(1) Ethnic name: Most of the Yi people call themselves "Nuosu", "Nasu", and "Niesu" (or add "Po" after it, which means "people" in Yi language). Since the Yi people are widely distributed . There are many different self-claims and claims in history. According to incomplete statistics, until the eve of liberation, there were also: "Naropo", "Misapo", "Pulapo", "Puwapo", "Asipo" ”, “Sannipo”, “Lipo”, “Gepo”, “Luopo”, “Luowupo”, “Azhepo”, “Liumi”, “Lesupo”, “Shansu” , "Azupo", "Gepu", "Awu", "Talusu", "Samado", "Liudepu", "Nacha", "Lawusu", "Naruo", "Mixisu", "Luoluo", "White Luoluo", "Black Luoluo" and dozens more. "Nuosu", "Nasu" and "Niesu" are all from the Yi language. "Nuo", "Na" and "Nie" are caused by phonetic differences in local dialects. They all mean "black" (also "tiger"). meaning). In the concepts of the Yi people, black contains meanings such as deep, wide, high, large, strong, numerous, noble, and subjective. "Su" means groups, people, and families, and "Nuosu" (or "Nasu", "Niesu") means "the nation of Juche" and "the nation of black people". Beginning in 1950, the Yi people chose "Yi" from Ding Yi as their unique ethnic name, replacing the word "Yi" in old historical documents. (2) Ethnic origin: The Yi ethnic origin is derived from the ancient Qiang people. Since there are very few historical records in Chinese, there have been various theories in the academic world for a long time: from the south, that is, the ancient Yue and Malay race theory; From the east, there is the theory of the Chu people; from the west, there is the theory of Tibet or the junction of Tibet and Myanmar; there is the theory of the indigenous people of Yunnan; there is the theory of the ancient Qiang people coming from the north in Hehuang; there are also the theory of the Pu people, the Lu people and the indigenous people of Yunnan. Between 6,000 and 7,000 years ago, the ancient Qiang people living in the Hehuang region in northwest my country began to develop in all directions, with one branch traveling to the southwest of the motherland. More than 3,000 years ago, this group of ancient Qiang people who traveled southwest settled along the Jinsha River in Qiongdu in the Anning River Basin and Dianchi Lake in the Pudu River Basin. The residents of Dianchi Lake and Qiongdu were historically known as "Yue Jong Qiang", "Qing Qiang", "Barbarians", "Jun Yi", "Sou", etc., and they continued to merge with the local Bo (Pu) people, Liao people, Han people, etc. , became the ancestors of the Yi people. On the basis of the integration of the ancient Qiang people and the indigenous tribes in southwest China into Bo, the integration of Kunming people and Bo (Pu) is a new development in the process of forming the Yi people. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the integration of Kunming people and Bo (Pu) people developed into the integration of Liao people. From the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties, Chinese historical records referred to the main residents of eastern Yunnan, western Guizhou, and southern Sichuan as Sou people, sometimes with Sou and Pu. juxtaposed. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there has been a differentiation between Wuman and Baiman in the area where the ancestors of the Yi people lived. The Wuman tribe was developed from the Kunming tribe, and the Baiman tribe was mainly composed of Sou and Pu and merged with other ethnic groups. During the long-term formation and development, the activities of the ancestors of the Yi people once spread throughout the heartland of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces and part of Guangxi. Their core area should be the vast area adjacent to the three provinces. The Yi people all over the country have the same legend originating from Zhong Mouyou. According to the more complete Shuixi'an genealogy handed down from generation to generation, it has been passed down for 85 generations by the early years of Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty, which can be traced back to the early Warring States period. The six sons born to him developed into the "Sixth Ancestor". "tribe. The origin and formation of the Yi people. The ancestors of the Yi people have a close relationship with the ancient clan and Qiang people distributed in western my country. During the Western Han Dynasty, an ancestor of the Yi ethnic group was named "Kunming". "Sou" in the Eastern Han Dynasty was also the name given to the ancestors of the Yi people at that time. The Wuman people (called "Luoluo" after the Yuan Dynasty) during the Tang and Song Dynasties were the direct predecessors of the Yi people. Due to different historical conditions caused by various reasons, the formation process of the Yi people has become a dual phenomenon. One branch is represented by the Yi people in Yunnan and was formed on the basis of the birth of the country. The establishment of the Nanzhao Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty marked the true formation of this Yi ethnic group. The other branch is represented by the Yi ethnic group of the Wuman people in the northern Liangshan region of Sichuan. They did not establish a country, but first united into tribes, and then developed from tribes into nations. The historical evolution of the geographical distribution of the Yi people. The Yi people