the Dai nationality is one of the ethnic minorities in China. Dai people mainly live in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, dehong autonomous prefecture, Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County, Menglian Dai and Lahu (hù) Wa Autonomous County, Jinggu Dai and Wa Autonomous County, Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County, and in Jingdong, Pu 'er, Simao, Tengchong, Longling, Shuangjiang and Ximeng. Scattered in most parts of Yunnan. Dai people usually like to live in large river basins, dam areas and tropical areas. Most of them live by the water in the valley dam areas of Nujiang River, Lancang River, Jinsha River and Red River basins. There are Jinghong Dam, Menghai Dam, Mengzheba, Menglong Dam and Menghan Dam in Xishuangbanna, and Menghuan Dam (mangshi), Mengnaba Dam (Yingjiang), Mengmao Dam (Ruili), Mengdi Dam (Lianghe) and Mengwan Dam (Longchuan) in Dehong. According to the national census in 26, the Dai population in China is 1.26 million. The Dai nationality has a long history, and has a close relationship with Zhuang, Dong, Shui, Buyi, Li, Maonan and Gelao, all of whom are descendants of Baiyue nationality. It has the same sub-regions, economic life, cultural customs and national characteristics, and still retains a large number of cognates and the same grammatical structure in language. Dai nationality is a cross-border ethnic group, which is closely related to Shan (Dai) in Myanmar, Lao's main ethnic group, Thai's main ethnic group and Ahongdai in Assam, India. The total population of Dai (Tai and Shan) in the world is over 6 million. Most Dai people call themselves "Dai" and "Tai", and he is called "Shan" and "Asa".

Religious belief

Almost all Dai people believe in Buddhism spread from the south to the upper seat, especially those over 4 years old, who are bound to practice in the shack, take part in settling down in the summer for three months every year, and chant Buddhist scriptures. In Dai language, Buddhism is called "Sasana", and the ancestor of Sakyamuni, Jodharma Siddhartha, is called "Gondama". In Xishuangbanna, Jinggu and other places, Dai men have to become monks for a period of time and learn Dai language, Buddhism, astronomy and geography in Buddhist temples. People think that only those who have been monks in the temple can be considered educated. Therefore, only men who have been monks can get the favor of girls. A little boy with a good family entered the Buddhist temple at the age of seven or eight, and returned to the secular after three or five years. When they were dressed in new clothes, escorted by their relatives, boasted and beaten, and entered the Buddhist temple amid the laughter of everyone, they proudly thought that they had begun to get the protection of the Buddha and could grow into useful people. Then they shaved off their hair, put on cassock, and began to read the scriptures calmly, learn culture and earn their own living. Now, because of the nine-year compulsory education, little boys go to school to learn Chinese and other scientific knowledge during the day and study Dai culture in Buddhist temples at night, which is very hard. Some people finish high school, go to work after graduating from college, and then take a week or a month off to study in the temple. After returning home, he is still a "Kang Lang", that is, a secular monk. The Dai people in Dehong and its surrounding areas have not returned to the common situation after entering the temple as monks.

national culture

calendar Dai people have more than a thousand years of old Dai literature and ancient Bayeux sutra. Dai people have their own unique calendar. The difference between Dai calendar and Gregorian calendar is 638 years, that is, 639 years of Gregorian calendar is the first year of Dai calendar. The year of Dai calendar is solar year, but the month is lunar month. The Dai calendar is divided into three seasons, with the cold season from January to April, the hot season from May to August and the rainy season from September to December. September is a leap month every three years, and this calendar is still commonly used in Thailand and Myanmar. Literature The development of Dai literature can be roughly divided into four stages: one is the period when ancient songs, myths and creation epics came into being and developed; The second is the period of the formation and prosperity of heroic epics, legends and ballads; Third, the period of the rise and prosperity of stories and narrative poems; Fourth, the new literature flourished. The famous "Ancient Songs of the Dai Nationality" contains 3 ancient songs of the Dai nationality, which reflects the production activities and living conditions of the ancestors of the Dai nationality in primitive times. Myths about the origin of heaven and earth include "Ying Ba opens the world", "Ancient Lotus" and "Fei Mei Gapa", etc. Myths about the origin of human beings include "Gourd Man", "Gourd Lays Eggs", "Human Fruit" and "Dirty Clay Fighter", flood myth includes "Gourd Descendants" and totem myth includes "Bird Girl". Epics include Batamaga Pengshang Luo, Changed Zagongpa (Ancient Lotus), The Wood Crossing, and The Origin of Everything in the World. The heroic epic is Li Feng. Ballads are mainly love songs, custom songs, labor songs and nursery rhymes. Dai people love poetry very much, especially long narrative poems. The introduction of Buddhism and the creation of Dai language laid the foundation for the prosperity of narrative poetry. Dai folk artists accept, translate and spread foreign Buddhist literature, and at the same time absorb Dai folk stories and create a large number of long folk narrative poems. According to research, there are as many as 55 Ayi narrative poems (that is, the practice stories of Buddha's reincarnation with the Buddha's origin as the core content). Generally speaking, the common narrative poems of the Dai people are The Golden Frog, The Pocket, The Big Leaf, The Golden Antelope, The Sweet Valley, The Sour Fish, The Eyes of Twelve Princes, etc.