Overview of Yi traditional festivals

The Yi people have many traditional ethnic festivals, and different traditional festivals also have different social functions. Such as the Competition Dress Festival, Girls 'Day, Yi Valentine's Day, Torch Festival, Dance Dance Festival, Tiger Dance Festival, Dance Festival, Secret Branch Festival, etc. Due to frequent cultural exchanges, traditional festivals of the Yi people are no longer limited to the scope of national traditions.

Yi people Kaixin Street A traditional festival of the Yi people in Eshan, Yunnan. The time is the first rush day after the first day of the first lunar month. In the old days, after the Yi people in the Eshan area burned incense and offered sacrifices to the gods on the 30th night of the New Year every year, each family did not communicate with each other until the second or third day of the first month when each village held folk lantern festival, dragon festival, tiger festival, and earth festival. Only after Kaixin Street did the Yi people go to work.

On Kaixin Street, everyone of the Yi people has to put on new clothes, play various ancient and unique folk musical instruments, play dragon lanterns, shrimp lanterns, lion lanterns, and colorful boat lanterns, and dance in a passionate and unrestrained flower drum dance. The Yi villages rush towards the designated streets. On the street, three shots were fired. As soon as the shots were fired, a highly respected elder spoke, wishing the weather was smooth and the grain was abundant.

Various cultural performances and entertainment activities were then held. In the evening, young Yi people will light bonfires to continue singing, dancing and entertainment. In some places, there is still the habit of eating "open new street meals" on pine mats. During the Kaixin Street period, the Yi people also purchased the production materials and various daily necessities needed for spring plowing at the stalls.

In the Liangshan area, Yi girls must hold a mysterious "skirt changing" ceremony when they come of age. It is called "Sharaluo" in Yi language, which means to take off their childhood dresses and put on their adult dresses. Before "Shaluo", Yi girls wore red and white children's skirts with single braids and ear threads hanging on their ears. After the "skirt changing" ceremony is held, you must wear a three-string mop dress with black and blue in the middle. The original single braid must be changed to double braid, and you must wear an embroidered head handkerchief and hang earrings.

After the "skirt changing" ceremony, the girl can freely go shopping, rush to the venue, watch horse racing, make friends, and fall in love. The time for "changing skirts" is determined according to the development status of the girl. It is generally selected between the ages of 15 and 17, and it is usually selected for a single year. Because in the eyes of the local Yi people,"changing skirts" at the age of two will be disastrous and will not be auspicious for life. As for the specific date of the "dress change", the elderly must be asked to carefully choose and calculate it before finally setting an auspicious day.

Since "changing skirts" is a symbol for a woman from childhood to adulthood, parents attach great importance to this. Especially the mother. She is a considerate person to her daughter and knows her daughter's physiological condition best. Before changing the skirt, she enthusiastically prepared lace black hapa, a new skirt, as well as beads of different colors and silver medals on the collar and other clothing items for her daughter.

Yi Girls 'Day, also known as "Girl Street", is a festival for Yi girls in Jinping, Yunnan, and is also a traditional festival of the Yi people. The time is the first rush day after the Spring Festival. At that time, in addition to Yi girls, girls from the Yao, Miao and Hani ethnic groups will also come to participate.

Song and dance are the main activities of the Yi Girls 'Day. The girls sang and danced hand in hand on the street to show their youth and show their beauty. Buying and selling goods is the most distinctive activity of Girls 'Day. On this day, after the song and dance, the girls would sell the mountain goods and medicinal materials they had brought, and then buy lace, silk thread, and silver jewelry.

When shopping, there will be scenes of Yi guys rushing to pay for the girl. These young men sang the tune of lanterns: "It's been a long time since we rushed to Sifang Street. There have been rows of fans in Mimao circles. I want to buy whatever I want, and I will pay for it." They bravely made love to the girl they liked. Girls 'Day is a good time for young people of the Yi people to exchange feelings and talk about love. As the sun sets, on the way back from the street, love songs are sung, and pairs of lovers are immersed in an atmosphere of joy and sweetness.

Yi people worship Guye Festival, a traditional Yi festival in Eshan, Yunnan. The time falls on the second day of the first lunar month every year. Most of them are held in Yi villages. At that time, the Yi people will bring back the girls who have married out of the village within three to five years, together with their husbands, to the village. First, he sent big red greeting cards to each family's grand-in-law, and then the village organized lion dances, dragon lanterns, flower drum teams and big-headed monks to each family to pay homage.

The grandfathers had to light firecrackers to welcome them and give them sweets and cakes. Some Yi villages even invite all the grandfathers to pay a group visit, so that each grandfathers can show their wisdom and talents in such collective occasions. During group visits, some Yi people also placed seeds of various high-yield crops. Uncle's Day is said to have a history of hundreds of years.

Yi Clothing Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Yongren County, Yunnan. It is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year. It is said that in ancient times, there were two Yi brothers, both brave and hard-working hunters. They led the villagers to live a happy and beautiful life. When the village elders were preparing to marry them and asked which woman they liked, they replied that they wanted a girl with ingenuity and ingenuity.

Therefore, on the 15th day of the first month, the village elders recruited all the girls in the village to compete in costumes and let the two brothers choose. The Yi girls did their best to embroider and dye, and both brothers chose the right person, hence the name of the Dress Festival. At that time, the girls will be dressed in their own costumes, and all of them will be beautifully dressed. The winner of the competition has become the target that the boys admire and pursue.

Yi People's Heijing Lantern Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in the Heijing area of Mouding County, Yunnan Province. It is held on the 15th of the first month of the lunar calendar every year. The Heijing area is rich in well salt. The first program of the Dragon Lantern Festival is to "play with dragons". Dragons have nine sections, playing the role of wells that create salt water to make the salt water more salty. In addition, there are Yi entertainment programs such as Sanda, tribute, matchmaker, Shui nationality, lion playing, marrying a daughter, and deli. Finally,"Hejing Peace" is composed of two colorful clouds, salt lanterns, white crane lanterns, and carp lanterns. The colorful clouds lanterns help dragons rise to the sky and the salt lanterns symbolize the prosperity of the salt industry. Use the word "well" on the lamp stand to take the colorful title of "close well and peaceful".

Yi People's Bawu Festival is a folk festival of the Yi people in the east and Xishan District of Heqing County, Yunnan. The time falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year. "Bawu" means calling, which is a ceremony for the Yi people to celebrate the triumphant return of hunting and pray for a good harvest from hunting in the future. In the past, every time a game was caught in the village, they would dance the "Bawu" dance.

Before dancing, Yi hunters would peel their prey in the singing field and hand over the animal's head to the hunting organizer or commander. The animal skin would be given to the hunter who killed the prey, and the animal meat would be given to "Abu" who presided over the sacrificial activities."Abu" would put the meat on the altar fire and barbecue it. Then, the one holding the animal head took the lead, and the one wearing the animal skin followed, performing various hunting movements around the fire. Other hunters, led by the hunters who captured their prey, pretended to be beasts and followed them together to perform a dance of capturing wild animals. After the meat is roasted, the Yi people share the game. Later, dancing in Bawu became a traditional festival held regularly.

Nowadays, the Bawu songs and dances during the festival are even more exciting. A band composed of 12 wooden drums, 12 bronze gongs and 12 sucas (13 pieces for each leap year) is accompanied. Thirty-six young Yi women dressed in the fur of wild beasts such as tigers, leopards, foxes, bears, rabbits, etc. or with the feathers of golden pheasants and various birds on their heads, dressed up as birds and beasts, singing and dancing around the fire, expressing the attitude of various animals and imitating the cries of various animals. Hunters hold bows or steel forks to surround the "prey" and perform various hunting movements in order to harvest a good harvest in the future. During the festival, activities such as dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, and white crane lanterns are also carried out.

Yi people celebrate February 7 in Juntun Town, Eshan Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province. The festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the second month of the lunar calendar. It is said that it rose in the late Ming Dynasty after February 7th, with the purpose of asking the gods to protect the Yi boys and girls in the town from disease and disaster. Before the festival, people need to refine three roofs of the divine sedan chair, two with sedan roofs and one with a seat type; the roof with the roof carries the Virgin Mary and the earth god, and the seat type carries the God of Wealth. On the evening of the sixth day of February, a gentry came to the Temple of the Virgin Mary and asked for three small statues to take their seats and placed them on the altar table in the hall, named "Nuanshou".

On the morning of the seventh day of the lunar new day, all Yi children born in Juntun Town had to wear clean festive costumes and be carried by their parents. They carried a "cangue" made of tissue paper and bamboo with two small flags on their shoulders. They also carried a pair of male and hen and went to the Bodhisattva seat to lead birth. When leading birth, they first took off the small flag on the cangue and let the child hold it, and then burned the cangue. The parents would carry the children and chickens home. After arriving home, they would kill and cook the chickens., put them on a plate and go to the Temple of Our Lady to make a vow.

