Zhuang customs and culture

The Zhuang peoples of Yunnan and Guangxi have a rich tradition of written and unwritten stories.

For over one thousand years they have used Sawndip to write a wide variety of literature, including folk songs, operas, poems, scriptures, letters, contracts, and court documents.

A 9th century Chinese translation of a Zhuang story entitled Ye Xian was written in the Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang[3] and the Sawndip versions we now have are quite similar.

[7] The Zhuang have their own scriptures written in poetical form such as the Baeu Rodo about the creation of the world.

Whilst the original Chinese opera of "The Legend of Wenlong" has been lost, the story has been preserved in Zhuang texts.

[1] Most Zhuang follow traditional animist practices known as Mo or Shigong which include elements of ancestor worship.

In Mo, the creator is known as Bu Luotuo and the universe is tripartite, with all things composed from the three elements of heaven, earth, and water.