Abstract: With only a limited population, the Nu are a people who have had not written language for a long time. So their orally-transmitted tradition serves as a living fossil to record and inherit their history, custom, culture and values and is thus of high value, in terms of both social significance and historical research. It is, therefore, beneficial to preservation of China’s cultural diversity by emphasizing its protection to stimulate confidence and pride in the Nu people for their own traditional culture.

Key words: the Nu people, orally-transmitted tradition, social and cultural function, protection and inheritance