THE IMPACT OF GROUP MIGRATION ON SPATIAL FORM IN AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: A CASE STUDY “ANCIENT YAO VILLAGE IN THE QIANNAN REGION OF CHINA” AS AN EXAMPLE.

The Baiku Yao is the most widespread of all the Yao villages in the Yao Mountains of Libo County, Guizhou Province, China. In the past, the Baiku Yao used to migrate frequently, as they were called the “gypsies of the East” because they used to cultivate their land by slash-and-burn and move from one mountain to another when they ran out of food. As they kept moving, their way of life and physical space changed. However, with the influence of the Han Chinese way of life and the entry of the market economy, what was considered ‘backward’ and ‘primitive’ in the Yao Mountains is constantly being changed by external forces, most notably the transformation of the living space. During rapid modernization, the Baiku Yao of the Yao Moun- tains has shifted from hunting to settlement but have continued to migrate. During this period, the way of life, livelihood systems and social relations of the Baiku Yao has undergone tremendous changes, and these changes are reflected in the changes in the Baiku Yao living space, and the re- interpretation of the forms of space provided by the government. The anthropological perspective allows for a more complete interpretation of the entire study from a holistic perspective. Therefore, this paper focuses on the causes and spatial forms of the three migrations of the Baiku Yao ancient villages, using anthropological fieldwork methods and drawing certain conclusions. The group migrations of the ancient Yao villages in the Qiannan region can be divided into three broad categories, which present changes in social relations, traditional customs, and contemporary changes in spatial form.