Jino

族About this people

The Jino are one of China's smallest officially recognised ethnic minorities, with a population of around 24,000, and were the last group to receive official recognition — in 1979. They are concentrated almost entirely on Jino Mountain (Jinoluoke) in Jinghong County, Xishuangbanna, at elevations of 700 to 1,500 metres. Their language belongs to the Loloish sub-group of the Tibeto-Burman branch, though its exact position within that branch is debated.

The Jino homeland on Jino Mountain is one of the six famous ancient tea mountains of Xishuangbanna — the area historically known as Youle. The Jino have cultivated and harvested tea on these mountain slopes for centuries, and their villages are surrounded by both managed tea gardens and ancient wild tea trees. Jino knowledge of tea cultivation, picking, and basic processing is integral to their livelihood and identity.

Traditional Jino villages consist of longhouses accommodating extended family groups, built on stilts with bamboo walls and thatched roofs. The Temu (largest house) of the village served as a communal gathering space and ritual centre. Religious practice centres on animism: the Spirit of the Sun (Ameyao) is the primary deity, and the major festival, Temaoke (also called the Special Drum Festival), held in February, involves ceremonial beating of the large ceremonial drum (teme) and communal dancing. Jino women are known for their distinctive long-eared (stretched earlobe) tradition and for their embroidered jackets with colourful geometric designs.