The Hani or Ho people (Hani: Haqniq; ; / 𠊛何贰) are a Lolo-speaking ethnic group in Southern China and Northern Laos and Vietnam. They form one of the 56 officially recognized nationalities of the People's Republic of China and one of the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam. In Laos, the Hani are more commonly known as Ho. Distribution There are 12,500 Hani living in Lai Châu Province and Lào Cai Province of Vietnam. The Ho reside in the mountainous northern regions of Phongsaly Province in Laos, near the Chinese and Vietnamese borders. China Over ninety percent of present-day Hani peoples live in the Province of Yunnan in Southern China, located across the Ailao Mountains, between the Mekong River and the Red River (Yuanjiang river). Subdivisions of Hani autonomous counties within prefecture-level cities and a prefecture, within Yunnan are: Mojiang Hani Autonomous County — Pu'er City (prefecture-level city) Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County — Pu'er City Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County — Pu'er City Yuanjiang Hani, Yi and Dai Autonomous County — Yuxi (prefecture-level city) Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County — Pu'er City Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture Origins The origins of the Hani are not precisely known, though their ancestors, the ancient Qiang tribe, are believed to have migrated southward from the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau prior to the third century CE. The Hani oral traditions state that they are descended from the Yi people, and that they split off as a separate tribe fifty generations ago. One of their oral traditions is the recital of the names of Hani ancestors from the first Hani family down to oneself. Culture Hani houses are usually two or three stories high, built with bamboo, mud, stone and wood. The traditional clothing of the Hani is made with dark blue fabric. The men dress in short jackets and in long wide pants. They also wear white or black turbans. The women dress depending on which clan they belong to. There is no gender difference in the clothing of children under the age of seven. Hani are known for their vocal polyphonic singing. Eight-part polyphony was recorded in the 1990s. They play traditional musical instruments, end-blown flute labi (俄比). and three-stringed plucked lute lahe. Terraced fields are a feature of their agricultural practices. Religion The Hani are polytheists and they profess a special adoration toward the spirits of their