Holding Maternal Uncles in High Esteem

The Jino nationality is one of the ethnic minorities in China. With a population of over 18,021, the Jinos principally inhabit Jino Ethnic Town in Jinghong County, Na and Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. A few are also scattered in towns like Mengwang, Mengyang, Ganlanba, Dadugang of Jinghong County, Xiangming and Menglun of Mengla County.

The Jino Mountain, where the Jinos inhabit, is a tropical mountain region with fertile fields, abundant rain and exuberant forests. It is also one of the six most famous mountains for the growing of the world-famous "Pu'er" tea. The major crops are upland rice, cotton and corn.

The Jino nationality boasts an long history. "Jino" is the name they call themselves. In the past, they were called "Youle" by transliteration into Chinese, which means "following the maternal uncle." And thus, they are regarded as "a nationality holding maternal uncles in high esteem." In July 1979, they were identified as the 55^th ethnic member in China.

The language of the Jino ethnic minority belongs to the Tibetan-Myanmese branch of the Chinese-Tibetan language family. Without a written language of their own in the past, they used to keep records by notching on wood or bamboo.

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