“Ah Jie, I tell you the saying that we have about the ethnic minorities of Guilin,” Xiaohuang was keen to introduce me to the territorial politics of the province, “ages ago, the different ethnicities fought for land. It is said that those who won the battles took the flatlands. And the Han majority and the Zhuang minority did that. The runner up took the mid mountain areas, and that’s the Yao minority. Finally, the losers were relegated to the top mountainous areas, and that’s the Dong minority.”

In accordance with ethnic minority customs, the people of Guilin call each other Ah Ge (older brother) and Ah Jie (older sister) as a way to respectfully address each other. Xiaohuang himself is a Zhuang minority, one that has, in great numbers, assimilated into the mainstream culture of Guangxi.

The Long Hair Village of the Yao Minority

It would take a good two hours to reach the mountainous region in Longsheng from Guilin City. In the mid-range of the Longji mountains, we arrived first at the Yao ethnic minority village of Huangluo, also known as the Long Hair Village.

This particular village of the Yao Minority is also a Hongyao village, referring to the fact that the traditional clothes are red, “hong,” in Chinese. Hongyao is a branch of the Yao minority. Of the 13 villages in the Longji mountains, there is only one of the Yao minority, and it is this Hongyao village.

Three Bundles of Hair for Tying the Buns of the Yao Minority Women

The Long Hair Village fully lives up to its name. Just exactly how long is the women’s hair? It is said that the out of the 60 families in Hongyao, about 60 women have hair as long as 1 meter. The longest hair is 1.7 meters.

The Yao minority women all wear their large buns in a distinctive style. The way they dress their hair is an identifying feature of the women of Huangluo Yao Village. There are three ways that the women tie their buns. The maidens have one style of putting their bun together, wrapping all their hair with a black cloth and never showing the bun itself.

The married women have the “screw” style, with their hair twisted like a screw and resting on top of their heads. Finally, the Huangluo women that have given birth will show their bun on the foreheads. This is namely the proudest hairstyle for the women of Huangluo Village.

Their traditional appearance is especially photogenic for this reason. If you would like to see the actual long hair, by their letting down their hair and then tying their buns, the only such opportunity is at the Yao minority dance show.

My Aunt and I did query whether the hairdo was made up fully with real hair, or if there were some tricks or some wig involved in making the voluminous bun. As it was explained to us, the hair of the women of the Long Hair Village is real, as in all the hair that makes up their buns. They do have a wig, and the wig consists of their own hair.

In the lifetime of the women in the Long Hair Village, they only cut their hair once. When they come of age at around 16 to 18 years, they will have the only haircut of their lives. That bundle of hair will stay with them for life as part of their “wig.” Then they will wear their natural hair and let it grow throughout their lives. The third bundle of hair is the hair that they shed. They collect it as also the “wig” for their big buns. When tying their buns, all three bundles of hair is woven together to form its amazing shape.

The long hair lies front and center as a defining feature of the Long Hair Village because the villagers believe that long hair signifies longevity and wealth.

Hair Care for the Yao Minority Women

There is a Chinese saying that “the hair is three thousand strands of trouble.” For a village of long haired women, the way they care for their hair is a well sought-after secret. Such secret has been turned into an economic opportunity. There is a research / factory facility at the village that produces hair care products that are based on the way that the women used natural resources to care for their hair.

Suffice to say, the aged-old wisdom in maintaining their hair is in the rice water. The women of Huangyao wash their hair about once every three days or so with fermented rice water. The research facility discovers that it is the bifida ferment lysate in rice water that keeps the hair healthy and strong.

Matriarchy of the Yao Minority

Properly speaking, the Yao minority is both a matriarchal and matrilineal society. Being matriarchal, the village is run by women, with them making the most important social and economic decisions. Being matrilineal, the village children take the mother’s last name.

In a practice known as “running marriage” (zouhun), the men would climb up a long pole that leads to the maiden’s bedroom at night. He would woo her and if she likes him, they would spend the night together. The children that are born of this union would be part of the women’s lineage. Zouhun was a custom in a number of ethnic minority communities in southwestern China.

The way that zouhun fits into the established culture of a matriarchal society is that there is no formal marriage binding either party. Both in terms of their personal independence and livelihood, neither the man nor the woman is deemed to have a privileged (or exclusive) position with or the responsibility for each other.

However, the Hongyao village do celebrate proper marriages now, and their group weddings are featured in the Hongyao dance show.

Photo: This long wooden pole at the village’s century-old house shows how a man who had successfully wooed a woman would climb up to her bedroom at night for zouhun. The pole has been preserved for the sake of demonstration only now. The long hair of the Yao women evokes the fairytale of Rapunzel.

The Environment at the Huangluo Yao Village

The Sangjiang River flows along the Huangluo Village. The Sangjiang River is the lifeline for the mountainous economy during the summertime, when the tides are high and tourists can participate in river water sports. Xiaohuang told me that all the structures of the villages are built of wood, without one piece of nail. That enables the villagers to disassemble their homes in times of flood, then move upstream to reestablish their livelihood after a significant flood event. It sounded a little incredible to me (removing the whole house?!).

Despite its low level at this time of the year, the water is pristine. The air was crisp with generous sunshine upon our shoulders.

Somehow I thought this village is reminiscent of some rural Japanese villages that also have wooden houses.

I was indeed pleasantly surprised by the environment of the Huangluo village. When we were finished touring all the sites, we walked back to the restaurant area along and across this river.

There was significant effort to transform this landscape. Well-structured stone slabs indicated the way through the river. We had a close encounter with nature there. It came as no surprise that we spotted quite a few fish and some waterfowls in this river.

What impressed me particularly in this environment is the fact that the hair care research and production facility is right by the river, and yet there is not one hint of pollution despite the industry. I was truly impressed, because someone was thoughtful with how an economic activity that benefits the native population must be done with a keen concern for the environment in which these same people live. I find that to be exceedingly admirable.

Food and Dining at the Long Hair Village

Like all tourist sites in China, there is never lack of choices for food and dining. At the Huangluo Long Hair Village, we found a surprising gem of Barn Coffee.

It serves “real” coffee, nothing of those instant powder coffee that is usually the only option in remote places in China. They have a real espresso machine with coffee grinding function.

As with always, we went to the restaurant that Xiaohuang recommended here. The food was truly good. But perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of dining in the village was being able to eat by the river with great views.

Sources

Kknew.cc, Longsheng’s Long Hair Village of the World, the Secret of Long Hair of the Women of Hongyao (Chin).

Baidu’s Baike on zouhun (Chin).