Gejia people

The Gejia (Chinese: 家人 or 革家人; Hanyu pinyin: Géjiā Rén; also Gedou) is an ethnic group of Chinese found in Guizhou province, southwestern China. They are officially classified as a part of the Miao, but have separate status in Guizhou Province. The Gejia live mainly in Qiandongnan Prefecture, in the counties of Huangping, Kaili, and Guanling. They are concentrated in the towns of Chong'an, Chong Xing, Huangpiao in Huangping and Longchang, Wanshui of Kaili. Matang is exclusively inhabited by these people. There are over 400 inhabitants in this village. The total Gejia population is approximately 50,000.

Gejia, according to legend, are the direct descendants of Houyi, a legendary hero who was said to shoot the nine scorching suns in order to salvage his people. They are noted for their war-like nature. Their costumes are indications of such warfare passion. In the 1953, soon after the Communist Party of China ran the Chinese government, it initiated classification of the ethnic minorities. Anthropologists were assigned to distinguish the ethnic groups based on social history, economic life, language and religion. Out of the 400 groups investigated, China officially approved 38 of them as distinct ethnicity in 1954. Although the official report of the original investigation recommended that they should be identified as separate minority, the Gejia were excluded in the final approval. They are officially recognised as sub-group of the Miao people. (The number of recognised ethnic minorities in China has risen to 56.)

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