Yi People

The Yi people are one of the largest ethnic minorities in China, with approximately 5 million people across Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces. In Yunnan, they are particularly concentrated in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture and other regions throughout the province. The Yi people are most famous for the Torch Festival, often called the 'Oriental Carnival.' This festival celebrates on the 24th or 25th day of the sixth month of the Yi calendar (corresponding to August in the Gregorian calendar). The festival commemorates the legendary wrestler Atilabia, who drove away a plague of locusts using torches made from pine trees. The Torch Festival is deeply rooted in fire worship and includes offering sacrifices to gods and fields, praying for bountiful harvests, and warding off evil spirits. During the three-day festival, Yi people build huge torches at open squares, and villagers light torches in front of their homes. The celebration culminates in massive bonfires at night, with people of all ages dancing and singing traditional folk songs around the flames. The Yi people have their own language, script (Yi script is one of the six ancient scripts still in use in China), calendar system, and rich cultural traditions. Their distinctive colorful costumes, intricate embroidery, and unique musical instruments like the hulusheng (gourd reed pipe) reflect their vibrant cultural identity. Yi society traditionally follows a hierarchical clan system, and their cultural heritage includes epic poems, traditional medicine, astronomical knowledge, and a sophisticated calendar system that has been used for over 1,000 years.