Ethnic customs in Xichang, Sichuan

Climbing the Flower Building-Love and Marriage of Yi Men and Women: "Climbing the Flower Building" is a unique custom of Chu people. When a girl reaches the age of 16, her parents will build another hut for her to spend the night alone, while young men over 20 can climb the hut of their beloved girl and have sex at night. They whistle together, listen and tell each other their love. Even if there are several young couples at the same time, everyone is at home. Once love is mature, both men and women can get married with the consent of their parents, and parents generally do not interfere with their children's choices. 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 and go to the fields in the village for activities. While walking, sprinkle rosin on the torch to pray for the new year, and get rid of filth for 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.

Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, is the largest inhabited area of Yi people in China. On June 24th of the lunar calendar every year, the Yi compatriots in Liangshan put on holiday costumes, sang and danced, held grand beauty contests and costumes, horse racing, wrestling, archery and other competitions, lit torches and marched in the wilderness at night to commemorate their heroes. Patriarchal family system prevails in Yi people all over the country, and young children often live with their parents. Women's status is low. The inheritance is divided equally among scholars, and unique businesses are generally owned by close relatives. Father and son names prevailed in the history of Yi people, and this custom continued in Liangshan Yi people until the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC). Monogamy is the basic marriage system of Yi people. Marrying a daughter-in-law requires a higher bride price, and the more table marriage becomes more popular, the husband dies and transfers ownership. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, some Yi areas in Yunnan still maintained the public housing system, and Liangshan Yi people maintained a strict hierarchical internal marriage. In history, most Yi people practiced cremation. Before the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC), the residents of Liangshan and Yunnan along the Jinsha River still had this burial custom. Other areas have gradually changed to burial since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Yi people's rich and colorful costumes are the concrete embodiment of Yi people's traditional culture and aesthetic consciousness. In the long historical development process, the Yi people living in different areas have created and formed their own different clothing customs, which play an important role in the composition of Yi material folk customs. According to the regional and branch manifestations of Yi costumes, Yi costumes can be divided into six types: Liangshan, Wumeng Mountain, Honghe, Southeast Yunnan, West Yunnan and Chuxiong, and each type can be divided into several styles. Here are some of them. (1) Liangshan type is mainly prevalent in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan and its surrounding counties, as well as Jinsha River Basin of Yunnan Province. The specific natural geographical environment and social form in a specific historical stage formed by the isolation of natural ravines and gullies in Liangshan are simple and unique, which completely maintains the cultural characteristics of traditional costumes. Liangshan men's and women's shirts are right-handed clothes with large rows of buttons. Men and women, old and young, wear shoes, blankets, leggings and felt socks. A man's hairstyle is a traditional "Tianzun", that is, a lock of long hair is stored on the top of his head, mostly wrapped in a long black or dark blue scarf, often wrapped in a pointed cone and obliquely inserted in his forehead, which is called a "hero's knot", and his left ear is adorned with beads and silver earrings. Pants are worn because of different languages and regions, and there are large, medium and small trouser legs. The most distinctive accessory is Tatu, which is worn obliquely on the body, woven with fine beef tendon and inlaid with white patches. Women wear skirts and headscarves, and wear hats or headscarves after giving birth. Earrings such as silver, coral, jadeite and shellfish. They are worn by both ears, with heavy neck ornaments and silver collars. Under the pleated skirt, the adult skirt is divided into three sections, the upper section is the skirt waist, the middle section is cylindrical, and the lower section is pleated. There is a triangular wallet hanging around the waist. The surface of the bag is decorated with various patterns, and the lower end is decorated with five-color streamers for holding things. In addition, wearing strings, syringes and fangs decorated on the chest is considered to ward off evil spirits. The traditional materials of their clothes are mainly self-woven and dyed wool and linen fabrics, and they like to use black, red and yellow colors. Its techniques include picking, embroidering, embedding and rolling. Sickle, claw, fern and other patterns are its traditional patterns, which can be divided into three styles: Enoch, holy tie and bottom.