The Jingpo are an ethnic minority group living in Yunnan Province in southwest China. Their habitat is mainly in mountainous areas at elevations between 1,500 and 2,000 meters.

Their ancestors were related to the ancient Qiang people of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. References to them under different names appeared in historical accounts dating from the seventh century. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, a large number of them moved westwards and mixed with other ethnic groups such as the De’ang, the Lisu, the Achang, and the Han.

It was not until the 1950s that they were identified as “Jingpo” by the central government. There are five main clans of the Jingpo, namely the Jingpo proper, the Maru, the Zaiwa, the Lashi, and the Nung.

Origins of surnames

The Jingpo have 26 major surnames, from which spring more than 300 lesser surnames. People of the same surnames are believed to share the same bloodlines, and are forbidden to intermarry. Their surnames fall roughly into seven categories, namely professions, places of birth or abode, animals, plants, daily utensils, food, and activities of animals.

The Jingpo have two quite different languages, Jingpo proper and Zaiwa. Both belong to the Tibeto-Burman family, but the former is under the Kachin-Luic branch while the latter the Northern Burmic branch. The written Jingpo script is based on the Latin alphabet.

World of spirits

The Jingpo are followers of shamanism. They believe that the world is full of spirits. There are three types of spirits: the sky spirits, the earth spirits, and the home spirits. Village priests preside over all religious ceremonies to mark agricultural events, weddings, funerals, and other significant undertakings. A small number of the Jingpo have converted to Christianity.

They have rich oral traditions, including epic poems about historical episodes, myths, legends, proverbs, and riddles. The Jingpo love songs and dance. They are known for a collective dance routine that has up to 1,000 participants dancing at the same time. It is usually performed at the Jingpo Dance Festival at around the 15th day of the first lunar month. The dance also takes place on other auspicious occasions.

They mark the Sowing Festival on the 10th day of the third lunar month, and the “Eating Festival” on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. They celebrate the harvest between the eighth and the ninth lunar months at the “New Rice Festival.”

Staple food and delicacies

The Jingpo are mostly farmers. Their region is rich with lumber and medicinal herbs. Cash crops include rubber, tea leaves, and coffee beans. Their staple foods are glutinous rice, sweet congee, potatoes, and vegetables. Pigs and chickens provide them with their main source of meat.

Besides keeping livestock, the Jingpo also hunt wild boars, oxen, goats, birds, deer, and rats in the forests. More exotically, they boast an insect menu consisting of fried hen eggs with ant eggs, roasted cicadas, bamboo worms with vermicelli, and grilled spiders.

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