What is the origin of Yi nationality and why is it called Yi nationality?

Yi people mainly come from the ancient Qiang people. It was not called Yi at first, but changed its name after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Never underestimate the Yi nationality, which is one of the six ethnic minorities in China. Its population is mainly distributed between mountainous areas and coastal hills in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi. Since the end of last year, the total population of Yi people has reached 87 1 10,000, which is a very large minority.

The ancestors of the Yi people are the ancient Qiang people living near the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. According to the authoritative historical records of China and Yi people, in ancient times, Yi people had a very close relationship with Qiang people distributed in western China. So the Yi people should have evolved from the ancient Qiang people. From the 4th century BC, the ancient Qiang people moved southward on a large scale, and these ancient Qiang people who moved southward were called Miao people. They went all the way from western Sichuan to northern Yunnan and then to southern Guangxi. They brought not only their own culture, but also the customs of their country.

As for the founder of the Yi people, there is actually more than one, but the most famous one is Zhiga Aru. He not only created the history of Yi people, but also laid a solid foundation for Yi culture and made great contributions to the country. Today, many Yi people still regard him as their ancestor.

The second founder of Yi nationality is Apudumu. According to the records in the book Flood written by the ancient Yi people, Apudumu lived in the flood era, and was not only regarded as the ancestor by Yi people living in various places, but also called the sixth ancestor. Ximuzhe is the third ancestor and a great contributor to the Yi people. He not only created Neolithic culture, but also invented mining technology and smelting technology, which laid the foundation for the spiritual civilization and material civilization of Yi people.

The Yi people's New Year is around the solstice every winter, just like our Spring Festival. In Xiaohai Town, Weining County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, there is a small village, which is the birthplace of the legendary Yi ancestors. In this village, there is a mulberry tree that has experienced vicissitudes. It witnessed the past of the Yi people and described the beautiful today of the Yi people.