The Torch Festival is an ancient traditional festival of the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Jinuo, Lahu and other ethnic groups, which has deep folk cultural connotations and is called the "Oriental Carnival".
Different ethnic groups hold torch festivals at different times, and the main activities include bullfighting, goatfighting, cockfighting, horse racing, wrestling, song and dance performances, beauty contests, etc. In the new era, torch festivals have been recognized as the most important events in the world. In the new era, the torch festival has been given new folklore functions and produced new forms.
The Yi, Naxi and Jinuo hold it on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month, the Bai on the 25th day of the 6th lunar month, and the Lahu on the 20th day of the 6th lunar month, and the festival lasts for two or three days. The Yi believe that the torch festival is to grow ears of grain as thick as torches.
The descendants use this fire festival to drive away the ghosts and evil spirits in the fields, so as to keep people and animals safe. Nowadays, people also take advantage of the gathering to socialize or meet lovers, and carry out trade and commerce activities during the festival.
Expanded:
The legends of Yunnan's various ethnic groups about the Torch Festival each have their own distinctive content. The Yi legend of the Torch Festival is in fact the abandonment of the original cultural form by the new cultural form after the change from nomadic herding to agricultural farming.
This legend has preserved the original information about the origin of the Torch Festival to the greatest extent possible, and it is also the one that is closest to the origin of the Torch Festival. The Naxi proverbs about the torch festival legend retain significant information about the origin of the torch festival, and the records in the Dongxi County Records*** provide important clues to the exploration of the origin of the torch festival.
The legend of the Torch Festival in Dali and Kunming, though covering up the origin of the festival, reveals the source of the festival and its profound culture in the same way as the "Star Returning Festival".
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