Meet the nomadic music and dressing culture of China’s Naxi minority

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The Naxi minority is one of China’s 55 national minorities. It has developed beautiful unique music and dressing culture which is deeply rooted in their long history of the nomadic life.

Mainly inhabiting in Yunnan Province in southern China, the Naxi people live on farming and stockbreeding. With a rough population of 320,000, the ethnic group’s language belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language family.

Meet the nomadic music and dressing culture of China’s Naxi minority. /VCG Photo

The male costume is similar to the Han Chinese gown, replete with the Mandarin-style jacket with buttons. While the Naxi women are easy to spot among crowds because of the way they dress.

Typically, their costume consists of a loose, wide-sleeved gown with a waistcoat on top, trousers, a pleated apron and a pair of embroidered shoes shaped like boats. The collar, sleeves and front of their clothes are embroidered with flowers.

Blue, white and black are their favorite colors.

The black cape on Naxi women's back, with seven round designs embroidered on it. /VCG Photo

What makes a Naxi woman's dress most distinctive is the black cape on her back, with seven round designs embroidered on it.

“The black cape is made of sheepskin. We’re nomadic peoples and sheep are one of our most important companions. So we want to make some symbols related to sheep in our dress,” Hui Qiong, one of the locals told CGTN.

Hui Qiong, a Naxi local talks to CGTN. /CGTN Photo

According to Hui, their music is also branded with their way of life.

“In our music, many parts are like the sound of the sheep. Both our dress and music are closely related to our life,” she added.

Like many other national minorities in China, the Naxi people are fond of singing and dancing. Their songs, usually sung at very high pitch, are descriptive and short.

Watch the video above to enjoy their joyous dancing and singing as well as the pleasant scenery at where they live.