After the Yi adults made their vows, they began to receive the gods. Juntun Town is divided into four sections: upper section, middle section, lower section, and street section. When connecting the gods, each section takes turns in order. The leader must kill pigs and sheep, prepare a banquet, and make a list of "old people carrying incense". According to rules, all Yi men over fifty years old are qualified to eat food. When it came to receive the gods, the old man carrying incense walking in front each held two lit sticks of incense in his hand, followed by the divine sedan chair and various lanterns singing while walking.

The person carrying the sedan chair must be an Yi man who was married at that time and wearing a long gown and jacket neatly. If the number is not enough, it can also be replaced by someone who married in the previous year. After receiving God, all participants sat down for dinner. In fact, the god receiving activity began on the sixth day of February and ended until the god returned to the Temple of the Virgin on the 15th. February 7th is also a good time to discuss marriage in Juntun Town. Many young men and women of the Yi nationality decide on this day.

Yi Flower Arrangement Festival A traditional festival of the Yi people in Chuxiong, Yunnan, is held every year on the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar. On this day, the Yi people collected flowers and set up flower archways on the roadside, next to trees, and at the entrance of the village. They woven them into garlands and hung them on the door, and planted them all over the doormeats, house corners, livestock stalls, horns and farm tools. It is said that this is to miss Miyilu.

Legend has it that long ago, there was a beautiful girl named Miyilu on Tanhua Mountain. She could sing many Yi tunes and embroider all kinds of flowers, birds and animals. One day Miyilu was grazing on the mountain and met a ferocious wolf. The kind, honest and highly capable young Yi hunter Chao Lieeruo rescued the girl and the flock of sheep. Miyilu gave Chaolieruo a snow-white rhododendron to express her gratitude. From then on, the two fell in love with each other. There was a chieftain on Tanhua Mountain who ruined the girls from various villages in the name of selecting beautiful women to serve on the fairies in his fairy garden.

Miyilu was very angry after learning about this. In order to save her sisters, on the eighth day of February, she picked two poisonous flowers and placed them on her head. She broke into the fairy garden alone, pretended to be married to the Tusi, and waited for the opportunity to soak the poisonous flowers in human wine. In the wine, the Tusi drank to death. Chaolieruo returned from hunting and found that Miyilu had also died. He held Miyilu's body and cried until his eyes bled. The drops of blood dyed the azaleas red. In order to commemorate Miyilu, who dared to sacrifice himself to eliminate violence, the Yi people from dozens of miles around go to Tanhua Mountain on the eighth day of February every year to pick flowers and plant them everywhere to follow each other into a practice. Has passed down to this day.

The traditional festival of the Yi people on February 8 is held on the 8th day of the second month of the lunar calendar every year, and the festival lasts for three days. It is said that the festival commemorates Mi Ku, a national hero who fought against a strong enemy at a critical moment. At that time, the Yi men in the village will come to the highest and most ancient tree next to the village-the Mishu Tree. Each household will offer a bowl of rice, a piece of salt, tea, wine, etc. to the tree. Then carry out the activities of offering sacrifices to Miku. During the festival, the Yi people also hold recreational activities such as walking songs, wrestling, and swinging.

Yi Song Competition is a traditional festival of the Lalu people in Yuanjiang County, Yunnan Province. Ox Day is held every year in the second month of the lunar calendar. At that time, the Yi people will choose a relatively flat place outside the village as a song competition venue. Several piles of fire will be burned on the venue, and the Yi people will sit on the ground around the fire. After the Lusheng sounded, the dancers who were good at singing walked into the circle and danced collectively with the accompaniment of the Lusheng. The Yi audience on the scene also applauded the dancers to cheer up.

Then, men and women sang duet, and the girls were used to sing together. The Yi girls chose a suitable candidate to face off. When singing against each other, we first test each other tactfully and implicitly, and slowly express our mutual admiration in public. The audience responded with congratulatory applause and happy laughter. The young man and girl singing against each other took advantage of the lively scene to calm their feelings. They peeped at each other shyly and shyly, gave them intimate smiles, and if in all likelihood they fell in love, they would hand in hand and leave the field. If they don't like each other, they will also decline politely with singing on the spot.

Some generous young Yi men and women still stood in the scene after being rejected, waiting for another person to go on stage and sing against them. Some even insisted on leaving until they got a couple. This method is called the "pillar". The competition sometimes lasts for several days until no one is on the stage to sing. At the end, people gathered the couples who had sung into the scene and danced and danced to their fullest extent with the accompaniment of Lusheng.

Yi Mountain Protection Festival Xilonglin Yi folk traditional festival. It is held on the third and fourth days of the third month of the lunar calendar every year. During the Mountain Protection Festival, no one is allowed to go up the mountain to cut trees and gather firewood, nor is it allowed to drive herds to the mountain to graze. On this day, various Yi villages will also organize "hunting" activities, which are usually attended by young Yi people. At that time, people will dress up as animals and appear in front of the "hunters" after evening. The "hunters" weapon is bamboo cannons. Celebrations will be held after returning from the "hunting", and everyone sings and dances around the fire all night long.

The Yi people celebrate the Qing Festival, the Yi women's festival in Baishui District, Qujing City, Yunnan Province, is a traditional festival of the Yi people. The time falls on the first horse day of the third month of the lunar calendar every year. On this day, all housework is done by men. After dressing up, the Yi women brought food to the local dense mountains, dug fire ponds, and made fires to cook. After the food was cooked, everyone sat on the ground, first toasting the elderly women, and then serving the little girl with food. After that, everyone tasted the food and sang songs until the bright moon was in the sky before helping the old and the young and leaving one after another. On this day, Han women nearby were also invited to attend.

Yi Valentine's Day Yi Valentine's Day is a folk festival for the Bai Yi people in Napo County, Guangxi. It is held every year in the third month of the lunar calendar. This is a festival to express love. Generally, Yi young men give girls white sand cakes, while Yi girls give young men clean glutinous rice. The Bai Yi people advocate white and give pure white food to those who love each other, demonstrating the purity of their hearts and the sincerity of their love.

Mouding Yi People's March Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Chuxiong, Yunnan. It is held on the 14th of the third month of the lunar calendar every year and lasts for three to five days. During the festival, in addition to the Yi people from all over Chuxiong, nearby Bai, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Han and other ethnic groups also traveled mountains and rivers to Mouding to participate in the festival. At the March meeting every year, Mouding County is very lively with the noise of gongs and drums and the sound of firecrackers. The Yi people held hands in a circle and danced the Yi folk "left foot dance".

The origins of the March Conference include those who say it commemorates Li Wenxue, the leader of the Yi uprising in Ailao Mountain; others say that there is a dragon pool outside Mouding City, and there is a dragon in the pool. In March and April every year, it makes waves, floods crops, and swallows people and livestock. The magistrate told the people that on March 28, each household would take out a few kilograms of charcoal and put it next to the Longtan for burning. After the magistrate gave the order, the red-hot charcoal would be poured into the Longtan and then the pool would be filled with mud and stone. People danced and sang on the filled dragon pool to celebrate and commemorate the victory of conquering the dragon.

Yi Clothing Festival A traditional festival of the Yi people in Santai Mountain, Dayao County, Yunnan Province, is held every year on the 28th day of the third month of the lunar calendar. At that time, women dressed in various gorgeous costumes and came to participate. At the clothing festival, there are a dazzling array of embroidery treasures. Birds and beasts, flowing water and clouds, mountain flowers and weeds are all integrated into the ingenious embroidery of Yi women.

Legend has it that long ago, there was a smart and beautiful girl named Amini in Santai. She made a dress modeled after the feathers of the golden pheasant. The pattern was exquisite and the color was wonderful, which was better than the clothes made by the chief of the Tusi. Amini was forced by the toast to fly away like a golden pheasant. The Yi people commemorated her in the form of a clothing festival. At festivals, girls change into several sets of beautiful clothes in order to win honors. At night, dancing and singing, the young men came to find the clever girl they liked during the day.

