The legend of the Torch Festival of the Yi people is that Gu Zinian, the God of Heaven who rules over all things in the world, sent his son Hercules Sireabi to the human world to collect exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. The good and peaceful human world has been disrupted and people are in dire straits. Heiti Laba, a hero of the Yi nationality who is super-intelligent and fearless, saw this scene and often went to solve problems for various tribes, eliminate violence and bring peace to the people, and was deeply loved by the people.
One day, Black Body Laba went hunting in the mountains. Standing on the top of a high mountain, intoxicated by the breathtaking scenery, he couldn't help but sing loudly. His high-pitched singing voice attracted the shepherd girl "Ni Zhang" from another mountain. Azhi"'s melodious singing voice. They sang love songs across mountains and rivers until dark. From then on, they fell in love with each other and became sworn brothers.
In the duel, he was thrown to death by the Yi folk hero "Heiti Laba". The God was furious and sent an overwhelming locust to the world to destroy the mature crops.
The clever "Ni Zhang Azhi" traveled over the mountains and found a highly respected high priest in the sky. The priest told Ni Zhang Azhi: To eliminate locusts, use torches. Nizhang Azhi and Heiti Laba led the people to go up the mountain to put up torches. They put out torches for three days and three nights, and burned the torches for three days and three nights. Finally, all the locusts were burned to death and the crops were saved.
Seeing this scene, the abominable Ti Guzi was furious. Using his magic power, the overworked Black Body Laba turned into a mountain. Nizhang Azhi looked at all this and was heartbroken. She sacrificed her life amidst the prayers of the high priest and turned into beautiful Soma flowers blooming all over the mountains and fields, blooming on the high mountain that Black Ti Laba became. This day happens to be the 24th of June in the lunar calendar.
From then on, in order to commemorate this day, the Yi people will hit flint in the traditional way to light the sacred fire on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month every year, light the torch, and walk to the fields to pray for good weather and a good harvest in the coming year. . People sang and danced, celebrating the victory in fighting the disaster and singing about the bravery of Altiraba and the cleverness and beauty of Nizhang Azhi. Over time, the Yi family’s annual Torch Festival was formed. The Torch Festival of the Yi people generally lasts for three days and three nights, and is divided into three stages: welcoming fire, playing with fire, and sending fire.
The folklore of the Torch Festival in 300 words 1. A long time ago, there was a strong man in the sky named Sitherabi, and a strong man named Altiraba in the Torch Festival on the ground. Both of them had the ability to lift mountains. strength. One day, Sitherabi was going to have a wrestling match with Altiraba, but Altiraba had to go out in a hurry. Before leaving, he asked his mother to serve Sitherabi with a plate of discus. Sitherabi thought that since Altiraba used discus as food, he must be very strong, so he left quickly. After Altiraba came back, he heard from his mother that Sitherabi had just left, so he chased him and wanted to have a wrestling match with him, but Sitherabi was thrown to death. When the god Entiguz found out about this, he was very angry and sent a large number of locusts and borers to eat the crops on the ground. On the night of June 24th of the lunar calendar, Altiraba cut down many pine branches and wild mugwort branches and made them into torches. He led the people to light them and went to the fields to burn insects. From then on, the Yi people designated this day as the Torch Festival. ——"The Legend of the Torch Festival" by the Yi people in Liangshan
2. King Samei fought against the aliens and his head was cut off. When the stars appeared, another head grew to fight with them. In the end, due to the betrayal of the spy, King Samei's head never grew back after his head was chopped off and his neck was swept with a sharp blade of grass. It is said that the red spots on the sharp knife grass are dyed red by the blood of King Samei. Later, the Samei people would light up torches on June 24th and 25th every year to commemorate King Samei and search for his heroic spirit.
