The Zhuang NationalityPopulation and Distribution With a population of about 17,000,000, the Zhuang ethnic minority is the largest minority group in China with a long history and glorious culture. Over 90 percent of the Zhuang people live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The rest of the Zhuang people reside in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan Provinces. The Zhuang ethnic minority has a language of its own that belongs to the Zhuang-Dai branch of Zhuang-Dong Austronesian (an austronesian belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages)汉藏语系壮侗语族壮傣语支 . The language is divided into two dialects although they have few differences. Language and Character In 1957, a writing system based on the Latin alphabet has been created with the help of the Chinese government. The Latin alphabet has been adopted to publish many books. Since then, the Zhuang ethnic minority has had their own language. In the year of 1982, the Zhuang language was revised and has been greatly used among the Zhuang people. Festivals Besides sharing similar festivals with the Han, the Zhuang minority has its unique ones including: the Singing Festival, the Ox Soul Festival, the Devil Festival and so on. Singing FestivalHeld on March 3rd of the lunar calendar .The Zhuang people will sing to each other to challenge each other not only the song itself but also wit . Lyrics（歌词） are usually improvisational and humorous that makes every one burst into laughter. It is also a perfect day for the young men to express their love to the girls by singing, so it is also reputed（普遍认为） as the Valentines Day of the Zhuang ethnic minority . Ox Soul Festival牛魂节牛魂节 The Ox Soul Festival held on April 8th of the lunar month is to celebrate the birthday of the king of oxen and to show their love and respect to the ox, therefore, each ox is relieved from their yokes and free from plowing（耕种）. People give the ox a bath accompanied with beating drums（打鼓）. Parents of a family feed the ox with five-colored glutinous rice, while singing folksongs. It is a festival that represents their great hope for a good harvest. Devil Festival The Devil Festival, held on July 14th of the lunar month, is regarded as an occasion second to the Spring Festival The day before the Devil Festival, every family does a thorough house cleaning and makes special preparations of outfits used in the sacrifice. On that day, duck, pork and good wines along with some candies and fruits must be offered in order to show great respect to their ancestors. Marriage Customs Belief Since the ancient times, the Zhuang people have had numerous kinds of beliefs. They believe in the totem（图腾）, and their ancestors. Now, most of them are polytheists, believing the power of many inanimate things in nature, such as giant trees, high mountains, cavity, the earth, the sun, water and so on. Sacrifice activities are usually held because of their beliefs of being blessed by the divinity （神）and to prevent all kinds of disasters