Cultural and Communication Patterns

Class One Nil·Lopéz 0601207

As I have mentioned, I belong to the cultural group named “Lahu”, one of 56 nationalities of China. With the large number of Han nationality moving into the Lahu area, we have got the benefits of the advanced culture, manufacturing technique and manufacturing tools, hence the economic and cultural exchanges have become increasingly frequent. We Lahus have our own cultures clearly differed from the others, in both obvious and subtle ways.

Lahu is a term in our national language, “la” means the “tiger” and “hu” means “ to roast the meat”; and then, the name “Lahu” has reflected that we have retained the roasted meat as a long-stand eating customs to some extent. Today, we still use two bamboo sticks to clamp the meat coated with spices and salt and slowly bake the meat over the fire pond, which helps to produce the tasty roasted meat tinted with a nice barbecue color, as “Soft fire makes sweet malt”, or wrap the beast meat with plantain leaves and bury the stuff into the fire. The creation is crisp, tasty ,if accompanied by spicy and hot seasonings, it would provide a perfect appetizer. In the daily life, Lahus like to put vegetables, meat and seasonings along with water into a section of fresh thin bamboo mug, thus the food can gain the faint scent of the bamboo and retain its own original flavor.

In addition to that, we Lahu costumes have a unique national style. Men wrap a black turban, wearing big lappet shirt without collar and big wide trousers. Women wrap the ten-feet long turban, whose ends would trail to the waist; they wear robes of a high open seam, both sides of the collar and seam inlaid with colored geometric profile cloth or pieces of cloth stripes, along the collar to the seamed sections there are several inlaid silver bubbles. Lahu men and women used to like to close shave the head, but unmarried women do not shave, while married women have to leave a tress of hair said to be “the hair of soul” to show the distinction between male and female. Most young women now have let their hair grow and braided, while the Lahu women living in remote mountain areas obey shaving customs, because they believe it is healthy, comfortable, and also a symbol of beauty. Both men and women wear silver chaplets, earrings, bracelets, and most women also wear the silver breastplates.

Despites these obvious differences, there are more shared interpretations to disclose:

I．                       Cultural value orientations

An activity orientation defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities. Lahu culture is with a “being” orientation, most Lahus believe that all events are determined by fate and are therefore inevitable. It is quite important to be engaged in activities in order to be a “good” member of Lahu, which helps to enhance the sense of community and solidarity. Interpersonal communication is characterized by being together rather than by accomplishing specific tasks, and there is generally greater balance between work and play. After hunting, the trophies would be distributed to each family to ensure that everyone can get the “lucky portion”. However, more and more aggressive youngsters have been performing with a “becoming” or “doing” orientation to step out the mountain areas and breathe in the modern air outside. As a highly educated college student, I have gradually adapted to the Shanghai life, recognized the benefits and fun that accumulation and proliferation of knowledge. I have noticed that “doing” is the dominant characteristic of Han people. Some of my fellow students are locals, the so called Shanghailanders. They see work and study as a separate activity from play and an end in itself. Once a peer from Shanghai told me she would go abroad to grasp every opportunity to study and experience, whereas I don’t think I would do this when I am still a student, lacking of money and support. They are living in a striving culture, always seek to change and control what is happening to them. I have to admit that some of them over perform students from other regions; they keep fighting on, working hard and not giving up.

As to the social relations orientation, respecting and loving the elderly is our universal moral norms. Their beds are set up in the warmest area of a house; they are certainly the ones who sit in the middle of the dinner table; the younger people should not walk back and forth in front of them; and no one is supposed to interrupt them while they are giving a speech. Even the young village chief should show utmost respect towards the elderly, otherwise, he will have the difficulty winning the trust and support. Once any emergency turns up, the whole village comes to help, no matter it is during daily production and life, or building a house, holding weddings and funerals. If there is any occasional friction or misunderstanding of neighbors or between friends, the delivery of a grass cigar or a cup of wine will enough to make it up. No gossips. The selfish villain is undesirable. Although people from other cultures behave partly the same over social relations orientation, the people from Shanghai, like most Han people, don’t attach so much importance on the elderly. They do respect and love the old members, but they won’t consider them better or superior to others merely because of their ages. In Shanghai, the city consists of Han people in most part, the intellectuals and talents count and talk. What’s more, Caution or moderation, as in behavior or outlook, is avoided. They believe “The early bird catches the worm”, and not so highly value that saving face and maintaining interpersonal harmony would be catastrophic to confront another person directly and verbally express anger; they prefer independence and a minimum number of obligations and responsibilities. Ever time, they want to show their face and stand on their own feet.

Self-orientation describes how people’s identities are formed, whether the culture views the self as changeable, what motivates individual actions, and the kinds of people who are valued and respected. When a Lahu baby is born, he is taught to be a Lahu, to behave as a Lahu,, whereas many Han people, especially the children born in Shanghai, are encouraged to make their own decisions and thus attain some uniqueness subconsciously. Lahu live in mountain because our ancestors find mountain areas a perfect place to reproduce and live a serene life, whereas most Han people strive to be “better” because they believe people can change, and they set their own goals and identify the means necessary to achieve external success in the form of possessions, positions, and  the power. But once an emergency turns up, all the Lahus will come to help because we think it is our duty to help each other with a powerful motivator. Will the Han people do the same thing under the same circumstances?

