The Hani people (or Ho people; Hani: Haqniq; Chinese: 哈尼族; Hānízú; Vietnamese: Người Hà Nhì) are an ethnic group living in Vietnam, Laos, and Yunnan (China).
Over ninety percent of present-day Chinese Hani peoples live in the Province of Yunnan in southern China, mainly in the Honghe prefecture.
The origins of the Hani are still largely unknown, although it is believed that their ancestors arrived in the area from the plateau of Tibet-Qinghai before the third century after Christ.
Their oral traditions denote a lineage from the Yi and would seem to have separated from this ethnic group 50 generations ago. The Hani are polytheists and profess a special veneration towards the spirits of their ancestors.
Related: Spectacular Yuanyang rice-paddy terracing images, South of Clouds, a documentary on Chinese Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan Province
The Hani’s Long Street Banquet 哈尼长街宴
The Hani’s Long Street Banquet is the representative of the terraced fields agricultural culture of the Hanis. It is generally held taking the village as the organization unit. Sumptuous delicious food on delicate tables made of bamboo strips are set, usually, hundreds, even thousands of tables to constitute a grand view like a long dragon in the street. It may be rated as “the longest banquet in the world”.
Kuzhazha Festival of Hani people 哈尼族的“苦扎扎”节
Time: 24th—26th of the sixth lunar month
Place: Honghe County
Program: Moqiu sacrificing, visit from a village another, playing on a swing, Moqiu, dancing and singing performance
Images: Matteo Damiani, Oliver Huang
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