Bouyei people

Bouyei
buxQyaix

Total population
(2,971,460 (2000))
Regions with significant populations
China  Vietnam 2,273 (2009)[1]
Religion
Shigongism (Moism), Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Zhuang

Bouyei minority Shitou village, west Guizhou

A Bouyei woman in front of her house

The Bouyei (also spelled Puyi, Buyei and Buyi; self called: Buxqyaix [puʔjai], or "Puzhong", "Burao", "Puman"; Chinese: 布依族; Pinyin: Bùyīzú; Vietnamese: người Bố Y) are an ethnic group living in southern mainland China. Numbering 2.5 million, they are the 11th largest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Some Bouyei also live in Vietnam, where they are one of that nation's 54 officially recognized ethnic groups. Despite the Chinese considering them a separate group, they consider themselves Zhuang (Tai peoples).

The Bouyei live in semi-tropical, high-altitude forests of Guizhou province, as well as in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, and speak a Tai language.

Names

The Bouyei consist of various subgroups. Below are their autonyms written in the International Phonetic Alphabet with numerical Chao tones.^[2]

• pu42 ʔjɐi42 濮越
• pu42 ʔji22 濮夷
• pu42 noŋ31 布侬
• pu42 loŋ31 补笼
• pu42 na31 布那
• pu42 tu42 布土、布都
• pu42 ʔjaŋ33 布央
• pu42 zoŋ31 xa35 布笼哈

Some clans within the Bouyei groups include:

• pu42 wu42 布武
• pu42 wei31 布韦
• pu42 lo24 布鲁

In Congjiang County, Guizhou, there is a group that refer to themselves as "Buyeyi 布也益", but are officially classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Zhuang.^[3]

Distribution

In China by county

County-level distribution of the Bouyei, from the 2000 Chinese census

(Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >0.1% of China's Bouyei population.)

In Vietnam

Province-level distribution of the Bố Y, from the 2009 Census

Language

The Bouyei speak the Bouyei language, which is very close to Standard Zhuang language. There is a dialect continuum between these two. The Bouyei language has its own written form which was created by linguists in the 1950s based on the Latin alphabet and with spelling conventions similar for the Pinyin system that had been devised to romanise Mandarin Chinese.

History

The Bouyei are the native Tai peoples of the plains of Guizhou. They are one of the oldest peoples of China, living in the area for more than 2,000 years. Prior to the establishment of the Tang dynasty, the Bouyei and Zhuang were linked together; the differences between both ethnic groups grew greater and from year 900 already they were two different groups. The Qing dynasty abolished the system of local heads and commanded in its place to officials of the army which caused a change in the local economy; from then on, the land was in the hands of a few landowners, which caused the population to revolt. During the Nanlong Rebellion of 1797, the Bouyei underwent a strong repression that caused many of them to emigrate to faraway Vietnam.

See also

• List of ethnic groups in China
• List of ethnic groups in Vietnam

References

• Yù Cuìróng 喻翠容: Bùyīyǔ jiǎnzhì 布依语简志 (Introduction to the Buyi language; Beijing, Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社 1980).
• Wú Qǐlù 吴启禄: Bùyī-Hàn cídiǎn 布依汉词典 (Bouyei–Chinese dictionary; Beijing, Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社 2002), ISBN 7-105-04965-0.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buyei.

• The Bouyei ethnic minority (government homepage, in English)
• Buxqyaix Qyusmail – 布依在线 (Bouyei online, in Bouyei and Chinese)
• 僚人全民概况 (Outline of the whole Liao [Rao, Lao, Tai] people)
• Bouyei language page (from Ethnologue site)
• 布依族网论坛 (the forum of Bouyei, in Bouyei and Chinese, the biggest site of Bouyei in China)
• Map share of ethnic by county of China

Ethnic groups in China
Sino-Tibetan	Sinitic Han Bai Hui Burmic Achang Hani Jino Lahu Lisu Nu Yi Qiangic Nakhi Pumi Qiang Others Derung Jingpo Lhoba Monpa Tibetan Tujia
Austroasiatic	Blang Gin Palaung Va
Hmong-Mien	Miao Hmong She Yao
Mongolic	Bonan Daur Dongxiang Mongol Monguor Yugur
Tai-Kadai	Bouyei Dai Dong Gelao Li Maonan Mulao Sui Zhuang
Tungusic	Evenk Manchu Nanai Oroqen Xibe
Turkic	Kazakh Kyrgyz Salar Tatar Uyghur Uzbek Yugur
Unrecognized	Lai Deng Gejia Utsul Khmu Macanese Mang Jews
Others	Filipinos Gaoshan Japanese Koreans Russian Tajik
Unrecognized ethnic groups in China · Immigrant ethnic groups in China · Historic ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Vietnam by language family

Vietic Chứt Mường Thổ Việt (Kinh) Tai–Kadai Bố Y Giáy Lào Lự Nùng Sán Chay Tày Thái Cờ Lao La Chí La Ha Pu Péo Hmong–Dao Dao H'Mông Pà Thẻn   Non-Vietic Austroasiatic Ba Na Brâu Bru-Vân Kiều Chơ Ro Co Cờ Ho Cơ Tu Giẻ Triêng Hrê Kháng Khơ Me Khơ Mú Mạ Mảng M'Nông Ơ Đu Rơ Măm Tà Ôi Xinh Mun Xơ Đăng Xtiêng Chinese Hoa Ngái Sán Dìu   Malayo-Polynesian Chăm Chu Ru Ê Đê Gia Rai Ra Glai Tibeto-Burman Cống Hà Nhì La Hủ Lô Lô Phù Lá Si La Other Indian Japanese Korean Jewish Nigerian