The Gelao people (also spelled Gelo) (Gelao: Klau, ) are an ethnic group of China and Vietnam. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. However, many Gelao are also variously classified as Yi, Miao, and Zhuang by the Chinese government. They number approximately 438,200 and are mainly located in Gelao autonomous counties in western part of Guizhou, such as Wuchuan Gelao and Miao Autonomous County and Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County in Zunyi. They are also found in Liupanshui, Anshun, Dafang, and Bijie. Some live in western Guangxi (Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County), southeastern Yunnan and southern Sichuan. The main religion practiced is Taoism with a small but significant Buddhist minority. History The Gelao people are often considered to be the aboriginal inhabitants of Guizhou. The ancestors of the Gelao were the Liáo (僚), who made up the population of the ancient Yelang (夜郎) kingdom. Language The Gelao language belongs to the Kadai language family. Today, only a small minority of the Gelaos still speak this language. Since the various Gelao dialects differ greatly from each other, Mandarin has been used as a lingua franca and is now the main language spoken by Gelaos. The Miao, Yi and Buyei languages are also used. Culture The traditional suits of the men consist of jacket done up to a side and long pants. The women wear short jackets and narrow skirts divided into three parts: the head office is elaborate in red wool while the other two are of fabric bordered in black and white colors. Men and women wear long scarves. In their traditional music, the Gelao use a two-stringed fiddle with a body made from a cow horn, called the jiaohu (角胡; pinyin: jiǎohú). The Gelao people have their own language, Gelao . At present, only more than a thousand Gelao people can speak this language. The Gelao language differs greatly from place to place due to scattered living. Most Gelao people speak many languages such as Chinese, Miao, Yi, and Bouyei. Gelao folk circulates oral literature such as poetry and proverbs. Ancient folk songs consist of long and short sentences of varying numbers of words. In the past two or three hundred years, they have been greatly influenced by the genre of Han poetry, and many have borrowed Chinese words and phrases. Language It was previously thought that the