3. The Torch Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the Yi people in Liangshan, Sichuan. At that time, every family drinks alcohol, eats meat, and kills animals to worship their ancestors. People wear new clothes and carry out cultural and sports activities with national characteristics. Men participate in bullfighting, sheep, chicken, horse racing, and wrestling; women sing, play oral strings, and play the yueqin. At night, they wandered the torches in front of and behind the house; on the third night, groups held torches and traveled around the mountains and fields, ablaze with flames. Then they gathered in one place to light bonfires, lit torches, drank, sang and danced, and played all the time. Until dawn. ——"The Torch Festival of the Samei People" by the Samei branch of the Yi ethnic group
4. The good god Afan secretly opened the gate of heaven and sowed grains, making the happy life on earth surpass that in heaven. The god was furious and sent a strong man to the earth to vent his anger. Apan hated Hercules for being overbearing, so he wrestled with him and knocked Hercules to the ground, creating a pit. Later, the rain turned the pit into a long blue lake (Lunan Freshwater Lake). In order to commemorate this human hero, people held bullfighting, wrestling, slaughtering sheep, lighting torches and other activities on the 24th of the sixth lunar month to express their condolences. ——"The Torch Festival of the Sani People" by the Sani branch of the Yi Nationality
5. The slave owners kept many poor brothers in prison, and the poor people tied torches to the horns of the sheep. Rushing to the distant mansion, burning the slave owners to death, and at the same time burning the ropes in the hands of the poor. To commemorate this victory, people hold up torches and celebrate the victory, which has become a custom. ——"Torch Festival of the Axi people" by the Axi branch of the Yi ethnic group
6. There is a beautiful and capable girl in the Yi family of Luowu, who has long been in love with the Yi boy Aaron.
However, men from twelve nearby tribes came to propose marriage one after another. One of them, a local official, said fiercely and cruelly that if he did not agree, he would kill the village and bring disaster to the whole village. The girl had no choice but to agree to a blind date on June 24th. When the blind date comes, the girl puts on snow-white clothes, a black jacket, a floral apron on her chest, and lights a big fire. The leaders of the Twelve Divisions also arrived. After the girl took a deep look at Aaron, she jumped into the fire. Aaron and a few young men tried to grab her, but they only tore off the corners of her clothes. People came from all directions, but she had already died for her love. In order to commemorate her, twelve young men lifted up the bull and pushed it towards each other, winning by pushing it down. Afterwards, the cow is killed, drank, sang and danced. Later, the Yi family designated June 24th as the Torch Festival. The corners of clothes ripped off by Aaron became the waistbands of Yi women, and the green smoke of burning girls turned into the morning mist in the village. It is said that when magpies chirp in the early morning, a girl's figure appears faintly in the distance of Yi Mountain, so people call her Magpie Girl. ——"The Magpie Girl" by the Luowu branch of the Yi Nationality
7. Lao Apu, the son of the god of heaven, was jealous of the happy life in the world, so he sent an old heavenly general to the earth and asked him to burn the world to pieces. Sea of ??fire. When God was about to come to the world, he saw a man carrying an older child on his back, while the younger child was holding his hand. He felt strange. After asking carefully, he found out that the child he was carrying was his nephew, and the child he was holding was his nephew. Son, because his brother-in-law is dead, the man thinks that he should take good care of his nephew. God was deeply moved by such virtues in the world, and thinking that people were so kind-hearted, how could they bear to harm them, so he told the man the news that God had burned down the human world, and asked him to tell people that on June 25, Avoid disaster by lighting a torch at the door beforehand. So thousands of households lit torches that night. The gods thought that people had perished in the sea of ??fire, so they fell into a deep sleep, never to be seen again... >>
The Torch Festival Origin and legend: The legends of the Torch Festival among various ethnic groups in Yunnan each have their own distinctive contents. The legend about the Torch Festival of the Yi people is actually the sublation of the original cultural form by the new cultural form after the people turned from nomadic to agricultural. This legend retains the original information about the origin of the Torch Festival to the greatest extent, and is also the legend closest to the origin of the Torch Festival. The proverbs of the Naxi people about the legend of the Torch Festival retain important information about the origin of the Torch Festival. Together with the records in "Yuxi Chronicles", "Luquan County Chronicles" and "Dongxi County Chronicles" ***, they provide information on the origin of the Torch Festival. important clues. Although the legends about the Torch Festival in Dali and Kunming obscure the origin of the Torch Festival, the term "Xinghui Festival" also reveals the origin and profound culture of the Torch Festival. Lao Apu, the son of the Naxi God, was jealous of the happy life in the world, so he sent an old general to the world and asked him to burn the world into a sea of ??fire. When God was about to come to the