Yi People's Association Festival Traditional Yi Festival in Yangbi County, Yunnan. The time is on the 29th day of the third month of the lunar calendar. At that time, the Yi people gathered together and held singing and dancing activities in the courtyard. A singing team was formed by everyone, surrounded by three piles of bearded fire, and danced with the accompaniment of four Lusheng. When dancing, they were accompanied by counter-songs, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Yi Tiaogong Festival is called "Konggao" in Yi language, which means a day of celebration. It is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Napo County, Guangxi. Festivals vary in different places, and some celebrate the holidays on the third day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. This festival is a day to sacrifice ancestors, land and mountain gods. At that time, people will rehearse scenes of ancient Yi people's war and life; the hereditary festival event host Eat Gong will sing the history of the nation, dance golden bamboo dances, anti-song songs, drinking, and dinner parties. Among them, bamboo dancing is the most important. Before dancing, pig heads are used to sacrifice to ancestors, and then "Ma Gong" leads the dance. Everyone follows each other in the rhythm of Lusheng and bronze drums. The Jinzhu Dance takes two days to dance.

Regarding the origin of this Yi festival, it is said that long ago, Jiugong, the leader of the Yi people, lost in a war and was forced to hide in a golden bamboo forest. He used his wits to light bamboo leaves to confuse the enemy, but the enemy was indeed afraid to retreat. Later, Jiugong did not forget the saving grace of Jinzhu. He planted a cluster of Jinzhu in the middle of the village dam, and led his clansmen to dance and sing around the Jinzhu in the fourth month of the lunar calendar. Later, sacrifices to ancestors were added to explain ethnic history, and gradually developed into a fixed Yi festival.

Yi people's Shahubi Festival, a traditional Yi festival along Long Street, Weishan, Yunnan. "Shahubi" is a Yi language, which means to taste new things in spring. The festival is in the middle of April in the lunar calendar after the wheat matures. At that time, every Yi family will use wheat flour and sugar, glutinous rice and nuclear cake, and dip them in honey to offer to their ancestors. Married Yi women will take nuclear cakes back to their parents 'homes on this day. They will not only congratulate their relatives and friends on the Spring Harvest, but also invite the elderly and relatives to taste the new ones.

Yi People's Duyang Festival is a traditional folk festival of the Yi people in Leibo area of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and along the Jinsha River in Sichuan Province. The time is on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. This festival is a symbol of unity and friendship between the Yi and Han peoples. It is said that in ancient times, the weather was very hot and sick soldiers were prevalent in the Yi stockade. The Yi people were horrified. When the Han brothers by the river heard about this, they brought Yingpu, mugwort leaf and realgar picked during the Dragon Boat Festival up the mountain. They used medicine to wash the old man's sores and used realgar wine to rub the people. Within a few days, the people's diseases were all healed. Later, the Yi people prepared generous gifts and went down the mountain to thank the Han brothers.

The Han people told them that the herbal medicines used during the Dragon Boat Festival can cure all diseases and exorcise evil spirits. From then on, the Yi people also celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival. Because the Dragon Boat Festival is also called Duanyang Festival, the Yi language calls Duanyang Festival "Duyang Festival". On the festival day, every household hangs cattails and mugwort leaves in front of their doors. Children also use realgar wine to wipe their faces. Young men and women of the Yi nationality also wrap their palms, bring wine and Tuotuo meat, and go to the beautiful mountain lawns to engage in recreational activities such as wrestling, horse racing, bullfighting, sheep fighting, and dancing.

Yi Horse Racing Festival Traditional Yi Festival in Weining, Guizhou. The time is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year. At that time, the Yi people will lead their carefully fed and trained horses to the racecourse. Horse racing mainly depends on the speed of the horse. The first person to reach the specified finish line is the champion. During the horse racing, there was a sea of people and the atmosphere was very warm.

Yi Medicine Picking Festival Yi Festival in Xiaoliang Mountain, Yunnan. The time falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year. During the festival, the main purpose is to collect and sell medicinal materials. On this day, at dawn, men, women and children of the Yi people carried medicine hoes and medicine baskets on their shoulders to go to mountains, deep streams, and valleys to find various medicinal herbs. Some Yi families even take the medicinal herbs they collect to the market to sell them. The local Yi people believe that herbal medicines collected on the fifth day of the fifth month have the best curative effect.

Yi Gong Sacrifice Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Longlin, Guangxi. On the 16th of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, people go to the intersection of Sancha Road, a major transportation artery, to worship their ancestors and pray for a bumper harvest of grain and the safety of people and animals.

Legend has it that long ago, the tyranny of the rulers threatened the survival of the Yi ancestors. On the 16th day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, they crossed the pole and leaped horses to meet enemies several times their own. The leader died on the same day due to serious injuries. In order to commemorate him, the Yi people go to the intersection to worship on the 16th of the fifth lunar month every year. It has been passed down from generation to generation and continues to this day.

Sacrifice Festival is celebrated for four consecutive days from the 16th to the 19th of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. On the first day, the Yi people were not allowed to go out and only participated in worship activities; in the next three days, they could visit each other's relatives and friends and spend the festival together. At that time, young men and women of the Yi people would dress up and gather in public places to play sheng and dance. Men, women and old would gather in the village to watch, which was so lively.

Yi Bullfighting Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people. The Yi people are good at raising cattle and also fighting bull. The Yi people hold bullfights on the first day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar every year. At that time, groups will fight first, and then the strong will be left to compete for the championship. The owner of the losing side should hang red silk on the winning cow to express his congratulations. There will also be lively singing and dancing activities at the Bullfighting Festival. Young men and women of the Yi nationality dressed in festive costumes, danced happily with the accompaniment of Sanxian and sang to their heart's content.

There is a legend about the origin of the Bullfighting Festival: Long ago, on the first day of June, two passers-by were enjoying the shade under a big tree. They suddenly discovered two oxen, one white and one black, fighting not far away. The two tried to drive the two oxen away and then put one back each, but could not get close. At this time, a rider shouted,"White ox goes to the sky, black ox goes to the ground." The two oxen disappeared immediately.

A pool of spring water appeared where the black ox trapped people. Two passers-by saw a couple farming and asked them if they had seen cows. The farmer replied,"I saw the cow, but I couldn't see the direction it was running." The two had to leave regretfully. This year, the land planted by the couple had a particularly good harvest. Therefore, people believe that the age of Niudoujia is a year of good harvest.

Therefore, on the first day of June every year, bullfighting activities are held on the mountain, and gradually evolved into a grand Yi festival. It is also said that in the past, a champion cow wrapped around red silk and came home. He encountered a tiger halfway through the way. The cow held the tiger under the ridge of the field and died a day and night later. The cow also died of exhaustion. Hanging red silk was also inherited from this.

The Yi people's folk traditional religious festival in Yuanjiang County, Yunnan Province is held every year on the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. At that time, the Yi people in the village will collectively kill cattle, each family will kill chickens, and then prepare peaches, pears, pomegranates and other fruits as sacrifices. A ceremony to sacrifice ancestors was then held. The Yi people hung various fruits on the gate, then placed sacrifices such as wine, meat and other sacrifices, burned incense and lit candles, knelt down and kowtowed, and performed a sacrificial ceremony, praying for their ancestors to protect people and livestock and to have a bumper harvest of grain. After the sacrifice, the Yi people drank heartily, sang and danced, and then dispersed.

Yi Sheep Shearing Festival At the home of Yi herdsmen in Liangshan, the Sheep Shearing Festival is celebrated in the middle of June of the lunar calendar. Men and women of the Yi nationality all went to the Yellow Hair Ridge of Daliang Mountain to shear wool. The scene was very spectacular.

Yi Torch Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people. The Yi people in Sichuan and Yunnan are generally held around the 24th of the June month of the lunar calendar, while the Yi people in Guizhou are held around the 6th day of the June month of the lunar calendar. Sacrifice to gods and fields, pray for a good harvest, and send away ghosts and eliminate evil spirits are important folk contents of the Torch Festival. There are many legends about the origin of the Torch Festival, and its origin should be directly related to the natural worship of fire.

During the festival, in some areas, livestock must be killed and slaughtered together in villages to worship gods, and in some places, every household must carry chickens to the fields to worship the land and the earth. On the day of the Liangshan Yi Torch Festival, the Yi people had to rush home for a reunion dinner. Before meals, they killed chickens to worship their ancestors, and held a lighting ceremony after meals. The head of the family lights a torch made of dry pole, illuminates every corner from the top of the house, and chants: Burn all unlucky things, the whole family is safe, the grain is abundant, and the six animals are prosperous, and then pass through the cattle pen, the sheep pen, and finally add people to the torch ranks of the village.

After that, people gathered around the blazing fire and sang and danced to their heart's content. Happy group dances such as Weishan's "Dage","Maitreya", Yiliang's "Axi Tiao", Chuxiong's "Dada Tiao", Lunan's "Da Sanxian", Honghe's "Luo Zuowu", Liangshan's "Duoluo He" and other cheerful group dances will all show their style on this day.

