The Shui people live in compact communities mostly in Sandu Shui Autonomous County, Libo County, Duyun City, Dushan County in Qiannan Buyiand MiaoAutonomous Prefecture; in Kaili City, Liping County, Rongjiang County, Congjiang county, etc. in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture; a small number of them are scattered in the west region in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

    　　The residential areas of the Shui people are located at the south side of the Miaoling Mountains and the upper reaches of the Duliu River and the Longjiang River in the southeast part of the Yun(nan)-Gui(zhou) Plateau, where forests are densely covered, mountains and rivers are like pictures. These areas are suitable for the development of agroforestry. They are the land of fish, rice, flowers and fruit on Guizhou Plateau.

    　　The Shui people are engaged in farming, mostly planting paddy rice. “Jiuqian Wine” is the traditional good wine of the Shui people.

    　　The remote ancestor of the Shui people was a branch of the ancient “Baiyue” people, which, with the Zhuang, the Dong, etc., was called by a joint name of “Liao” during the period of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) and the Song Dynasty (960 – 1297). “Fushui Prefecture” was set up in the populated area of the Shui people at the time of the Northern Song Dynasty (960 – 1127). The name of “Shui” was first found in the historical records of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). The names of “Shuijia-Miao” and “Shui-jia” were mostly called in the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). The Shui Ethnic Group has been formally named after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

    　　The Shui language belongs to the Shui language of the Zhuang and Dong language branch of the Sino-Tibetan Language Family. The ancestors of the Shui people created their own written language, called “Shui” scripts. The shape was similar to that of the inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells or to “Jinwen” scripts. However, they had only 400-odd words, mostly used for witchcraft activities. The Shui people have their own calendar, which is basically identical with the traditional Chinese calendar. However, the 8^th month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar is considered as the end of the year in the Shui calendar and the 9^th month, the beginning of the year. There are four days for the last of the Twelve Earthly Branches from the end of August to the beginning of October in the traditional Chinese calendar, which are in turn the Spring Festivals for various villages of the Shui people. The Shui people call the Spring Festival “Jieduan” (transliteration from the Shui language), which is celebrated grandly and lively. On the occasion all kinds of recreational activities are carried out, such as drums and gongs beating, Lusheng playing, horse racing, dancing and singing, etc..

[Customs in Weddings & Funerals]

    　　The Shui people continue to keep the strong traditional color in the customs in weddings and funerals. They stress importance of a right and legal marriage. Before getting married, young man and women may make use of the opportunity of singing in antiphonal styles on festivals or when going to village fairs to make friends or have love affairs. Even if they become engaged through their free love, formal weddings must be carried out for their marriage. Otherwise, it will not conform to the etiquette and such a marriage will be discriminated by others. After the young boy and girl fall in love with each other, they should ask somebody to tell their parents of both sides. In case their parents would express agreement with it, the future bridegroom’s family may ask the matchmaker to send presents for the engagement. And a lucky day should be fixed to send a group of people to the future bride’s home, carrying piglets for “Chixiaojiu” (small-scale dinner party for celebrating their engagement). When the bridegroom’s side formally welcomes the bride on the wedding day, they send a group of people to deliver the bride’s a big fat pig for “Chidajiu” (grand-scale dinner party for celebrating their marriage). At the dinner party, songs for toasting should be sung. After the hostess sings a song, the guests should drink up a bowlful of wine until the guests should be dead drunk, thus showing the boundless hospitality of the hostess. The families of both sides’ should not join the activities of fetching the bride or sending the bride. Except in rare areas that the bride should be carried to the groom’s on the back of the bride’s brother, in most cases, the bride is dressed in her best, carrying in her hand a red paper umbrella that has been deliberately torn with a crack and walking in front of the queue. The accompany boys and girls and the long queue carrying dowries and trousseaus follow closely after the bride. The bride generally goes out of her parents’ home around noon, and gets into the groom’s home at six or seven o’clock in the evening. Before the lucky time comes, the bride should not get into the groom’s home. Before the bride gets into the bridegroom’s home, the bridegroom’s families should go out of their doors to avoid meeting the bride. They should not come back until the bride gets into their home. At the night of the newly-married couple the accompany girl should stay up with the bride. The next day after the marriage ceremony, the bride should go back to her parents’ home and stay with her parents. At the proper time after the wedding ceremony at the bridegroom’s home, the bridegroom may ask the bride come back to the groom’s home and begin their new life of husband and wife. Some brides go back to their own parents’ homes for “Zuojia” (staying at home) for a period of time up to one or two months for the first time, which is the remaining marriage custom of “Buluofujia” (separation of newly married couples). There is a most taboo that both families are afraid of weather change with thunders on the way of the bride’s going to the bridegroom’s home, therefore, wedding ceremonies are generally held in autumn or in winter.

[Characteristics in Dresses and Personal Adornments]

    　　There have been not so great differences between men’s clothes of the Shui people and the neighboring Han people since 1940s. However, women’s clothes and adornments of the Shui people have still kept their own clear ethnic features. Women’s clothes, mostly made with the cotton cloth woven by the Shui women themselves, are semi-long or long upper garments with the buttons on the right or short open-front coats without collars. The long garment is long enough down to the knee, without decorative borders. For the clothes in their festivals best or on their wedding ceremonies, they are entirely different from those worn at the ordinary times. Around the shoulder and the cuff of sleeves of the wedding clothes and at the knee of the trousers, they are trimmed with embroidered laces. There are also colorful patterns on their cover-chiefs. With silver crowns on the head, silver neck-lets around the neck, silver bracelets on the wrists, silver Yaling plastron on the chest, silver earrings on the earlobes, embroidered shoes worn on the feet, the bride is gorgeously dressed, cutting quite a fine figure.

    　　Besides, the embroidered straps or suspenders by the Shui women are of more artistic quality. For the so-called “belts”, in fact, they are a kind of elegant “screen” in “T” form, the size of the screen should be large enough to wrap up and carrying a baby on the back, with belts on the lateral ends of the upper part. The embroidered patterns on the braces, which use white or color silk threads winding on the white horsetail to embroider various patterns well first, then inlaid them on the cloth of the strap. The strap, beautiful and practical, is a very good present for the daughter’s marriage from her mother.