world, he saw a man carrying an older child on his back, while the younger child was holding his hand. He felt strange. After asking carefully, he found out that the child he was carrying was his nephew, and the child he was holding was his nephew. Son, because his brother-in-law is dead, the man thinks that he should take good care of his nephew. God was deeply moved by such virtues in the world, and thinking that people were so kind-hearted, how could they bear to harm them, so he told the man the news that God had burned down the human world, and asked him to tell people that on June 25, Avoid disaster by lighting a torch at the door beforehand. So thousands of households lit torches that night. The God thought that people had perished in the sea of ??fire, so he fell into a deep sleep and never woke up. Later, the Naxi people designated this day as the Torch Festival. There lived a good man and an evil man on the mountain of the Lahu tribe. The evil man only ate human eyes. On June 24th, the good man wrapped the horns of the goat with beeswax, lit the beeswax and asked the goat to find the evil man. When the evil man saw the sparks, he thought that people were coming to shoot him with a musket, so he hurriedly hid in the cave and blocked it with stones. At the entrance of the cave, he was drowned by the water coming out of the cave. From then on, people no longer had to worry about evil people coming to eat their eyes, and they could go about their production in peace. Therefore, the Lahu people designate this day as the Torch Festival. Among the Torch Festival legends of the Bai people, there is also the famous legend of Anan (i.e. Man'an). The plot is generally consistent with the female character legend "Man'an" and "Burning Songming Tower". It is a perfect combination of the character legend and the Torch Festival legend. The result of cross-evolution. Long time ago, there was a strong man named Sitherabi in the sky and a strong man named Altiraba on the ground. Both of them had the strength to lift mountains. One day, Sitherabi was going to have a wrestling match with Altiraba, but Altiraba had to go out in a hurry. Before leaving, he asked his mother to serve Sitherabi with a plate of discus. Sitherabi thought that since Altiraba used discus as food, he must be very strong, so he left quickly. After Altiraba came back, he heard from his mother that Sitherabi had just left, so he chased him and wanted to have a wrestling match with him, but Sitherabi was thrown to death. When the god Entiguz found out about this, he was very angry and sent a large number of locusts and borers to eat the crops on the ground. On the night of June 24th of the lunar calendar, Altiraba cut down many pine branches and wild mugwort branches and made them into torches. He led the people to light them and went to the fields to burn insects. From then on, the Yi people designated this day as the Torch Festival. King Samei fought against the aliens and had his head cut off. When the stars appeared, another head grew to fight with them. In the end, due to the betrayal of the spy, King Samei's head never grew back after his head was chopped off and his neck was swept with a sharp blade of grass. It is said that the red spots on the sharp knife grass are dyed red by the blood of King Samei. Later, the Samei people would light up torches on June 24th and 25th every year to commemorate King Samei and search for his heroic spirit.
"Sani People's Torch Festival" of the Sani branch: The good god Afan secretly opened the gate of heaven and scattered grains, making the happy life on earth better than that in heaven. The god was furious and sent a strong man to the earth to vent his anger. Apan hated Hercules for being overbearing, so he wrestled with him and knocked Hercules to the ground, creating a pit. Later, the rain turned the pit into a long blue lake (Lunan Freshwater Lake). In order to commemorate this human hero, people held bullfighting, wrestling, slaughtering sheep, lighting torches and other activities on the 24th of the sixth lunar month to express their condolences. "The Torch Festival of the Axi People" by the Axi Branch: The slave owner imprisoned many poor brothers in the far distance. The poor Axi tied torches to the horns of the sheep, rushed to the far away mansion, and burned the slaves to death. The Lord also burns the ropes from the hands of the poor. To commemorate this victory, people hold up torches and celebrate the victory, which has become a custom. "The Magpie Girl" from the Luo Wu branch: There is a beautiful and capable girl from the Luo Wu Yi family, who has long been in love with Aaron, a young man from the Yi family. But men from twelve nearby tribes came to propose marriage. One of them, a local official, said fiercely and cruelly that if he didn't agree, he would... >>
The origin of the Torch Festival? The origin of the Torch Festival
Among the traditional festivals of the Yi people, the Torch Festival on June 24 of the lunar calendar is the most lively festival, just like the Chinese New Year. !
It is said that in ancient times, there were six suns in the sky, which made it impossible for all living things to survive. Later, there was a hero of the Yi people called "Zhige Along". He bowed with five arrows, and when he let go, the five arrows aimed at the five suns and flew away. The sun died, and people returned to living and working in peace and contentment.
A god saw this and was very jealous of people, so he let his son disturb the world. There was a young man named "Heidi Laba". He was extremely powerful and was very dissatisfied with the deity's actions, so he killed the deity's son.
