With the changes of the times, the word "grabbing marriage" seems to have become history in people's minds, but the rock god wedding festival in Yilong Village is becoming more and more lively. In addition to the ethnic minorities in Chaidog Village, people and businessmen from nine nearby villages, nearby Yimen County and Eshan County also came to participate in the carnival.
However, when did the Rock God Wedding Festival originate? What is the historical origin? ..... With a series of questions, the reporter crossed the mountains and came to the birthplace of the rock god wedding festival in Tayilong Village, Anlongbao Township, Shuangbai County to explore the secret of the wedding festival.
The magical and steep Shiyanzi Mountain
Entering his village of Yi Long, under the guidance of an old man in the village, the reporter walked on the mountain road. If he wants to reach his destination, he must cross the whole village. After about four or five kilometers on the mountain road, I saw a small mountain road winding out of the depression, extending from the foot of the mountain and winding along the slope of the ridge to the ridge. After several hillsides, I turned a small corner along the summit, and my eyes suddenly became clear. Under the endless blue sky, a steep mountain peak and dark wild valley appeared in front of me. This is the birthplace of the "Rock God Wedding Sacrifice"-Shiyanzi Cliff.
The crevices between steep rocks are covered with weeds and moss. The reporter carefully grabbed the branch and climbed up the cliff. There are steep valleys in front of the endless mountains, and steeper peaks on the left and right. The cliff is very high and bottomless. Looking around, you can see the surging green juice river winding to the bottom. A gust of mountain wind is blowing, buzzing in my ear, making people tremble and feel weak.
According to the old man, the present position is actually above a ridge leading to the main mountain range. The old man pointed to the steep cliff on the left. When he pointed in that direction, he could see a dark cave surrounded by weeds. There is a big stone next to the hole. This stone is shaped like a beautiful woman. Next to her, something that looks like a black snake's tail is still exposed outside the hole.
The sad legend of the wedding robbery festival
It is said that a long time ago, a beautiful Yi girl in Yi Long Village fell in love with a young man in Yimen County, and a black snake in Shiyanzi Cave also fell in love with this Yi girl. On the fifteenth day of the first month, Yimen boy happily came to his Yilong village to meet the beautiful bride.
When people came to the junction of the two sides of the strait-the Green Juice River, which was noisy with gongs and drums, all of a sudden, dark clouds were gathering, the wind was blowing hard, and after a while, the villagers opened their eyes and saw that the bride in the sedan chair was gone, and everyone hurried around to look for it. Suddenly, they saw a man in black carrying his bride to Shiyan Mountain. The villagers immediately followed him and chased him to the edge of the cliff. As the cave is located on a steep cliff, the man in black jumped into the cave with his bride on his back.
The next day, when the villagers went to check again, they found that the man in black had turned into a black snake, while the bride was lying on her side crying at the mouth of the cave, refusing to eat the food given to her by the black snake. The bride's parents were afraid that her daughter would starve to death, so they poked the rice balls on a long bamboo pole and wanted to give them to her. But every time the bride just wanted to get the rice balls, she was knocked off by the vigilant big black snake with her tail. Soon, because the bride couldn't eat the rice balls sent by her parents and refused to eat the food given to her by the black snake, she starved to death in the cave over time and became a beauty stone, while the black snake kept guarding the Yi daughter's side and prevented anyone from approaching.
From then on, the girls in Yi Long Village will come to Shiyanzi Cave to worship the black snake and the rock god before they get married, begging him to get married smoothly and not to rob relatives again.
A lively and festive wedding
On the 15th day of the first month of every year, the villagers spontaneously visit the beautiful bride in Shiyanzi Mountain, and kill chickens and sheep in front of the cave, singing and dancing, and partying from morning till night to commemorate the bride snatched by the black snake. With the passage of time, the sacrificial activities in his village of Yi Long gradually evolved into the wedding celebration of the rock god.
Tayilong Village is a remote minority village in Shuangbai County. Due to the proximity to Yimen County and Eshan County in Yuxi City, the two places have frequent exchanges and the national cultures are mixed and colorful. According to local villagers, in addition to local people, there are also some people and merchants in Yimen and Eshan who came early for the annual Rock God Wedding Festival. At dawn, they came to the stall in Shiyanzi Mountain, where they set up stalls, sold snacks and daily necessities ... Then, the girls and boys in his Yi Long village all wore gorgeous costumes and happily came to Shiyanzi Mountain to fall in love.
In the melodious sound of the three-stringed fiddle, young men and women jumped up and sang songs heartily. When they were thirsty, they drank mountain spring water, and when they were hungry, they ate mutton skewers. It's getting dark, and men, women and children continue to sing and dance around the big fire pit, drinking and guessing boxing. In the empty Shan Ye, everything seems so warm, so harmonious and so natural.