The Moinbas which is in complete harmony with the Zangs

The Moinba is one of the minority nationalities in China, and it has 7475 people. They mainly inhabit Motuo and Cuona counties in Xizang and some are scattered over Linzhi, Chayu counties.

The Moinbas' gathering region is the Southeastern part of the roof of the world-the Himalayas, which is full of ridges and peaks, and is covered by dense forest. The rolling Yarlung Zang-bo River turns southward in the region of Linzhi and Motuo, and a fertile river valley is formed there. The climate there is warm, the rainfall is rich, the four seasons are green, and the river valley is praised as "south of the River on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau." In the past , because mountains blocked ways, external traffic was very difficult, and people from outside were hard to set foot in the place. Buddhists called the place "a concealed place", so people looked forward to seeing it.

"Menyu" is Tibetan, which means plain at the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zang-bo River. The Menyu is high in the north part and low in the south part. The high part is 3600 meters above sea level, and the low part is only 1000 meters above sea level. In this environment, the Moinbas are mainly engaged in farming while dealing with husbandry assisted by hunting and gathering.

According to historical Tibetan records, ancestors of the Moinbas multiplied and procreated in the Himalaya Mountains in the south of Tibet long ago. At the 13th century, the Menyu region to the south of Cuona was officially included into the territory as a part of Xizang of china. It has close connection with Tibetan in politics, economy, culture and religion, and it used Tibetan calendar and money for a long time.

"Moinba" is the name used by Tibetan for calling them, which means people living in Menyu. After the establishment of new China, they were named "Moinba" according to their own will.

The Moinba language belongs to the Zang language branch of Tibeto-Burmese family in Sino-Tibetan Family. They don't have characters and commonly use those of Tibetan language. They generally believe in Lamaism. The New Year's Day in Tibetan calendar is the most important festival for the Moinbas. They also celebrate their own Wangguo festival ("Wang" refers to field while "guo" refers to circle, and the Moinbas celebrate their harvest with this festival) on July every year.

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