The god was so angry that he turned the black body Laba into a mountain and cast a spell to cause an insect plague. When the wife of the black-bodied Bala heard about it, she turned into fire and wiped out the insect plague.
Since then, there has been the Torch Festival.
The legend of the Torch Festival Legend 1
There are different legends about the origin of the Torch Festival. It is said that the gods of heaven and earth gods are fighting. People use torches to help the gods of earth to eliminate insects and defeat the gods of heaven. One story comes from "Unofficial History of Nanzhao" and "Yunnan Series" of Normal University. These two books contain: Pi Luoge, the leader of Nanzhao, attempted to annex the other Five Zhaos, and the leaders of the Five Zhaos were burned and killed in Songming Tower. Deng Ai ordered his wife Charity to advise her husband not to go, and if the husband refused, he would be killed. With shrewd wisdom and persistent love for her husband, her husband's body was found and buried smoothly. The Yunnan people hung it with a burning torch. The Sani people of the Yi ethnic group in Shilin regard the Torch Festival as a festival to commemorate the people's victory in the struggle against evil; the Yi people in Wuding believe that during the Torch Festival, the ears of grain will grow as strong as torches. Later generations used this sacrificial fire to drive away ghosts and evil spirits in their homes and fields to ensure the safety of people and animals.
Legend 2
In Liangshan, the largest Yi inhabited area in China, there are many legends about the origin of the Torch Festival. Among them, the most influential and widely circulated story is the story of Yi heroes defeating gods and demons and uniting the people to fight against evil and disasters.
According to legend, in ancient times, there were six suns and seven moons in the sky. The sun was blazing during the day and the light was shining brightly at night. The land was barren, demons were rampant, and everything in the world was facing annihilation. At this moment, the Yi hero Zhige Along shot to death the five scorching suns and six moons, taming the rest of the world.
Traditional Chinese paintings expressing the Yi people - author Di Shaoying
Traditional Chinese paintings expressing the Yi people - Author Di Shaoying
The last sun and the last moon under the sun conquered the raging floods and eliminated all kinds of demons that harmed the world. From then on, the world was sunny and sunny, the water and grass were luxuriant, and the Yi people began to live and work in peace and contentment, a paradise-like life. However, Guzi, the God of Heaven who rules over all things in the world, was dissatisfied when he saw such prosperity and wealth in the world, so he sent his son Hercules Sireabi to the world every year to collect exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. Wherever the heavenly soldiers went, they burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. The peaceful human world has been disturbed by gods and demons, making people miserable. People live in dire straits and are miserable. Later, a Yi hero named Heiti Laba appeared in Zhige Along's hometown. He was extremely powerful, intelligent, brave and fearless. He could travel thousands of miles in a day astride a horse, and he could fly over cliffs and walk over walls. He often solves problems for various tribes and eliminates violence and peace, and is deeply loved by the people. One day, Heidi Laba went hunting in the mountains. Standing on the top of a high mountain, intoxicated by the breathtaking scenery, he couldn't help but sing loudly to express his love for nature and his desire for a hair-dressing life. The high-pitched singing voice attracted the melodious singing voice of Nizhang Azhi, a shepherd girl on another mountain. They sang love songs across mountains and rivers until dark. From then on, they fell in love with each other and became sworn brothers.
Hercules Sireabi, who has long coveted Nizhang Azhi, heard about the relationship between the two, and was filled with resentment and jealousy. He always wanted to find an opportunity to kill the black-body Laba. Not long after, Sireabi, who couldn't bear his jealousy, came down to earth to challenge him and wanted to wrestle with the black body Raba. As a result, in a wrestling duel, he was thrown to death by the Yi folk hero Heiti Laba. The gods were furious and released overwhelming celestial insects (locusts) into the world to destroy mature crops.
The clever Nizhang Azhi traveled over the mountains and found a highly respected Bimo (priest) in the sky. Bimo read the heavenly book and told Nizhang Azhi: To eliminate locusts, you need to use Torch. Nizhang Azhi and Heiti Laba led the people up the mountain to set up torches with mugwort poles. They set up torches for three days and three nights, and burned the torches for three days and three nights. Finally, all the insects were burned to death and the crops were saved. Seeing this scene, the abominable Ti Guzi was furious. Using his magic power, the overworked Black Body Laba turned into a mountain. Nizhang Azhi looked at all this, heartbroken and in pain. She sacrificed her life amidst the prayers of Da Bimo and turned into beautiful Soma flowers blooming all over the mountains and fields on the high mountain that Black Ti Laba became. This day happens to be the 24th of June in the lunar calendar.
