Strolling among the nations

Last Sunday we got to visit the Yunnan Nationalities Village which is a special theme park that celebrates the 26 ethnic minorities that are found in Yunnan Province.  China has 56 official ethnic minorities (the Han are the majority people and no, foreigners like us don’t count!) but Yunnan has the heaviest concentration of the groups.  So, one can wander around the park and get a small idea how each of these 26 groups might sometimes live out in their village areas.  There are replicas of traditional dwelling places for each of the groups.  There are performances of dances and songs.  There are displays explaining the uniqueness of each group.  We got to shoot arrows at targets when we visited the Mongolian area and drank their milk tea.  We got to attend a large concert which features musical performances by many of the groups.  There are the Yi, Dai, Miao, Jingpo, Wa, Hani, Naxi, Dulong, Dai and others.  The best part of the visit was being guided through the park by our friend Y and his wife whom we had just met the night before. Y is from one of the groups.  During the musical performance he sang along with several of the songs.  He explained a lot of what was going on and answered many of our questions.  We especially enjoyed visiting the area of the park dedicated to his group. Their language is written down with pictograph characters that are very interesting.  I’m afraid that some of the “ethnic” people were really just local people dressing up in costumes but spending time with a friend we hadn’t seen in a long time was a big blessing.  He asked how many of his friends back in Chicago were doing as he really enjoyed his time with our church family.  Hopefully he’ll get to bring his lovely wife to meet everyone one day.  We look forward to that day and also remember the song that is sung before the Lamb of God:   Rev. 5:9 "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Minorities’ Musical

Pictographs

Y and his wife