Brief introduction of the Yi people
The Yi people originated from the "Southwest Yi" (a general term for southwest ethnic minorities) recorded in the Han history. According to the records in The Origin of the Yi People and the Records of the Southwest Yi People, the Yi people call themselves "Ni", and the ancient Chinese pronunciation of "Ni" is "Yi", so Chinese records often call it "Yi". In 1956, during the period of getting rid of the name of ethnic discrimination in the old society, the Yi people sent representatives to Beijing to meet with Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao made suggestions after understanding the situation and listening to opinions. Because the name of "Yi people" was derogatory (barbarian), he changed "Yi people" to "Yi people", meaning that there were "rice" and "silk" under the house (_), which symbolized prosperity and development.
The Yi people are the sixth largest ethnic minority in China, mainly living in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces in southwest China, with a total population of more than 9 million. There are 8,714,393 people registered in China (in 21), and there are nearly one million people in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and other countries.
There are many branches of Yi people, including Nuosu, Niesu, Nasu, Naisu, Niezu, Luowu, Axipo, Axi, Sani and Nipo. Among the above-mentioned self-claims, Nuosu, Niesu, Nasu and Niezu have exactly the same original meanings in Yi language, but they are different when they are written with Chinese phonetic symbols due to differences in dialects. Nuosu is the largest branch of Yi people (its self-proclaimed abbreviation is also commonly used as "Ni" and "Nuo"), mainly distributed in Liangshan area of Sichuan. There is no direct communication between Yi dialects in various places, but about 3%-5% of them have the same or similar vocabulary and the same or similar grammatical structure. There is a religious ceremony host "Bimo" and a traditional festival "Torch Festival".
Chinese name: Yi nationality
mbth: YiEthnicity
Population: about 8.71 million (21)
Place of residence: Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Vietnam, etc.
Language: Yi language (Yi branch of Tibeto-Burman language family)
Character: Yi language (Yi language). Chuxiong Station, Kunming Station,
Calendar: Yi people's customs and habits of October solar calendar
Legend of "left-footed dance"
Yi people's left-footed dance has a history of more than 1, years, and the March Festival has a history of nearly 4 years. As early as the forty-first year of Kangxi (172), there was the earliest written record of left-footed dance.
It is said that a long time ago, there was a dragon in the world, which made waves and caused floods. Ali and Aro, two young Yi people, bravely stood up and went to subdue the dragon. The Yi people, led by Ali and Aro, fought against the dragon together. Seeing that the dragon was in a bad situation, they quickly fled back to Longtan. People seized the opportunity to pour the chestnut charcoal that had been burned red in advance into the pond, then lift stones and dig dirt to fill the Longtan. I was afraid that the dragon would not turn over, so I lit a bonfire on it and stamped my feet while singing. For three days and three nights, the dragon finally died. In order to celebrate the victory, the Yi family made a yueqin from the head, skin, bones and tendons of the dragon, gathered together to play the piano and sang "Ariro" with their left foot as a souvenir.
In places where the Yi people live in Lvzhi Town, such as Lala and Longgeli, for hundreds of years, on the 16th day of the first lunar month and the 27th, 28th and 29th days of March, people have married their wives and daughters. When the sun sets, the Yi people and other ethnic groups who are far and near come uninvited, playing the leading Killer, and men and women sing the left-footed tune in harmony or chorus, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, forming a big circle of dozens or even hundreds of people, jumping around happily. Accompanied by clanking chords and high-pitched and crisp songs, they sometimes stumble, sometimes stumble, sometimes swing their legs to their feet, and sometimes wave their hands and turn around, with neat and uniform dance steps and light and strong dancing.