From then on, in order to commemorate this day, the Yi people will hit flint in the traditional way to light the sacred fire on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month every year, light the torch, and walk to the fields to pray for good weather and a good harvest in the coming year. . People sang and danced, celebrating the victory in fighting the disaster and singing about the bravery of Black Body Laba and the cleverness and beauty of Nizhang Azhi. Over time, the Yi family’s annual Torch Festival was formed. The Torch Festival of the Yi people generally lasts for three days and three nights, and is divided into three stages: welcoming fire, playing with fire, and sending fire.
The origin of the Torch Festival The Torch Festival is an ancient and important traditional festival of the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Jino, Lahu and other ethnic groups. It has profound folk cultural connotations and is famous at home and abroad. It is known as the "Oriental Festival". Carnival”. Different ethnic groups hold the Torch Festival at different times. Most of them are held on June 24 of the lunar calendar. The main activities include bullfighting, sheep fighting, cockfighting, horse racing, wrestling, song and dance performances, beauty pageants, etc. In the new era, the Torch Festival has been given new folk functions and created new forms.
The "Torch Festival" is celebrated for three days:
The first day of the Torch Festival: Fire sacrifice. On this day, everyone wears their favorite dress and is happy. Every village will slaughter cattle and sheep, and prepare banquets with all kinds of meat and fragrant and sweet wine. These are fragrant and fragrant. If you worship it to the gods, the gods will be full of praise. When night falls, people from nearby villages will build an altar at the location selected by the elders, and light the sacred fire by striking stones to make fire in the traditional way. Bimo (a folk priest of the Yi ethnic group) will chant sutras and offer sacrifices to the fire. Then, in every household, adults and children would take torches made of wormwood from Bimo's hands and wander around the fields, imitating the legend of Ashmoo using fire to drive away insects.
The second day of the Torch Festival: Passing the Fire. On this day, every household gathers under the sacred fire of the altar to hold various traditional festival activities. The young men have to imitate the legendary Altiraba, horse racing, wrestling, singing, bullfighting, sheep fighting, and cockfighting. The girls imitated the legendary Ashima, dressed in beautiful clothes, held up butter umbrellas, sang "Doloho" and performed body dance. On this day, the most important event is the Yi beauty pageant. The elders must select the annual beauties and beauties from the boys and girls according to the legendary standards of Altiraba's industriousness, bravery, prowess, and Ashima's kindness, intelligence, and beauty. As night falls, pairs of loving men and women, in the mountains, by the river, under yellow oil umbrellas, play the yueqin, play the mouth strings, and tell each other how much they miss each other. Therefore, some people call the Liangshan Yi International Torch Festival the "Valentine's Day of the East."
The third day of the Torch Festival: sending fire. This is the highlight of the entire Liangshan Yi International Torch Festival. When night falls on this day, everyone will hold a torch and run around. Finally, people gathered their torches together to form huge bonfires. Happy people gathered around the bonfires to sing and dance to their heart's content. The scene was extremely spectacular. Therefore, it is also known as "Oriental Carnival Night".
[Edit this paragraph] Torch Festival Ethnic Groups
The Torch Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lahu, Hani, Pumi and other ethnic groups. The Yi, Naxi and Jinuo people hold it on June 24th of the lunar calendar, the Bai people hold it on June 25th, and the Lahu people hold it on June 20th. The festival lasts for three days.
[Edit this paragraph] The Legend of the Torch Festival
A long time ago, there was a strong man in the sky named Sitherabi, and a strong man on the ground named Altiraba. Have the strength to lift mountains. One day, Sitherabi was going to compete with Altiraba, that is, wrestling, but Altiraba had to go out in a hurry. Before leaving, he asked his mother to entertain Sitherabi with a plate of discus. Sitherabi thought that since Altiraba used discus as food, he must be very strong, so he left quickly. After Altiraba came back, he heard from his mother that Sitherabi had just left, so he chased him and wanted to have a wrestling match with him, but Sitherabi was thrown to death. When the god Entiguz found out about this, he was very angry and sent a large number of locusts and borers to eat the crops on the ground. On the night of June 24th of the lunar calendar, Altiraba cut down many pine branches and wild mugwort branches and made them into torches. He led the people to light them and went to the fields to burn insects. From then on, the Yi people designated this day as the Torch Festival.
