This year our family had the adventure of traveling to and watching one of the major festivals of a minority people in our area. The people are called the Yi (pronounced "E") and the festival is 火把节 (HuoBaJie) or the Torch Festival. There are 100's of different tribes of the Yi people, with different costumes and languages; but they seem to share this festival in common. One popular legend of the festival's origin tells the story of a heavenly king (devil) who sent a spirit or strongman to destroy the Yi people. This angered the spirit of the earth; so he engaged the strongman in a wrestling match. The match went on for three days and three nights. All the while the Yi people supported the earth spirit by playing their three-stringed guitars & flutes, clapping their hands, and stamping their feet. The earth strongman or spirit triumphed and the heavenly king was furious. He sent a plague of insects to destroy the Yi peoples' crops. In response these rural people lit pine branches or torches. The smoke killed the insects and their crops were saved.
We watched the festival in the capital city of an Yi prefecture; so it wasn't the same as being out in the rural areas, but it was very lively. There were lots of people dressed up in lovely embroidered costumes (whether the were actually Yi or not); all forming up to join in the traditional circle dancing. Yi guitar players and flutists were also out. There were parades, performances, and fireworks. And of course, the lighting of a huge bonfire.
To be honest that part of the celebration was a bit disturbing, as there was a shaman present who sacrificed a live chicken prior to the pine logs being lit. Then the fire was ignited and the Yi people lit their torches from it and ran out from the gathered crowd into the dark night. I guess there is a truly fearful aspect to all this in that the ceremony is meant to ward of the year's evil.
We stayed in an interesting community that was newly built, but meant to represent a sort of idealized Yi village. There were canals running through it and a water wheel, Yi restaurants, and many souvenir shops. The boys would want me to mention that Yi fried potatoes are delicious. The potatoes are small, round, crispy-skinned on the outside, and plenty salty. They could have eaten them for every meal.
We had a good visit, especially exploring through the Yi neighborhood as people danced and sung and played with the bonfires and torches. We were also able to participate in an English club in that city. The only low point of the whole trip was that Josh got terribly sick our last night there.
All in all, though, it was a great experience to end the summer with.
1 comment:
Oh how I miss festivals. I really miss the little potatoes. Thanks for giving me a way to read and remember these things. I check your site daily for new information. It's certainly not the same as being there, but it's at least some way to stay connected to what's going on. Thanks for giving this opportunity.
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