Dong Culinary Culture

[liuzhou]

The Dong people are an Chinese ethnic minority group who mainly live here in Liuzhou prefecture of Guangxi. Sanjiang County, an area I've mentioned before in this topic, is where most are to be found. i have been asked to translate some short articles on the area for the county government's information bureau. I also have permission to use them as I see fit, so those of a culinary nature I'll post here. Sanjiang (三江 - sān jiāng）means 'three rivers' in Mandarin.

 

 

三江侗族自治县 (sān jiāng dòng zú zì zhì xiàn), Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County in Liuzhou Prefecture is a subtropical monsoon climate zone with four distinct seasons and superior natural conditions. But in winter and spring fog, with the cold pressing in, gathering around a 火塘 (huǒ tàng - fire pit) became the preferred way to eat.

 

The fire pit is generally located on the second floor of the Dong ethnic minority’s wooden homes and covers an area of about 1 square meter. There is an iron tripod in the middle of the fire pit, which is used to support the pot when cooking. For most people, there is a refined square or round wooden or bamboo frame hanging above the fireplace, which is called "ang" in the Dong language, for baking grain and smoking bacon. When night falls, the family sits around the fire, cooking, heating themselves, exchanging ideas, passing information, spinning, embroidering or singing songs.

At the same time, the fire pit is also a place where the Dong people offer sacrifices to their ancestors. For thousands of years, the Dong people have had deep feelings for their fire pits, regarding the fire pit as precious as life, a symbol of heaven and earth and humanity, the everlasting inheritance, the yearning of modern people, but also a bridge connecting everyone!

 

Here is the original Chinese for anyone who's interested.

 

火塘家宴，幸福吉祥！侗族居住地属亚热带季风气候区，四季分明，自然条件优越。但是冬、春两季雾气大，寒气逼人，因此，围着火塘吃饭就应运而生。火塘一般设在木楼的二层，面积大约1平方米。火塘中间置铁三脚架一个，专供煮饭做菜时支架锅鼎之用。一般人家，火塘上方挂有一个精制的方形或圆形的木架(有的是竹架)，侗语称为“昂”，用于烘烤禾谷、腊肉等。每当夜幕降临，家人们就围着火塘，生火做饭、取暖、交流思想、传递信息，妇女们在火塘边，或纺纱、绣花，或传唱歌谣。同时火塘还是侗家人祭奠祖先的地方。千百年来，侗家人对火塘有着深厚的感情，视火塘为生命一般珍贵，她是天地人和的象征，是历久弥新的传承，是现代人心中的向往，也是连接你我内心的桥梁！现在，随着三江旅游出圈，火塘家宴也成为游客体验侗族民俗文化的一个重要窗口，我们平时说的侗族打油茶，也可以通过这个场合表演。

 

 

 

Edited June 9 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

6 hours ago, liuzhou said:

The Dong people are an Chinese ethnic minority group who mainly live here in Liuzhou prefecture of Guangxi. Sanjiang County, an area I've mentioned before in this topic, is where most are to be found. i have been asked to translate some short articles on the area for the county government's information bureau. I also have permission to use them as I see fit, so those of a culinary nature I'll post here. Sanjiang (三江 - sān jiāng）means 'three rivers' in Mandarin.

 

 

三江侗族自治县 (sān jiāng dòng zú zì zhì xiàn), Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County in Liuzhou Prefecture is a subtropical monsoon climate zone with four distinct seasons and superior natural conditions. But in winter and spring fog, with the cold pressing in, gathering around a 火塘 (huǒ tàng - fire pit) became the preferred way to eat.

 

The fire pit is generally located on the second floor of the Dong ethnic minority’s wooden homes and covers an area of about 1 square meter. There is an iron tripod in the middle of the fire pit, which is used to support the pot when cooking. For most people, there is a refined square or round wooden or bamboo frame hanging above the fireplace, which is called "ang" in the Dong language, for baking grain and smoking bacon. When night falls, the family sits around the fire, cooking, heating themselves, exchanging ideas, passing information, spinning, embroidering or singing songs.

At the same time, the fire pit is also a place where the Dong people offer sacrifices to their ancestors. For thousands of years, the Dong people have had deep feelings for their fire pits, regarding the fire pit as precious as life, a symbol of heaven and earth and humanity, the everlasting inheritance, the yearning of modern people, but also a bridge connecting everyone!

 

Here is the original Chinese for anyone who's interested.

 

火塘家宴，幸福吉祥！侗族居住地属亚热带季风气候区，四季分明，自然条件优越。但是冬、春两季雾气大，寒气逼人，因此，围着火塘吃饭就应运而生。火塘一般设在木楼的二层，面积大约1平方米。火塘中间置铁三脚架一个，专供煮饭做菜时支架锅鼎之用。一般人家，火塘上方挂有一个精制的方形或圆形的木架(有的是竹架)，侗语称为“昂”，用于烘烤禾谷、腊肉等。每当夜幕降临，家人们就围着火塘，生火做饭、取暖、交流思想、传递信息，妇女们在火塘边，或纺纱、绣花，或传唱歌谣。同时火塘还是侗家人祭奠祖先的地方。千百年来，侗家人对火塘有着深厚的感情，视火塘为生命一般珍贵，她是天地人和的象征，是历久弥新的传承，是现代人心中的向往，也是连接你我内心的桥梁！现在，随着三江旅游出圈，火塘家宴也成为游客体验侗族民俗文化的一个重要窗口，我们平时说的侗族打油茶，也可以通过这个场合表演。

 

 

 

The fire pit is on the second floor of the house? So many questions! How does the house not burn down? How is it ventilated so they don't die of CO poisoning?

