The mystery of the Yi people

 

The mystery of the Yi people

 

Agudengba led his donkey and walked slowly along the mountain road trodden by people. Unconsciously, he came to an exit. It turned out that there was a small village in front of him.

Agudengba walked towards the small village, which is a typical Yi village.

The Yi people mainly live in southwest China, with a small number distributed in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and Laos. The Yi people in mainland China are the sixth largest ethnic minority. ​

Agudengba is no stranger to the Yi people. When he traveled in Myanmar, he came into contact with the Yi people living there.

The Yi people have various titles such as "Nisu", "Nasu", and "Luowu". Some of the different titles represent different branches. The ethnic groups of each branch are mainly distinguished by their dialects and costumes. The Yi language belongs to the Yi branch of the Burmese Yi language group and has six dialects. The Yi language originally had an ideographic script, known as Cuanwen in history. Some people think it is a syllabic script, of which there are more than a thousand commonly used ones. But what is curious is that many people cannot read or write the two characters "Yi" and "Cuan", and they do not know what the meanings of these two characters are. Cuan is the name of one of the foreign clans in the history of the Yi people, who worships witches and ghosts.

Due to different regions and dialects, the Yi people have many branches and have many different nicknames and self-proclaimed names. The main nicknames are "Yi", "Black Yi", "White Yi", "Red Yi", "Gan Yi", "Huayao" ", "Micha", "㑩㑩", "濮", etc. It is even more confusing to know how to distinguish these Yi branches. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, "Yi" was used as a unified ethnic name.

That's not all that's curious. The Yi people regard the fifth month as spring and believe in ghosts and witches. The shamans have the names of Da Jianhao, Baixi, and White Horse. For divination, the two patella bones of a rooster are used. The bones have fine orifices and are pierced with bamboo sticks. Depending on the number of bones and the direction of the back, good or bad luck can be determined. On the 24th day of June every year, it is known as the Torch Festival, where pine torches are lit to illuminate villages and fields.

On the way, Agudenba met a middle-aged couple. The man has a bun, tweezers, earrings, and a sword; the woman has loose hair, a short coat, a barrel skirt, and a sheepskin.

After Agudengba stepped forward to say hello, he found out that the man's name was Zhu Ke and the woman's name was Naide.

Zhu Ke and Naide were very enthusiastic about Agudengba.

Agudemba told them that he was passing by and wanted to find a hotel to stay for two days.

Zhu Ke said:

Your husband doesn't look like a caravan businessman, nor does he look like a traveling photographer. I wonder what kind of resting place you want to find? There are not many small cottage hotels here, only three. One of them focuses on eating, smoking and drinking, and is relatively traditional. The hotel focuses on games and card games, and has basically integrated into modernity, making it the first choice accommodation for young people. The boss of the other company is actually a retired teacher who likes to plant flowers and grass and chat. He is a story teller. However, he is not a local Yi nationality. He claims to be a descendant of the ancient Qiang people.

Agudemba said:

Could you please introduce me to the retired teacher?

Zhu Ke and Naide agreed and took Agudengba towards the village.

Zhu Ke spoke Chinese all the way, and there was obviously no language barrier.

Agudumba asked:

Do the Yi people have their own language?

Ju Ke said:

The Yi people speak the Yi language, which belongs to the Burmese-Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. There are 6 dialects, including 5 sub-dialects and 25 dialects. In their exchanges with other ethnic groups such as the Han, the Yi people formed a Southwest Mandarin accent that was influenced by the pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar of the Yi language, which is known as "Tianhe dialect". The Mandarin I speak is actually this kind of "unity language".

Zhu Ke said again:

The Yi people also have their own writing. Originally there was a kind of ideographic script, known as Cuanwen in history. Some people think it is a syllabic script, of which there are more than a thousand common ones. There are also many legends about the origin of Cuan script. It is said that a man named Yi Awu invented the Yi script in Guizhou. He was an extremely smart person who knew the astronomy and geography. He created the script and wrote many books. It is also said that there is a Hengben Alu who created the hieroglyphics for worshiping ancestors and the Yi people. There is another legend that the person who created the Yi characters was a priest. He created characters and established regulations, and the culture started with him. According to the legend of the Yi people in Bijie, Guizhou, an old man from Jilu was inspired by the images depicting six kinds of poultry and six kinds of beasts, and then evolved into the Yi language. The Yi people in Honghe, Yunnan believe that there was a heavenly man named Ni Shi who planted two trees, a silver tree and a gold tree. When the flowers bloomed, the gold tree bloomed 3,500 flowers, forming 3,500 Yi characters. The silver tree also bloomed with 3,500 flowers, which also became Yi characters. Thus, 7,000 Yi characters were born. There is also a saying that in the Yi village of Ailao Mountain in Yunnan, there was a wise old man who created characters based on the footprints and images of birds and animals.

Zhu Ke also told Agudengba:

The Yi people have historically used a father-son naming system, which is very similar to some Western countries. In traditional culture, Yi names follow the structure of "surname, given name, and gender identifier". Most of the surnames and given names have two or more syllables, and the source of the surname includes the ancestor's name, ancestor's occupation, and ancestor's social rank.

Now, the Yi people in China need to transliterate their names into Chinese characters based on the pronunciation of Mandarin. Therefore, the current Yi people will consider the meaning of the Chinese characters when choosing Chinese-translated names, and many Yi people have completely used Chinese names. Celebrities such as Long Yun, Lu Han, Shi Yiqian, Wu Jinghua, Long Zhiyi, Xiao Yedan and Yang Likun.

