布朗族是我国西南地区一个历史悠久的少数民族，主要分布在云南省西双版纳傣族自治州、临沧市、普洱市等地。这个民族有着丰富多彩的风俗习惯，从日常生活到节庆礼仪，都体现着独特的文化特色。
Customs and Traditions of the Bulang People
The Bulang ethnic group is a historic minority in the southwest of China, mainly distributed in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Lincang City, Pu ‘er City and other places in Yunnan Province.This ethnic group has rich and colorful customs and habits. From daily life to festival etiquette, it all reflects unique cultural characteristics
宗教信仰
布朗族的宗教信仰呈现多元融合的特点。他们既保留了原始的万物有灵信仰，又接受了南传上座部佛教的影响。在布朗族村寨，几乎都建有缅寺，男孩到了七八岁都要入寺为僧，学习傣文和佛经。原始宗教方面，布朗族崇拜山神、水神、火神等自然神灵，每个村寨都有自己的”童神”（寨神），每年都要举行隆重的祭祀活动。
Religious Beliefs
The religious beliefs of the Bulang ethnic group present a characteristic of diverse integration. They not only retained the original animism belief but also were influenced by Theravada Buddhism of the Southern tradition. In Bulang villages, almost all have Burmese monasteries. Boys of seven or eight years old are required to enter the monasteries to become monks and study Dai language and Buddhist scriptures. In terms of primitive religion, the Bulang people worship mountain gods and water gods Each village has its own child deity, including the Fire God and other natural deities.
婚俗习惯
布朗族的婚姻习俗独具特色。青年男女通过”串姑娘”的方式自由恋爱，小伙子们会在夜晚弹着三弦琴到姑娘家楼下唱情歌。婚礼通常要举行两次，第一次是男到女家”从妻居”，待生育子女后再举行第二次婚礼将妻子接回夫家。婚礼上要举行拴线仪式，象征将两人的灵魂系在一起。
Marriage Customs
Bulang marriage practices are distinctive. Young men and women court freely through the custom of “visiting the girls” (chuan guniang), when young men play the three-stringed lute and sing love songs outside a girl’s house at night. Weddings are typically conducted in two stages: first, the husband moves into the wife’s family (uxorilocal residence). After children are born, a second ceremony is held in which the wife formally moves to the husband’s household. The wedding includes the thread-binding ritual, in which elders tie white threads around the wrists of the couple, symbolizing the binding of their souls.
丧葬习俗
布朗族实行土葬为主，火葬为辅的丧葬方式。每个村寨都有公共墓地，按年龄和辈分分区安葬。葬礼上要请佛爷念经超度，并用白线拴住死者拇指，出殡时斩断，象征灵魂脱离肉体。孕妇难产死亡要剖腹取出胎儿分别安葬，以防变成恶鬼害人。
Funeral Customs
Bulang funerary practice is primarily inhumation, supplemented by cremation. Each village maintains a communal cemetery, where burial areas are divided by age and generation. Monks chant sutras to guide the deceased’s soul, while a white thread is tied to the corpse’s thumb and later cut at the funeral procession, symbolizing the soul’s release from the body. Women who die in childbirth undergo posthumous cesarean delivery, with mother and child buried separately, to prevent them from becoming malevolent spirits.
节庆活动
布朗族的节日多与农业生产和宗教信仰相关。最隆重的是”桑刊节”（新年节），与傣族泼水节时间相同，期间要举行浴佛、堆沙、滴水等活动。”冈永节”是祭祀竹鼠的节日，认为竹鼠曾为人类带来谷种。”火把节”则要祭五谷大神，祈求丰收。
Festivals
Bulang festivals are closely linked to agriculture and religion.
- Sangkan Festival (New Year Festival): Coinciding with the Dai Water-Splashing Festival, including rituals such as bathing the Buddha, building sand stupas, and pouring water for blessings.
- Gangyong Festival: A festival for worshipping the bamboo rat, believed to have brought grain seeds to humankind.
- Torch Festival: Held to honor the deity of cereals and pray for abundant harvests.