There are many kinds of left-footed dances, but they are basically bold. The first category is hospitality, such as: "Come if you like it, come if you don't like it, whether you like it or not"; The second category is to sing about a better life, such as "March meeting, March meeting, is it fun, playing Killer and jumping through the air, selling jars and reeds, Ariro Ariro Ariro"; The third category is singing "Good harvest", such as "The moon is out and Killer is tuned. The moon is round and round, the moon is smiling, and we all jump together and sing the harvest year "; The fourth category is to sing about love, such as "the most important thing is the March meeting, and you are not tired after three days." If you don't come, you can't talk. Don't let A-mei wait. "
On March 27th, 28th and 29th, people in all areas where the Yi people live in Lvzhi Town will organize large-scale left-footed dances. By that time, Yi men and women dressed in bright Yi costumes were everywhere, and the tune of the yueqin was heard everywhere. Everyone joined hands, danced and reveled all night, regardless of nationality.
"Girls' Room"
Marriage and love of Yi men and women: "Girls' Room" is a unique custom of the Yi people in Chuxiong. When a girl reaches the age of 16, her parents will build another thatched cottage for her to spend the night alone, while young men who have reached the age of 2 can climb the thatched cottage of their beloved girl at night to make love. They blew scorn together, tuned in and told each other about their love. Even if there are several young couples at the same time, everyone is at home. Once the love is mature, both men and women can get married with the consent of their parents, and their parents generally do not interfere with their children's choices.
The wedding of Yi people in Xiaoliangshan, Yunnan is quite unique. When getting married, the man should prepare a horse and bring gifts such as wine, cloth, meat and noodles to meet the bride. The girls in the woman's village can do everything they can to splash water on the wedding guests and catch them playing hard. All the people who send the bride off are men, and the bride can't enter the door until the sun goes down. Before entering the door, a wooden bowl filled with mutton, a handle and wine is held by one person and circled around the bride's head to show that she is rich after marriage. Then, the bride is carried into the house by her cousin.
"jumping vegetables"
Yi people's song and dance meal: "jumping vegetables", that is, dancing to serve food. It is a unique form of serving food and the highest etiquette for banquets among Yi people in Wuliangshan and Ailaoshan, Yunnan Province, and it is a long-standing traditional food culture with a perfect combination of dance, music and acrobatics.
when entertaining guests, square tables are usually laid out along two lines, and guests sit around three sides, leaving a "food jumping" channel in the middle. Three big gongs kicked off the "jumping vegetables": big gongs, lusheng, sanxian, stuffy flute, leaves and other folk music played together; Amid the shouts of girls and boys "Woohoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo", I saw a Yi man with a tray on his head with his hands arched, and his steps were high and low, and suddenly he was anxious and slow. Another man held a dish (***24 bowls) on his head and his arms, followed closely. They joined the simple and honest folk music concerto, made funny faces on their faces, and danced back and forth with relaxed, beautiful, smooth and coherent steps, and appeared in tandem. The two partners, who are dancing with towels, are full of strange behaviors, and they are like butterflies playing with flowers, rushing forward, backward, left and right to escort them.
A pair of dish handlers will serve four tables, and their partners will arrange 32 bowls of dishes into a Bagua array, each bowl of dishes is like a "chess piece". Has its own positioning, all according to the ancient rules one by one off the table, no chaos.
Patriarchal family system prevails in Yi people all over the country, and the youngest son often lives with his parents. Women's status is low. The inheritance is divided equally among the scholars, and the unique business is generally owned by close relatives. In the history of the Yi people, father-son names prevailed, and this custom continued among the Yi people in Liangshan until the founding of the People's Republic of China. Monogamy is the basic marriage system of the Yi people. Marrying a daughter-in-law requires a higher bride price, and it is more popular to cross the table marriage, and the husband dies and transfers the house. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, some Yi areas in Yunnan still maintained the public housing system, and Liangshan Yi people maintained strict hierarchical internal marriage. In history, Yi people mostly practiced cremation. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, residents in Liangshan and Yunnan along the Jinsha River still practiced this burial custom. Other areas have gradually changed to burial since the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
hospitality custom
The folk have the habit of "beating sheep" and "beating cattle" to welcome guests. If there are any visitors, they must be killed and treated first, and treated as cows, sheep, pigs and chickens according to the identity and closeness of the visitors. Before killing the animals, the live animals should be brought to the guests, and the guests should be invited to have a look and then slaughtered to show their respect. Wine is a welcome gift for guests. In Liangshan, as long as guests enter the house, the host must first treat them with wine, and then make various dishes. The fat pig is the most decent meal for guests. In the middle of eating, housewives should always pay attention to the food in the guest's bowl, and they should add it at any time if they don't eat it up, to show their sincerity in hospitality. When eating, the elders sit on the top, and the younger generation sits on both sides and below in turn, and adds rice, sandwiches and soaks for the elders.
