The History of the Eka People in China

The world knows that China is one of the few countries in the world where there is a multitude of different ethnic groups, with the Han, Zhuang and the Manchus consisting of the highest numbers. There are a number of smaller groups, including the Yi people, which some Westerners may have heard of in passing, but many do not realise that there are dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of smaller minority groups which are counted in these larger ethnicities.

The Eka people are one of these. With a population of around 3,000 people, the Eka have been placed in the larger Yi minority group, along with over 100 other groups. Although a relatively small group, they are the largest Yi people to live in Shuangjiang County of Yunnan Province in southwest China. This village is in a largely inaccessible mountainous region where you can only reach via foot. There are a few other Eka people living in nearby villages.

Around 300 years ago, the Eka people moved to this location from the surrounding areas of Kunming City. When they moved here, most of the land was unclaimed but as soon as they started working the land and cultivating it, there was an increased migration of Han and other people into the area. They drove off the Eka people who retreated into the mountains where they made their home.

The Eka people are polytheists, worshipping a great many of deities and spirits. They share many similarities with the other Yi tribal beliefs in the surrounding areas. For three years after someone has died, an effigy made from wood, the root of a lotus or hemp of the deceased, is kept in a box or placed under the roof. This effigy is infused with magical protection and after three years it is thrown away since it is then that the soul of the deceased is judged by either the gods or one singular deity.

The Eka people have their own dialect, which is a Lahu language. Some, due to the close contact with the Han population, speak Mandarin Chinese. An alternative name for the Eka is Menghuaren.

Who Are the A Che?

The A Che are one of the hundreds of minority groups which make up the Yi ethnic group in China. With a population numbering 39,000 they are often confused with the Azhe people, who also make up the Yi people. Dispute the similarity of their names, the A Che people are a distinctly separate group.

The A Che and the Azhe people share a common ancestry. Both groups migrated to Jianshui County in Yunnan Province during the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581 – 907 CE) where they enrolled in the Luodian kingdom’s armies. After a period of time, a group moved into Yimen and Shuangbai counties where they eventually settled and became known as the A Che.

The A Che are polytheists and have always been so. Worshipping their creator god, they claim that the relationship between their creator and themselves was once much closer, but over the years they have become separated and they cannot communicate with the creator, thus they cannot enter heaven.

Like most groups belonging to the Yi ethnic group, the A Che celebrates the Dragon Festival which is held on the second day of the second lunar month. In Shuangbai County, the other great important festival is the Open Street Festival. Held on the eighth day of the first lunar month in Damaidi District, the entire community comes together is a blaze of colour and gaiety.

The A Che lives in the southern province of Yunnan, most of who live in the eastern counties of Chuxiong Prefecture with others in Yuxi Prefecture. Those who live in Shuangbai County live in rural and extremely isolated villages, which is perhaps why most foreigners have not heard of them before.