Imitation Dai bamboo building
These charming Dai villages occupy the land of Olive Dam and give birth to the beautiful natural landscape of Xishuangbanna. It's hard to believe that there is such a beautiful place and attractive feelings in such a remote border. If it weren't for Shao's repeated urging, I would really forget that I was traveling alone.
When we arrive at Olive Dam, we will visit the bamboo house of the local Dai people. I found that almost every bamboo building was surrounded by trees with black trunks, and the branches were cut irregularly by knives. I didn't know it was a famous ironwood tree in Xishuangbanna until I asked. This tree is also called "knife tree". The longer you cut it, the longer it will be. Usually cut once every three years, and you can cut it hundreds of times in your life. The age of the tree can reach more than 600 years, and the annual growth rate is about three or four meters. Dai people pay great attention to protecting the environment. They planted this kind of tree around the bamboo house, and the cut branches can be used as firewood. Because the water here depends entirely on firewood, every household relies on this tree to solve the need of firewood. With this tree, people don't have to cut down other tree species, which makes the local forest resources better protected. It can be seen from this point that the Dai people are indeed a nation with gods. They don't know from which generation they have this profound understanding of life, which has been passed down from generation to generation, making it invincible here.
Xishuangbanna is located in the high pressure area of the Tropic of Cancer. As can be seen from the topographic map of the world, West Asia and North Africa at the same latitude are now painted with yellow-brown desert landforms, but here is a green of life.
Into Xishuangbanna, into this olive dam, green is the eternal theme here. Dai people are sober. Without green, they wouldn't have their own small bamboo house.
Under Shao's leadership, we walked into the small bamboo building under the shade of the tree. In the wide yard, a bamboo building stands on the ground with some wooden columns. The bamboo building is divided into two floors, which looks like a castle in the air. The lower floor only has wooden columns supporting the bamboo building, and there is no fence, which is connected to the yard. It is said that this can play a good role in ventilation and heat dissipation. The upper floor is where the Dai people live, about 2 meters from the ground, connected by a fixed wooden ladder.
Seeing our arrival, the Dai girl sitting in the yard quietly got up and habitually took off her shoes and climbed the stairs. Shao told us that the Dai people are a very clean people. No matter who comes to wear the house, they should take off their shoes downstairs to avoid soiling the bedroom. We took off our shoes under the stairs, pushed upstairs and entered the living room. Dai girls greeted us in the living room.
Dai's living room is dark, but very soft. The lighting of the living room mainly comes from the small windows around. As if it had been arranged a long time ago, there is a small low table in the center of the living room, filled with all kinds of ornaments of gold, silver and jade, and just brewed tea for guests to drink. Dai girls are beautiful, quiet and generous. She said that there are three brothers and sisters in her family. My brother is married, but she and her sister are not married. Her father is the leader of this stockade. She is like a trained commentator. Her Mandarin is very good. She gently licks her upper teeth with the tip of her dexterous tongue and explains to you, "This bamboo house is my home. Dear Mao, you will be my guest when you come to my home. We Dai people are the best guests. There is brewed glutinous rice fragrant tea here, which is our specialty. You can taste it for free. If it's good, you can take it back. It's much cheaper than in the store. . . . . . "She has been talking about it. She said that strangers can't just look at her bedroom, because the Dai people think that strangers will leave their souls in the bedroom when they look at their own bedroom, which is taboo for their owners. If a stranger sees the dormitory, he must stay and work as a coolie for three years. She introduced the situation of the bedroom, saying that the Dai family lived in the same bedroom for generations, and they divided the accounts regardless of the wall, because the Dai family thought that dividing the wall in the bedroom was a sign of disharmony. She pointed to several pillars in the bamboo building and said that this pillar in the living room is auspicious. If a guest touches it, it will bring you good luck. The pillars in the bedroom are towering pillars, so you can't touch them. It is for the soul to ascend to heaven after the death of relatives at home. There are so many stories in such a small bamboo building that we are all fascinated by them
It is stuffy in the room. The Dai girl who is talking seriously is sweating all over her face. A colleague suggested that she sweat a little, but she said calmly, "It doesn't matter, it's a little hot in this room. Now let me introduce these handicrafts on the table to Mao. This silver belt is a symbol of our Dai girls' marriage. As long as you see it tied around their waist, it means that the girl is married. This is a gift from my mother to my daughter. It's beautiful. Look at it. It's pure silver. Not expensive. It's 200 yuan. You can buy it as a souvenir. This bracelet is made of placer gold, the big one is 150 and the small one is 80. These are all placer gold mines that we found in Lancang River. It can't be fake. You can also buy some for your relatives and friends. . . . . . "This little girl is really business-minded. Before the guest could say anything, she went on to say, "Everything we have here is true, and what I said is true. I won't lie. If I lie, I won't go to heaven and go to hell. "
Before I came to Yunnan, I heard a friend tell me what the Dai girl in the bamboo building said. Now it sounds familiar. Is this how you tell tourists with the same words and expressions every time you enter the bamboo house here? I asked Shao, and Shao just laughed. ...