More than one million Yi live in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous area. They celebrate their annual Torch Festival on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month when the handle of the Big Dipper turns upward. Torches are lit at night to expel evil and pray for prosperity. Due to flooding, the large festival was cancelled, but we managed to catch a ride for a few hours to Luoji Shan where the local gov't organized a smaller version. Since we had to leave early to catch the opening ceremony in Xichang, we missed many events (horse racing, wrestling, chicken and bull fighting).
Wuga, Me, ?, and Lea
Ughyers selling pressed nuts and fruits
Dinner at Qionghai Hotel
Cupping
Hua Jiao, Sichuan Peppercorn
Yan Xia
Cold Noodles
"Xuan Mei" The Beauty Contest
The winner?
Tuo Tuo Rou (chunks of meat)
Fortune Telling
Each Yi branch has a different legend, Liangshan's is:
"...Long long ago, there was a God in heaven named Sriabi and another on earth named Atilaba, who were able to pull up the mountains. One day Sriabi decided to wrestle with Atilaba, who went out for an emergency and asked his mother to treat the guest with a plate of iron cakes. Assuming that Atilaba had mighty strength since the iron cakes had been his meals, Sriabi was scared and left at once. Hearing that Sriabi had just left after he came back, Atilaba went after him and asked to wrestle. Sriabi was defeated and dead. Knowing the news, the god Entigus got furious, and sent numerous locusts and borers to ruin the plants on earth. To fight with the god, Atilaba led people to make torches with pine and wild wormwood branches collected, and ignited them in fields on the 24th night of the sixth lunar month so as to burn away worms."
"...Long long ago, there was a God in heaven named Sriabi and another on earth named Atilaba, who were able to pull up the mountains. One day Sriabi decided to wrestle with Atilaba, who went out for an emergency and asked his mother to treat the guest with a plate of iron cakes. Assuming that Atilaba had mighty strength since the iron cakes had been his meals, Sriabi was scared and left at once. Hearing that Sriabi had just left after he came back, Atilaba went after him and asked to wrestle. Sriabi was defeated and dead. Knowing the news, the god Entigus got furious, and sent numerous locusts and borers to ruin the plants on earth. To fight with the god, Atilaba led people to make torches with pine and wild wormwood branches collected, and ignited them in fields on the 24th night of the sixth lunar month so as to burn away worms."
Posts
