Nu

族About this people

The Nu people inhabit the middle reaches of the Nu (Salween) River gorge in northwestern Yunnan's Nujiang Prefecture, living in villages on steep slopes between the Tibetan border and the Bingzhongluo area. They are among the smaller of Yunnan's recognised ethnic minorities, with a population of around 38,000. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch but is distinct from neighbouring Lisu; some sources treat it as related to Tibetan.

The Nu River gorge is part of the Three Parallel Rivers UNESCO World Heritage landscape, where the Nujiang, Lancang (Mekong), and Jinsha (upper Yangtze) rivers run in parallel through parallel mountain ranges within a span of 60 kilometres. The Nu communities occupy the middle altitude zone of this gorge, farming terraced fields and managing forests, with trade and social contact with Tibetan communities above and Lisu communities below.

Traditional Nu religion combined animism — propitiation of spirits associated with rivers, mountains, and forests — with elements of Tibetan Buddhism adopted through contact with Tibetan traders. Christian missionaries (particularly CIM missionaries) also reached Nu communities in the early 20th century, and some villages have Christian communities. Nu women wear skirts of woven hemp cloth with embroidered borders, and the community is known for crossbow hunting and the cultivation of lacquer trees. The Xianrenzui (Fairy Cave) area near Fugong is associated with Nu legend and local pilgrimage.