Introduction

According to the sixth census of China in 2010, the population of the Pumi people is totally 42,861 and 97.99% of them live in Yunnan Province. The Pumi people originally belonged to one of nomadic tribes on the Tibetan Plateau, but they gradually moved southward to Sichuan in the 8th century or so. In the middle of the 13th century, the chieftain of this group took all clansmen to join the Mongolian army, following Kublai Khan into Yunnan. They describe themselves as “Pumi”, which is the phonetic translation of“white beings” in the Pumi language, since they admire white color and consider it as an epitome ofauspiciousness.

The Pumi people universally live off agriculture. More than 90% oftheir arable land is in the mountains and few are paddy fields. They are basically in a state of self-sufficiency by means of the natural economy. As a former nomadic group, the Pumi people are proficient at raising and grazing animals. Therefore, animal husbandry plays an essential role in their productive activities and life. In addition, picking fruits and hunting are the parts of the economic life ofthe Pumi society.

The Pumi villages are usually composed of several clans, each one of which has its own gods of mountains, trees and dragons. They hold common sacrificial activities for the gods. Every clan also has its own cemetery, forest, wasteland and pasture to be used by all members. Dominated by the concept of clans, the members are supposed to participate in major activities oftheir society collectively.

The majority ofthe Pumi people believe in the primitive beliefs, while a few ofthem are the believers ofTaoism^[25] and Tibetan Buddhism. Han’gui religion is the key one among the primitive beliefs ofthe Pumi.

The Pumi people also give much prominence to the education of their children, with a comprehensive content ranging from labor, customary law to morality. The education for the children is valued as a fine tradition by every Pumi family and the whole village. Holding a rite at puberty for children with the age of 13 is a crucial social education: the date ofthe rites is set on the night ofthe the New Year’s Eve. At that time, the children gather together and play with each other all night. When roosters crow in the next morning, they will return home and attend the further activities.