Methods and rules of May God Hunting Festival

There are two main ways for Yi people to sacrifice and hunt gods. The first way is to sacrifice and hunt gods. The second is to sacrifice mountains to hunt gods. The first method of sacrifice is to give it to the host family who lives by hunting. The first floor of their own home is dedicated to the hunting gods, which are painted with the hunting gods with tiger skins on their upper bodies, 72 hunting soldiers, 36 flower hounds, and portraits of little brother and Miss Tracy. A crossbow is dedicated in front of the altar. When worshipping, kill a rooster and take the blood of the red comb as the "light spot" for hunting gods. People think that hunting gods will show their great power by this method of sacrifice. Usually, you should burn incense to the hunting god on the first or fifteenth day of the first month. Before going hunting in the mountains, worship the gods, recite spells and pray, and ask for divination in three directions, southeast and northwest, to see which side is favorable, and then go hunting.

The second is to sacrifice mountains to hunt gods. Folk people who are good at hunting come to the mountain in droves and choose a pine tree as a "hunting tree". Put an altar under the tree, sprinkle pine branches, insert branches of trigeminal pine, cut off a piece of bark as a "god hunting monument", and then pick a tender pine tip and break it into two petals as a divination card. When offering sacrifices to divination, first kill the chicken and offer it. Bimo recited a spell in his mouth and prayed for good luck with a divination board in his hand. Bimo read, "Grandpa Shen is in the sky. Today is an auspicious day. The A Lang brothers were hunting in the mountains that day. The way is unknown. Please ask grandpa Shen for advice. Invite 72 hunting generals, 36 flower hounds, Brother Shan Escape, and Miss Cui to come out of the mountains quickly to help me hunt my brother and have a bumper harvest. " After the sacrifice, he went hunting in Kyrgyzstan according to the divination.

Yi people have rules for hunting. As long as the gun and arrow are fired and the prey falls to the ground, the hunter must immediately take a pinch of bloody animal hair from the prey and stick it on the crossbow or gun as a sign of worshipping the hunting god first. If the hunter misses the arrow and the gun doesn't sound, people will think that the hunting gear is too dirty and evil, and the hunter will immediately take off a shoe and hang it on the crossbow or stock, because

Yi people think that the straw sandals worn by hunters are something to eliminate filth and evil spirits. If they are hung on hunting equipment, hunters will be able to play the game without mistakes. Yi people catch prey, regardless of adults, children and passers-by, they share it fairly. This custom adds a unique color to hunting activities.

Now, the era of hunting for a living of the Yi people has passed, but every year, during the festival of hunting gods and offering sacrifices, villagers will bring all kinds of hunting equipment and go to designated places for hunting and shooting competitions.