Deng people
The Deng (Chinese transcription of Taraon-Kaman languages: 代巴玫; Chinese: 僜人; Hanyu pinyin: Dèng Rén) is an ethnic group that is not officially recognised by the government of People's Republic of China. They are also known as the Dengba.
They live in Tibet's Zayu County and virgin forest areas between the Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains at an elevation of 1000 meters. Currently, they are 9 Deng villages. They have their own spoken language, derived from the Tibeto-Burman language branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
In 1985, the Chinese government tried to have some expert study on Deng and recognize them, but 10th Panchen lama says "All the people in Tibet should be Tibetans" and "To recognize any new ethnic groups is to split our Tibetans." and as a result the project has been abolished (according to Chinese National Geographic,[1] ).
Origins
| “ | 很久以前，世界上一片茫茫大水，德饶高创造了大地，金人阿加尼与老鹰通婚，繁衍成了僜人。 | ” |
This is a story among Deng people. They believe their ancestor is Ajiani.