Agudengba said to Zhuke and Naide:

The costumes you two are wearing are very beautiful. Is this Yi costume?

Naide said to Agudemba:

The Yi ethnic group has many branches, scattered residences, complex natural environment, and uneven social and economic development. Therefore, the clothing has formed obvious regional characteristics in terms of texture, style, and pattern. However, it can generally be divided into six major types based on the six Yi settlement areas of Liangshan, Wumengshan, Honghe, southeastern Yunnan, western Yunnan, and Chuxiong.

For example, in the traditional costumes of the Yi people in Liangshan, both men and women wear right-folded jackets, tsarwa, felt, and leggings. They usually go barefoot and wear hemp shoes in winter. The man's head is tied in a middle bun, with different styles in different dialect areas, and he wears honey wax beads, silver earrings and other accessories in his left ear. In the northern dialect area, men's trousers are divided into "large trouser legs", "medium trouser legs" and "small trouser legs" according to different sub-dialects. Women wear pleated skirts and headbands. After giving birth, they can wear hats or handkerchiefs. They like to wear earrings, hand jewelry, and silver collar badges. Traditional clothing materials are mainly self-woven and self-dyed wool and linen fabrics, and the traditional colors are black, red, and yellow. The patterns and decorations are mostly animals, plants and daily objects such as cockscombs, horns, fire sickles, ferns, window panes, etc.

Both men and women of the Yi ethnic group in Wumeng Mountain wear green or blue long or short shirts with a large placket and trousers, black or white headbands, white belts, and embroidered high-nailed "kites" or "eagle-head shoes" for men. There is no pattern, and it is covered with wool and felt. The collar, cuffs, placket and hem of women's clothing are all decorated with a combination of colorful patterns.

The clothing of Yi men in the Honghe area is mostly double-breasted, short jackets and trousers. There are many styles of women's clothing, including long gowns, mid-length gowns and short dresses. Most of them have jackets, waistcoats and aprons, and a dazzling array of headdresses, especially decorated with flowers made of silver foam and wool. Most of the patterns are natural patterns, followed by geometric patterns.

The clothing style of Yi women in southeastern Yunnan is right- or double-breasted tops, trousers, and skirts in some areas. Men's clothing consists of double-breasted jackets, waistcoats, and wide trousers. Clothing techniques include cross-stitching, embroidery, patchwork, batik, etc.

Most Yi women in western Yunnan wear a right-front coat that is short in the front and long in the back, with trousers, an apron, and a waistcoat underneath. Women in Weishan and Midu counties wear sheep felt wraps on their backs. The man wears a long gown with a large right placket, a sheepskin waistcoat, wide trousers, and a green handkerchief on his head.

The Yi women's clothing in Chuxiong area is a right-fronted short jacket and trousers. In a few areas, they wear a double-fronted jacket and a floral skirt. The craftsmanship is mainly inlay and flat embroidery, and the patterns are mostly flowers.

The attire of women in Luquan, Xundian and other places is the ancient Guantou garment, which is short in front and long in back, wide and sleeveless. Men's clothing is a small double-breasted jacket, a sheepskin jacket, and trousers. The custom of wearing fire grass cloth and linen clothes is still retained.

Naide smiled and said to Agudengba:

Can you now identify which region the Yi costumes my husband and I are wearing belong to?

Agudenba thought for a while and said:

Miss Naide, I guess you are wearing the clothing of the Yi ethnic group in western Yunnan. Because I have been there and seen the women there wearing sheepskin wraps and the men wearing sheepskin waistcoats.

Zhu Ke and Naide looked at each other and smiled, and Naide said:

You're right, but we don't usually dress like this. Today is to attend the Torch Festival held in the village. This is a traditional festival held by the Yi people on June 24th of the lunar calendar every year and lasts for three days. During the festival, we all dress up in costumes and gather on flat dams or gentle slopes near the villages to sing, dance, race horses, bullfights, sheep fights, wrestling, beauty pageants, etc. The activities are colorful and lively. In the morning, people kill animals to worship their ancestors; in the evening, they hold torches and walk around the crop fields to burn pests to death and pray for a good harvest.

Zhu Ke smiled and said: Welcome to our torch festival.

Zhu Ke and Naide sang the Yi folk song "Torch Festival of the Yi Nationality" together:

 

Take you into the Yi Torch Festival,

The Torch Festival has been practiced for more than a thousand years.

A major annual sacrifice,

Use torches to repel insects and evil spirits.

Holding fire to illuminate the fields to pray for a good harvest,

It lasted three days, three nights and three stages.

 

When night falls on the first day,

Follow the example of Ashmo and use fire to drive away insects,

A fire ceremony is held at the altar,

Carrying torches around the fields.

 

The next day, the fire was passed under the altar,

Imitate the legendary Ashima,

Dressed in rich clothes and holding a butter umbrella,

Singing and dancing at the same time.

 

The third day is to send fire and set off the climax.

Everyone is running around holding torches,

The torches in our hands gather together,

Create a huge bonfire.

 

People gathered around the bonfire,

In a large circle,

Dance and sing happily,

The scene is like an Oriental carnival night,

 

The girl is good at singing and dancing and graceful,

The young man is strong, cheerful and extremely handsome.

A group of men and women dance together,

Good at using musical instruments to express beauty.

 

The Torch Festival of the Yi people has been passed down to this day.

There are also bullfights, horse racing and wrestling,

Sheep fighting has a sense of humor;

In the end, they will shake hands and make peace.