What is the origin of the Torch Festival of the Yi people? The origin of the Yi Torch Festival
A long time ago, in the Yi village at the foot of Hongshan Mountain in Zhaojiadian, Dayao County, there was a smart, beautiful, virtuous and kind-hearted girl Nona who fell in love with Acha, a handsome and brave young man from Dajuji. In love. This year, the insidious and vicious Shanguan leader Mo Ha selected a female as his angry concubine, and attempted to seize Nona, who was as beautiful as a camellia, as his concubine.
Under the influence of Mo Ha, the heroic Acha defeated the strong and the evil master Mo Ha with superb skills. Mo Ha became angry and used witchcraft to blast the pig's beams. Unfortunately, Acha fell into the abyss. . Later, he was rescued by fellow villagers and escaped from danger.
When Acha was killed, girl Nona narrowly escaped the clutches of Moha. Moha led his soldiers to surround Nona's family and wanted to steal Nona's marriage. In order to avoid being trampled, Nona climbed over the cliff and ran away from home to look for Acha. On the Red Mountain cliff, she finally exhausted her strength and died under the cliff. Nona's figure was always reflected on the cliff. It is known as "White Man's Cliff".
Acha was rescued from the Rishan Mountain by the villagers. Knowing that he had been tricked, he went straight to Nona's house; only to see Nona's parents were killed by Moha. Archa buried his father-in-law and mother-in-law with grief, searched all over the mountains, and finally found the white figure of Nona left on the red cliff. Acha was so distraught that he wanted to jump off a cliff and go home with Nona. All the villagers went to dissuade him, pulled Acha back from the cliff, and discussed revenge with him. The next day (June 25th), Acha and fellow villagers from three villages and five villages across the mountains and villages held up thousands of torches and went straight to Moha's house. They burned Moha's palace and burned the evil Moha to death. He avenged Nona and relieved the hatred of all the villagers.
In order to commemorate this unforgettable day, on the afternoon of June 25th every year, people in Yi villages will light pine torches and use the blazing torches to illuminate the four walls and burn the mosquitoes to death. ; Exorcise evil spirits to show Jifu's happiness; peers respect each other's torches and burn "blessings" to show cleanliness and peace. Then he held a torch to the fields, waving it to attract moths and exterminate pests. After the parade, torches are planted in the corners of the fields. In the open area in front of the village, young men and women dance cheerfully around the torches. The old people sit around the fire pit, open the fragrant fire wine, and toast each other. auspicious.
People also take their married daughters home early. On this day, pigs and sheep are killed, and they eat and live together to express the reunion of relatives. This ancient custom continues to this day. Although it is similar to other legends, it reflects the customs of the local Yi people. The "Torch Festival" is supposed to be on June 24th of the lunar calendar, but here it is celebrated on June 25th. Because it commemorates this day when the heroic Acha and the villagers from all over the country avenged their blood and hatred.
On the day of the Torch Festival, the mountain people from Yuanmou, Yongren, Longjie and other places in the surrounding areas carried their own mountain products and local products, drove mules and horses, and traveled across mountains and rivers to Zhaojiadian. They set up The tents were set up, the stoves were set up, strings of mountain products and bowls of fragrant beef and sheep soup pots made the passers-by linger on. At noon, on the slopes of the mountain, the Yi people held a moqiu festival, and saw pairs of young men and women walking up and down the moqiu. There were bursts of cheers and laughter from the crowd. At night, on the slightly flat hillside, piles of bonfires were lit. The Yi boys played the three-stringed yueqin, and the girls held hands around the fire and jumped to the sound of the strings. The fierce flames shot up high. Lao Gao made the young man's face red. Dear guest, if you are here, you will definitely squeeze into the crowd regardless of the cost, hold the hand of the Yi girl, dance around the bonfire until dawn.
Torch Festival
A traditional festival of the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lisu, Laku, Hani and other ethnic groups in southern my country. Most of the time is around June 24 of the lunar calendar every year, and is held for one to three days. The content of the activities is not exactly the same among various ethnic groups and regions, but it is indispensable to light pine wood torches on the festival night, or insert them in the village, or carry them to and from the fields, accompanied by various singing and dancing activities.
