绿春（上）／Lv Chun (Part 1)

在云南的最后一站是绿春。
想必你的第一个反应是，“绿春？什么地方来的？”放心，不只你有这样的疑问，就连我碰到的中国人，也都没有听说过绿春，更别说知道绿春在哪里啦。绿春其实就在红河州，位于昆明和西双版纳之间，严格来说，是昆明500公里以南的地方。火车到不了，坐长途汽车（巴士）则需要12个小时。到这么遥远的地方来，只因我的中学老师目前和她的家人就住在这里。

My last stop in Yunnan was Lv Chun. I can imagine eyebrows being raised and heads being scratched, "Where the hell is that?". This is a question that even the locals asked me. Lv Chun is located in Honghe, in between the popular backpackers' destination Xishuang Banna and Kunming. 500km south of Kunming to be exact. I only knew of the existence of this place only because my secondary school teacher is now living here with her family. 这是我第一次坐中国的夜班车，还挺舒服的，因为座位其实就是一张床。车票是通过老师安排的，所以可以自己一张床位，不必和陌生人挤。说是12个小时，但其实车子在10个小时就到达终点站了。可是就在司机开门准备让大家下车时，突然有一名男子冲到了前头，紧张兮兮地说：“车上有小偷！我的钱被扒了！”这下可好了，本以为可以早早到老师的家休息，结果就因为小偷的事情，延误了将近一个小时。其实，那位大哥不见了钱，只能怪自己太不小心了。3万元（约6000新元）就这样放在小包包，然后挂在身上，睡得像头死猪，怎么不引人犯罪呢？后来有人说，他们其实是有看到小偷“行凶”，小偷拿了钱就急急忙忙地在中途下车，老早就不知溜到哪儿去了。不过因为这些小偷很多都属于集团的，车上的人怕惹祸上身，所以都不敢吭声。老师说，我很“幸运”，因为这么多人到绿春看她，从未有人遇上这样的事情。

This is the first time I am taking a sleeper bus in China. I must say it is a much more pleasant experience than I had expected. The bus ticket was bought by my teacher as she knew the driver and thus I got a single bed, and do not have to worry about having to share a bed with a stranger. It was supposed to be a 12 hours ride, but we got to Lv Chun in only 10 hours. Just as I thought I can get to my teacher's place for some breakfast and rest, a man rushed to the front of the bus, shouting, "There's a thief on board!". There begins the one hour or so saga of the man describing how he lost 30 000 RMB (about SGD 6000), and waiting for the police to settle the case. Actually, the man only has himself to blame for being careless in losing the money. How can you stuff such a huge sum of money into a sling bag and sleep like a log after that? The few guys sleeping near this guy apparently saw the theft being committed. However, since most of these theives belong to syndicates, the guys were afraid of repercussions, hence nobody spoke up when they saw the thief making his move. After getting his hands on the money, the thief immediately asked get off the car. And we poor souls were left stranded at the bus terminal, resigned to being searched by the police while the thief is long gone. I was definitely not the first to visit my teacher in Lv Chun, but I was the first lucky one to meet such a situation.

绿春是个很小的地方，整个镇就只有一条大路，不过却有着七个村子。这里有80％的人来自哈尼族。除了绿春外，另一个以哈尼族为主的地方就是以梯田为名的元阳了。据估计，目前中国共有160万哈尼族人。

Lv Chun is actually a very small town. There is only one main road running through the town, but the whole place consists of seven villages. 80% of the people here belongs to the Hani minority tribe. It is estimated that there are 1.6million Hani people in China, including those in Yuanyang (famous for rice terraces).虽然这里大部分是哈尼族人，但绿春还有少数的其他族人，而我在绿春第一个看到的就是夷族人的葬礼。当时正下着细雨，死者的家属和亲友撑着伞，排在路边，等着管材被抬出来。死者的直属家人蹲着，老师告诉我，哈尼族人过逝时，他们的家人也会这么蹲着，等着管材被抬过他们的头，这是他们的习俗。而在把管材抬到坟地埋葬的当儿，他们会有一辆车在前面一直放着鞭炮。我们看到的葬礼正好相反，“鞭炮车”是跟在亲友团后头的。

Although most people in Lv Chun belongs to the Hani tribe, you can see people of other minority tribes here. The first thing I saw within hours of reaching Lv Chun is a Yi tribe's funeral. It was drizzling when the cortege was about to leave for the cemetry. Family members of the deceased kneeled down, while other relatives and friends lined the streets, waiting for the coffin to appear. I was told that this is very similar to the Hani tribe. It is their custom to carry the coffin over the heads of family members once the coffin leaves the house. And as the coffin is being carried towards the cemetry for burial, there will be a mini lorry with people onboard setting off firecrackers. For the Yi tribe funeral that we observed however, the lorry with firecrackers was at the end of the procession.除了葬礼外，另一个观摩其他种族生活的好方法就是到集市参观。哈尼族人以十二生肖来计算日子，而“马日”和“鼠日”就是集市的日子。正巧我到达的第二天就碰上了他们的集市。

绿春的集市是非常有规律的。卖菜的就全摆在一起，卖猪肉和牛肉的则在“下一层”，即往山下走。再下去一点就是卖鸡和鸭的。最后一“层”就是卖牛和猪等活口的地方。

Other than funerals, a good way of observing the lives and customs of the locals is a visit to the　market. The Hani people used the 12 zodiac animals to calculate days and market days fall on "horse day" and "rat day". It so happened that the second day after I reached Lv Chun is market day, so I got a good chance to understand the locals way of life.