Today, the Torch Festival is more rich in content, including various recreational activities such as bullfighting, wrestling, horse racing, beauty pageants, singing, dancing, archery, and rolling autumn. Commercial and trade activities are also held in some places. The night of the Torch Festival in the Yi Mountain Stronghold is very beautiful and charming. An ancient poem once described it as follows: "The clouds are covered with red sun just over the mountains, and the torches are scattered in a staggered manner. Thousands of lotus flowers bloom in the sea, and the stars shine down on the world."

Fire is a symbol of the Yi people's pursuit of light. In Yi areas, worship and sacrifice to fire is very common. On the first day of the first lunar month and the 24th day of June of the first lunar month, the Yi people in Huxi County, Yunnan Province ask housewives to choose the fattest piece of meat and throw it into the burning fire pond to pray for the safety of the fire god. The Yi people in Yongren County hold fire sacrifices on the second or third day of the first lunar month, called the "Fire God Society." The Yi people in Liangshan regard the fire pond as a sacred place where fire gods live, and it is strictly prohibited to touch and cross. The Torch Festival, the most solemn festival of the Yi people, is also a grand ceremony for the Yi people. Torch Festival is mostly held on the 24th or 25th month of June in the lunar calendar and lasts for three days.

Yi Flower Catching Festival is a festival of the Lesu people, a branch of the Yi people at the junction of Eshan, Xinping and Shuangbai counties in Yunnan. Twice a year, the Yi people celebrate the holidays on June 24th and July 15th of the lunar calendar.

There is a legend about the origin of the festival: in the past, a Han girl fell in love with a young man from Lesu of the Yi nationality, but they were persecuted by public opinion due to different ethnic groups. They agreed to die on the top of Daxi Mountain on the banks of the Green River. In order to commemorate the lovers, everyone held song and dance activities on the lawn of the top of Daxi Mountain. Later, more and more people participated, and it gradually became a traditional festival for the Yi Lesu people. Dancing and entertainment are the main content of the Festival. People sing and dance to their heart's content, and no one is bound. I wish the young people happiness and love each other forever; I also wish the crops to be free from pests and a bumper harvest.

The Yi people's Lama Festival "Lama" is a Yi language, meaning He Niu God. It is also a traditional festival for the local people of the Yi people. The Rama Festival is held on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. The venue is chosen in front of Hauniu Cave on the West Mountain between Heqing and Jianchuan counties in Yunnan. The stone wall above the entrance of the cave is shaped like a cow head. Legend has it that it is the embodiment of a cow. On the early morning of the festival, the Yi people held white chestnut leaves in their hands and gathered here from all directions to serve food on the table under the stone. Then he shouted,"The Ox King, wake up!" The white chestnut leaves were then piled in the cave and lit by a highly respected Yi elderly. People sang and sang around the fire.

Subsequently, a ramming ceremony was held on the lawn outside the cave: a fire was lit in the middle of the lawn, and one person wore a cow head mask and a brown coat to play the cow king, and surrounded the fire to imitate the various movements of the cow. One person held a cow rope and pretended to be ready to tie the cow. There are also people holding bamboo tubes symbolically drill under the belly of cattle to milk cows to seek good luck. The rest of the people sang and sang along, and threw grain to the Ox King. The onlookers applauded and wished people to catch the Ox King. The Ox King, on the other hand, hid in the east and west, not being tame at all.

At this time, a herdsman wearing a dustpan-shaped felt hat, a sheepskin coat, and holding a sheep whip came on stage, followed by a group of Yi girls dancing with wreaths. The girls danced around the Ox King. Hang the wreath and bouquet on the cow king. Then, he made a large sedan chair with green pine trees and carried the Ox King out to each village to show that he would send luck and happiness to each village. In the evening, each village lit seven bonfires on the flat dam in the center of the village. People around the bonfires blew horns and beat cowhide drums, and performed farming and harvesting dances to celebrate and thank the cow god.

Each household will also hold a separate cow greeting ceremony: parents will light the fire pond first, and family members will add four matches to the fire pond according to seniority, and arrange them in a well-shaped manner. The hostess placed a bucket containing various grains in front of the fire pond, and then tied four bundles of inch-long straw with red lines and placed them in the four corners of the bucket. A pair of candles were lit on the bucket beam and some offerings were placed. The male owner slaughtered a red rooster and dripped chicken blood into the bucket. Three strands of chicken feathers were stuck on the bucket beam. Then, the whole family walked around the cattle pen and sang "Long life for cattle, long life for people, good harvest for crops." At the same time, the hostess posted an "auspicious picture" of a cow with a pair of boys and girls standing on the horns of the cattle pen door. Finally, the whole family ate together on the ground outside the cattle pen and fed the cattle some glutinous rice and olive handles to show fun with the cattle.

Yi People's Taste New Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Luming, Xiangyun County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province. The time falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar every year when the sickle is opened to harvest rice. Before the festival, the Yi people must inform their relatives and friends to attend. The owner's family prepared a hearty food, and some even slaughtered sheep.

Before tasting the new ones, first mix the new rice from spring with chicken, mutton and other dishes to sacrifice to our ancestors and gods to show gratitude and pray for good weather, happiness and peace in the coming year. During the meal, the guests and guests toasted each other. The guests praised the host for his hard work and wished him a bumper harvest in the coming year. The host thanked his ancestors for their blessings and their relatives and friends for their help. When eating new rice, first respect the elderly during the meal, then the children, and finally everyone eats together.

The Yi Year is called "Kus" in the Yi language."Ku" means the New Year, and "Si" means the New Year. It is a traditional sacrificial and celebration festival for the Yi people in Liangshan and Liangshan. It is generally selected in October of the lunar calendar. The season when the crops are harvested. The Yi Year is three days. The first night of the Yi Year is called "Jueroji", the first day of the New Year is called "Kusi", the second day is called "Duobo", and the third day is called "Apji".

The first day: "Light fireworks" and use curling light smoke in the morning to inform the ancestral spirits to go home to spend the festival with their descendants;"Kill New Year pigs one by one", men, women and children in the entire Yi village (except for the hostess who stayed at home) happily gathered together the pig killer "Weng Sergu" to kill New Year pigs one by one. The order of killing pigs depends on the seniority of the village;"Pine Mother" is a sacrifice, taking part of the liver and pork to boil, and the male owner carries it to the fire pond to worship ancestors to analyze the harvest and safety of the coming year.

The next day: The children played the game of "Weng Xin Na Gu Ge", and young men and women dressed in costumes gathered together with the strings of their lips. Yueqin and Huqin sing and dance happily, and engage in recreational activities such as horse racing, swinging, squatting, and wrestling. Middle-aged men lined up to each house to celebrate the New Year, while women stayed at home to entertain guests.

The third day: "Send ancestors", the Yi people get up early, warm food to send the ancestral spirit back to the ancestral realm, prepare the food (dry food) needed for the ancestral spirit on the way, and pour oats into the livestock trough to symbolize feeding the ancestral spirit. When sending off the ancestral spirit, the male owner prayed to the ancestral spirit to bless the family's safety in the coming year, with a bumper harvest of grain and a prosperous six livestock.

Yi New Rice Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Eshan and Weishan in Yunnan. It is generally held on an auspicious day after the autumn harvest in October every year. At that time, married Yi girls and sons who have settled abroad will bring new rice and other gifts and return to their parents to thank their parents for their upbringing and share the fruits of the bumper harvest with their parents.

This festival is usually celebrated individually for each household. During the festival, while eating new rice, the Yi people also wish good weather and better crops in the coming year. In some places, other friends are also invited to entertain. Some also make the new rice into various bait pieces, dye them, and distribute them to relatives and friends.

Yi People's Cow Festival is a festival of the Yi people in the mountainous areas of northwest Yunnan. It is held every year on the beginning of winter. It is said that this day is the day when the long-horned bull descends to serve mankind, so an event is held to sing the praises of the cow. At that time, every Yi household will drive all the cattle to the lawn in front of Niushen Cliff. Twelve loose poles are planted around the lawn, covered with various grains decorated with red silk. There is a large dustpan in the center, which holds scalpers made of potatoes and water buffalo models made of radishes. These "cows" use buckwheat stalks or corn stalks as legs, buckwheat grains or corn kernels as eyes, wheat ear tips as horns, corn cakes and chopped oats as cattle feed.

The activity began under the leadership of an old Yi singer. Everyone held cattle hanging with red silk and sang and danced around the dustpan. Sing about the merits of the cattle farming, praise the people who carefully raised the cattle and the families who had a good harvest that year. Finally, according to the size of the score, the old singer awarded "cow" and "feed" to the owner of the cow. The feed is used to feed the cattle on the spot, and the "cattle" are packed in "cattle sedan chairs" made of ribbons. After that, everyone drove cattle to sing and dance, traveling through villages. The cow model is served at home. It is a treasure passed down from generation to generation in the family.