When the Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival, every village lights up torches at night, and the torches spread across the fields and mountains, which is quite spectacular. Yi people use torches to illuminate their fields, hoping for a good harvest. According to folklore, the purpose of celebrating the Torch Festival is to attract the ears of grain to come out to look at the torches. The purpose of playing with torches is to extinguish diseases and insect pests in the seedlings. During the festival, in some places, pigs and cows are killed to offer sacrifices to the gods; in some places, each household has to carry a chicken to the fields to offer sacrifices to the "Tian Gong and Earth Mother". Folks believe that torches can drive away ghosts and evil spirits, so after lighting the torch, one has to walk from house to house and sprinkle rosin on the torch while walking, which is called "sending off evil spirits". There are also various social, cultural and entertainment activities during the Torch Festival. Villages hold singing, dancing, horse racing, bullfighting, wrestling, archery, tug-of-war, swing playing, etc. The bullfighting and wrestling competitions in the Guishan area of ??Lunan Stone Forest are particularly famous. Before the bullfight, each village will select representatives to participate and bring the selected fat and strong bulls to the venue. The group... >>
The story of the Torch Festival is said to be a long time ago , the gods in the sky were jealous of the happy life on earth and sowed countless locusts on the ground. They gnawed at the crops. However, the brave Yi people did not succumb to the gods. Led by the hero Atilaba, they figured out how to use fire to destroy the locusts. People lit torches and went to the fields day and night to hunt and burn pests. After several days of hard work, people finally eliminated the "celestial insects". In order to commemorate the victory of eradicating the "celestial insects" with torches and celebrate the harvest, people light torches every year on June 24th of the lunar calendar. *** and hold various commemorative activities.
The Torch Festival lasts for three days. The first day of the Torch Festival: Fire Sacrifice. On this day, every village will slaughter cattle and sheep, share them collectively, and prepare wine and meat to worship their ancestors. When night falls, people from nearby villages will build an altar at the location selected by the elders, and light the sacred fire by striking stones to make fire in the traditional way. Bimo (a folk priest of the Yi ethnic group) will chant sutras and offer sacrifices to the fire.
Then, in every household, adults and children would take torches made of wormwood from Bimo's hands and wander around the fields, imitating the legend of Ashmoo using fire to drive away insects.
The second day of the Torch Festival: Passing the Fire. On this day, every household gathers under the sacred fire of the altar and holds various traditional festival activities. The young men should imitate the legendary Altiraba, horse racing, wrestling, singing, bullfighting, sheep fighting, and cockfighting. The girls imitated the legendary Ashmoon, dressed in beautiful clothes, held up butter umbrellas, and danced "Doloho" and body dance. On this day, the most important event is the Yi beauty pageant. The elders must select the annual beauties and beauties from the boys and girls according to the legendary standards of Altiraba's hard work, bravery, bravery, and Ashimou's kindness, intelligence, and beauty. As night falls, pairs of loving men and women, in the mountains, by the river, under yellow oil umbrellas, play the yueqin, play the mouth strings, and tell each other how much they love each other. Therefore, some people call the Liangshan Yi International Torch Festival the "Valentine's Day of the East."
The third day of the Torch Festival: sending fire. This is the highlight of the entire Liangshan Yi International Torch Festival. When night falls on this day, everyone will hold a torch and run around. Finally, people gathered their torches together to form huge bonfires. Happy people gathered around the bonfires to sing and dance to their heart's content. The scene was extremely spectacular. Therefore, it is also known as "Oriental Carnival Night".
The Torch Festival is an ancient and important traditional festival of the Yi people. It has profound folk cultural connotations and is famous at home and abroad. It is called the "Carnival of the East". Different ethnic groups hold the Torch Festival at different times. Most of them are held on June 24 of the lunar calendar. The main activities include bullfighting, sheep fighting, cockfighting, horse racing, wrestling, song and dance performances, beauty pageants, etc. In the new era, the Torch Festival has been given a new folkloric function and created a new form
Why do the Yi people celebrate the "Torch Festival" ggHow did the Torch Festival come about, and why do the Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival Woolen cloth? The legend is to commemorate an ancient heroine who was smart, loyal, and died fighting violence. It reflects the Yi people's desire to drive away evil and pursue a better life.