot have any metal objects inside them, since departed souls fear metal objects, especially copper.
- Corpses should not be placed inside coffins during rainy weather.
- Names are not to be called out when a corpse is being carried to its grave.
- Chopsticks should not be tapped on bowls, as this is reminiscent of beggars' behavior.
- The meat of crows or dead wild animals with unknown causes of death bring bad luck and should not be eaten.
- Unmarried men should not eat pig feet, since pigs have split hooves.
- New houses should not be built if a neighbor has recently died.
- Pregnant women should not watch new houses being built.
- Wood struck by lightning cannot be used for building houses.
- Main entrances of two houses should not directly face each other as this will cause severe quarreling.
- It is best to move into new houses at night when the village is already asleep.
- Nothing should be bought on the first day of the Chinese New Year, as this might cause materials to diminish for the new year. On this day, floors should not be swept, rubbish should not be thrown out, friends should not be visited, arguments should be avoided, and knives should not be used to cut food.
- The lusheng should not be played between the sowing and transplanting of rice seedlings, since it could attract plagues of insects.
- Meeting a pregnant woman while hunting is considered bad luck.
- While hunting, the names of animals should not be shouted so that the mountain god is not aroused to protect them.
- Fish swimming upstream are protected by the gods, and catching one will result in bad luck.
- Leaving home on the 7th, 17th, or 27th day of the month is unlucky.
- A recently deceased person will rise up if a cat jumps over them. Therefore, all domesticated animals must be kept away from them.
Magic and shamanism
Sorcery can be performed in private. There are many purposes of sorcery, such as repelling evil spirits, recovering the soul of a disturbed child, exacting revenge on enemies, and inducing love. Voodoo dolls, borrowed from the Chinese, are made so that pins can be stuck onto them, with the person's name and birth date written on them. The doll is then buried underground after being inserted into a clay pot. White cocks can be used for revenge sorcery.
Shamanism is practiced by the Kam and bears many parallels with Miao shamanism. One major duty of shamans is to recover the souls of sick people.
Notable Dongs
- Su Yu , the first four-star general of the People's Liberation Army
- Wu Hongfei , singer for the Chinese rock band Happy Avenue
- Sen Fluke , Pastor for the Golden Singers
- Li Ting , gold medalist in the 10 meter synchronized platform diving at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece
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