Section 3 Categories and Characteristics of Yunnan...
Most of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province live in basins, semi-mountainous areas, alpine or arctic-alpine areas. Their unique historical background and geographical environment have led to the occurance of distinctive ethnic sports. The first groupof ethnic minorities living in basins or river valleys is rich and hase convenient transportation, whose ethnic sports are mainly for recreation and fitness; the second group of ethnic minorities living in semi-mountainous areas is comparatively impoverished, whose sports are closely related to production and life, and in a “semi-closed” state. The natural environment of the semi-mountainous areas is characterized by complex landscapes, inconvenient transportation and information, poor agricultural ecology, and deficient in material resources. The most important feature of sports culture there is the diversity. The ethnic minorities here have created a rich sports culture, such as ethnic sports dance, which shows the sports thoughts of the ethnic minorities pursuing natural harmony and happy life. The natural barrier makes the sports culture of the mountainous minorities present diversified characteristics. The third group of ethnic minorities living in alpine or arctic-alpine areas is backward in some way, whose sports activities shows “primitiveness”,such as hunting,climbing, with the essence of struggling with nature, This is a unique type of sports culture in the world. The magnificent Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is isolated from other places by the natural barrier ofhigh altitude, and the ethnic minorities living on the plateau have created unique sports cultural thoughts and sports forms in a relatively closed space. The special climate of the plateau and the religious beliefs of the ethnic minorities are the source of sports culture here. Buddhism has a very strong mass base on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,so sports culture has a strong Buddhist color. Liberty and informality are the main theme of sports thoughts. The content of sports culture permeates their life. The fourth group of ethnic minorities living in the meadow is nomadic ethnic groups. The nomadic culture is involved in all aspects of their life. The unique diet habits, religious beliefs and other life styles of the nomadic ethnic groups have formed a sports culture dependent on the grassland environment. For example, the Mongolian Horse Racing, Wrestling and Bulu playing, the Tibetan Yak Racing and Elephant Tug-of-War, and other traditional sports of ethnic minorities. All sports reflect the harmony and unity between man and nature and the chivalrous and heroic sports culture. The ethnic minorities here are enthusiastic and created a sports culture with a strong grassland style ofharmony between humans and animals.
In addition to the geographical division, the traditional sports of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities can be divided into three categories: competitive, dancing and recreational.
Among the competitive traditional sports of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities, wrestling and horse racing are more influential. Yi wrestling is widely practiced. Mile’s and Shilin’s Yi areas in Yunnan Province are known as the “hometown of wrestling”. Horse racing is an activity in which both men and women, young and old, can participate in, usually on a falt lawnor a regular circular track . The minority dances in Yunnan Province are rich in content,diverse in form and theme, among which the “dagger dance” and the “shield dance” reflect the theme of war. The “skin drum dance” and “bell dance” derived from the religious rituals ofYunnan’s ethnic minorities; the “reed-pipe dance”, “bronze drum dance”, and “cigarette case dance “, “Lusheng dance”, “bronze drum dance”, and “lantern dance” are designed to express people’s daily production and life. Among them, the “Lusheng dance” is the most popular in Yunnan Province, and it is also called “left foot dance”, “tapping song” or “folded foot dance”. Recreational sports are not as serious and formal as the first two types of sports.People use sports to exercise, entertain, and enrich their cultural life in their spare time.
The representative traditional sports of ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province, such as“bullfight” and “Moqiu”, were created to meet people’s recreational needs. Bullfight, a bull-to-bull fighting, is an indispensable sport in large festivals. People do not directly participate in the fight, but have great fun by watching the competition. Except for bullfight,another popular event among Yunnan’s ethnic minorities is “Moqiu”. This is an interactive game played more often among young people. Many ethnic minorities in China have the habit ofplaying the game, but there is no source to prove which ethnic group created it.
The above classification of minority sports cultures is not absolute, and there are not only crossover and overlap of various types of ethnic sports cultures, but also differences among the same sport. Regardless of the type of ethnic sports culture, it is formed in a certain natural environment with a special natural barrier to isolate other cultures from it. Obviously, the diverse natural environment of ethnic groups and the unique historical background of each ethnic group form a sports culture that is very different from the mainstream sports culture of the society. Because the ethnic sports culture is of ethnic character psychology, production and lifestyle, customs, religious beliefs and other distinctive features ofeach ethnic minority group. In the process ofcontinuous development and change of minority ethnic societies, their sports cultures and social conventions are intertwined and interpenetrated, and they have profoundly and overall influenced the whole process of ethnic societies’ development.