the custom of baking tea for blind date
baking tea is a daily necessity for ethnic minorities in alpine valleys in China. Because of the cold and dry climate and lack of vegetables, it is often used to supplement the deficiency of nutrients by drinking rich hot tea, which is called "tea must be drunk three times a day". Roasted tea is diverse, salty, sweet, bitter and spicy, and full of flavor in life. It is not only the source of energy for hard work, but also the spiritual thing to entertain guests at festivals.
It is said that in the local area, if you can't learn the skill of baking tea, and you can't bake good tea at your aunt's house, your father-in-law will think you are incompetent and won't marry your girl. Therefore, local boys will learn to bake tea when they are fifteen or sixteen, and they all have their own unique skills in baking tea.
There is also a story among the Yi people that Bailing brought tea seeds from Baizhang Cliff of Wuliangshan to treat all diseases. In memory of Lingbi, when guests drink tea, boys and girls always imitate Lingbi and dance, and every process of pasting rice and fragrant tea is also related to Bailing.
Marriage Custom
After young men and women get engaged, they should make preparations for the wedding reception. Pig and chicken are often used in wedding banquets, but mutton is generally not used (mutton is used for funerals). The Shiping Yi people in southern Yunnan have the habit of inviting male and female partners for dinner and drinking before marriage. Yi people in western Yunnan, who are married to their daughters, have to set up a shed with branches in the courtyard or dam for guests to drink, smoke, eat and sit around. People call this temporary shed with branches a "green shed".
The marriage and love of the Yi people are strange and interesting. The most interesting thing is that only girls who have held the "dress-changing ceremony" can make love with their sweethearts in the "play field", and the traditional marriage customs such as the matchmaker's saying that they are friendly to eat wine and engage in betrothal, starving the bride, crying all night, splashing water on the bride-to-be, and fighting in the bridal chamber.
Dress-changing ceremony for girls
When Yi girls come of age (usually at the age of 15), it is customary to hold a grand "dress-changing ceremony". In the ceremony of changing skirts, the girl asked her sisters to change her original single braid into double braids and put them on her head. It is also necessary to tear off the white pendant or the old ear-piercing thread that was originally worn, and replace it with coral beads like red agate or silver earrings to show good luck. Finally, the girl took off the original red and white children's skirt and put on a blouse embroidered with lace and a colorful pleated mop-up dress in black, blue, yellow and white. After putting on the new skirt, the girl can go to the "play field" to dance and sing, participate in social activities and start looking for her sweetheart.
Carrying the bride
According to the Yi custom, when the bride leaves the house, her feet must not touch the ground, otherwise there is a danger that her children will not be rich. The young man who takes care of the bride must carry the bride and help her get on the horse. There are also various rules on the way home: if the mountain is too high and the road is too narrow to ride a horse, the young man who takes care of the bride must take turns to carry the bride; Crossing the river and wading, it is even more necessary for people to cross the river on their backs. The bride's embroidered shoes must never touch the water.
splashing water to meet relatives
Yi people believe that clear water can drive away evil spirits, drive away evil spirits and bring happiness. Therefore, the Yi people must splash water when they are newly married. In order to withstand this test, when they greet their relatives, men should be physically strong and smart, so that they can not only cope with the cold caused by splashing water, but also complete the arduous task of "robbing" the bride. They often review the candidates repeatedly and choose the best candidates, and some of them do not hesitate to travel long distances to select talents.