饮食文化
布朗族喜食酸辣，特色食品包括酸鱼、酸笋和酸茶。他们用竹筒烤茶待客，将茶叶装入竹筒烘烤，制成香气独特的竹筒茶。嚼槟榔染黑齿是布朗族的传统习俗，认为黑牙齿是健康和美丽的象征。
Food Culture
The Bulang people favor sour and spicy flavors. Characteristic dishes include fermented fish, sour bamboo shoots, and sour tea. Guests are offered bamboo-tube roasted tea, in which tea leaves are packed into bamboo and roasted, producing a distinctive aroma. Chewing betel nut, which blackens the teeth, is a longstanding custom, as black teeth are regarded as a sign of health and beauty.
一、人生礼仪
（一）生育习俗
I. Life-Cycle Rites
(1) Birth Customs
- 孕期禁忌：
- 孕妇忌参加婚礼、丧葬仪式
- 忌食祭祀食品和野生动物肉
- 家中火药枪需取出铅弹
Pregnancy Taboos:
- Pregnant women should avoid attending weddings and funeral ceremonies.
- Forbidden to eat sacrificial food or wild animal meat.
- The lead ammunition of the powder gun at home needs to be removed.
- 分娩习俗：
- 胎盘用竹筒装埋于竹篷下
- 脐带干燥后保存作药用
- 门前悬挂带刺植物驱邪
Childbirth Customs:
- The placenta is sealed in a bamboo tube and buried beneath bamboo groves.
- The dried umbilical cord is kept for medicinal use.
- Hang thorny plants in front of the door to ward off evil spirits.
- 产后礼仪：
- 三日洗婴用”金银水”（加入钱币）
- 满月剃头留”魂发”一撮
- 产妇四十天内忌串门
Postpartum Etiquette:
- For three days, the baby is washed with “gold-and-silver water” (water containing coins).
- At one month, the child’s head is shaved, leaving a tuft of “soul hair.”
- Mothers avoid visiting other homes for 40 days.
（二）成年礼
(2) Coming of Age
- 染齿仪式：
- 男女14-15岁时集体举行
- 用红毛树烟灰混合酸果汁染黑牙齿
- 标志获得恋爱权利
Tooth-Dyeing Ceremony:
- At ages 14–15, boys and girls collectively undergo a tooth-dyeing ritual.
- Teeth are dyed black with a mixture of red-tree ash and sour fruit juice.
- Black teeth signify maturity and confer the right to courtship.
- 文身习俗：
- 男子胸背四肢刺几何纹样
- 图案含咒语经文，具护身功能
- 由傣族师傅执针，付银元为酬
Tattoo Custom:
- Boys tattoo geometric patterns tattooed on his chest, back and limbs.
- Designs often include incantations or Buddhist scriptures for protection.
- Tattooing is performed by Dai masters and paid for with silver coins.
（三）婚俗
(3) Marriage
- 恋爱方式：
- “串姑娘”：夜访纺线场，三弦传情
- 花为媒：赠鲜花定情
- 染齿互咬表达爱意
Courtship Practices:
- “Visiting the girls”: Night visit to the spinning mill, expressing emotions through the Sanxian.
- Flowers as a matchmaker: Presenting flowers as a token of love.
- Lovers bite each other’s dyed teeth to express affection.
- 婚礼程序：
- 三次婚礼制：从妻居→生育后→独立成家
- “同槽吃食”：违规婚配者的羞辱仪式
- 拴线礼：长老用白线拴新人手腕
Wedding Procedures:
- Three-stage wedding: uxorilocal residence → after giving birth → starting a family independently
- “Eating from the same trough”: A humiliating ceremony for those who have engaged in illegal marriages.
- Thread-binding: elders tie white strings around the couple’s wrists.
- 特殊婚俗：
- 抢婚：寡妇再嫁的特殊形式
- 转房：兄终弟及的婚姻继承
- 劳役婚：婚前为岳家劳动3年
Special Marriage Customs:
- Snatching marriage: A special form of a widow remarrying.
- Transfer of property: A marital inheritance where the elder brother passes away until the younger brother does.
- Labor service marriage: Working for the mother-in-law’s family for three years before marriage.
（四）丧葬习俗
(4) Funeral Customs
- 葬仪程序：
- 洗尸更衣，口含银粒
- 白布裹尸，竹笆为棺
- 出殡砍断棺上白线，断绝鬼路
Funeral Procedures:
- The corpse is washed and dressed, with silver placed in the mouth.
- Body wrapped in white cloth, placed in a bamboo coffin.
- White cord tied to coffin is cut during the procession, severing the path of spirits.
