Building habits
Most Yi villages are located near mountains and rivers, with a beautiful environment. Villagers generally build their houses on gentle slopes facing the sun, leeward, water and convenient transportation according to the direction of water flow and mountains.
Yi houses in flat areas are generally tile-roofed houses with civil structures. Most residential layouts have three main rooms, which are used as the main room, bedrooms and warehouses. There are two side rooms on the left and right as kitchens and utility rooms, commonly known as "three rooms and two ears". The main room in the middle of the main room is the main room, which contains a large pond commonly known as "Guozhuang", with an iron tripod or three pot-supporting stones placed on it. The firepit is a place for cooking, and it is also a place for the whole family to eat, chat, rest and entertain guests around the fire.
Among the traditional houses of the Yi people, the most distinctive one is the "Tuzhang House". It uses a stone as the base of the wall, builds the wall with blanks or rams the wall with local sticky and tough red soil, sets beams on the wall, is covered with bamboo wood, branches and thatch or straw, and is covered with a layer of mud, and then spread with The fine soil is pounded with water and flattened to make a platform roof. The "Tuzhangfang" uses local materials, is simple and easy to build, is warm in winter and cool in summer, and is comfortable and pleasant. The traditional houses of the Yi people living in forest areas are "stacked wooden houses". This is a house made of cracked logs, stacked crosswise to form walls, and the roof is covered with split planks of wood as tiles, and then pressed with stones. It is commonly known as a "tile house".
Food Customs
People in the Pingba Yi area usually eat rice, corn, wheat, potatoes, etc. as their staple food, while those in alpine mountainous areas eat corn, buckwheat, and potato as their staple food. Non-staple foods include vegetables, beans, fruits, and meats such as sheep, pigs, and chickens.
During festivals or when distinguished guests come to visit, the host will kill chickens, sheep or even pigs to entertain the guests. At the same time, they kill animals without knives. They kill chickens and ducks by crushing them with their hands. When killing sheep and pigs, they beat their heads with wooden sticks. Therefore, they are commonly known as "beating animals", or "beating sheep" or "beating pigs". Interestingly, before slaughtering, the host will ask the guests to see the livestock first to show the host's intention and respect for the guests. When cooking, the host chops the meat into fist-sized pieces and stews it in the pot. It tastes fresh, fragrant and very delicious. Because the pieces of meat look like weights, and because they are eaten with hands, it is called "weights meat".
The Yi people are addicted to alcohol. Men, women, old and young can drink. When they drink, they often pour the wine into a big bowl first. You take a sip and pass it to me. I take a sip and pass it to him. Everyone takes turns drinking. This bowl of wine. Therefore, people call this Yi family’s way of drinking “Zhuan Zhuan Jiu”.
The Yi people are warm and hospitable. When they entertain guests, often only the male host will accompany the guests, or let the guests eat first, and the hostess will wait until the guests have finished eating. Therefore, when visiting the Yi family, you must not eat all the food and wine. At the same time, when leaving after the meal, the guests should give some gifts or leave some money to show their gratitude.
Clothes
The Yi people are a smart and intelligent nation. They dress themselves up with dexterous hands. In addition, there are many branches of the Yi people, so the costumes of each place have their own characteristics. Therefore, among all ethnic groups in China, the Yi costumes are very colorful.
In the Xiaoliangshan area by the Jinsha River, the clothing styles of Yi men and women are simple. Men generally leave a three-inch square piece of hair on the top of their forehead, which the Yi people call "Zi'er" and regard it as the location of the gods who can control good and bad luck. It is sacred and inviolable, and no one is allowed to touch it. Otherwise, it will be the greatest insult to him and will bring disaster. Therefore, the Han people respected him as "Heavenly Bodhisattva". They also wrap their heads with three to four meters long black cloth, and roll one end of the kerchief into a long cone shape as thick as a thumb, which is called "Zi Tie" in Yi language. Because it is high on the left side of the forehead and looks heroic, the Han people call it "hero bun". The man also wears a string of large red and yellow ear beads on his left ear, and the beads are decorated with red silk thread. They usually wear short black cloth jackets with narrow sleeves and lace on the right side, wide pleated trousers that look like skirts, and a felt shawl decorated with long fringes at the bottom. The Yi people call the felt "Charwa", which is made of black wool. It has many uses: it can prevent wind and sand, cover the sun on sunny days, and avoid water on rainy days. It can be used as a wrap around the body at night and as a bedding. Therefore, it is indispensable to everyone all year round.
