Historical Development
The Yi people, the sixth-largest ethnic minority in China, have a long and rich history. Academically, it is widely accepted that the Yi's origins are connected to the ancient Qiang people in the West. The ancestors of the Yi primarily descended from these ancient Qiang people. Over thousands of years of migration and development, most of the Yi people are now concentrated in the southwestern regions of China, such as Xichang City in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Dali in Yunnan.
Throughout history, many outstanding Yi figures have emerged. One of the most famous is Xiao Yedan, a Yi leader. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, over eighty years ago, the Chinese Red Army needed to cross the Jinsha River to enter the Yi region of Sichuan. Red Army Chief of Staff Liu Bocheng pledged brotherhood with Xiao Yedan by drinking chicken blood wine by the Yi Sea. Subsequently, Xiao Yedan led the local Yi people to escort the Red Army safely through the Yi area, facilitating the Red Army's successful passage and creating a legendary tale of ethnic unity.
Additionally, the Yi people have made significant academic contributions throughout history. They created their own national calendars, such as the Ten-Month Calendar and the Twelve-Month Calendar, preserved in ancient Yi documents like the Sacrifice Dragon Sutra and the Ten-Month Beast Calendar. The Yi people have also made remarkable achievements and unique understandings in astronomy. Historically, they observed celestial phenomena and accumulated extensive astronomical knowledge, which they documented in books. These texts reflect their understanding of the universe's evolution, spatial structure, celestial movements, and the origin of all things. Notable works include The Southwest Yi Chronicles, The Origins of the Yi, Cosmic Humanities, Cosmic Biochemistry, and The Record of Objects, which contain a wealth of astronomical and cosmological content. For detailed information, please visit the "Link: Stargazer" website organized by the "Link" series on Yi cultural preservation.
Cultural Heritage
The Yi people, with their long history, possess distinctive cultural traits. Their religious beliefs are predominantly primal, involving nature worship (such as fire worship, symbolized by the Torch Festival), totem worship, ancestor worship, and animism. Furthermore, their beliefs are diverse and inclusive. In the Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi Yi regions, alongside their primal religions, Daoism and Buddhism also prevail in some areas. In Liangshan Prefecture, each Yi family conducts two to three ritual ceremonies annually, known as "Bimo," held on significant occasions like New Year, weddings, funerals, and visits from children living away from home. During the Yi New Year, a priest is invited to perform Bimo rituals, reflecting their respect for family, hopes for the new year, blessings for newlyweds, and mourning for the deceased.
Yi traditional clothing and accessories are varied, with nearly a hundred types, and are rich in color, showcasing their traditional culture and aesthetic consciousness. In many parts of Liangshan, where the climate is cool year-round, seasonal clothing variations are minimal, and the woolen shawl "Zarwa" is worn year-round. For example, Yi women typically wear a bordered or embroidered right-front blouse, a black headscarf, and silver earrings, with silver floral pins at the collar. Except for Yi women in Xiaoliangshan and Yunnan who wear skirts, most Yi women in other regions wear trousers. Many women's clothes feature intricate embroidery, especially on cuffs, collars, and waistbands, with unique, delicate patterns. Yi clothing is characterized by rich colors, diverse styles, and distinctive local silver accessories and embroidery.
The Yi people have unique dietary habits. Their staple foods include potatoes, corn, buckwheat, and rice. Side dishes consist of meats, beans, vegetables, condiments, and beverages. The main meats are beef, lamb, pork, and chicken. Beans include soybeans, broad beans, and peas (one popular dish made from soybeans is "Dulaba," where soybeans are ground into paste and cooked with pickled vegetables). Notable Yi delicacies include "Eight Bowls," buckwheat cakes, frozen meat, lamb tripe stew, and boiled potatoes.
Yi customs are very hospitable, with elaborate guest etiquette. Hosts prepare fresh meat, with beef being the most esteemed, followed by lamb and pork. Yi people also emphasize treating guests with wine, known as the "Three Cups of Wine" ritual. The first cup, "Lanmen Wine," is offered at the door to welcome the guest with music, singing, and a cup of wine presented by a traditionally dressed Yi girl. If there is a leaf in the cup, the guest must sing a toast. The second cup, "Blessing Wine," is offered at the banquet with songs of blessing for the guest. The third cup, "Farewell Wine," is offered when the guest leaves, with music and singing expressing the host's best wishes and reluctance to part. Drinking the "Three Cups of Wine" is the highest form of hospitality among the Yi. Drinking wine is a deeply rooted tradition in Yi social life, marking various occasions from daily living, guest receptions, festivals, and celebrations to negotiations and conflict resolutions. Their distinctive wine culture is omnipresent.
The Yi people have their unique language and script. Yi belongs to the Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman family within the Sino-Tibetan language family and has six dialects: Northern, Eastern, Southern, Southeastern, Western, and Central, which further divide into five sub-dialects and 25 vernaculars. The Yi script is a logographic script, also known as syllabic script, commonly referred to as Old Yi script. It likely developed in the 13th century, with an estimated 10,000 existing characters, of which about 1,000 are frequently used. Each character represents a meaning, with no radicals or components, and multiple writing formats, predominantly written left-to-right or top-to-bottom.
The Yi people celebrate unique traditional festivals, such as the Torch Festival, held on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month for three days. During the festival, people wear traditional attire and gather to sing, dance, race horses, bullfight, wrestle, and hold beauty contests. The activities are diverse and lively. In the morning, livestock is sacrificed to ancestors, and in the evening, torches are lit and paraded through the fields to drive away pests and pray for a good harvest. The Yi New Year, known in Yi as "Kushu," is another significant festival, celebrated between the tenth and eleventh lunar months on auspicious dates. The Torch Festival in Liangshan reflects an ancient fire worship, a tradition rooted in the Yi people's early cultural beliefs linked to the Qiang system, emphasizing the sacredness of fire.