- 墓地制度：
- 台葬制：老人葬高处，儿童葬低处
- 凶死者另辟坟地
- 僧侣火葬，骨灰装罐
Cemetery System:
- Terrace burials: elderly buried higher up, children lower.
- Victims of violent deaths buried separately.
- Monks cremated, ashes kept in urns.
- 祭祀活动：
- 三日”送饭”至坟前
- 周年祭杀鸡”叫魂”
- 三年除丧，解除禁忌
Sacrificial Practices:
- Food offerings for three days at the grave.
- Anniversary sacrifices with chicken offerings to “call the soul.”
- After three years of mourning, taboos are lifted.
二、生产习俗
（一）农耕礼仪
II. Production Customs
(1) Agricultural Rites
- 祭谷魂：
- 播种前”叫谷魂”仪式
- 收割时留”谷娘穗”
- 仓囤挂”达寮”避邪
The ritual of “summoning the Spirit of the Grain” :
- The “Call the Soul of the Grain” ceremony before sowing
- Leaving a “Mother Ear of Rice” at harvest
- Hanging Daliao charms in granaries.
- 土地祭祀：
- 祭”童山”（寨神林）
- 献”地鬼田”求丰收
- 开荒前鸡骨占卜
Land Worship:
- Offering sacrifices in the Tongshan (Han Shen Forest)
- dedicating “ghost fields” to the earth spirits
- divination with chicken bones before clearing fields.
- 特殊禁忌：
- 忌妇女跨越农具
- 忌雷击木做犁
- 忌属蛇日播种
Special Taboos: Women may not step over farm tools; wood struck by lightning may not be used for plows; sowing forbidden on Snake days.
（二）狩猎规范
(2) Hunting Norms
- 狩猎仪式：
- 出猎前祭”猎神树”
- 猎获物分”兽腿礼”
- 兽头祭山神
Rituals: Sacrificial offerings at the hunting-god tree; The seized items were distributed as “animal leg gifts”; animal heads offered to the mountain god.
- 分配原则：
- 击中者得三分之一
- 参与者均分剩余
- 猎狗享同等份额
Distribution Principle: The shooter receives one-third; the rest shared equally; hunting dogs receive equal portions.
- 特殊禁忌：
- 忌说”无获”等不吉语
- 忌女人触摸猎具
- 忌独食猎物
Special Taboos: Forbidden to say unlucky words like “empty-handed”; women may not touch hunting gear; no hoarding of game.
三、节庆习俗
（一）年节体系
III. Festival Customs
(1) Annual Cycle
- 桑刊节（泼水节）：
- 傣历新年，持续3天
- 浴佛、堆沙、泼水
- 2011年列入国家级非遗
Sangkan Festival (Water-Splashing): Dai calendar New Year, lasting three days. Bathing the Buddha, building sand stupas, splashing water. Recognized in 2011 as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- 关门节/开门节：
- 佛教斋期，持续3个月
- 禁婚嫁、建屋、远行
- 每日赕佛诵经
The Festival of Closing the Door/Opening the Door: The Buddhist fasting period lasts for three months, prohibiting marriages, house-building, and travel. Daily chanting of Buddhist scriptures.
- 火把节：
- 农历六月廿四
- 祭五谷大神
- 火把照田驱虫
Torch Festival: On the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, people worship the Five Grains God with torches to illuminate the fields and drive away pests.
（二）特色节庆
(2) Special Festivals
- 新米节：
- 尝新前先喂牛狗
- 祭祖后方可开镰
- 留”余饭”象征丰足
The New Rice Festival: Before tasting the new rice, feed the cattle and dogs and offer sacrifices to ancestors. Only then can the sickle be harvested to leave “leftover rice”, symbolizing abundance
- 跳会：
- 祭祀观音老母
- 幡伞游村后焚化
- 打歌通宵达旦
Dancing Festival: After the village tour with banners and umbrellas to worship the Mother of Guanyin, the candles are burned and songs are sung all night long
- 接木龙：
- 正月初二祭龙神
- 五色衣乐手巡游
- 祈雨求丰年
Receiving the Wooden Dragon: On the second day of the first lunar month, the Dragon God is worshipped. Five-colored musicians parade around to pray for rain and a bountiful year
四、社会规范
（一）习惯法
IV. Social Norms
(1) Customary Law
- 财产继承：
- 幼子继承祖屋
- 女儿可继承首饰
- 绝户财产归寨
Inheritance of property: The youngest son inherits the ancestral house, the daughter can inherit jewelry, and the lost property is returned to the village
- 纠纷调解：
- 头人主持”洗寨”仪式
- 罚”洗心牛”谢罪
- 饮”和解酒”了结
Dispute Mediation: Village head presides over “village-cleansing” rituals; offenders Offer “Xixinniu” as an apology as a form of punishment; settle with shared “reconciliation wine.”