The wedding ceremony of the Yi people is completed by "grabbing". On the first night of "robbing the bride", the girls launched a fierce water war against the young man. The girls attacked the young man fiercely in various ways, such as splashing, pouring, shooting, etc., which made it difficult for the young man who came to "rob the relatives" to parry. So, the clever young man found a place to store water before dark and quietly dumped part of it to alleviate the attack of "flood".
After a night of splashing water, when the morning comes, "stealing relatives" begins. At this time, the girls hugged the bride, and the boys went to "compete". The girls were strictly defended, and the boys had to be smart and changeable. They took advantage of the loopholes that appeared in an instant, snatched the bride and ran, and ran straight out of the Yierli Mountain Road before they changed to walking. It can be seen that it is not easy to "grab" the bride to her husband's house! However, the Yi people believe that this splash and grab in the wedding will drive away evil spirits and ensure that their future life will not be disturbed.
Fighting in the bridal chamber
According to Yi custom, if the bride doesn't resist fighting in the bridal chamber night, she will be laughed at: "This is a woman who can't resist!" It is said that the children they will give birth to in the future will not be recognized by their ancestors, and they will not be able to enter the "underworld" after death! Therefore, when the banquet guests dispersed, a couple in the bridal chamber still had a fight. They fell and beat, tore their clothes and scratched their faces, and the banging sound coming from the bridal chamber shocked all the neighbors.
The next morning, the groom led the bride to recognize her parents. In the afternoon, the groom made an appointment with a partner and followed the bride back to her parents' home to recognize her parents-in-law. If the young man who accompanies him is a naughty boy, when they arrive at the bride's house, the young man will enter the door first, calling dad and mom first, and then the groom will call him, making the bride's parents confused about which one is their son-in-law.
Tourist attractions of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture
Xichang Satellite Launch Base Qionghai Luoji Mountain Lugu Lake Dafeng Dingmahu Yihai Lingshan Temple Ganluo Qingxixia Muli Temple Mu Tianwang Ancient Carving Group Liangshan Yi Museum in Eya Township, Shuiluo Township
Culture and art
Yi people can sing and dance. There are various traditional tunes among Yi people, such as climbing the mountain, entering the door, welcoming guests, eating wine, getting married and mourning. Some tunes have fixed words, others don't, and they are improvised lyrics. Folk songs are divided into male and female tones, and local folk songs have their own unique styles. Yi musical instruments include Hulusheng, Mabu, Bawu, Kouxian, Yueqin, flute, Sanxian, chime, bronze drum and big flat drum. Yi dance also has its own characteristics, which can be divided into two types: body dance and solo dance, most of which are group dances, such as "dancing songs", "dancing music", "dancing on the moon", "singing and dancing" and "Guo Zhuang dance". Cheerful movements and strong sense of rhythm are usually accompanied by flute, yueqin and sanxian.
Music
Yi people's songs include: historical poems, love songs, happy songs and folk songs-among them, there are many kinds of tunes such as happy wine songs, soul songs, ghost songs and wizard tunes; In terms of names, the songs are Russian, elegant, left-wing and Ge. "Russia" means singing, which can be sung in various occasions, and the atmosphere is more relaxed and casual; "Ya" is a solo folk song, and the singers are generally young men and women, mostly touching the scene; "Left" is a kind of wedding song. On the wedding night, two singers from both the host and the guest dance and sing. "Ge" is a prescribed action when mourning the dead or offering sacrifices to ancestors. Bimo poured wine or water on a red-hot soldering iron or charcoal block, and murmured at the same time, shaking the sacrifices or things that need to be sacrificed in the rising steam, sometimes people who were possessed by evil spirits poured them over.