are mainly distributed in the four provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, namely the Daliangshan area south of the Dadu River in Sichuan and the tributaries of the Yalong River and the Anning River on both sides of the Anning River, as well as the Jinsha River, Yuanjiang, Ailao Mountain and Wuliang in Yunnan. The areas between the mountains and Huaping, Ninglang and Yongsheng in western Yunnan are known as Yunnan's "Little Liangshan" areas, Anshun and Bijie in Guizhou, and Longlin and Mubian counties in Guangxi. The natural environment of these areas where the Yi people are distributed is relatively poor. Most of them are high mountains with very complex terrain, some are alpine mountainous areas, and there are few flat dams and river valleys. The formation of this distribution pattern has gone through a long-term historical evolution. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the activity centers of the Yi ancestors were around Dianchi Lake in Yunnan and the Qiongdu area of ??Sichuan (now southeast of Xichang), where they engaged in farming or nomadic farming. Later, they moved southward to the banks of the "Nuoyi" and "Quyi" rivers, namely the Jinsha River and Anning River basins. Around the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, they gradually expanded from the Jinsha River, Anning River Basin, Dianchi Lake, Ailao Mountain and other places to the northern Dianjiang River, southern Yunnan, northwest Guizhou and northwest Guangxi. The establishment of the Nanzhao Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty and the Dali Kingdom in the Song Dynasty expanded the distribution range of the Yi people to areas within the reach of the state's influence. In the Yuan Dynasty, the central government established roads, prefectures, prefectures, counties and Xuanwei Divisions in the areas where the Yi people live in Yunnan. It also established the Xuanwei Division in the Shuixi area of ??Guizhou (today’s Qianxi and Dafang areas), and the Leibo Division in Sichuan. Mahu Road was set up in places such as Pingshan, Pingshan, and both sides of the Jinsha River, Jianchang Road was set up in Xichang, Mianning, and Puge, and Luoluosu Xuanwei Division was set up in Daliangshan and Xiaoliangshan.
The determination of this administrative division has basically stabilized the geographical distribution of the Yi people. In the Ming Dynasty, three administrative methods were implemented in the Yi areas, namely, floating officials, native officials, and native officials, which expanded the influence of the feudal landlord economy. Coupled with a large number of Han immigrants, it played a very significant role in promoting the economic development of the Yi areas. In the Qing Dynasty, the implementation of "reform the land and return it to the local people" strengthened the direct rule over the Yi areas and further promoted the establishment of the feudal landlord economy. The Yi people are monogamous and have many unique customs and habits of their own nation. Engagement and marriage: In the past, black people The Yi people use cattle, horses, gold and silk as betrothal gifts; the Bai Yi people use wine, linen cloth and fried noodles as betrothal gifts. To talk about the marriage, you only need to bring a bottle of wine, and as long as the woman's parents accept the wine, they will express their agreement. Then the man will go to the woman's house to formally engage in the engagement, usually bringing 20 to 30 feet of cloth and 20 to 30 yuan, both cloth and money. For the woman. After three months, the man will buy three pieces of green or blue cloth, a piece of meat, and a bottle of wine to go to the woman's house. These things are given to the woman's parents, which are called "little gifts from the man." Bimo chooses a date, and the chosen date must be discussed with the woman's parents. During this time, you can buy some wedding supplies for the woman according to your family situation, which is called "pressing the eight characters", and usually prepares a dowry for the child. One cabinet, two dressing cabinets, two boxes, and three small tables. The large table must be equipped with eight stools. The No. 2 dining table and the small dining table must be equipped with only four stools; two sets of bedding, a washbasin, and When asking for a bride, the man must prepare a set of clothes for the woman to wear, including buns, shoes, needlework, etc. These things must be carried to the woman's house by the groom's parents in the evening. When a singer comes to drink the "wedding song", he will sing the same thing before taking out the same thing. If the singer sings the wrong thing, the bride will take out the wrong thing and circle it three times in front of the singer, and put it into his bag with a smile. The bag is neither given to the bride nor returned to the groom. If the singer sings what he wants accurately and cannot get it, the singer will hit the bride three times on the head with a dustpan, causing the guests to roar. Laughing. The female singer went on to sing the duet with the female singer. The female singer wanted to sing the song, so the married woman obediently put the basket on her back in the middle of the main room. Then, the female singer took out her trousers and sang her clothes. Just take out your farm coat and splash water