Yi people's year of the sheep, muding, yunnan yi folk festival. Every year on New Year's Eve and the first day of the lunar calendar, the local Yi people raise sheep for the New Year. Every household of the Yi people here raises sheep. The Yi people attach great importance to sheep. On New Year's Eve, couplets should be posted in the sheep stable, and the sheep should be fed with New Year's meal mixed with buckwheat noodles, millet, wheat flour and other grains. On New Year's Eve, Yi elders sing ancient songs to young people about the origin of sheep.On the first day of the first day, each family brought food, set off firecrackers, went to the sheeppen to have a meal with the sheep, and fed the sheep its favorite leaves. After the Year of the Sheep, choose a day to drive the sheep to the hillside to graze.

Yi Mi Zhi Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people in Mile Mountain and Lunan Mountain in Yunnan Province. It is held around the 11th day of the twelfth lunar month every year. Legend has it that there was once a beautiful Yi girl named Puma. She was dissatisfied with her marriage and often went to the public housing to sing in order to relieve her worries. In the public housing, she met a man named Pu Bo. The two fell in love at first sight and met every night in the public housing. After Puma's husband found out, he went to Pupo to interrogate him. They fled to the mountains to make a living on prey and wild fruits. Time passed and all the wild things on the mountain had been collected, so the two had to return to the village to steal sheep. Since then, when there were diseases and funerals in the village, the Yi villagers thought that it was Puma and Pubo, so they slaughtered sheep and sacrificed them. Later, it gradually evolved into an annual sacrifice to the Mizhi God, and then developed from a sacrificial ceremony to a festival.

Moreover, in every local village, there is a lush "dense branch forest". At that time, men from each village will kill sheep and go to the sacred forest to sacrifice to the secret branch god, recite the nerve, drive away the plague, pray for the prosperity of humans and livestock and a bumper harvest of crops, and distribute mutton to each household. Return to the village to worship the gods. When entering the village, they will call "Ha Gou, Ha Gou" to warn those who do not abide by village rules and violate moral customs. After offering sacrifices to the gods, the whole village went up the mountain for a day to chase birds. Young men and women of the Yi nationality took this opportunity to talk about love. The dense branches of Haiyi Village in Guishan District are quite distinctive. There are two secret branch gods for men and women, and two secret branch forests. The festival schedule is: drive out wild ghosts in the male secret branch forest on the winter moon and sea day, sacrifice to the male secret branch god on the child day, drive out wild ghosts in the female secret branch forest on the ugly day, sacrifice to the female secret branch god on the Yin day, hunt on the Mao day, and treat each other and entertain each other in the village.

Yi People's Old Year Festival A traditional festival of the Yi people in Shanta and Longjie areas in Weishan County, Yunnan Province, is held every year on Lunar New Year's Eve. Before the festival, every household has to kill pigs and chickens, grind tofu, make noodles, brew white wine, and prepare holiday food. On the day of the festival, every household put up lanterns and colorful decorations, posted door gods and Spring Festival couplets, and planted a pine tree with lush branches and leaves, three to four meters high, and three sets of branches in the center of the yard, called the "Tiandi Sheng". Then tie a handful of pine wool on the tree trunk and insert the incense column on the pine wool. There is an altar table under the tree, on which a lamp is used as a god of heaven and earth, and there are pig heads and chickens to sacrifice. On the back wall of the house, a pine tree was also planted, named "rice", which represents the stable god.

Sacrifice to the stable god in order to protect the prosperity of the six animals. After offering sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth and stable gods, we will sacrifice to our ancestors. After dusk, each family "seals" the door with red paper. On the second day of the first lunar month, young men from other homes came to "step on the door" before opening the door. During the festival, the Yi people in Longjie also spread pine wool inside and outside the main house. The Yi people in the Shanta area will take their married daughters home for reunion before the festival. After night, the whole family reunites and has a banquet. Parents tell their children family history and stories all night long, commonly known as "keeping the New Year". Five or six-year-old children stand on the threshold and have a high ratio. It is said that this can grow up faster.

Tiger Jumping Festival The Yi people in Maigaichong, Shuangbai County, Yunnan Province have a special custom of "Tiger Jumping Festival" during the New Year. On the eighth day of the first month, adult men in the village gathered at the site of the land temple behind the village to kill dogs and offer "mi"("mi" means soil,"si" means master, and mi "means the god of the earth). Then, the village's" Bimo "will sacrifice to the earth owner and invite the tiger god. Eight villagers dressed up as tigers and danced. The "tigers" had tall ears, thick tails, and tiger patterns all over their bodies. The Chinese character "Wang" was painted on their foreheads and a large copper bell hung on their necks, making them majestic. After "Bimo" finished chanting the memorial speech and inviting the tiger god, the tiger king led the tigers into the village.

During the entire Tiger Jumping Festival, all men, women and children in the village were immersed in a joyful atmosphere of welcoming, sending tigers off, watching tigers jump and driving away evil ghosts. The local people were convinced that only through the annual traditional tiger jumping, paying homage to the tiger god and praying for the blessings of the ancestors can all villagers have a bumper harvest, a prosperous population, and a happier and happier year by year. It reflects a cosmology view of the Yi branch of the "Luoluo" people. They believe that everything in heaven and earth is created by tigers. Their reverence for tigers reflects a harmonious relationship between man and nature. Generally speaking, the "Tiger Sheng" is primitive, simple, and is not influenced by the outside world. It is a treasure of Nuo Yi culture.

Legend has it that in ancient times, a cruel mountain official of the Yi people built a "Tianxian Garden" on Tanhua Mountain and forced the people to send girls into the garden on time for their sexual enjoyment. There was a girl named Miyilu who couldn't bear to see her sisters being trampled upon one by one, so she resolutely went and planned to drink poisonous wine with the mountain officials to sacrifice her life for the people to eliminate the great harm. It is said that February 8th is Miyilu's martyrdom, and the flower arranging festival in Dayao County is to commemorate this brave and kind Miyilu girl. The Yi word "Miyilu" means horse cherry blossoms.

Every year on the 8th of the second lunar month, when horse cherry blossoms (rhododendrons) are first blooming, the Yi people in Dayao will dress in festive costumes, wear horse cherry blossoms on their chests, carry rice wine and dry food, and flock to Tanhua Mountain from all directions to sing and dance., have fun and insert horse cherry blossoms into each other to express their best wishes.

Bai Xingnuo Bai Xingnuo, in Yi language, means offering sacrifices to mountain gods. It is a folk festival for the people of the people in Yunnan Province and the people of the Yi people in Wuzou area. There are two types: this period and unrecorded period, which are held regularly on the evening of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month every year. At that time, every household will go to the mountain god temple in the village to kill chickens and make sacrifices, and then return to their homes to celebrate New Year's Eve. Miqi people believe that among the many gods, mountain gods are the most important ones. Sacrifice to mountain gods is to pray for them to bless them with a bumper harvest of crops, a prosperous population, and a lot of harvest from hunting. If plagues and disasters occur in the village, irregular sacrifices will be held. At that time, people in the whole village will slaughter pigs and sheep to make sacrifices, and some families will go to the temple to make a wish and make a promise.​

Worship the Lord's Meeting, also known as Chaoshan Festival and Ganji Temple Fair, Yi folk religious festivals in Weishan, Jingdong and other counties of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province are held every year on the 8th or 14th of the second month of the lunar calendar, and some are held on June 25. Legend has it that this festival commemorates a hero who sacrificed his life to save villagers. At that time, the villagers gathered at the main temple in the village and prayed to the hero and asked him to protect the villagers. Young men and women talked about love around the Tuzhu Temple and had fun to their heart's content, so that those who wished could marry each other with their bodies.

The Ancestral Worship Festival is a traditional Yi festival in Tiankushan, Weishan County, Yunnan Province. It falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar every year. Before the festival, the married girl and the son who was recruited by another family were brought back to reunite with their families. On the morning of the day of the worship ceremony, the ancestors were sacrificed first by household. After breakfast, the family was taken as a unit, with various offerings, and the pigs and sheep that they had pooled together to buy were driven to the ancestral tree. After Aki finished chanting the scriptures, he slaughtered all the pigs, sheep, and chickens to pay homage to the big tree; he also smeared chicken blood on the tree. After the meat is cooked, light incense and set up eight bowls of meat and other offerings. All those present kneel down and kowtow. The elderly in the family must recite prayers to express their reward for the Duke. Please bless the ancestors and unite the family. The people will prosper and wealth will be blessed. After the prayer ended, everyone drank and had fun and returned home.

