A Study on the Yi Culture in Kousenhonghe River

Cultural Connotation of Torch Festival of Yi Nationality

Abstract: Folk festivals are a collection of various cultural activities and a display of national culture. The Torch Festival of Yi nationality has a wide influence and lasts for a long time, and it is a household name. With the development of history, the Yi Torch Festival has gradually developed into a national festival with multiple cultural connotations. This paper attempts to explore the cultural connotation of the Yi Torch Festival in combination with its origin and evolution.

Keywords: Yi Torch Festival; Cultural significance

Introduction: Generally speaking, all kinds of tangible and intangible folk customs, such as fertility, marriage, food and shelter, clothing and shoes, seasons, mid-year activities, farming and animal husbandry, divination taboos, belief worship, entertainment and sports, folk crafts, etc. , all reflect the behavior and values of people who practice these customs, and thus reflect the rich and complex folk culture connotation. With the evolution of history, the cultural meaning of folk customs is constantly evolving and developing, becoming a kind of existence with complex cultural characteristics. The content of folk culture contained in the Torch Festival of Yi people is also constantly enriched and developed.

First, the origin and development of the Yi Torch Festival

Torch Festival is a traditional festival in all Yi areas, which is popular in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other Yi areas. With the deepening of national integration, Bai, Naxi and Lahu ethnic groups have gradually begun to celebrate the Torch Festival. Torch Festival is usually held on June 24th of the lunar calendar and lasts for three days. Young men and women lit torches made of pine, went to the fields in the village, sprinkled rosin on the torches while walking, or held rallies, sang and danced, or raced, bullfought and wrestled. As time goes on, people's minds become more open, young men and women will also use the opportunity of parties to find good companions, and businessmen will also carry out various business activities on festivals.

Regarding the origin of Torch Festival, there have always been many sayings, such as Zhuge Liang's theory of burning miasma and Yi people's theory of burning Hammer Palace. Although there are different opinions, they all reflect the natural worship of fire by ordinary people in ancient times. Torch Festival is called Du Ze in Liangshan Yi language, which means offering sacrifices to fire. The ritual songs "Sacrifice to Vulcan" and "Sacrifice to Shi Zhuang in Pot" both contain the narrative of the miracle of Vulcan Ayidiegu. Fire is a symbol of the Yi people's pursuit of light. In the Yi area, there are many sacrificial activities about fire. For example, Liangshan Yi people regard the fire pit as a sacred place where Vulcan lives, and it is forbidden to touch and cross it. On the first day of the first month and the 24th of June, housewives of Yi nationality in luxi county, Yunnan Province chose the fattest piece of meat and threw it into the burning fireplace, praying for Vulcan to bless peace. In Yongren County, the Yi people will hold a Vulcan meeting on the second or third day of the first month.

With the progress of the times, the Torch Festival of the Yi people has gradually integrated more fashion elements, and the traditional cultural connotation of the Torch Festival of the Yi people has gradually combined with modern consciousness, and the activity form and connotation of the Torch Festival have gradually changed.

Second, analyze the cultural connotation of the Yi Torch Festival.

The times have endowed the Torch Festival with richer cultural connotations. Nowadays, Torch Festival is not only a festival for offering sacrifices to Vulcan, feasting and singing, but also an important platform for cultural and ideological exchanges and commercial circulation. The cultural connotation of the Yi Torch Festival mainly includes the following three aspects:

1, Torch Festival is a festival to show the rich customs and culture of Yi people.

During the Torch Festival, the Yi people will carry out colorful folk activities, which provides a platform for displaying Yi culture and customs. During the Torch Festival, every year on June 24th of the lunar calendar, every household kills chickens and sheep to worship the "land god" and the "grain god", which is called the "grain soul" and pray for a bumper harvest of grains. People outside will go home for a reunion dinner and drink homemade wine around the fireplace; Men, women and children all put on holiday costumes, get together to light a fire, dance the Yi Sanxian Dance and Hulusheng Dance, and organize horse racing, wrestling, singing, beauty contests, pole climbing, sheep shooting, chicken fighting and other activities. With the development of economy and the expansion of opening to the outside world, the torch festival in many Yi areas is getting larger and larger in scale and various in forms, attracting people to come here. The torch festival of Yi people has also become an important festival to show the rich customs and culture of Yi people to the world.

Torch Festival is an important festival of culture and education.

Torch Festival is an important embodiment of China's traditional national culture, and the process of carrying out Torch Festival is also a process of educating Yi people on traditional national culture. The educational function of the Torch Festival of the Yi nationality has more national cultural characteristics. During the Torch Festival of the Yi people, colorful traditional sports activities will be carried out, such as throwing stones, pulling ropes by sheep, martial arts, bullfighting and dancing music. These activities can fully show the physique, physical strength, temperament, courage and wisdom of performers and contestants, and people can be happy when they appreciate and participate in various song and dance and competitive competitions, so as to deeply appreciate the soul of the nation and the beauty of its culture. These national cultures have profound stability, continuity and creativity. In the process of modern Yi people's continuous development of Torch Festival, Torch Festival has gradually become a social education activity for all participants, which has baptized people's national thoughts.

3. Torch Festival is a festival to promote the economic and cultural development of Yi people.

With the economic and cultural development of various ethnic groups and regions, the Yi Torch Festival has not only become an important part of the life of the Yi people, but also a valuable national cultural resource in the Yi region, making great contributions to the economic and cultural development of the Yi region. Over the years, with the strong support of the government and the active participation of the masses, the "Yi Torch Festival" has been continuously integrated into new cultural connotations, with a growing scale and a far-reaching reputation. The tourism resource attribute of the Yi Torch Festival has become increasingly prominent, becoming an important form and carrier of tourism development in Yi areas, attracting many foreign tourists and developers and promoting the development of tourism in Yi areas. At the same time, the Yi Torch Festival has become an important platform to carry out the Torch Festival Fair, transforming national cultural resources into national development capital, and making the Torch Festival a festival integrating political, economic, entertainment and tourism elements.

Three. conclusion

Torch Festival of Yi nationality is a traditional festival with profound historical origin and cultural accumulation. It not only reflects the code of conduct and value orientation of the Yi and Bai people, but also subtly changes people's lifestyle and behavior habits during thousands of years of cultural accumulation, and plays an important role in enhancing national cohesion and national pride. With the development of the times, ethnic integration has become a major trend. The Torch Festival of Yi people has created conditions for developing tourism and attracting investment, and gradually developed into a multi-functional festival with national characteristics.