Dai minority, with a popu-lation of about 1.2 mil-lion, mainly live in Dai Autonomous Region and Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Region in Xishuangbanna, known as "The Land of Peacocks" in south part of Yunnan Province, south-west China. Dai is the name the nationality calls itself, which means freedom .

　　Derived from the same ancestor - ancient "Baiyue" people, Dai minority has strong connection with nationalities such as Zhuang, Dong, Shui, Bouyei, and Li, etc. The earliest records about Dai minority can be traced back to the 1st B.C., which then was named "Dianyue" or "Shan".

　　Dai minority has its own language which belongs to Zhuang-Dai branch of Zhuang-Dong Austronesian of Chinese-Tibetan Phylum. Dai Nationality also has its own spell character.

　　The history of contact between the Dai and Han peoples dates back to 109 B.C., when Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-23A.D.)set up Yizhou Prefecture in southwestern Yi (the name used to signify the minority areas of what are now Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces). The Dais in subsequent years sent tribute to the Han court in Luoyang, and among the emissaries were musicians and acrobats. The Han court gave gold seals to the Dai ambassadors and their chieftain was given the title "Great Captain."

　　In the 12th century, a Dai chieftain named Bazhen unified all the tribes and established the Mengle local regime with Jinghong as the capital, and called it the "Jinglong Golden Hall Kingdom." According to local records, the kingdom had a population of more than one million, and was famous for white elephants and fine-breed horses. It recognized the Chinese imperial court as its sovereign. When Bazhen ascended throne, he was given a "tiger-head gold seal" by the Emperor, and the title "Lord of the Region." Previously, the Dais in the Dehong region had established the Mengmao Kingdom, with Ruilijiang as the capital.

　　During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Dai area was subordinate to Yunnan Province and the system of appointing hereditary headmen from among the ethnic minorities was instituted; this system was consolidated during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

　　Dai minority is the first in history to plant ripe, and to use furrow to plough. Living in subtropical climatic zone with plentiful rainfall and fertile land, Dai's products mainly are rice, sugar cane, coffee, hemp, rubber, camphor and various fruits. Besides, rare plants, herbs and animals such as elephants, tigers and peacocks can also be found in the residential area of Dai people.

　　Taking rice as their staple food, Dai people enjoy beef, chicken, duck as well as fish and shrimp. Their popular vegetables include cabbages, carrots, bamboo shoots and beans. All Dai people like sour and hot flavors.

　　According to Chinese documents of the ninth century, the Dais had a fairly well-developed agriculture. They used oxen and elephants to till the land, grew large quantities of rice and had built an extensive irrigation system. They used kapok for weaving, panned salt and made weapons of metal. They plated their teeth with gold and silver.

　　The Dai women's clothes have a variety of styles. In the Xishuangbanna area, women often wear white, sky-blue or pink tight underwear with Jewel-collared short skirt outside, with buttons on the front or on the right. The shirt has long and slim sleeves which wrap on the arms tightly. It is thin and narrow at the waist, exposing part of skin at the lower back. The lower clothes are usually a tight skirt, which is long and can even reach the feet. Many Dai women wear a silk girdle around their waists. The Dai woman often wind their long hairsintosa bun on the top of the head, and fix it with only a beautiful crescent-moon-shaped comb. Men wear collarless tight-sleeved short jackets, with the opening at the front or along the right side, and long baggy trousers. They wind black or white turbans around their heads. Tattooing is common among men. When a boy reached the age of 11 or 12, a tattoo artist was invited to tattoo his body and limbs with designs of animals, flowers, geometric patterns or the Dai written script.

　　Dai people mostly believe in Hinayana, a sect of Buddhism. There were many Buddhist temples in the countryside, and it was a common practice, especially in Xishuangbanna, to send young boys to the temples to learn the Buddhism scriptures. Some of them later become monks, while most of them return to secular life.

　　The marriage of the Dais was characterized by intermarriage on strictly equal social and economic status. Polygamy was common among chieftains, who also humiliated the wives and daughters of peasants at will. The patriarchal monogamous nuclear family was the common form among peasants. Pre-marital social contact between young men and women was quite free, especially during festivals. It was common for the groom to movesintosthe bride's home after the wedding.

　　The graveyards of aristocrats and poor people were strictly separated. When a monk or a Buddhist leader died, he was cremated and his ashes placed in a pottery urn to be buried behind a temple.

　　The villages of the Dais in Dehong and Xishuangbanna are found on the plains, near rivers or streams, and among clusters of bamboo. The buildings generally are built on stilts. Some of the houses are square, with two stories. The upper story serves as the living place, while the lower space, without walls, is used as a storehouse and for keeping livestock.

　　Dai festivals, closely related to religious activities, included the "Door-Closing" festival in mid-June by the lunar calendar, the "Door-Opening" festival in mid-September, and the "Water-Splashing" festival in spring. "Door-Closing" started three months of intensive religious activities. "Door-Opening" marked the beginning of normal life. "Water-Splashing," still held every year, is the most important festival, during which the Dais splash water on one another, and hold dragon boat races in the hope of chasing away all the illnesses and bad fortune of the past year and bringing about good weather and bumper harvests.

　　The Dais have a rich, colorful culture. They have their own calendar, which started in 638 A.D. There are books in Dai script for calculating solar and lunar eclipses. Dai historical documents carry a rich variety of literary works covering poetry, legends, stories, fables and children's tales. They love to sing and dance, accompanied by their native musical instruments.