Akezhai Village and Ake Ethnic People in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna

Chinese Name:西双版纳勐海县布朗山乡曼果村委会阿克寨和阿克人
English Name:Akezhai Village and Ake Ethnic People in Menghai County, XishuangBanna

Akezhai Village and the Ake Ethnic People in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna

Akezhai Village阿克寨 is located in the northern part of Bulang Mountain, situated at the junction of Bulang Mountain布朗山, Daluo打洛, and Menghun in the western part of Menghai County, approximately 40 kilometers from the county seat. It is the only Ake ethnic village in Menghai County and the largest Ake settlement in the entire prefecture. The village consists of three natural sections: Ake Old Village, Ake Middle Village, and Ake New Village阿克老寨、阿克中寨、阿克新寨. It has more than 100 households and a population exceeding 500 people. The entire settlement is perched on a hillside at an altitude of 1,398 meters and includes various building types, such as multi-story houses, single-story houses, and storage rooms.

The Ake people have ingeniously developed a system to channel mountain spring water by digging trenches and using tree branches and bamboo pipes to direct the water into each household. This network of crisscrossing bamboo pipes, referred to humorously by locals as “primitive tap water,” provides essential drinking water for both people and livestock.

Background of the Ake People

The Ake people have historically lived in the region stretching from Xishuangbanna to northern Laos and are considered a branch of the ancient Khmer. Within the Ake community, there are three sub-groups: "Kemu Le" (indigenous to Xishuangbanna), "Kemu Lao" (migrants from Laos), and "Kemu Jiao" (migrants from Vietnam). They primarily reside along the banks of the Nanla River, Naliang River, Nanman River, and Nuo River in Mengla County, as well as in the Old, Middle, and New villages of Manmai Village in Gasa Township, Jinghong City. The total population of the Ake people is just over 2,000.

Historically, the Ake people experienced a period of prosperity, having established a powerful kingdom in the Tianfeng Mountain area of Shangyong, Mengla County. They engaged in the extraction of salt from the Moxie wells, which was then sold to countries like Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar.

Legends of the Ake People

Entering the stilt-style thatched houses of the Ake people and sitting around a roaring hearth, an elderly villager with a white beard narrates ancient and enchanting legends.

“According to our ancestors, the Ake people originally lived in the Shanghai area. Later, they migrated to a place called ‘Jiadian Miha’ (a term broadly referring to modern-day Kunming, Honghe, Yuanyang, and Yuanjiang areas), and eventually settled in Bulang Mountain,” one elder recounts. The Ake people do not have a written language, and there are no records of them in Chinese historical books. The southward migration from ‘Jiadian Miha’ is also reflected in the migration epics of the Hani ethnic group.

A Bosha (an elder) informs me that the Ake people of Bulang Mountain were brought by his ancestor, Yuebo, from ‘Jiadian Miha’ seven generations ago. Based on this account, the Ake have been residing in Xishuangbanna for at least 200 years. Another elder mentions, “The Ake people refer to themselves as ‘Baile’ or ‘Ake’.”

I curiously ask, “When did they start calling themselves Ake?”

“We're not sure when we started being called that,” one elder replies, “but we do know how the name ‘Ake’ came about.” He then shares a story: Long ago, an old Ake woman, returning from labor, met a Han man on a hilltop. Unable to communicate through words, they resorted to hand gestures. The Ake woman misunderstood the Han man's phrase “A Ba Ke” (meaning “go ahead” in Chinese) by omitting the middle word “Ba,” resulting in “Ake.” The woman then referred to herself as “Ake,” and her descendants came to be known as the Ake people.