File:還儺願儀式仙逢面具.jpg

English: Being a cultural minority and subject to disparities in power between ethnic groups, non-Han communities in Southwest China have long undergone gradual processes of Sinicization. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, for example, the Han Chinese classified non-Han peoples into "raw aborigines" or "cooked aborigines". The former "hide deep in the mountains and are unregistered by the government"; the latter "provide labor and pay land taxes [to the state] as all Han commoners do". This distinction in degrees of Sinicization is further demonstrated in the dress of these communities. The chieftains or headmen, namely those in the upper strata of an ethnic group, are dressed in a more Sinicized manner. Moreover, they further distinguish themselves by claiming that their ancestors are from the largely Han regions of Nanjing or Huguang.