What is the Torch Festival like?

Torch Festival is a traditional festival of Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lahu, Hani and Pumi. Yi, Naxi and Jinuo nationalities are on June 24th, Bai on June 25th and Lahu on June 20th. This festival lasts for two or three days. Yi people think that the ears of grain that grow after Torch Festival are as thick as torches. Later generations used this as a sacrifice to drive away ghosts and evil spirits at home, so as to keep people and animals safe. During the festival, young men and women of all ethnic groups light torches made of pine, go to the village fields for activities, and sprinkle rosin on the torches while walking to pray for the New Year, eliminate filth and seek good luck; Or singing, dancing, horse racing, bullfighting, wrestling; Or hold a big bonfire party and party all night. Nowadays, people also use parties to socialize or meet lovers, and conduct business activities on festivals.

On the night of the Torch Festival, Bai and Naxi people who live in the foothills of Wufeng Mountain adjacent to Heqing and Lijiang will hold activities to play with fire. People tied bundles of red flowers to all the big trees in the village, symbolizing that "red flowers burn like torches". When the first star appeared in the sky, people held small torches, sang and danced, and sang hymns around the "Honghua Huoshu".

On the Torch Festival, Pumi people living in ninglang county will hold activities to worship Vulcan. According to legend, the Vulcan worshiped by Pumi people is called Anggumi, who was originally the female ancestor of Mosuo people. For the happiness of her offspring and Pumi people who live with her ethnic group, she sneaked into the Heavenly Palace and stole the fire, using her body as a torch to lead the fire to the world, so that Mosuo people and Pumi people could get the fire at the same time. In order not to forget the kindness of Anggumi from generation to generation, Pumi people set the day when Anggumi brought fire as a festival to worship Vulcan.

Huangping Township is a hot spot in Heqing County with rich products. According to legend, the residents here are descendants of Kong Ming and Meng Huo who left the army and came here. This fertile soil was cultivated when Kong Ming and Meng Huo formed an alliance. And on the evening of June 24, burning the midnight oil, five seeds were sown for the first time, and the barren land became fertile land. To commemorate this day, future generations will light torches every day, burn the midnight oil and sow crops in Xiao Chun. At that time, old people and children were holding torches, singing and dancing around the fields, and young people were sowing seeds in the fields. Labor production and folk activities are integrated and have a unique flavor.

Throughout the ages, every year on the night of Torch Festival, all ethnic groups celebrate in the same area. From the shanzhai to the town, from the mountain to the Pingba, everyone lit torches and held hands with their heels in a circle, singing and dancing. The old man is playing the travel-stained Qin Yue, the young man is playing the flute that has not been touched for a long time, and the girls are pulling the strings hanging on their chests, hoping that the crops will be bumper every year, the six animals will flourish and sing a better life. In the moonlight, handfuls of torches and piles of flaming bonfires fall to the ground like stars in the sky, and there is a world of fire and an ocean of singing and dancing everywhere. People are singing and dancing to their heart's content, and the lively scene of Torch Festival night has been described by many scholars in past dynasties.

Today, with the reform and opening up and the party's ethnic policy shining brilliantly, the Torch Festival has been endowed with newer mass, entertaining and diverse contents. People not only inherit and carry forward some of their excellent traditional cultures, but also integrate into the atmosphere of the times and form a new scene. For example, during the festival, foreign tourists, tourists from inside and outside the province poured in, and businessmen poured in, and foreigners far exceeded locals. Torch Festival has become a means and opportunity to attract people from all walks of life to come for sightseeing and trade talks. Various mass cultural and sports performances are also colorful year by year, and folk festivals naturally become regional festivals, from rural festivals to urban and rural festivals, from single ethnic festivals to multi-ethnic festivals. Not many people really know and understand the Yi people, but when it comes to "Torch Festival" and "Axi Jumping on the Moon", people will not feel strange. But then again, we must understand that the Torch Festival is still in the countryside, especially in remote villages far away from the city, where there are authentic folk customs.