Selected Essays on Ancestor Sacrifice Festival of Yi People

Ancestor Festival is one of the traditional festivals of the Yi people, although the Ancestor Festival is not as grand as the Yi Torch Festival, but in the Ancestor Festival day there will still be a lot of compatriots of the Yi people to Weibaoshan Tujiaomiao to go to the roots of the ancestor, the reason why the Tujiaomiao Nanzhao is because the earliest and the worship of Nanzhao ancestor of the fine Nuruo in the South Shaotuomiao, so the essay on the ancestor festival of Yi people is what is it?

Introduction to the Weishan Yi Ancestor Festival

Every year on the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar, Weibao Mountain, a sea of people, oboe sound, salute formation, the annual Weishan Yi Ancestor Festival, held here in grand style. From the province and Liangshan, Sichuan, the majority of Yi compatriots dressed in festive attire gathered in Weibaoshan Nanzhao Tuzhu Temple, and Weishan 100,000 Yi people together *** with the celebration of the continuation of the millennium of the Yi ancestor festival.

Weishan Yi Hui Autonomous County, located in the southern part of Dali Prefecture, more than 50 kilometers away from Dali City, is located in the upper section of the Mourning Mountains and the Wuliang Mountains. 1994 was announced by the State Council as a level of historical and cultural city.

Weishan, Yunnan Province, one of the earliest areas to set up counties, is the birthplace of the Nanzhao state and the former capital of the Nanzhao thirteen generations of the king's history of more than 250 years, in the Weishan for more than 90 years, its deep cultural heritage, cultural relics Weishan Ancient City, one of the most intact Ming and Qing Dynasty ancient architectural complexes in China, the architectural style and the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi, comparable to the level of the approval of the Forest Park Weibao Mountain, is the national Taoist famous mountains, and also the Yi ethnic group, is one of the most famous mountains. It is one of the most famous Taoist mountains in China, and is also a holy place for Yi compatriots to find their roots and worship their ancestors. Become the country's 8 million compatriots of the Yi ethnic group, looking for the ancestral shrine, the study of heritage and carry forward the roots of Nanzhao culture.

An ancestor festival experience

In Kunming City, Western District, Chuxiong building, a group of ordinary people dressed in this gathering. They are to participate in the Sedan Chair Mountain China Yi Ancestor Ceremony activities of the main characters of the respected Yi Bimo. They come from Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chuxiong, Honghe, Dali and other places in Yunnan.

Bi Mo, the priests of the Yi society. This group of people with a special identity, at first glance, but they are simple and simple Chuxiong Shuangbai Fang Guisheng, Red River Mile Shi Binglin, Dali Weishan Luo Kailiang, are a rural naive Big Daddy's look; from Chuxiong Shuangbai Shi Wengui and Guizhou's Wang Jiyao, dressed a bit like a township cadres; from Guizhou's Wang Zhiyong this year, 20 years old, has just graduated from the local school, the expression of shyness. Only from Sichuan Liangshan Yi Han Shamawapo, wearing earrings, short braids, extraordinary temperament.

The convener of these 17 Bimo is He Dingan, director of the Chuxiong Yi Cultural Research Institute, an 18-generation hereditary big Bimo. Once we met, some warmly embraced, some intimate long talk, as if the best friends away for many years, meet again.

The reunion is joyful, even if the accident along the way constantly peer more than 40 blowing tuba players late, in the process of rushing, a Bimo failed to get on the car in time, the vehicle drove away only to find that He Ding'an rushed out of the car to go back to look for. After finding, the two had to take a taxi to chase 20 kilometers. To be rushed to the destination after the dragon, has been 10:30 at night. Rushing fatigue did not affect the happy mood of the Bimo, we immediately preview, an hour before leaving the main venue of the ancestral ceremony, laughing and joking all the way back to the hotel on foot. By then, it was already 12 o'clock in the night.

On the morning of August 8, the day of the Torch Festival, the ancestor ceremony highlights. Bimo each put on a different style of vestments, hats, mystery.

Their magic weapons are different, stained with the breath of ancestors from distant ancestors: the knife that has been passed down for generations, has been very old, but above the fox's tail, eagle claws are still in the help of the power; some of the magic weapon engraved with a tiger's head, panther's head, is still ferocious; although some of the pages of the scriptures have been yellowed, but the text and patterns are still with a sense of majesty.

Legend has it that the Yi humanities ancestor, Apu Dumu, had six sons, who moved to Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Gui, known as the Six Ancestors Branch, forming a rich culture of the Six Ancestors. According to historical records, the six ancestral branches began in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, one of the branches, in today's Kunming, if the Dian Dian and sedan chair snow mountain two areas.

Bima read the sutra while setting up. 1 main altar and 6 sub-altars, filled with cypress branches, wormwood, incense leaves, etc.. These altars are well thought out, the main altar in the center of Aptumu, left and right are the six ancestors of the altar, and in accordance with the six brothers of the size of the order of the arrangement. The altar is made up of cypress branches, flower branches and black branches, which form a variety of patterns that represent the process of evolution of the ancestors' souls.

Half an hour before the start of the sacrifice, all the participants in the sacrifice of the Bi Mo in the altar side of the circle, while reciting the sutra, while the chicken feathers plucked off, placed on the cap, the master of the ancestors and God ceremony.

Immediately after, 40 trumpeters blew the Yi horn, 16 men dressed in Yi costumes carried three animals and offerings, sent to the altar; after the end of the chanting, the officiating Bimo led the Bimo down to the altar, praying for the people, and led a pilgrimage to worship the ancestors

After the completion of the ceremony, the Bimo parted ways, and went home to spend the Torch Festival. The local Bimo will stay behind to lead the fire ceremony at night.