to welcome the bride: When a Yi girl gets married, her sisters, brothers and young men and women of the same generation can splash water to welcome the bride. In the larger Yi villages, ten days before the girl gets married, the young men and women in the village. Just cut some wooden stakes and nail them on both sides of the road, and then use wild vines to form trip wires. When the bride-to-be arrives, use dozens of buckets of water that have been prepared on the roadside to move them towards the bride-to-be, so that the bride-to-be cannot escape. , being doused in water, the only way to avoid getting splashed is by running desperately into the bride's house. Therefore, a smart marryer is well prepared. If he finds out that there is a back door to the girl's house or there is another road in the village that leads to the bride's house. He sneaks into the bride's house when the water-thrower is not paying attention, lights three sticks of incense on the bride's altar table, burns three pieces of money paper, and kowtows three times, so as to avoid being splashed with water. But this is not easy for most people getting married. They were all splashed with water. In cold weather, their upper and lower teeth were so cold that they often made the young men and women laugh loudly. The bride's parents would then find clothes for the bride-to-be to change into, usually with water. In some places, cow dung was used a long time ago. Water splashing is like "splashing it with cow dung and water" in Volume 12 of "Xichang County Chronicle". It is said that the water must be poured so that the girl will not have to carry water all the way to her husband's house, it will not be early, and she will have food and clothing. Robbery: According to historical records, in the past, there was a practice of kidnapping in Liangshan and other parts of Sichuan and parts of Yunnan. "Marriage robbery", according to the Yi people: "This is passed down from the old generation. The man's robbery is a kind of respect for the woman's family, which means that she is not married off." Although the marriage of a man and a woman is arranged by his parents, , and go through a matchmaker to get married, but when they get married, the groom's family not only sends the matchmaker and the groom's brother to the bride's house on the first day, but also invites two relatives to wear felts and carry horn wine with them. When picking up relatives to the girl's village, two bearers of horn wine must first pick up the relatives to the girl's house. People from the girl's family have the right to beat the relatives at the door of the house with sticks to pick up the relatives. At night, the young man on the woman's side can blacken the face of the loved one. On the third day, after the bride's uncles, brothers and other relatives send the bride to the groom's house, they must try to get bowls, spoons or other things from the groom's family. When leaving the groom's village, they must run a few laps in the square outside the village. At the same time, he smashed the bowl he brought, which is called "beating the tongue" locally, and then left. In southern Yunnan, there is a custom that on the basis of mutual love between men and women, the man and his partner first bring the woman to the man's house in a fake robbery, and then complete the marriage proposal ceremony. Young men and women generally use the opportunity of collective singing and dancing to get to know and fall in love during the Spring Festival. If two people make a private decision for life, the man can invite a few friends to go to the place that he has made an appointment with the woman in the evening, and lead the woman to the man's house in a fake robbery. Once a woman is led to the main room of her husband's family, it means that they have become a formal couple. On the second day, the bride will participate in a day of labor at the groom's house. On the third day, the bride and groom each carry a load of firewood to the bride's house and return home. In order to prevent the girl's parents from opposing their marriage, some men can invite partners who are good at talking to help them persuade the girl's parents. Even if the girl's parents agree to their daughter's marriage, they only treat her to a simple meal. The girl takes her own clothes and production tools and returns to her husband's house on the same day.
There are some parents who are firmly opposed to their daughter's marriage and drive away the groom and keep their daughter hostage. There are also cases where a man takes a fancy to a girl and kidnaps her if she refuses. Skirt-changing ceremony: Before liberation, the custom of skirt-changing was popular among Yi girls in Liangshan. They regarded changing skirts and getting married as two lifelong events for their daughter's family. Changing skirts is called "Sala" in Yi language and commonly known as "changing children's skirts", which means taking off the skirts of childhood and putting on the skirts of adulthood. The time for changing skirts depends on the development of the young girl. Usually between 15 and 17 years old. People usually change their skirts when they are one year old. It is said that people who change their skirts when they are two years old will be in trouble and be unlucky for life. Before changing her skirt, the woman combed