As a group of people walked up, they saw a concrete road winding through the forest, and a village gate across the road, which read Manlong Village.
He Huan said: "In Cunlong Village, Director Yu's house has arrived."
"Ah!" Everyone looked up at the golden archway with joy.
He Huan turned to Yu Jia again and said, "Director Yu, I'm sorry to trouble you."
"No trouble." Director Yu said with a smile, "I am from the local area. Some people like to watch performances and others like to go to restaurants. If you are willing to be a guest, of course we welcome you."
He Huan knew that the villages of the Little White Dragon Group would not receive tourists, let alone that they were taken directly to his own home.
"Mainly, I think that in restaurants with song and dance performances, if you focus on the food, you won't be able to appreciate the singing and dancing. If you focus on the singing and dancing, you won't be able to appreciate the food."
Yujia laughed, and the tourists nodded in agreement. Only by following the little white dragon can you experience the real national customs, not the national customs on the stage.
Walking all the way in, the road in the village is a hardened cement road, and the traditional bamboo buildings have been replaced by bricks and stones, but the appearance still maintains the railing structure.
The tourists were a little regretful because they felt it was different from what they imagined. “Don’t the Dai people have bamboo houses? I feel like this is the same as the rural villas in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.”
He Huan looked at them, "What? Only you are allowed to develop in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but not Yunzhou?"
The tourist laughed and said: "No!"
He Huan smiled and said, "I know, you think it's too modern and doesn't have that flavor."
"Yes, yes." The tourist nodded.
"But development is required everywhere. Now it is not allowed to cut down forests, and it is impossible to build houses with bamboo and wood."
Yujia nodded, "Right now, the Dai Garden still maintains its bamboo buildings, but it was contracted by a tourism company. It has become a commercial attraction and is no longer a real village."
He Huan looked at the tourists, "The most important thing to experience the folk customs is the people living inside. There is a bamboo house in the scenic spot, and they celebrate the Water Splashing Festival every day, singing and dancing every day, but that is just for the tourists, not
Their original life scenes.”
"Yeah!" The tourists nodded.
"In modern society, ethnic exchanges and integration are accelerating, and it is rare to find ethnic characteristics in ethnic minorities. When you go out, if they don't say it, you don't even know they are ethnic minorities. This is the real situation. It's like suing a village for tourists.
They are all built the same. If you like it, let you play. We locals have long since moved to modern communities and lived our Jiangnan style."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
He Huan said this, and the tourists were happy again. Looking at the tourists in Gaozhuang, at least in this village that didn't feel primitive enough, there were really Dai people living there.
Passing through the archway, there is a big green tree with many red cloth banners for blessing hanging on it.
He Huan said: "Is this distinctive enough? The big green tree is the characteristic of Dai villages and is their sacred tree."
"Isn't this a banyan tree?" The tourists looked at the thick aerial roots, forming a forest of single trees.
"Yes! This is the banyan tree! Because it is big and green, we call it the big green tree. Dai villages usually plant big green trees at the entrance of the village and bodhi trees in the center of the village."
"Why is the banyan tree used as the sacred tree?" Everyone didn't understand.
"Both the banyan tree and the bodhi tree are among the five trees and six flowers in Theravada Buddhism. Moreover, the banyan tree has tenacious vitality and lush branches. It represents strong vitality."
He Huan raised his head and said, "And you see, a tree covers this road. After a day's work, did you really walk towards the green mist after taking a bath in the river? It was too early that day!"
The tourists laughed.
"So, men, women and children will enjoy the cool under the big banyan tree. This is also their social place. Children run around under the tree, old people chat, and young people fall in love.
Although the sky tree is tall, can it provide shade? No. People are very realistic. If something is regarded as a god by humans, it must be good for humans. The banyan tree can bring benefits to humans.
Nowadays, everyone uses mobile phones to chat and show affection. Maybe urban people rarely have this kind of happy experience of gathering under a tree."
"Yeah." The tourists nodded.
Director Yu led them all the way inside and greeted the villagers passing by. The women passing by were all wearing short clothes and long skirts. Regardless of their age, they were all slim. They smiled and said a few words in dialect before continuing to walk forward.
.
It is quiet and peaceful, and tourists can finally experience the customs of the Dai people.
It is estimated that there are very few tourists in the village. The villagers greeted Yujia and looked at them curiously, which made the tourists lower their heads shyly.
He Huan looked back at them, "Are you sorry? When you travel to ethnic minority areas, do you like to treat others as objects of appreciation? Now you should ask Director Yu to shout from the loudspeaker at the entrance of the village, everyone come and see! Meng
These people brought the Menghua people to Manlong!"
"Hahaha..." the tourists covered their faces shyly, "Forget it!"
However, the Dai people do like bamboo, and almost every household has Phoenix tail bamboo planted in front of and behind the house.
Everyone is gradually feeling the green salsa.
Walking all the way inside, a man and a woman stood in front of a house. The woman was wearing a Dai skirt and the man was wearing short-sleeved jeans.
Seeing a group of them coming, the two of them greeted them with smiles.
"This is my brother and sister-in-law." Yujia introduced.
The man stretched out his hand, "Xiao Bailong, my name is Daohan. Welcome!"
"Brother Daohan, thank you." He Huan held his hand.