- 环保规约：
- 神林禁伐猎
- 水源地禁污
- 轮歇耕作制
Environmental Protection Regulations: Prohibition of logging and hunting in the sacred forest, prohibition of pollution in water sources, and rotational farming system
（二）伦理规范
(2) Ethical Norms
- 尊老习俗：
- 吃饭老人先动筷
- 路上遇长者让行
- 火塘边设尊位
Respect for Elders: Elders eat first; when encountering an elderly person on the road, youngsters give way; seats of honor by the Chinese fireplace reserved for seniors.
- 互助传统：
- 建房全寨帮工
- 婚丧互助”凑份”
- 孤寡集体供养
Mutual Assistance Tradition: All the workers in the village help build houses, contribute money as a share at weddings and funerals, and provide collective support for the lonely and the elderly
- 道德禁忌：
- 忌偷盗欺骗
- 忌通奸乱伦
- 忌亵渎神灵
Moral Taboos: Do not steal or deceive; do not commit adultery or incest; do not desecrate deities
五、信仰习俗
（一）原始信仰
V. Belief Systems
(1) Indigenous Beliefs
- 自然崇拜：
- 祭拜神山圣水
- 供奉大青树
- 敬畏雷火
Nature Worship: worshipping sacred mountains and waters, offering sacrifices to the big green tree, and revering thunder and fire
灵魂观念：
- 人有32魂
- “叫魂”治病
- 梦兆吉凶
The concept of the soul: A person has 32 souls. Dreaming of “calling the soul” to treat illness is an omen of good or bad fortune
- 占卜习俗：
- 鸡骨卜
- 米卦
- 蜡条卜
Divination customs: Chicken bone divination, rice divination, and wax stick divination
（二）佛教影响
(2) Buddhist Influence
- 赕佛活动：
- 赕坦（献经书）
- 赕帕（献袈裟）
- 赕萨拉（献冥房）
Buddhist activities: Dan tan (offering scriptures) Dan pa (offering a robe) Dan Sa La (Offering Underworld Room)
- 僧侣制度：
- 男子短期出家
- 佛爷参与命名
- 大佛爷还俗姓称”康朗”
Monastic System: For men who temporarily became monks, the Buddha participated in naming them. The Great Buddha returned to lay life and was given the surname “Kanglang”.
- 佛教节日：
- 浴佛节
- 毫干节
- 摆爽节
Buddhist Festivals: Buddha Bathing Festival, Haogan Festival and Baishuang Festival
六、饮食习俗
（一）日常饮食
VI. Food Customs
(1) Daily Diet
- 主食结构：
- 旱谷为主食
- 辅以玉米薯类
- 嗜酸喜辣
Staple food structure: Dry grains are the staple food, supplemented by corn and tubers. They have a preference for sour and spicy flavors
- 特色食品：
- 酸笋煮鸡
- 螃蟹剁生
- 包烧鲜鱼
Special Dishes: Pickled bamboo shoots, chicken, crab, chopped raw buns, and braised fresh fish
- 饮食禁忌：
- 忌食猫蛇肉
- 佛斋日禁荤
- 产妇忌生冷
Dietary taboos: Avoid eating cat and snake meat. Do not consume meat on Buddha’s fasting days. Postpartum women should avoid raw and cold foods
（二）宴饮礼仪
(2) Banquet Etiquette
- 待客习俗：
- 必奉”迎客酒”
- 鸡头敬贵宾
- 少女敬烟茶
Hospitality custom: Guests must be served “welcome wine”; chicken heads reserved for honored guests; young women serve tea and tobacco.
- 特殊食俗：
- “拼饭”野餐
- 嚼槟榔
- 竹筒传酒
Special Food Customs: Collective meals (Pinfan picnics), betel chewing, communal bamboo-tube drinking.
- 祭祀食品：
- 糯米粑杷
- 染色米饭
- 全牲供奉
Ritual Foods: Glutinous rice cakes, dyed rice, whole-animal sacrifices.