The clothing of Yi women in Liangshan District is quite elegant. Take young and middle-aged women as an example.
They cover their heads with an embroidered square cloth handkerchief, fold the front end of the handkerchief into a tile style, cover their foreheads and wrap it with wool and braids. Silver earrings and earrings are usually worn on both ears, and the neckline is decorated with a silver flower. They wear embroidered right-front blouses, which are both wide and short, only reaching their abdomen. The lower body is made of black, yellow, blue, and white fabrics and is surrounded and spliced ??into a pleated skirt. The skirt is floor-length, slender and graceful, and it sways from side to side when walking, giving it a graceful appearance. When they go out, they often wear a black "charwa".
The clothing of Yi men in other areas of Chuxiong is different from that of the Yi people in Liangshan. They usually wrap their heads with black cloth without leaving the "Heaven Bodhisattva", do not wear the "hero bun", and do not wear ear beads on their ears. They usually wear blue or black double-breasted narrow-sleeved tops with waist-length waistbands and two rows of cloth buttons on the front, which is unique and interesting. Some are still decorated with flowers in the right pocket. The trousers are fat and short to facilitate work in the mountains and fields. Their festive costumes are colorful. For example, during the Torch Festival, many young men wear white hats with red and green pompoms on the brim and beautiful pheasant tails on the top of the hat. It is said that this is a relic of their concept of animal worship in their headdresses.
The most beautiful thing is the clothes of girls and young women. Although they wear blue trousers instead of colorful skirts, their right-fold tops are mostly embroidered with various flowers, cloud patterns or geometric patterns, and their waistlines are also trimmed with beautiful lace. They pay special attention to their headgear. Women in some villages wear hats that look like tassels, or golden pheasants, and some wear fish-shaped hats or cockscomb hats. It can be said that "a hundred flowers bloom".
Marriage Customs
Marriage and love of the Yi people are strange and interesting. The most interesting thing is that only girls who have had a "skirt-changing ceremony" can fall in love with their sweethearts in the "playground". There are also traditional wedding customs such as the matchmaker talking about marriage and drinking and making a betrothal, starving the bride, relatives and friends crying all night, throwing water on the bride-to-be, snatching the bride from her back, and fighting in the bridal chamber.
(1) Girls' skirt-changing ceremony: When Yi girls enter adulthood (usually around 15 years old), a grand "skirt-changing ceremony" is held according to custom. During the dress-changing ceremony, the girl asks her sisters to change her original single braid into a double braid and tie it on the top of her head. It is also necessary to tear off the white pendants or old ear-piercing threads originally worn on the ears and replace them with red agate-like coral beads or silver sparkling earrings to show good luck. Finally, the girl took off her original red and white children's skirt and put on a lace embroidered top and a pleated floor-length skirt in black, blue, yellow, white and other colors. After putting on a new dress, the girl can go to the "playground" to dance and sing, participate in social activities, and start looking for her sweetheart.
(2) Carrying the bride: According to Yi family customs, when the bride comes out of the palace, her feet must not touch the ground, otherwise there will be a risk of heirs being born. The young man who receives the bride must carry the bride and help her. She mounted. There are also various rules on the way back from the wedding: if the mountain is high and the road is narrow and it is impossible to ride a horse, the young men who pick up the bride must take turns carrying the bride on their backs; when crossing rivers and wading, people must carry them across the river, and the bride's embroidered shoes must not get wet.
(3) Fighting in the bridal chamber: "According to the custom of the Yi people, if the bride does not resist and fight on the wedding night, she will be laughed at: "This is a woman who will not resist! "It is said that the children they give birth to in the future will not be recognized by their ancestors, and they will not be able to enter the "underworld" after death! Therefore, after the banquet dispersed, the newlyweds in the bridal chamber had a rough fight. They fell They were beaten, their clothes were torn and their faces were scratched, and the banging sounds coming from the bridal chamber were heard by all the neighbors.
