Pumi people 普米族
Pumi people 普米族, numbered about 35,000, are one of the officially recognized ethnic group of China. Ethnically related to the Tibetans the Pumi live in the Yunnan regions of Lanping 兰坪县, Ninglang 宁蒗县, Lijiang Old Town 丽江县, Yulong 玉龙, Weixi 维西县 and Yongshing counties. They share these regions, which are all over 9,000 feet in elevation, with other minority ethnic groups in SW China. Originally, they lived as nomads inhabiting the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Later, they moved to the warmer areas along valleys within the Hengduan Mountain Range in the 4th century B.C. By the 14th Century they finally migrated to the present area and settled down as farmers and landlords. Land holdings were a major part of the Pumi's economy until 1949 when they had to give up all their lands and share them with others.
Pumi speak a Prinmi language belongs to Qiangic family. They used the Tibetan script once as they were moving southward, however, today they adopted the Chinese writings. Because of their constant contact with the Tibetans the Pumi adopted the Tibetan school of Buddhism, along with the older practice of Bon. Almost all Pumi villages have their own local mountain gods, which are worshiped during festive seasons. They also have various ancestral worships.
Official portrait of a Pumi family
Distribution of Pumi people in northwestern Yunnan
"The Judgement on the Horseback" a recent released movie about the lives of Pumi with the river Nujiang as the backdrop
Nujiang, the mother river for many ethnic groups in China. The river will be named the Salween River once it crosses the border of Myanmar
Nanping Bai and Pumi Autonomous County where many Pumi live
A Pumi musical instrument
A wind musical instrument maker
Pumi carry baskets