Azheke, the original ancient village of Hani in Yuanyang

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Azheke, the original ancient village of Hani in Yuanyang

Yuanyang Terraced Fields is the largest terraced field in the world. It was "carved" by dozens of Hani people on the barren mountains and ridges with blood and sweat over the past 1300 years.

Yuanyang, Yunnan is located in the southern section of the Ailao Mountains at low latitude and high altitude, on the south bank of the Red River. There are high mountains and high peaks in the territory, and the mountains are continuous, without a flat river. There are seven ethnic groups living here: Hani, Yi, Han, Dai, Miao, Yao and Zhuang.

The traditional Hani villages are all distributed around mountains and forests and water sources, and all belong to the central mid-level area, which reflects the Hani people's cognition and grasp of the three-dimensional climate and the overall natural environment of the Ailao Mountains. Low-altitude river valleys are hot and humid, and miasma is prevalent; high-altitude mountainous areas are perennially cloudy and humid, cold and humid; and the mid-level mountainous area has a mild climate, warm sunshine, abundant rainfall, and is suitable for living.

The lowest point of Yuanyang is 144 meters above sea level, and the highest is 2,940 meters above sea level; the old county seat is located in Xinjie (town) at an altitude of more than 1,400 meters in the middle of the mountainous area.

Azheke Village was built in 1855. It is a natural village in Yuanyang New Street. It is 1880 meters above sea level. It has the best preserved mushroom house buildings and Hani traditional culture.

When Hani people build a new village, they must build a gate. Choose two big trees at the entrance of the village, use dog blood to delineate the boundary of the village, use straw ropes to pull horizontally, hang wooden knives, wooden forks, and wooden hammers to guard the gate of the village. The gate of the village and the boundary of the village are an invisible boundary that separates humans from ghosts, and it is gone now.

On the top of the stockade there is a sacred forest, which is the place where the Hani people worship the gods and village gods every year. Pray to the God of the village to bless the villagers. Every plant and tree in the Shenzhai forest is protected by all the villagers, and dirty things are not allowed to be left in the Shenzhai forest. Forests are very important for water conservation. With forests, it is possible to have mountains as tall as possible and waters to be as high as possible. Behind this is the simple ecological awareness of the Hani people.

Sacrifice to God Village Forest is the biggest traditional festival of the Hani people. Every year before spring plowing starts (usually in mid-January), it is a kind of sacrificial activity held in God Village Forest to pray for good weather, abundant grains, and safety for people and animals, and become a harmonious relationship between Hani people and nature. An important platform for affinity with people. The festival is three days long, offering sacrifices on the first day, long street banquets on the second and third days, and singing Hani ancient songs all night long. The old people tell their descendants the history of their ancestors’ migration, the ethics of living and living, and the techniques of terraced farming. The Hani people have no written language. , by word of mouth. Evaluate the virtues of each villager over the past year. Forests, villages, water systems, and terraced fields constitute the agricultural ecology and human ecology of the Hani people.

The widest street in the village is the public place where long street banquets are held.

In June every year, the Hani people will hold the "Kuzaza" sacrificial activity in Moqiuchang. On behalf of the villagers, the "Migu" (priest priest of the village) presides over the killing of a pig in the whole village. After the sacrifice, the meat will be divided equally among households. For several years, a cow will also be killed. The meat will also be divided equally among households. Its small rice valley. Moqiu field is an open space, and the wooden frame is used as a playground.

The sacrificial room is the place where the Hani people sacrifice cattle during the "Kuzaza" festival. Each household in Hani also kills a red rooster, offering sacrifices to the God of the Field in their own sacrificial fields, and praying to the God of the Field to bless the rice fields with no pests and diseases, abundant rice and fish, and prosperity for humans and animals. The sacrificial room is a thatched shed with a cow's mandible hanging on it.

The intersection of the sacrificial room and the parking lot is the road section for summoning souls.

Hani villages are generally formed by blood-related families, often with thirty or forty households, and even hundreds of households in large ones. The mushroom house is a symbol of the Hani traditional dwellings. Mountain thatch is used along the top floor to form a thatched roof with four slopes, and the walls are supported by adobe. The whole building looks like a mushroom, with the characteristics of warm in winter and cool in summer.

Mushroom houses generally have three floors. The bottom floor is used to keep poultry and livestock and stack farm tools. The second floor is used for living, cooking and other activities.

Rice farming terraces cannot be separated from water, and life is even more inseparable from water. The Hani people believe that all things have spirits, water is the life blood given by the gods, and forests and mountains are the homes of water. The water in the village comes from the virgin forest, which is regarded as the mountain god water. Villagers also drink directly for a long time.

The water milling room is mainly used to process rice. It uses the principle of water conservancy to drive the milling plate to drive the movement of the water mill. The milling plate of the water mill has a large capacity, and it can put hundreds of catties of rice every time.

Due to the restriction of tourism planning and protection, Azheke basically retains the original style of Hani village, but it can no longer meet the living requirements of modern people. The newly built Dayu Village not only preserves but also changes the traditional Hani architecture.