There are two legends about the origin of the Prayer Festival: One is that long ago, the local rainy village and hemp straw house were robbed by bandits at the same time. The villagers fought back, but because they were outnumbered, only two men and two women hid in a hollow tree at the head of the village to avoid death. In order to thank the tree for saving life, the four survivors regarded it as a divine tree and made sacrifices under the tree every year and festival. Before they died, they all asked posterity to place their bodies in trees. As a result, the Ancestral Worship Festival was gradually formed. In addition, because the big tree has a strong vitality and has never grown old for hundreds or even thousands of years, people hope that the ancestral grandfather will last forever like the big tree, so the Ancestral Day will be held under the big tree.

The Taqing Festival is the Dade Local Yi Women's Festival, Baishui District, Qujing City, Yunnan Province. It falls on the first horse day of the third month of the lunar calendar every year. All housework on this day is done by men. After carefully dressing up, the women brought food to the local dense mountains, dug a fire pond, and then raised the fire to cook. After the food was cooked, everyone sat on the ground, first toasting the elderly women, and then serving the little girl with vegetables. After that, everyone tasted the food and sang songs until the bright moon was in the sky before they left one after another. On this day, Han women nearby were also invited to attend. The Da Qing Festival is like a Han Chinese outing festival.

The Sealing Tool Festival is an agricultural sacrifice festival among the people in Fumin, Wuding and other counties in Yunnan Province. It is held on the last night of the twelfth lunar month every year. Mikei people believe that it is very hard for all kinds of household tools to serve people all year round. Just as people need rest, rest days should also be arranged for various tools. During the Spring Festival, people do not work, and tools should be relaxed for a few days. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, every family must seal red talismans on hoes, sickles, plows, machetes, harrows, mills, boxes, cabinets, warehouses, baskets, winnows, buckets and weighing tools. They are not allowed to use them until Kaifeng. It was not until the fifth day of the first month that people were about to start production activities that tools could be unsealed.

The Land Catching Mother's Fair is a traditional Yi festival in Longtan District, Yangbi County, Yunnan Province. It falls on the evening of the 15th day of the first lunar month. At that time, people gathered at the Dimu Temple behind the mountains in Fuding Township to hold various recreational activities. Among them, singing is the most lively. When singing, one or two people go to the center of the venue and dance while playing the lusheng, bamboo flute or yueqin, act as "singing leaders" and are responsible for directing the singing activities. Others form a circle to follow the rhythm of the music. Dance while singing. The lyrics mainly narrate historical stories and express love.

Sacrifice to rice fields is called "Qiemiesopodi" in a secret way, which is literally translated as "Sacrifice to the Tiandi of the paddy field". Folk religious festivals are held on June 24th of the lunar calendar every year for enriching people in Yunnan Province and the Yi people in Wuding County. At noon on this day, each household would go to their rice fields and lay pine wool as an altar. Insert a pine branch with three forks, three young crops, and light three sticks of incense on the altar. Three bowls of rice, a cup of wine and a clean live chicken. The master prayed in secret language, then burned paper to sacrifice wine, threw a hexagram to kill the chicken, spread some chicken blood on the pine branches, steamed the chicken, inserted double chopsticks on the chicken wings, and made another sacrifice. The practice was the same as before. Then, after eating all the sacrificial food, he had to plant a pine branch at the head of each rice field. At night, parents lit a short torch and carried a backpack filled with rosin. They looked after them up and down around the house, chanting spells to sprinkle rosin while walking, meaning to drive away diseases and pests. After that, he put on a long torch and went around the fields in order to drive away the pests in the crops and have a good harvest.​

The Shiluo Festival is also known as the "Shiluo Festival". It is a traditional festival of the Huayao people in the Shiping area of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It falls on the first Horse Day after the Spring Festival. At that time, eight people will be selected to carry water in the four directions of the village in the southeast, northwest and northwest directions, and two people will be selected to pick up various leaves, and the leaves will be stuffed into the reed apples to send one to each family. At the same time, they will also be given a rice ball to each family. A small piece of chicken and a small piece of pork. Then, two men with wives and who had not sent a funeral in three years were selected from the ten people who carried water and picked up leaves to wash the pebbles (the avatar of Aro) placed on the dragon trees in the village.

After that, a dragon sacrifice ceremony was held. During the dragon sacrifice, women are not allowed to participate, and only one man can participate in each household. Every family that has a boy must go to the dragon tree and fire cannons when offering sacrifices to the dragon, and prepare a table of banquet and candies for the people who sacrifice to the dragon to eat and drink. After the dragon sacrifice activities, men, women and children held recreational activities such as dragon playing, lion playing, walking on stilts, singing and dancing.

The local "flower-waisted man" legend: Once upon a time, there was a hero named Aro among the flower-waisted people who killed seven banshees who did all kinds of evil. The gods believed the false accusations of the seven banshee mothers and sent celestial soldiers and generals to chop off Aro's head, hands and feet one by one. For the happiness of the flower-waisted man, Aro's head became a forest, his feet became crops, and his hands became pigs, chickens, geese, and ducks. The day when Aro died was Horse Day, and descendants held sacrifices to Luo on the first Horse Day after the Spring Festival. Slowly, the sacrifice to the Luo became a sacrifice to the dragon, and in some places "sacrifice to the Luo" was called "sacrifice to the naked". The Luo Sacrifice Festival of the Yi people in Xinping, Yunnan Province falls on the first Ox Day in the second month of the lunar calendar every year.

The local funeral saying for the buckwheat ground is "Guomiesopodi", which is literally translated as "Sacrifice to the Buckwheat King Tiandi Lord". Folk religious festivals are held every year on the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, which are closely related to the Yi people in Fumin and Wuding counties in Yunnan Province. It is densely populated and inhabited by many people, and buckwheat is one of the main crops. At that time, every household will shovel out a small piece of flat ground in their own buckwheat fields, lay pine wool as an altar, plant a three-pronged pine branch above it, and then plant three young crops, light three sticks of incense, and serve three bowls of rice, a cup of rice wine, and a live chicken. The master prayed, burned paper coins, and poured wine offerings. After that, he cast the hexagram, killed the chicken, spread some chicken blood on the pine branches, steamed the chicken completely, and sacrificed it again. This time, he had to place pairs of chopsticks on the chicken. After all sacrificial rituals are over, the sacrifices are eaten clean on the spot.

Sacrifice to the autumn frame, also known as sacrifice to the stars, is a folk religious festival for the Black Yi people in the Gulv area of Xishan District, Kunming, Yunnan Province. It is held on the 15th of the first month of the lunar calendar. According to legend from the local Yi people, in ancient times, the world was sparsely populated. The Yi people's Shiyi were very lonely and cried when night fell. The crying startled the star god and was moved by it, so she turned into a beautiful woman who descended to the earth to play on the autumn frame with Shiyi. Return to heaven at dawn.

The ancestor of the Yi nationality once asked the star girl to live with him in the world, but the star girl refused and never came to earth again. In order to thank the star girl for her kindness, the Yi people commemorate her by offering sacrifices to the autumn frame, and they set up the autumn frame every day. The sacrifices for the autumn frame are shared by the whole village. A pig is killed collectively, and each family gets a portion of meat. After each cooked it, it is served under the autumn frame together with rice wine at the rise of the moon. Fragrance is also lit and kowtowed to perform a sacrificial ceremony.

The God Sacrifice Tree Festival is a traditional Yi festival in the Shanta area of Weishan County, Yunnan Province. It falls on the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar. On the morning of the festival, people blocked all the passages in the village with thorns, planted a pine tree more than ten feet high, planted a sheep's head on the top of the tree, and drove two pigs to the "God Tree" behind the village. Waiting for slaughter. Before killing a pig, one must cut off a section of green pine with three branches, tie copper coins with red cloth strips, and hang them on the branches of the tree. Hang thirteen trees in leap years and twelve trees in normal years. Then use pine knives to cut six willows, and connect them with red cloth and carried them by six men to form three smooth doors.

People dragged pigs under these three doors three times before slaughtering them. When killing pigs, take the blood into a basin, pour it into the porridge pot and stir it with a pine knife. It is called "red porridge". In addition, kill a red cock and a sheep. When killing the chicken, sprinkle chicken blood on the root of the divine tree and stick some chicken feathers on it. A Bi tied pine branches with red cloth strips and copper coins, pine knives and two trotters to the divine tree, lit the incense column, and then served the cooked whole chicken, pig's head, and sheep's head together in front of the tree. Then everyone knelt by the tree and kowtowed, while saying some auspicious words to pray for the blessing of the divine tree.