The market in Lv Chun is very organised. Those selling vegetables are all placed together at the level nearest to the main road. Those selling pork and beef and other meat are placed on the lower level (the market is spread over a slope). Further down are the stalls selling ducks and chickens. Last but not least is the level selling livestock like pigs or buffaloes.

这里有着一堆我没有看过的东西，像是这一堆像草一样的，其实是烟丝。

There are lots of weird stuff here which I had never seen before. Like this pile of "grass", is actually tobacco. 这叠像纸的其实是豆腐。

This pile of paper-like stuff is actually tofu.还有一堆不知道是什么的“菜”。另外，还有长得怪怪的黄瓜和苦瓜。

There are also tons of vegetables which I have never seen before. And also weird looking cucumbers and bittergourds. 看到了云南18怪之一——“鸡蛋串串卖”。

There was also one of the "18 weird phenomenom of Yunnan", eggs sold by "strings". 然后鸡和鸭是这样带回家的。

Chickens and ducks are supposed to be brought home this way.也看到了令人发毛的东西，像这一桶像壁虎的四脚动物。哈尼人喜欢把虫啊，蟋蟀啊，小蜻蜓等昆虫炸了当零食吃。而这些“美食”一点也不便宜，一包就要30元（约6新元）。卖贩说，这一桶“壁虎”拿来炒菜吃，非常美味。

There are also things which made my hairs stand. Like this pail of lizard-like animals. The Hani people love eating insects. Worms, crickets and dragonfly nymphs are supposedly very good snacks after being deep fried. However, these snacks do not come cheap. One packet cost at least 30RMB (about SGD 6). As for this pail of "lizards", we were told that these things taste great when fried with vegetables.

还有这两锅东西。看了很久才研究出，应该是……蜗牛。

And then there was these two containers. It took us a while to figure out, these most probably are... ... snails.

这里非常盛行吃狗肉，菜市场内就有一个角落是专门卖狗肉和杀狗的。当时就正好看到他们清理狗肉。在杀了狗之后，先用火烧一烧，然后用勺子将狗毛刮掉，然后再清理狗的内脏。

Dog meat is considered a delicacy here and there is a corner which sells and slaughters dogs. They were in the process of cleaning up the dogs when we reached. Apparently, they used fired to burn the fur of the dogs, scrapping off the fur with a ladle. Then they will chop and clean out the insides of the dog before selling it to customers.

隔壁的那条街则是卖缝纫用品，和鞋子或帽子等手工艺品。

In the street next to the market, you can find old women sewing and selling things like shoes or headgear.

而在大马路上，则有人在兜售他们亲手做的家具。还有售卖酒和篮子等。

On the main road, you can see handmade furniture for sale on display. There are also people selling baskets and wine.

在街上幌一幌，也会看到许多有趣的东西。像是这个莫名其妙的路标。

You can see lots of interesting things just walking down the main road. Like this road sign which totally does not make sense, "You are allowed to go straight on red light".

在街上还可以看到小孩购买他们喜爱的小吃。
Also seen on the streets, kids crowding round a street stall outside their school, getting their fav snacks. 哈尼女子在帮忙邻居建屋子的当儿，坐在楼梯上小休。
Hani women taking a break from carrying cement for their neighbour's house building project.当地小孩开心地戏水。
Kids having a whale of a time playing around with water.到镇上走一走，也可以对哈尼族人的生活习惯和文化有所认识。像是，他们是相当迷信的，在每个村子的前头，可以看到这样的东西。如果你有仔细看，这其实就是狗的头颅、爪子和尾巴，听说是用来辟邪的。

Walking on the streets, you can also learn a bit about Hani people's customs and culture. Like they are pretty superstitious, and you will be able to see this in every village. This is actually the skull of a dog, it's paws and tail. This is meant to ward off evil spirits.

哈尼族最大的庆祝日之一就是秋千节，每年在“开放”秋千前，会先杀猪酬神，下面这些就是在特别为此而建造的杀猪处所被祭祀的猪的头颅。

One of the biggest festival on the Hani's calendar is the Swing Festival. At the start of the festival, there will be a pig slaughtering ceremony where they will offer the pig to gods. The building below is built just for the pig slaughtering ceremony, and those hanging on the rope are the skulls of the slaughtered pigs.