China's Minority Peoples - The Jinos

The Jinos, with a population of 18.021, mainly live in the Jino Township of Jingliong Counly, Xishuangbanno Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. A few can be round in Mengwang, Mengyang, Ganlanba and Dadugang of Jinghong County and Xiangming, Menglun of Mengla County.

The Jino Mountain Region wher the Jinos make their homes has a tropical climate. The fertile land, with abundant rainfall and lush forests, produces a large amount of quality tea. The most famous is the Pu'er Tea. The Jinos took up farming in an ancient time. They plant rice, cotton and maize.

The word Jino, called "Youle" in Chinese in the past, refers to the descendants of a maternal uncle, because the Jino people show the greatest respect to their mother's brothers, who are traditionally worshipped by the family after their death. In June 1979, the Jino Nationality became the 55th ethnic group of China.

Various reasons deterred social progress among the Jinos. Until the 1950s, their society remained at the primitive commune stage. Slash-and-burn farming was prevalent. The Jino religion combines aboriginal animism with deep respect for ancestors.

The Jinos have no written form of their own and their spoken language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman Group of the Sino-Tibetan family. Formerly they kept records by making notches in bamboo.