Religious beliefs
①The Yi people are a nation that worships fire. Fire brings light, warmth, cooked food, and protection from wild beasts to humans. The fire pits in Yi people's halls play an extremely important role in people's lives. Because they can't live without fire pits throughout their lives, they have developed a strong interest in fire pits. Worship. The Yi people regard fire as a sacred thing that can ward off evil spirits and bring good luck and happiness. During the festival, people burn bonfires, play music and sing around the fire, and have fun. Worshiping fire also makes them separate from other people. During the cremation, the soul should be returned to the place of origin of its ancestors, and the spiritual tablets set by the family for the deceased should be placed on the front wall next to the fire pit.
②The Yi people also have the religious belief of worshiping the black tiger, and regard the black tiger as their totem and ancestor. The Yi people's concept of worshiping the black tiger has also expanded into the custom of advocating the color black. They believe that the souls of their ancestors like the color black, so after building a new house, they must smoke it black with fireworks before moving in. Cremation customs: The Yi people's burial methods are novel and diverse, including tree burial, pottery burial, rock burial, cremation, coffin burial and other different burial styles. Cremation and coffin burial are especially common.
Yi surnames
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yi and Han people have lived together, and their interactions with each other have gradually increased. Cheng is a Yi surname.
Due to differences in dialects and dialects, the transliterations of "寰" and "DU" are different. "Lu Yi" is also written as Nayi, Neyi, Nenye, Nengyi, Lou Yi, etc.; "Du" is also written as Hou Du, Hou Du, etc. "Lu Yi" or "Peedalogy" or "surname" is translated into Chinese. So far, there is no uniformly recognized term in the eastern dialect of the Yi people. There is no suitable corresponding word in Chinese. Let's refer to it as "Yi surname" for convenience. Writing. "Lulu", understood from the meaning, is actually a clan name that expresses the concept of lineage. Folks of the Yi ethnic group often refer to "Lulu Yi" as a family branch, which is correct. "Du" means "" is the surname, and "Du" is the category.
Among the Yi people in the Zhaotong area, today there are very few people who know the full names of their "Lu Yi" and "Du", and their pronunciation is not accurate, let alone explaining their meaning. For example, the Yi people with the Han surname Luo in Hengdi Village, Longjie Township, Yiliang County, have four branches: Lidi, Maojie, Louji, and Houer. Among them, the Maoji branch, whose full name can still be remembered, is "the horse hugs the clothes, and the words hum Maoji"; the Louji branch means "the secret place hugs the clothes, and the mami Louji". There is also one Yi tribe with the surname Yang in Cuntian Village, Kuizhen Township, which is "Snake Zhai Huu Yi, A Yue Cuo Luo". There are eight Yi tribes with the Han surname An in Qiaojia County, two of which are "Er Bu Lu Yi". , "Yi family Doulu", "Qiao Tu Hu Yi, Deb Amu". A small number of other Yi families in Ludian, Zhaotong, Daguan, Zhenxiong and Weixin can still remember the Hu Yi or Du of their own branch.
The surname Yi usually consists of two sentences, each with four characters, as shown in the example above. The first sentence is the clan symbol (totem), which includes mountains, rivers, lakes, stones and plants. The second sentence is the ancestral name and surname or place name and surname. Its basic model: symbol (totem), source (huiyi), divided into ancestral name or place name, clan name (Yi surname). For example, "Ma hugs clothes, Yu hums Maoji." It can be understood as "Maoji clan (family branch) with horses (azaleas) as the symbol, after Yuheng (ancestral name) divided the clan;" Misuo hugs clothes, Mami Louji. "It can be understood as" the Louji clan (family branch), which is marked by Misuo (name of plant) and divided into clans in Mami (name of place). However, due to the evolution of place names, social changes, the loss of the ancient Yi language and many other factors, it is difficult to understand the meaning of "huyi" today. It should be rough rather than detailed, and the general idea is enough. Ati, Hei Kua, etc., which are regarded as personal names in the historical books "Qing Shi Lu" and "Wumeng Chronicles", are all clan names or Yi surnames, not personal names, so "Hei Kua" will have Hei Kua after death.
