Primi people celebrate their Valentines' Day on May 5 of the lunar calendar.

Beijing audiences were treated to an evening of Primi dance and culture last night as Guarding the Forest showcased traditional movement and song from the minority. The famous “hip dance” drew great applause, with performer Li Changxiu explaining, “The harder a Primi minority visitor bumps their hips with villagers, the warmer the welcome he will receive.”

Ethnically related to the Tibetans in the Muli Tibetan Autonomous County and Yanyuan in Sichuan Province, the Primi are unique to Yunnan and their villages have a total population of around 30,000.

The special performance last night in Beijing highlighted the importance of nature, forests and trees to the Primi and was supported by the Tufeng Project, an initiative aimed at protecting and celebrating ethnic minority culture.

“Such cultures have a precious hidden quality but are dying out fast,” said Chen Zhe, founder of the Tufeng Project and famous lyricist behind popular Chinese hits in the 1980s such as One Song for All and The High Yellow Land.

The Tufeng Project was founded in 2004 to promote and encourage endeavors that focus on the cultural roots of minorities.

In 2002 Chen began the Traditional Culture Legacy Learning Group of Primi, which became the basis of the project.

“Young people are recruited into the group to work as coordinators,” Chen explained. “In their villages, they then organize activities such as festivals and ceremonies and encourage other young people to participate and learn traditional customs.”

Yang Dexiu, one of the four Primi performers.

Chen said that many elderly members of the minority practice traditional culture, but the rituals and ways have largely been ignored by the younger generation.

“What I try to do is help to pass the customs from the older generation to the young, because the Primi minority can be considered as an ancestor for many minorities in China,” Chen added.

Yang Dexiu, one of the four Primi performers in last night’s production told the Global Times that since joining the Tufeng Project he has helped organize small learning groups for traditional dance, song, weaving and music.

“We plan activities and invite young people both in my village and other Primi villages to celebrate. For instance, we gathered in May to celebrate our own Valentines’ Day on May 5 of the lunar calendar,” Yang explained. “According to Primi tradition, on May 5 we eat honey, which is good for one’s health, especially mixed with bitter buckwheat, a kind of plant found in the mountains.”

“During the celebration, the old people in the village gather to have a family meal while the young people dance and sing for a whole day on the grasslands.”

Yang said that learning traditional crafts takes time and dedication. Members of a weaving group may spend an entire week learning techniques from skilled women in the village. The skilled women get financial support from the Tufeng Project to teach young students.

“In the village I learned to sing ancient songs from the elders and play musical instruments such as the mouth harp and goat-headed four-stringed instrument,” explained Li Zhengfan, another Primi performer from last night’s show.

Chen Zhe said that Primi people’s cultural heritage dates back to one of the Qiang ethnic minority tribes several centuries ago and had complete laws and clan systems in place.

In 2007 the Tufeng Project held its first Primi special performance to highlight such history with more than 10 Primi young people taking part. Last night’s performance once again offered an insight into ancient rituals and celebrations. “Cultural protection should be noticed by the whole society,” Chen added.

“Coming out of a Primi village to big cities like Beijing, I work as my hometown’s cultural ambassador, promoting my culture and showing people outside the village our cultural uniqueness through performance,” Li explained.

Chen said that this is exactly his Tufeng Project was intended to do.

“Since the Tufeng Project began promoting cultural protection, villagers in Yushichang have also become more aware of their own culture,” Yang said.

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