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| The She's phoenix totem |
I was more than a little confused
by both the essays I received; however, they both turned out to be very
interesting. The second one of the two described
her minority’s customs and traditions.
I thought something was lost in translation when my correspondent,
Evelyn, referred to her minority as feminine calling it “She”. Regardless, I thought it was intriguing the
way she referred to her culture as a minority as well as by the culture itself.
As I started to research a number
of things came to my attention. First of
all, when I think of minorities I think typically of percents of population
based on skin color; in China the government has recognized 55 official ethnic
minorities. Evelyn’s minority is She Zu,
they are sometimes referred to as the she people. Suddenly it made sense why Evelyn referred to
her minority as she.
The She have a number of interesting
beliefs and customs. “The She people believe in the power of ancestors
and totems. “(China She Ethnic Minority:
Life Style, Economy, Crafts). Evelyn also
mentioned totems in her paper saying “Our totem is a phoenix which stands for
the beautiful women.” Singing is also prevalent
in the She culture and is used to find life partners.
After reading
Evelyn’s essay I was confused but very curious; after researching her minority I
even more curious about her minority as well as China’s 54 others. I don’t know what my opinion is of their
culture is other than it is very interesting.
I think it is slightly strange that the She choose who marry by their
singing voice, but it is just a different way of living: not better or worse,
just different.
Evelyn. “My minority – “she zu”.
2014. TS. Qingdao University, n.p.
"China She
Ethnic Minority: Life Style, Economy, Crafts." China She Ethnic Minority: Life Style, Economy, Crafts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/she/
