The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Oct 2014 back issue
by Heidi Laughton
This series portrays a glimpse into life in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The full series includes the smallest,
minority groups of China, such as the Bulangs, the Nu, the Jinuo and the Dulongs.
The Dulongs are the smallest in population and reside in a remote region near the Tibetan border. The village is
inaccessible for six months a year due to snow, landslides and a treacherous mountain pass. The older ladies of the
community still have faded tattoos on their faces, denoting their clans, a custom which has since been outlawed in
China.
The Bulangs live near the Burmese border, and celebrate their traditions with festivals and ceremonies in ancient
temples. One such temple was built by the French 600 years ago in exchange for mining for gold in the area.
The Jinuo, who live in the Jinuo mountains, wear stripey clothing with pointed hats. They plug their earlobes with
bamboo and stain their teeth with black laquer. Their main festival is the Temaoke, the Sun Drum festival (the drum
represents the barrel from their legends, which burst open on a rock when the world flooded, and from the brother and
sister in the barrel come the matriarchal and patriarchal clans of the village).
The series is a celebration of diverse customs and ways of life
Lijiang town at night, Yunnan Province.
Head monk of Xiding Bulang - Da Du Bi's partially blind protege. Da Du Bi was ordained after being orphaned at age
12. The 600 year old temple where they work, hold ancient scripts written on palm leaves.
Bulang Ladies chewing Beetlenut and lime stone powder wrapped in tobacco leaves. This purposefully stains the teeth
red and then in due course black (which is deemed exceedingly attractive).
Bulang Ladies at the "Closed Door Festival". A lunch of rice and barbequed wasp, with pig's ears, was shared by all.
Bulang Ladies at the ‘Closed Door Festival’.
Children, Xiding Bulang, Yunnan.
Closed Door Festival, Yunnan.
Dulong lady weaving with tattoo on her chin. The facial tattoos often denoted which clan the ladies were affiliated with.
Man at Dulong village. The village is cut off for six months a year by snow and landslides on the only accessible,
treacherous mountain pass.
Dulong Lady weaving. Balanced on the edge of the Dulongshan mountains, the pass to the village is a six hour drive
along a single-track mountain road winding around a 4000 metre gorge. The Dulongs are the smallest in population of
all the Chinese minority groups.
Traditional regalia of one of the larger communities in
Yunnan.
Portrait in a market, Yunnan.
Dulong lady, 80 years old (at time the picture was taken). Her face was tattooed when she was five. One theory
suggests that other than denoting clan, the tattoos were originally given to make the ladies appear more fierce to avoid
kidnapping from neighboring tribes. This Dulong custom has since been outlawed and only a few of the older ladies can
be seen with the tattoos.
Lady from the Yi community.
Zhanlan temple, Yunnan Province.
