Legends about the torch festival are different, but whether it is burning pests in addition to the plague, the war on evil, are all the people's good wishes, expressed the desire for a happy life and the pursuit of. For more than a thousand years, the torch festival has been in full bloom. In the early morning of the festival, people wear brightly colored clothes. Men wear embroidered right open-breasted short clothes, wearing wide-legged pants, leaving a repair of hair on top of the head, called "Tiansa"; red or yellow ear beads in the right ear, wrapped in blue or green cloth, and tied in the forehead of a long cone of "heroes knot" to show that the heroes. Women wear embroidered tops and colorful blocks of cloth or headscarves wrapped around their heads. Both men and women are wearing blankets, and their costumes are very distinctive. The main activities during the day are wrestling, bullfighting, archery and horse racing and drinking to celebrate.
The night of the Torch Festival is the most fascinating. People set off torches gathered in the village walled village side or square, thousands of torches swimming in the village walled village of the field path like a golden dragon flowing color; countless small torches around a large torch such as a group of stars arched moon glittering. One of the most enthusiastic and interesting activities is the "splash fire"; people holding a bunch of torches in their left hand, garment bags and satchels filled with rosin mixed with flammable ash surface, when the torches are close to each other, the application of the right hand grabbed a handful of ash surface, fiercely sprinkled clouds on the torches, "Boom" of a sound! The other party's feet immediately in front of the back of a dazzling golden light. Flames like lightning disappeared, "splash fire" people have long run away, so was splashed by the people holding a torch to catch up, to the same warm flame in return.
Torch and "splash fire" after the climax, the joy of young men and women and continue to burn around a branch of the torch song and dance. Boys play the exciting bamboo flute, play the deep and melodious moon zither and the big three strings, the girls jumped up the beautiful "A fine jumping moon", the mood is warm and high sometimes all night long. This is a good opportunity for young men and women to sing and make friends and find a partner. That's why people say how many happy youths there are in the Yi family, and how many burning torches there are on festival nights.
Bai March Street March Street is a grand festival of the Bai people and the street period. Every year on the 15th to 20th of March in the lunar calendar, held at the foot of Cangshan Mountain, west of Dali City, Yunnan Province. Initially, it is colored with religious activities, and later gradually changed into a grand material exchange conference. Dali March Street ancient name Guanyin Festival. The market was formed in the year of Tang Yonghui, more than 1,300 years ago. Its origin is said to be from a Buddhist story. Legend has it that a long time ago there was a Rakshasa demon king along the Erhai Sea who would peck and eat the eyes of more than 30 people every day. Seeing the suffering of the Bai people, Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, used her magic to defeat the devil king and tied him to a big pillar in the palace. In order to commemorate Guanyin's blessing to the Bai people, the Bai people set up scaffolding to worship the scriptures on the 15th day of the 3rd month of the lunar calendar, when Guanyin descended to the earth. Later gradually developed into a traditional festival of the Bai people.
There is also a legend that there is a fisherman named Ah Shan living in the Erhai Sea. One day he drove the boat fishing net net all empty will play qin sad song up cai, mournful music moved the erhai dragon king of the three princesses A Xiang. She came to the boat and helped to cast the nets. Every net was full of big fish. In the course of her labor, Ah Xiang fell in love with Ah Shan. Ah Shan brought Ah Xiang back home to build a beautiful and happy family. On March 15, the annual "Moon Street" in the sky came, all kinds of gods and goddesses will meet in the moon palace, Ah Heung turned into a golden dragon, carrying Ah Shan also came to the moon to catch the street. They saw the "Moon Street" full of pearls and precious stones, Yun Dan immortal grass, but no fishing nets and farm equipment. After they returned to the village, they told the villagers about the situation of the moon street in the sky, and they proposed to move the moon street in the sky to the earth. Since then every lunar March 15, the white compatriots will be at the foot of the Cangshan Mountain set up a street.
Regardless of the cause of the March Street, in the long years of March Street has become a major annual festival of the Bai people. Today's March Street has developed into an event for material and cultural exchanges. In addition to the Bai people, there are Yi, Tibetan, Lisu, Naxi, Nu, Hui and Han people. Dali March Street is bustling with colorful flags and tents, and a wide range of commodities. People dressed in festive attire, like a tide of people flocked here, selecting can be daily necessities, but also bring their own local specialties to sell in the market. March Street, the most attractive customers of the ethnic special needs counter: Bai women sewing neckcoat with mercerized flat line, Yi girls beloved bracelets, earrings, bead bracelets, waist chain; Tibetan compatriots like felt hats and pots of oil; Naxi, Yi need to be lace ribbons and so on, the Department of complete buyers such as clouds.
The most noticeable thing is the famous marble crafts. Large to desktop basin, small to cup and saucer utensils, pieces of chic, ingenious. If these crafts cohesion of the wisdom of the Bai people, that piece of exquisite embroidery on the symbol of the Bai people's labor and love. Almost every corner of March Street can see these embroidery products: headscarves covered with line patterns, big red and green embroidered shoes, hanging bags with woven dragons and phoenixes, and loincloths with mandarin ducks playing in the water, etc. They are often gifts from Bai girls to their children. They are often sent by Bai girls to their sweethearts as a token of love. March Street also sells many famous local specialties, such as cold mushrooms, candied fruits, fragrant mushrooms, black fungus, milk fans, earth paper and so on. Dali's casserole fish more than a dozen kinds of raw materials and spices formulated, nutritious flavor. Dali horse breed is excellent, it is said that the famous general Yue Fei's mount in the Southern Song Dynasty, is a good horse produced in Dali! Near the market on March Street, there are also places for movies, plays, ball games and other activities. During the festival people also carry out traditional horse racing, archery, dance and other cultural and sports activities.