[liuzhou]

15 minutes ago, KennethT said:

The fire pit is on the second floor of the house? So many questions! How does the house not burn down? How is it ventilated so they don't die of CO poisoning?

 

Yes.

Many of southern China's ethnic minorities traditionally live in these usually three story houses. The 1st floor is for the livestock. A bit difficult to get a water buffalo 🐃 upstairs, I guess. I’ve never tried! 😂

 

The 2nd floor is where the family live and the third is usually storage.

 

Ventilation consists of opening the windows or more likely shutters, even in winter. They don’t all have glass. In Yunnan, some minority homes in the countryside are wooden framed but with bamboo walls which can be rolled up in summer for ventilation.

 

The fire pits usually sit on brick beds but fires are not uncommon, usually resulting in the total destruction of the buildings concerned – no real firefighting service in the countryside.

 

Several years ago now, I lost a friend who died in a house fire in a Miao village. I’ve slept in these homes and always feel slightly apprehensive. Especially after a night of drinking the local rice 'wine'.

 

[liuzhou]

 

Sanjiang glutinous food culture is rich, colourful, and representative of the Dong people. As the saying goes, "Dong people can't live without pickles, nor can they live without glutinous food." This is the most vivid description of Dong people's food culture. The Dong people like to grow and eat glutinous cereals, and they will use glutinous rice on holidays to make glutinous rice cakes and steamed rice cakes. Coloured glutinous rice comes in red red, black, white and more, for which 富禄乡大顺村 (fù lù xiāng dà shùn cūn), Fu Lu Xiang Dashun Village, the most famous glutinous rice growing area, has what is known as "a steamed rice hundred fragrant" reputation.

A glutinous food platter is standard at traditional festivals on the third day of the third lunar month 三月三 (sān yuè sān), the Dong’s most important festival, and also on the eighth day of of the fourth month, a birthday Festival for their water buffalo, treating them to a day off work, bathing and pampering them. The glutinous rice dish is usually made of colourful glutinous rice, red duck eggs, bamboo feast, black sausage, brown rice, pickled duck, pickled fish, pickled meat and other Dong specialities. Full of colour and fragrance with an auspicious meaning, this is a traditional food that carries history and brings a taste inducing homesickness.

Glutinous rice is a symbol of luck and wealth in the hearts of the Dong people, so they often give glutinous food to relatives and friends when they visit, on auspicious marriage days and during folk festivals. This traditional custom has been maintained since ancient times, thus forming a unique Dong glutinous food culture.

 

三江糯食文化丰富多彩，其中以侗族为代表，俗话说 “侗不离酸，食不离糯” 这就是侗家人饮食文化最形象的刻画。侗族人民喜种糯吃糯，他们逢年过节都会用糯米打糍粑、做油糍、制糖果、蒸年糕、做五色糯米饭等，糯米品种有红糯、黑糯、白糯、旱地糯等，其中以富禄乡大顺村香糯最有名，素有“一家蒸饭百家香”的美誉。

糯食拼盘是三月三、四月初八传统节日的标配，通常用五色糯米饭、红鸭蛋、簸箕宴、血肠、棕子、酸鸭、酸鱼、酸肉等侗乡特色美食拼配而成。色香味俱全，意义吉祥，是承载了历史，蕴含着乡愁味道的一道传统美食
 

在侗家人心中糯米是吉祥与财富的象征，因此在亲友走访，婚嫁吉日、民俗节庆常以糯食相赠，这种民族传统习俗从古至今不断保持，因而形成了独有的侗族糯食文化。

 

 

[Smithy]

That is a beautiful platter of food! Are you saying that the rice colors are their own natural growth colors? I've heard of the the forbidden black rice, but I had no idea rice could have such vivid colors as the blue and magenta you show above.

[liuzhou]

The rice comes naturally in white, red, purple and black. The red purple are actually white rice infected (deliberately) with Monascus purpureus, a yeast which causes the colour change and is common in many products such as red rice vinegar. I forget what's used for the blue - I'll ask.

 

Red Rice

[liuzhou]

Does this painting of Dong farmers in Sanjiang represent a scene of singing and sitting happily at night?

 

 

行歌坐夜(háng gē zuò yè), ‘singing and sitting at night’ is a way for young Dong people to communicate and have courtship activities. As night falls, groups of Dong men will run to the girls’ homes to "sit for the girl". When they arrive at the girls’ homes, some girls will open the door to wait, and some will only open the door after repeated pleas. When they gather, they talk about everything, either playing around and making fun, telling each other their feelings, or singing love songs while playing the pipa or Dong flute. The young man expresses himself by telling stories, teasing, and competing for her favour, hoping to capture the girl's heart. The girls will lovingly make oil tea and cook duck porridge for the boys to taste. In this way, men and women can go from first contact to mutual understanding, and in-depth communication to cultivating feelings, and even entering the hall of marriage.

 

Oil Tea

 

There are a load more of these Dong Farmers' paintings on this topic.

 

这幅三江侗族农民画表现的是行歌坐夜快乐场景？行歌坐夜是侗族青年男女交际和恋爱活动的方式。夜幕降临，成群结伴的侗族小伙会跑到姑娘家“坐妹”，当到姑娘家时，有的是敞开大门以待，有的要经多次央求才开门。聚集时无所不谈，或打闹逗乐，或互叙衷肠，或操着琵琶、侗笛唱情歌。小伙通过聊故事、调侃生活、比拼才艺等方式来展现自我，俘获姑娘的芳心。而姑娘们会贤惠地打油茶、煮鸭粥给小伙子们品尝。通过这种方式，男女双方从接触、了解、深入交流到培养感情，乃至步入婚姻的殿堂。

 

 

Edited June 11 by liuzhou (log)