After going downstairs on stilts, he washed his hands and sat down. He Huan said, "In the past, livestock were raised downstairs, and the upstairs was the living room. Now, guests are entertained downstairs."
Tourists covered their faces.
Dao Han smiled and said: "Yes, we no longer raise livestock. We used to eat and cook upstairs, but now we move downstairs. The bedrooms are upstairs and the living room is downstairs." He then said to the tourists: "
Don't be offended, this is not an intentional slight."
Everyone smiled and nodded.
After sitting for a while, Director Yu, his sister-in-law, and several Dai women brought them tea.
It seems that in order to entertain them, the villagers were specially invited to help. Everyone was very embarrassed, so they all imitated Xiao Bailong and took the tea cup with both hands, nodding to express their gratitude.
Several tourists whispered: "Why is Director Yu's brother named Dao?"
He Huan said with a smile: "Han means gold, and the name Brother Dao means a boy with a heart of gold, which represents the parents' love for their children."
Dao Han smiled and nodded.
"Originally, the Dai people only had a first name but no surname. Most girls were named Yu and most boys were named Yan." He Huan added.
The tourists nodded. Yesterday it was Team Leader Jade of the Botanical Garden, and today it was Director Jade of Wangtianshu.
"If they are nobles, most boys are called Zhao, and most girls are called Nan. The Dai people call their lords Zhaopianling, which means the king of the vast land. Then the Han people translated it, and some pronounced it as Dao. So.
Zhao evolved into a sword.
As for Nan, it means water. Water, as we just said, has a sacred meaning among the Dai people. Therefore, Zhao, Dao and Nan have become the names of nobles.
Now that the aristocratic lord system has been abolished, the Dai people have also begun to register for residence, and have begun to give themselves a surname. Dao and Nan are no longer exclusive titles for the nobility.
In a family, it’s not that girls and boys have different last names, but what they call them is not their last name, but their first name!”
"Oh!" the tourists suddenly realized.
Dao Han nodded, Xiao Bailong really knew them well.
"And they don't take their parents' last name, they take their children's last name."
"What does it mean to take a child's last name?" the tourists asked curiously.
He Huan looked at them and said, "Just like you, if you have a child, it is not appropriate to call you a nickname. For example, if your child is named Zihan, you will call her Zihan's mother, and your husband will be called Zihan's father."
This is called taking the child’s last name. In fact, it’s the same as in many places in our country! When you have a child, poor child, you become so-and-so’s mother and so-and-so’s father, and you are no longer yourself.”
The tourists all laughed.
"Yes!" Yujia came over, "When people in the village see me with my parents, they call me parents: Bo Yujia, Mi Yujia, that is, Yujia dad, Yujia mom. When they see me
When I’m with my parents, I call them Bo Daohan and Mi Daohan.”
The tourists looked at them funny and curious, "What if you were with your parents at the same time, what would they be called?"
Yujia and her brother both laughed.
"I work outside, my home is in the county, and my husband is Han Chinese," Yujia said.
"Oh!" Everyone nodded.
"My parents are old and often have to go to the hospital for minor ailments. For convenience, they now live in Jinghong with my sister Yu's name, so they call them my sister's name. When relatives call them, they call them Yu.
Mom, Jade calls me Dad."
Everyone laughed.
"But now, with the integration of Han culture and the high rate of name duplication, many people have begun to choose a surname for themselves. They can choose whatever they like. It's very casual."
He Huan nodded, "Without the constraints of our surname tradition, they can have whatever surname they want."
"Oh!" The tourists felt the difference in Dai customs.
Yujia went in to help again. He Huan chatted with brother Daohan and learned about their current lives, while the tourists listened.
Several Dai women brought the dishes to the table. Daohan called everyone over and sat down around three round bamboo tables.
After pouring the home-brewed rice wine for them, Dao Han raised his glass with a smile, "Come! Welcome Xiao Bailong and Xiao Bailong Tuan to our home!"
"Thank you, Brother Daohan! Thank you, sister-in-law! Thank you, Director Yu!" He Huan said.
The tourists all stood up with their cups in hand and followed the little white dragon obediently to thank him.
After sitting down, the tourists did not dare to touch upon a table of unnamed delicacies.
"What is this?" Everyone looked at the food divided into portions on a banana leaf.
"These are fish bones, fish scales, fish skin, and fish meat!" He Huan said, "The Dai people don't waste food, so you can eat them all. Try it."
People don’t dare to eat fish scales, so they eat fish meat. “Wow! This fish meat is so tender! So fresh!”
He Huan looked at them, "You guys are just here to eat." He then looked at Brother Daohan, "If I guess correctly, this should be the indigenous fish of the Nanla River, Ba Xili."
"Yeah." Dao Han nodded in admiration, "If you divide it like this, you can still see it!"
"I haven't seen it either. I guessed it based on its size." He Huan said, "This is also called a walking fish."
"Ah!" The tourists all raised their heads.
"If it grows naturally, it can only grow to the size of a palm. It has little flesh and hard thorns on its back. It is difficult to catch. If it is caught, it will run away. It will swish and twist like a mermaid, and it will run away on its own.
Back to the river."
"Really?" Everyone was very curious.
He Huan also had a look of regret on his face, he would have known better before it became a delicacy.