Cultural pattern also tells Lahu people how to locate ourselves in relation to the spiritual world, nature, and other living things. We live in an interactive state with the natural and spiritual world. Especially in our tea culture, we hold that we are blessed by Nature with tea and only people with inherent talent can infuse a nice cup of tea. The god has blessed us with verdant hills and green waters, and the disease, poverty, and adversity is the punishment from god, we can release ourselves from the grief with more sacrifice and more obedience. Whereas Han people, as the most European Americans, regard nature as something to be manipulated and controlled in order to make human life better.

We conceptualize time differently from Han people. We describe the past as most important and are fully aware that we are indebted to our ancestors. Almost all the big festivals are dedicated to memorizing their great deeds. Our pace of life is less hectic, more relaxed and more comfortably paced. Thus, Han people who always look forward and emphasize the future live a high-paced life and have enjoyed a more modernized life than us.

II．                   Verbal communication norms

As we know, language plays a central role in establishing and maintaining the identity of a particular culture. Lahu language is a rare language used by minority residents in Lahu Autonomous Counties on China's Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau along the Lancang(Mekong) River. Lahu language is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family that includes Tibetan and Burmese, mainly distributes in Simao(Pu’er tea’s hometown), Lincang and Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous region of Yunnan Province. Lahu-na and Lahu-hee are the two dialectal branches. It is also spoken in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. Lahu language has 29 consonants: p, ph, b, m, f, v, t, th, d, n, l, etc. (In the past, Lahu people used the text in Latin alphabet form created by the Western missionaries. In 1957, the Lahu Pinyin text was created on the basis of the original text.). As Lahu people have long established close contacts with Han and Dai people, most of the Lahu people can also use Chinese and Dai languages.

 Most Lahus believe in Christianity. If lucky, you can hear we sing hymns in the Lahu language with the sincere voice. The villagers’ singing is very beautiful. In the quartette, there are high yet sweet voices from girls and the relatively low voices from men. Due to the belief, I do not think there is any disharmony, but the kind of unusual beauty. But in some pop music in Han culture, the deafening rock and roll usually makes me sick.

No one ought to say inauspicious words especially on the first day of Lunar New Year; beating and scolding dogs is strongly prohibited because we believe the dogs had saved our ancestors. In contrast, Han people won’t prohibit any utterance sedulously.

What’s more, Lahu is rich in oral literature, there is a branch called "Tuo Puke" (riddle)in poetry is deeply loved by the mass.

III．                Nonverbal communication norms

Lahu is a very warm-hearted and hospitable nation. On holidays and festivals, we would invite Dai, Hani, Brown and other majorities around to a grand dinner, drinking together and having “unity meals”. While contacting with each other, Lahu people look directly into each other’s eyes to express the affection and respect. But Han people won’t always look into other’s eyes during the conversation to show their own respect. As a minority, Lahu express their feelings more directly than Han people. To a Han member, a handshake can seem like trespassing if you are meeting for the first time; whereas to a Lahu member, anything less than a hug may come across as chilliness.

IV．                Relational communication norms

If there are any guests coming to Lahus’ houses, we are to propose a toast with the latest tea. On proposing, generally, the host will drink the first bowl, and then the second bowl is dedicated to the guests to show the good faith that the tea is non-toxic, so that guests are assured. Male and female guests, even they are couple, can not live in the same room while putting up. Outsiders are not allowed to enter the Lahu people's bedrooms. Fire pond is the core of the Lahu families, so you are not leap over it or stampede on the tripod and supporting stone. Lahu people put the respect for the elderly in the premier place: the first bowl of rice is first dedicated to the elderly when having dinner; similarly, we propose the firs toast the aged person. Young people and outsiders can not sit in the middle, where the elderly sits. In addition, the Lahus are Commit no nuisance under the tree (some people living in the remote areas are to do so).

During the Torch Festival, one of the most solemn traditional festivals of Lahu, people will hold the lighted torch to the fields, holding the ceremony of cereal soul. When you come across a Lahu family, you are not to talk with them, otherwise you will are thought to disturb the gods and the ghosts. What’s more, during the Torch Festival, the outsiders are not allowed into the stockade. Once a Han man came to visit a Lahu village on the Torch Festival, the usually warm-hearted Lahu people behaved coldly, which was interpreted as coolness by this Han man. What bad cross cultural communication!

High mountains, long distance from the roads, poverty, and the backwardness, those were the features of Lahu areas several years ago. (It took three days even from Kunming to the Lancang County by coach.) In term of population, there are more than 30 million Lahus. However, the number of Lahu literates is very small, not to mention the number of Lahu college students. People almost can not see the report of the Lahu culture through newspapers, radio or television stations. Lahus are looking forward to one day when someone come to understand the Lahu, to publicize the Lahu, hence let the whole China, the whole world learn that there is a minority called Lahu on the high mountain cottage in Yunnan Province.

In order to improve our intercultural competence, we Lahu should learn more about the outside and let the outside learn more about us!