Lancang Mountain is high and far away, with dense rivers and sparsely populated areas. The various indigenous ethnic groups living here, especially the Lahu people, have a weak sense of clan. They almost have no surnames, and their names are only given after going to school or working. , as for nicknames, everyone is almost the same, and there are more people with the same name. The origin of the nicknames of the Lahu people is related to their worship of gourds.
In the Lahu area, the Lahu people believe that their ancestors are not humans, but Zadinadi, who was created by the gourd planted by the god Aisha. After Zadie came out of the gourd, the god Elsa raised her carefully. Zadie grew strong and strong, while Nadie grew slim and delicate. When they grew up, Elsa put the sieve in the dustpan, but the brothers and sisters couldn't understand it. Elsa grinded the stones together again, but they still ignored it. Finally, Elsa had to tell them to get married and have children to reproduce. Zadinadi said that they were brother and sister who came out of the same gourd and could not be husband and wife. In order to prevent Elsa from trying to persuade her, Zadi ran to Mount Aki and hid, while Nadi ran to Mount A'o and hid. Elsa used a trick to let the bees carry the poison and fly to Mount A'o, then to Mount Aki, and finally to Elsa. As a result, both Zadi and Nadi were attracted to her. But no matter how much Aisha tried to persuade her, Zadinadi just felt that the love between brother and sister was too deep to form a couple. Seeing that human beings were about to become extinct, Elsa had no choice but to sprinkle the aphrodisiac in the water. Zadinadi followed the bees and ran to Elsa. She was very thirsty, so everyone drank two large gourds. After drinking three scoops, they became husband and wife.
After Zadinadi got married, they fell in love with each other and followed each other like shadows. As winter turns to spring, white flowers bloom, and the earth becomes a prosperous scene. Nadi's face becomes increasingly rosy and her body becomes heavier. Nadi leaned on the loquat tree to nourish her Qi, and the loquat tree bore bright yellow fruits. She leaned on the olive tree to nourish her Qi, and the olive tree also bore olives. When it was time to give birth, Zadi went up the mountain to chop wood, but Nadi was too embarrassed to tell Elsa, so she went to the indigo forest to give birth to the baby, and her blood dyed the indigo red. The child born to Nadi and Zaidi does not look like a child, but has 13 fleshy joints.
God Elsa knew that Nadi had given birth to a child, so he sent Bumblebee to find it. The 13-section monster that Bumblebee found did not dare to tell, so he lied to Elsa about something. Not found either. Aisha knew that the bumblebee had lied, so she broke its waist with a stick. But before the time of death came, the bumblebee's body was strung up with a thread, so now the bumblebee's waist is thin. Yes, because they hate humans, they sting when they see humans. Aisha sent the magpie to look for her again, but the magpie reported good news but not bad news, and also lied about not finding it. Aisha punished the magpie's descendants by only being allowed to make nests high in the trees, where they were exposed to wind and rain. Aisha sent the sour bee to look for it again. The honest sour bee told Aisha the actual situation and brought back 13 sections of meat. Aisha rewarded it, "Wherever there are people, there will be honey you can't finish." ”, so now the Lahu people do not touch the nests of sour bees, nor do they take the honey from sour bees.
When the 13 pieces of meat were in Aisha’s hands, they turned into 13 pairs of lively and lovely children. Zadinadi couldn't raise so many children, so Aisha called 12 animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig to help raise a pair each. , leaving only one pair for Nadi to raise by herself. Aisha said that the child will be named after whoever raises it.
Therefore, the names of the Lahu people are based on the twelve zodiac animals:
The boy born on the day of the rat is named Zhafa, and the girl is named Nafa;
The boy born in Niu is named Zanu, and the girl is named Nanu;
The boy born in Hu is named Zara , the girl was named Nora;
The boy born on Turi was named Zatuo, and the girl was named Natuo;
The boy born to Long Ri is named Zha Luo, and the girl is named Na Luo;
The boy born to Snake Ri is named Zas, and the girl is named Nas. ;
The boy born in Ma Ri is named Zam, and the girl is named Namu;
The boy born in Yang Ri is named They were named Zayo, and the girl was named Nayo;
The boy born on Houri was named Zamo, and the girl was named Namo;
The boy born on Jiri is named Zhaa, and the girl is named Naa;
The boy born on Gouri is named Zhaei, and the girl is named Naa. Named Na Pi
The boy born on Zhuri was named Zha Sock, and the girl was named Na.
The remaining pair of children were raised by Zadinadi herself and named Zari and Nali. "Zha" means strong and brave in Lahu language, and "Na" means slender and virtuous in Lahu language. In other words, the Lahu people hope that their descendants will inherit the traditions of their ancestors: men will be strong and brave, and women will be virtuous and slim.
So, if you go to a Lahu village and shout "Namu", several little girls will stand up at the same time. Many of the names used by the Lahu people today were renamed after liberation. For example, if a cadre named Li went to the countryside to eliminate illiteracy, more than half of the people in the village might have the surname Li. Generally, the cadres were asked to give them their names. Many rural students are basically given names by their teachers.
The Lahu people have no clan concept. They have been left behind by history for thousands of years. They are a people who "entered socialism directly without going through slave society, feudal society, and capital society." "Society" nation, for such a nation, their naming method is not surprising.