The full name of the Yi surname contains the word "cuyi". Whenever you ask "huyi", you will ask about the Yi surname, and when you ask about the Yi surname, you will say "huyi". What does the word "cuyi" mean? ? It is difficult to understand just as "origin" or "origin". We need to start with the origin of the Yi surname. When the Yi family reproduces for the ninth, eleventh and thirteenth generation, a clan branching ceremony is held. Change the clan relationship to marriage relationship and expand the scope of marriage. The clan-breaking ceremony is the "Zhai" sacrificial ceremony. It is large in scale and solemn. All the people with the same ancestors must come to participate no matter how far they move. No one is allowed to attend. Forgetting one's origins. The first thing to do during fasting is to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and secondly to offer sacrifices to ancestors. After reciting the scriptures of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth ancestors, the direction of the branch water (source) is divined, and the branch family members prepare a ram to carry the water. After feeding some salt water to the pot, Baimo looked at where the sheep drew water and took two pots of clean water back to the sacrificial site. He also noted the geographical features, vegetation and rocks of the place where the water was taken. The name was used as the symbol (totem) and branch source of the new branch, and the new branch was named and recorded in the history books in Yi language.
The "huiyi" of the Yi people has an important social function. Therefore, once the "huiyi" is established, everyone in the family must remember it, keep it strictly confidential, and do not allow it to be spread. To sum up, "huiyi" has the following functions: First, it is used to determine whether people are from the same family. Because people of the same family are nomadic or migrating, their descendants do not interact with each other for a long time, so intermarriage between people of the same family is avoided. The second is to judge the high and low of status and prevent intermarriage with non-nobles or people with bad roots. "Du" is only used to interrogate family members and family members, and does not allow for intermarriage with people whose status is a child. "Luyi" and "Du" are both products of the consciousness of the Yi people's hierarchical society. There were still residual expressions during the Republic of China, but they have disappeared now.
The Yi people began to use Han surnames during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang gave the Shuixi Xuanwei envoy Aicui the surname "An" and the chieftain of Ningzhou the surname "Lu". Other chieftains and people below the chieftain class successively adopted surnames such as An and Lu. For example, the surname of the chieftain of Wusa was An, and the surname of the chieftain of Wumeng and Dongchuan was Lu. Therefore, there are many families with surnames such as An and Lu among the Yi people. The origin of the surname "Long" of Mangbe chieftain is unknown. In addition to surnames given by feudal emperors, the Han surnames used by the Yi people also come from the following sources: 1. Local Han officials believe that the Yi people have no names and it is inconvenient to manage household registration and tax collection, so they use "the first eight characters of a hundred family surnames" to distinguish them. Give last name. 2. It is transformed from the clan totem. For example, "Alu" is translated as "Zhang", which is homophonic and transformed into the Chinese surname "Zhang". 3. Yi and Han people live together, pretending to be neighbors with Han surnames to facilitate communication. Therefore, the Han surnames of the Yi people are always the same as most of the local Han surnames. 4. Most of the children born from intermarriages between Yi women and Han or other ethnic groups adopt the mother's surname and the father's surname, such as Qu, Qiao, Fan and other surnames. All in all, the origin of the Han surnames of the Yi people is very complicated. For example, the ancestors of the Yi people with the surname "Ma" are descendants of the Ma Dengxian slaves who were not killed by the Qing army and assigned to the slaves who returned from the conquest. In order to cope with the situation, Ma temporarily became a "domestic slave" and was later released and "given his surname." But they are all open to Han society, which has its own national unity and social progress significance.
The Yi people began to use Han surnames, and their surnames were "dual-track" (Han surnames were used openly and Yi surnames were used covertly). But there are often several Yi surnames after a Han surname. Therefore, people with the same Chinese surname but different "Lüyi" and "Du" can intermarry without fear. For example, there are six branches of the surname An in Weining, eight branches of the surname Qiaojia, 13 branches of the surname Lu (Lu), and six branches of the surname Luo in Yiliang. In 1988, the Zhaotong County Ethnic Affairs Committee surveyed Yi surnames: 143 Yi surnames and 74 Han surnames. Although it is not very accurate, it shows that there are more Yi surnames than Han surnames in use, which is in line with the actual situation in Zhaotong area.