The sacred tree is called "Mitu-tree" in Yi language, so the tree offering sacrifices to the gods is also called "offering to Mitu-" or "receiving Mitu-receiving". After offering sacrifices to the divine tree, he began to sing and did not stop until dinner time. When eating, in addition to drinking teeth and eating meat, everyone drinks a bowl of red porridge. It is said that this festival is dedicated to commemorating Miku, a kind Yi elderly man, who is the god of the lost earth.

Sacrifice to the Stone God is a folk religious festival of the Yi people in Eshan County, Yunnan Province. It is held on the first Ox Day in the second month of the lunar calendar every year. Because the Yi people live in mountainous areas, there are stones everywhere. In their multi-god worship, they also include the worship of stones, believing that stones will protect them from disease and crops from being stolen. At that time, an oval stone will be placed in front of each of the two "dragon trees" to symbolize the duality of male and female. Chickens or pigs were used as offerings for the sacrifice. After two days of sacrifice, everyone met to eat under the tree.

On the second day of the sacrifice, two young men who had been married but had no children would each hold a stone and circle the "dragon tree" around them, while others would splash water on them to pray for the stone god to bless them to have children.On this day, each family still planted three pine branches in front of the stone gods worshipped, symbolizing the prosperity of the people. The stone representing the stone god is locally called "Mijin Road" and is sacred and inviolable.

The Sacrifice to Zhongzhu is a folk religious festival for Azhe, a branch of the Yi people in the Maitreya area of Yunnan Province. It is held by each household on its own day in the middle of August of the lunar calendar every year. At that time, a white rooster will be slaughtered and sacrificed on the left side of his house. Qinggang chestnut branches will be planted on the pillar and white chicken feathers will be glued. Bimo will be invited to come home and recite the "Zhongzhu Sutra." It is said that the middle pillar is attached to a god, so it is strictly forbidden to touch or collide, and it is not allowed to hang any objects on this pillar. The sacrifice to the Zhongzhu is to pray for the gods to bless the safety of the family and people.

The Family Tree Festival is a folk religious festival that is closely related to the Yi people in Fumin County and Wuding County, Yunnan Province. It is held on June 24th or August 15th of the lunar calendar every year. Sacrifice to the clan tree is a major event for Mitei people. At that time, one household in the clan will serve as the host. This household will need to prepare mutton, wine, incense, yellow money paper, etc., and some Mitei people will collect money by household. Anyone who has new children must pay more wine. At that time, the patriarch will lead the entire clan members to gather under the clan tree, spread pine wool, plant a three-pronged pine branch, light three sticks of incense, provide three bowls of rice, a cup of wine, and a cup of tea, burn red iron and dip it in water, and use a "hissing" sound to ward off evil spirits. Then he led the sheep to the tribe tree, and the patriarch led everyone to pray, burned paper to kill the sheep, hung horns on the tribe tree, steamed the sheep, and sacrificed again. Then, the whole tribe, old and young, sat down to eat the tribe's food. The purpose of offering sacrifices to the family tree is to pray for the peace and prosperity of the whole family.

Calling the Soul for the Soul is a traditional Yi festival in Tiankushan, Weishan County, Yunnan Province. It starts on the fifth day of the second month of the lunar calendar and has an indefinite duration. Before the festival, men in the village renovated nearby roads and put thorns at intersections where people often walked. Dig holes were also dug at major intersections around the village to prevent passers-by from passing through and entering the village. Therefore, there is a folk saying "In early February, block the road". People think that the ancestors will come back during the festival and they are not happy to see new people. He also said that when he was called a fan soul, a fan soul was walking on the road. If a stranger appeared, it would scare the fan soul away.

Those who participate in the activity of calling rice souls must be appointed by highly respected elderly people. The ones who walked at the forefront of the meal soul team were two "old ugly" dressed up extremely ugly and holding oxtails in their hands to drive away ghosts and open the way. Following this were two young men disguised as "bridegroom" and "bride", asking them to welcome and serve the rice soul. Then there was the protagonist called Fanhun,"Shepherd". He held a sheep whip in his hand and wore a sheepskin coat, looking serious. Finally, Ah Gui and several drummers brought gifts and shotguns, firecrackers, gongs and drums, suona, etc. used for celebration. Everyone must remain silent on the road.

After arriving at the chosen place, everyone else hid in the woods and was not allowed to show their faces. Only the "sheep herders" faced the mountains and tried their best to shout "no feed" and "no feed". If a woodcutter or passer-by responds, the soul of the meal will be called. So the "sheep herder" stomped his foot into the ground, indicating that he had stepped on the rice soul. A Bi immediately buried five small bags of rice, brown sugar, tea, salt and coins under his feet, commonly known as the "five bags". It means that the soul of rice has brought these wealth to the village and made it inexhaustible for everyone to enjoy, and a little gift in the five packs is something people return to the soul of rice.

At this time, other hidden people ran out to beat gongs and drums, fired guns and cannons to celebrate. Then, he blew and beat the rice soul back to the village. Because people are taboo to respond to the call of "sheep herders", it is often difficult to call the soul of rice in one day. If the call fails for three days, you will have to wait until the eighth day of February to reorganize a group of people until the call responds. Calling the soul of rice means bringing good fortune and happiness to the people in the village and is a great happy event for the whole village. Therefore, on this day, men, women and children in the village gather together happily to kill pigs and sheep, and have a meal to celebrate. It also stipulates that all families who have given birth to children in the past three years must give gifts. Those who have given birth to boys will contribute tobacco and alcohol, and those who have given birth to girls will contribute sugar and tea. In the evening, the village will hold lively singing activities.

It is called Wugu Soul, Wugu Soul, and the Yi language is called Zahagu. The Azhe Folk Religious Festival of the Yi branch of Mile County, Yunnan Province is held every year on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. At that time, families would tie a bundle of green chestnut and yellow chestnut branches into a pole, carry chickens, wine and other food to the field to make sacrifices, and ask Bimo to recite scriptures to call the Wugu Soul, and then place the offerings on the altar table.

The purpose of calling Wugu Soul is to pray for a bumper harvest of the five grains and a surplus of grain every year. The Yi people in other areas hold a ceremony called Wugu Soul every day after harvesting a piece or dam field. While calling the soul, the owner stood at the head of the field and recited a prayer, praying that the soul of the grain would return home with the harvested crops to bless a bumper harvest in the coming year. After reading, I returned home while constantly calling for the soul of the five grains.

Lesuhua Street Lesuhua Street, also known as "Ganhua Street", is a Lesu festival in the Yi branch at the junction of Eshan, Xinping and Shuangbai counties in Yunnan Province. Twice a year, on the 24th of June and 15th of July of the lunar calendar. There is a legend about the origin of the festival: in the past, a Han girl fell in love with a Lesu boy, but they were persecuted by public opinion due to different ethnic groups. They agreed to die on the top of Daxi Mountain on the banks of the Green River.

In order to commemorate the firmness of the lovers, people gathered on the lawn on the top of Daxi Mountain to conduct singing and dancing activities. Later, more and more people participated, and it gradually became a traditional festival for the Lesu people. Dancing and entertainment are the main activity in Flower Street. People sing and dance to their heart's content, and no one is restrained. Everyone wishes young men and women happiness and love forever, and also wishes the crops in the fields to be free from pests and a bumper harvest. Lesuhua Street is a good time for young people to fall in love and seek a partner.

Luzhi Luzhi is also known as Misunba, which means "sacrifice to the dragon" in Yi language. Yi folk religious festivals are held every year during the first, second, third and fourth months of the lunar calendar. Yi people believe that all the water in the world is sprayed by Longmen, and that clouds and rain are caused by dragons. Therefore, each village chooses a source of Wangshui or a large natural pool as a Longtan to serve as a permanent dragon sacrifice place. And choose a towering tree next to the water source or pool as a symbol of the dragon, commonly known as the dragon tree.

At that time, a dragon sacrifice ceremony will be held in the village as a unit. The elderly will prepare incense, candles, tea, wine and other items for the sacrifice. The pigs raised in turn by household will be taken as a sacrifice ceremony to the Longtan. The rest will each hold a bowl of rice and a small piece of salt. People burned incense and candles, killed animals and sacrificed, performed sacrificial ceremonies, and prayed for timely rainfall by the Dragon God to bless the harvest of the grain. If there is a drought, people will hold a dragon receiving ceremony on the 18th day of the fourth lunar month. The host of the village's examination for the dragon will pick up a red-tailed fish outside the water source and place it in the village's water pond to show the dragon returning to the village.

In the Shiping area of Yunnan Province, local Yi people have a folk legend: The dragon sacrifice is to commemorate the hero Aro who turned his body into forests, crops, and poultry. In the Jingdong area, local Yi people have a folklore that there was a continuous heavy rain one year. A villager surnamed Zhou said: Sacrifice to dragons can be blessed, so the custom of offering sacrifices to dragons every year was formed.

