NO. 2 FULPC RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 9I 



Ch'iang houses are built of unhewn stone and are generally two 

 stories high. On the first floor is the latrine and pens for the domes- 

 tic animals. On the second floor is a large guestroom, the kitchen, 

 and one or more bedrooms. The windows on the sides of the houses 

 are few and very small, and there are a few small openings through 

 the roof, which is flat. Across the rear of the roof is a shed in which 

 wheat, barley, corn, and other things may be stored, and on top of 

 this, at the rear and in the middle, is a shrine capped by a sacred white 

 stone. The rooms contain little furniture, and there are no pictures 

 on the walls. As no chimney is provided, the rooms are often filled 

 with smoke. The houses are generally grouped together almost or 

 quite wall-to-wall in villages called chai-tau or fortifications. Each 

 village generally has at least one watchtower, which is sometimes over 

 100 feet high. 



Every Ch'iang is a farmer. He may be in addition a headman, a 

 priest, a carpenter, or a mason, but he depends primarily on farming 

 for a living. Herding the domestic animals, hunting, woodgathering, 

 and carrying loads for Chinese are supplementary occupations. 



Maize is the principal product of the soil, other products being 

 wheat, barley, buckwheat, hemp, potatoes, turnips, cabbage, beans, 

 walnuts, apricots, pears, apples, peppers, and other kinds of fruit 

 and vegetables. The domestic animals and fowls are cows, horses, 

 dogs, cats, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and ducks. Wild pigs, goats, 

 mountain sheep, bears, takin, leopards, pheasants, and other game are 

 killed and eaten. 



Most Ch'iang clothing is made of undyed hemp, so that it is a 

 dull white in color. Some garments are made of Chinese blue cotton 

 cloth, and some of animal skins. 



Engagements are made not by the individuals concerned, but by their 

 families through go-betweens. Always it is necessary for the family 

 of the man to make presents to the family of the woman, the value 

 of the presents varying according to the ability of the family of the 

 man to give. There are elaborate wedding ceremonies. When an 

 older brother dies, it is the custom for a younger brother to take the 

 widow as his wife, and any children born are regarded as the chil- 

 dren of the older brother. 



Formerly all Ch'iang burials were by cremation. In recent decades 

 this custom has persisted in villages more remote from the Chinese, 

 but in many of those near the Chinese it has become the custom to 

 cremate only those who die by unusual or violent means and therefore 

 might become demons, while all other people are buried in graves. 



