In Danuohei

The bus dropped us off in Danuohei 大糯黑 at the mouth of this funny gate.  Looking down the path I swear there were marijuana plants lining the way.  Zhen met us there and we jumped in the tractor bed with grandma and granddad and went to the wedding in Xiaonuohei 小糯黑, which was fun, and not at all like a wedding as I know them.(And I went to seven last year)  The bride and groom met their guests at the gate with a tray of sunflower seeds, puffed beans, and hard candy.  Then we went into the hall where we were served lunch, and then had a little time to kill before the dance performances.  Many folks of the village were decked out in traditional clothes, the women in what must have been very hot outfits with elaborate needlework and round hats, and the men in embroidered hemp vests.  

Our host, a lovely man in his late thirties named Zhen, took us on a walk through the village, where he grew up.  We walked through the ruins of his old primary school, which closed seven years ago for lack of children in the village.  He attributes that to the one child policy and said the kids go to the bigger school in Danuohei.  Then we stopped in at his parents' house, where he cracked walnuts for us and we talked with his dad about growing buckwheat.

Apparently they plant it after tobacco harvest, around late August and through September, so this time of year the tobacco plants are still fat in the fields.  They use a mixture of compost and synthetic fertilizers, and grow mostly feed corn and tobacco now.  Also barley and wheat, and potatoes.  There are two types of buckwheat what we know as common buckwheat and tartary buckwheat,  or "bitter buckwheat" in Chinese.   Yields of the bitter stuff are higher so they tend to plant more of that.  The bitterness can be removed with some processing.  Buckwheat yields are about a third of that of hybrid corn, so he only plants as much as he wants to eat and plants a larger area to the more profitable crops for sale.  When I asked (through Zhang) about the purported cultural significance of buckwheat to the Yi people, he told me when they build a new house they cut a hole in one of the posts and entomb the seeds of five plants: corn, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and hemp.  All the while we were talking his wife was plaiting a hemp string, holding one end in her mouth.  So she didn't talk much.  

After this Zhen took us on a little walk through the fields where I saw a small planting of buckwheat (I mean small. One 15 ft row.)  And a wild buckwheat plant in the margin.  That was exciting.  Also small gardens of eggplants, jerusalem artichokes, beans, sunflowers, and other vegetables.  And I'm pretty sure also some pot, although Zhen turned us around before we got close.  Hmmm.  

We went back to the wedding, saw dancing with mostly drinking and hunting and music as a theme (what else is there?) and then were fed dinner.  Then we rode the tractor home.

Photos are the gate to Cannabisville, wedding cooks, our slightly annoying translator, and a cute little boy with a traditional Yi instrument the Sanxianqin 三线琴。