her hair and wore a light-colored two-piece skirt with two edges of black cloth, one thick and one thin. When the skirt-changing ceremony is held, no men are allowed to be present, and only female relatives, girlfriends and elderly women are invited to participate. At the beginning of the ceremony, the women say some romantic words and blessings to tease the girl, and then ask a beautiful, capable, and good-natured woman to comb the dress-changer's hair, bring a hapa, and tie the single braid originally combed at the back of the head. Come from the front and separate in the middle. Make a double braid behind the ears and wear a hapa. Wet the bangs in front of the forehead with a little water to make them neat and shiny, to show the girl's early love, beauty and dignity. Then put on gorgeous earrings, and the pearls will shine. Finally, put on a three-piece or four-piece long pleated skirt with strong contrast in red, blue, black, etc., and the skirt-changing ceremony ends here. Changing skirts means that women have reached adulthood and they can fall in love and find lovers. Women are strictly protected before changing their skirts and are not allowed to be molested. If such an incident occurs, they will be severely punished by social customary laws. Welcome ceremony: Yi people are very hospitable and enthusiastically encourage guests to drink. Whenever a Yi family is a guest, the host will take out the wine, toast to each other, sit on the floor, talk heart-to-heart, and drink wine saying: "There is no impassable road on the earth, and there is no water that cannot flow in the river. The Yi family has no wrong drink." Drink. Drink to your heart's content!" Don't stop trying until the guest is drunk. During every New Year and festival, girls (girls and women) of the Yi family would stand on the roadside in front of their homes with a jar of wine and a few brocade bamboo or wheat straws. All passers-by will advise you to drink alcohol from the can with a pole before letting you walk. People say: "It's not as sweet as a glass of wine, but not as good as the heart of the Yi people!" "Tuzhangfang": The flat-roofed houses common in the Yi area in southern Yunnan are called "Shizhangfang". Most of them are built on slopes. The building structure uses stones as the wall base, and uses adobe or earth to build the walls. Some beams are placed on wooden pillars, with pads on them, and thatch or straw is spread. The grass is covered with a thin layer of mud, and then placed on It is made by hammering fine people; some beams are placed on the wall, and the beams are covered with wooden boards, wooden strips, branches or bamboos, and a layer of earth is spread on top to form a platform roof, which is watertight. Most of these buildings are bungalows, but there are also two- and three-story buildings. The platform fan is both a house roof and a drying ground for drying food items, which is very practical. This kind of house has the advantages of being warm in winter, cool in summer, and has good fire resistance. Clothing: The clothing of the Yi people is simple and unique. The Yi people living in different areas have different clothing customs, which can be roughly divided into Liangshan type, Wumengshan type, Honghe type, etc. Adult men of the Yi ethnic group in Liangshan often leave a lock of long hair on the back of their heads to symbolize the inviolability of male dignity. They are commonly known as "Heavenly Bodhisattva". They also like to wrap their heads with clear cloth and tie a long tapered knot on their forehead, commonly known as the "hero knot" to show their heroic spirit. The three-section skirts of the Yi girls in Liangshan are made of cloths of three different colors. When dancing, the wide skirts flutter in the wind, towards the big trumpet flowers, and their Chinese headbands are regarded as a symbol of freedom and happiness. . Cockscomb hat: The Cockscomb hat is made of hard cloth cut into the shape of a cockscomb, and then embroidered with more than 1,200 large and small silver bubbles. When worn on the head, it looks like a rooster crowing "Oooh". The cockscomb hat is a symbol of good luck and happiness for Yi girls. Therefore, every year during the "Ni Liang" festival, Yi girls in the Honghe area embroider one or two cockscomb hats. Wearing a cockscomb hat on the head means that the rooster will always accompany the girl. The large and small silver bubbles on the hat represent the stars and the moon, which will always be bright and happy. Taboos of the Yi people: The Yi people hate being called "old Yi compatriots" and "barbarians" the most. They consider these calls to be the greatest insult to them. When visiting the homes of Yi people, you should sit above or to the right of the Guozhuang (i.e. fire pit), and not below or to the left where things are piled and people sleep. It is forbidden to step on the pot with your feet, and you are not allowed to jump over the pot or the piled firewood. The Yi people generally entertain their guests with wine and meat. If they give you something to eat, you must eat it. Even if you don't know how to drink, drink less to express your gratitude. Otherwise, it will be considered that you look down on them. The food the Yi family gives you can only be eaten there and not taken away. Otherwise, you will be said to be unloyal to others.