There is a cave in the area, and it is said that dragons live in it. After a year of drought, it was rumored in the village that dragons had to eat a child to avoid the drought. There was a young man tied a knife and held a sharp sword to make a sacrifice. After the dragon swallowed him, he rolled and stabbed in the dragon's belly, killing the dragon. Unfortunately, he was buried in the dragon's belly. After that, people used pigs and chickens as sacrifices to dragons.

Maitreya Sacrifice to Mountain Stretch is a folk religious festival for Azhe, a branch of the Yi people in the Maitreya area of Yunnan Province. It is held every year on the fourth day of the tenth lunar month. At that time, people went to Mizhi Mountain to slaughter a yellow cow and two roosters as offerings to sacrifice to the mountain god. During the sacrifice, people also burn incense and candles, bow and pray, and pray for the blessing of the mountain god. After the sacrifice, the beef and chicken were distributed to each household.

Miku Festival Miku Festival is a traditional Yi festival in the Longjie area of Weishan County, Yunnan Province. It takes place at the 26th gate of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. At that time, people bring rice and noodles and go to predetermined places to kill pigs and sacrifice. During the sacrifice, three pine trees with three branches and three pear branches were inserted at the root of the big tree, and incense was lit. Aki chanted scriptures and prayed, praying that the earth dragon king would bless the whole village, and that the mountains would grow all things, and the earth would grow hills and valleys. After the sacrificial activities, you should eat pig's blood porridge. The remaining meat and rice were taken back equally by each family to those who had not participated in the sacrificial activities.

Mishigu Mishigu, which means "sacrifice to Mishi" in Yi language, is a folk religious festival of the Yi people in Yunnan Province held every year on the 27th or 28th of the twelfth lunar month. It is said among the local Yi people that Misi was an ancient herdsman who became a god after his death and specialized in animal husbandry and bandit policing. Therefore, the local Yi people sacrifice Misi every year to pray for him to protect the six animals of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs, and horses. Prosperity and avoid being robbed. At that time, a sacrificial ceremony will be held outside the main door of the host's house. Shepherd herdsmen are specially invited to participate. After burning incense and making sacrifices, the sacrificial ceremony will be performed. After the sacrifice, chicken porridge is cooked and eaten together by those participating in the sacrifice.

Nizhsi Nizhsi is also called the Harvest Festival. It is a festival for the Yi people to celebrate the harvest. It falls on November 24th. Kill pigs and eat new rice during the holidays. The singers will also gather together to sing to each other and wish the crops a bumper harvest and the six animals prosperity in the coming year.

Please Rain is a folk religious festival of the Awu people in the Yi branch of Mile County, Yunnan Province. It is held every year on the day after the selection of children, the beginning and the afternoon of the second and third months of the lunar calendar. At that time, the villagers will raise funds to buy a goat, slaughter it and sacrifice it to Yushan, in order to ensure smooth weather and abundant grain yields. Locals call it inviting rain. On the day after rain, people slaughtered another sheep and sacrificed it to the White Dragon God for God's blessings. On the third day, we had to kill a pig and sacrifice to the gods. During this period, people were not allowed to go to the fields to farm, and men had to go hunting in the mountains.

The Ancestor Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi people surnamed Wu in Shanta, Weishan County, Yunnan Province. It falls on the second day of the first month of the lunar calendar. The Yi people surnamed Wu in Shanta area are divided into three branches. According to the old rules, the descendants of each branch must raise a pig and a goat every year. Pigs and sheep are raised by special personnel, and each household needs to pay a certain amount of grain and feed to the breeders per person. On the second day of the first lunar month, the three branches of the surname Wu gathered all the pigs and sheep they had raised in the ancestral temple of the surname Wu to be slaughtered to hold a memorial service to their ancestors. On this day, a big feast will be held, and each branch will entertain its guests.

In the morning, the ancestral boxes of each family should be sent to the ancestral hall, and the branches should be placed in front of the tablets of the total ancestral grandfather. At the same time, each family should also send incense, paper, candles, tea, wine, fruits, sugar, cakes, etc. After slaughtering pigs and sheep, the whole pig and sheep shall be placed on a wooden stand, and a pine feather shall be placed horizontally in the mouth of the pig or sheep. When all the sacrifices were laid out, all the men, women and children of the clan stood in rows according to their age and generations. After that, the chief priest shouted and knelt down, presented wine, and offered incense and dishes. The atmosphere was solemn and solemn. Pastoral recognition means inviting the dead souls of Wu's ancestral branches to reunite and recognize each other. It also means that the dead souls have seen the descendants of the ancestral branches and are prosperous. Walking activities must be held before and after ancestral recognition.

The Mountain God Festival is a folk religious festival of the Yi people in Weishan, Jingdong and other places in Yunnan Province. It is held every day on the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar. Sacrifice to mountain gods is very important among the Yi people in various places, but the regions are different and the times are different. Because most of their ancestors lived in the mountains, they had both a cordial sense of dependence on the mountains and an illusory sense of mystery. They believed that the mountains were the embodiment of the mountain god, and the mountain god was the most powerful among all the gods. God, so mountain god temples were built everywhere.

On the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar, local Yi men, women and old all went to the mountain god temple to burn incense and kowtow, praying for the mountain god to bless the prosperity of their village. The form of mountain god temples varies from place to place. Some are small cottages and some are made of earth walls and tiles; some temples use stones and branches as symbols of mountain god, and some temples have a stone plaque engraved with a pair of male and female gods symbolizing mountain god; Some villages use chickens to sacrifice, some villages use pigs to sacrifice, and in other villages, herdsmen collect food from rich families for sacrifices. The purpose of offering sacrifices to the mountain god is to pray for the mountain god to protect the safety of the village or family.

Shenxianpo Festival Shenxianpo Festival is a folk festival for Miao, Yi, Gelao, Han and other ethnic groups in Nayong County and Shuicheng, Guizhou Province. It was on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. At that time, young men and women of all ethnic groups will gather from all directions on Shenxianpo at the junction of Nayong and Shuicheng to hold recreational activities such as blowing Lusheng and horse racing. The festival began with the flower jumping activity of the local Miao people.

Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a local vendor named Muda. He traded fairly, did not deceive or cheat, and had a kind heart that would make people happy. On the day when the hawker was one day away from turning one hundred years old, he notified young people of all ethnic groups from the surrounding forty-eight villages to gather on today's Shenxian Slope to find partners for the young people. Later, he slowly ascended to the sky on a white crane. From then on, people called this place Shenxianpo. On this day every year, people gather here to commemorate the immortal old man and sing songs for entertainment. Later, the Shenxianpo Festival was formed.

Sending ghosts and gods to send ghosts and gods is a folk religious festival of Azhe, a branch of the Yi people in the Maitreya area of Yunnan Province. It is held every year on the sixth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. At that time, each village will prepare a wether sheep, with a grass figure made of sharp knives and grass riding on its back. He is dressed in red and green paper clothes and holds red and green paper flags on each side. Then two yellow chestnut trees were cut down, connected by a ten-foot-long sharp straw rope. The straw rope was inserted with a sharp wooden knife made of horned gallnut wood and triangular wood chips. A ladle was also made with sharp knife grass. Put a rice bowl in it and hang it on the horns of the horns. When sending ghosts and gods, the two men carried yellow chestnut trees as the lead, and then followed Bimo to carry lanterns and recite scriptures to send ghosts and gods from door to door. Every time he arrived in front of a house, the head of the household picked out a piece of charcoal from his home and poured cold water on it to show that he would meet ghosts and gods. After sending the ghosts and gods, they stood the yellow chestnut tree at the entrance of the village, slaughtered the sheep and sacrificed them, and then distributed the mutton to each household for cooking.

The Solar Festival is a folk religious festival for the Yi people in Daxie Village, Xishan District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province. It is held on the 29th day of November of the lunar calendar. The local Yi people generally believe in primitive religion, and one of the manifestations of nature worship is to worship the sun as a god. At that time, villagers from each village will gather in the mountain god temple outside the village to sacrifice to the Sun Bodhisattva. During the sacrifice, fruits, cakes and other offerings will be engraved with lotus patterns similar to the sun, and then a five-color colored paper will be written with the four words "Sun Bodhisattva", which means that these offerings are for the sun to enjoy. Then, the sacrificial people paid incense, kowtowed to the sun, recited the "Sun Sutra" seven times, and said the tomb prayer, to the effect of thanking the Sun Bodhisattva for his patronage during the year, allowing the crops to have a good harvest, and praying that the coming year will also bring a good situation.​