Hani nationality is one of the ancient nationalities in the southwest frontier of China, calling themselves Hani, Kaduo, Yani, Bjor, Budu and Baihong. Among them, Yuanjiang, Mojiang, Honghe, Yuanyang, Jinping, Lu Chun, Jiangcheng and other counties in Ailao Mountain area are the areas with the most concentrated Hani population.
At first, the Hani people did not have their own written language. 1957, they adopted Latin alphabet, took Hanitz dialect of Haya dialect as the basic dialect, and took the pronunciation of hani language in Dazhai, Luchun County as the standard pronunciation, thus creating a written language scheme for Hani people.
Housing form
There are generally dozens of Hani villages, ranging from 300 to 400. In Ailao Mountain on the south bank of the Red River, the Hani people build houses with civil structures, which are called "earth barrier houses". This kind of house has solid earth walls and thick grass roofs. This kind of grass roof can not only shelter from the wind and rain, but also make the house warm in winter and cool in summer, and it is ventilated and dry.
Because of the high humidity and serious atmosphere in Ailaoshan area, the first floor of the house directly on the ground is not suitable for people to live in, and it is mostly used for raising livestock.
The second floor is inhabited. There is a fire pit on the living room floor, which is built into a square with earth. Some people still cook by the fire pit. The wall of this floor separates several rooms for people to live in, usually homeowners, couples and children.
The third floor is the top floor, which is used for stacking and storing grain. The mushroom-shaped roof makes it have good ventilation effect, and food and other items are not easy to get wet, so it is suitable for preservation.