Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to The Torch Festival of the Yi Nationality in HaiPing ShuiCheng county for sightseeing.
Driving on 212 provincial road from Liupanshui downtown area to here about 23 kilometers. Lunar calendar in June 24, Shuicheng county and surrounding areas of Yi people and other nationality people gathered here, to take part in the most solemn festival - The Torch Festival of the Yi Nationality.
Torch festival is the Yi people's traditional festival with a long history. About the origin of torch festival, there is a legend about Yi people who had dared to fight against the nature. Heaven and earth are interlinked in the legend, Heavenly Kings EnTiGuChi intense rage because human is not according to its purport to pay tribute, send a demon descend to the world for the abuse, a hero called ATIBaLa of Yi leads the war fight with the demon, they carrying torches and burn up the only channel between heaven and earth, beat and kill the demon. Heavenly Kings were extremely angry, put the bugs on the earth, gluttony crops and fruit trees. The lunar June 24th, hero Atibala of Yiand angry Yi people fire all the bugs. Heavenly Kings also want to fall harm to people again, because the "heaven road" was burnt, so had to give up it. Later, Yi people held the torch festival lunar calendar on June 24, lasted three days to commemorate the victory of festivals. Torch festival combined celebration, pray, entertainment in one from then on, and has become the Yi district people's traditional festival in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi. In order to inherit better the traditional festival, spring in 1994, under the initiative of the Yi people's compatriots,"The cultural garden of the Yi Nationality in HaiPing " created in HaiPing ,YuShe, ShuiCheng.
The cultural garden covers an area of 24400 square meters, mainly including totem pole, theme sculpture, solar calendar, the podium, balcony, fire dance square and a large collection of ancient stone tablets, this is the museum of northwestern Guizhou Yi culture ecology garden, is a party center of studying Yi people's communication, historical and cultural inheritance.
Into the cultural park gate is a greeting square of 9200 square meters, the square construction is in the form of landscape layout, there is a magnificent and elegant feeling. Walk along the stone step, you can see the totem pole, carved dragon, tiger, eagle, bamboo, the sun, fire and other patterns, they are the main symbol of Yi people's worship of the biological. The culture theme sculpture is after the totem column, it shows two Yi young men and women lift the image of the torch. Yi Nationality respected "exorcism the elimination of the fire, looking forward to the grain and make it plentiful and protect creatures peace", it is a symbol of the Yi people's pursuit and yearning for a better life. Walk forward is the solar calendar, this is the time of the ancient Yi. According to the Central University for Nationalities professor LiuYao research, expert argumentation and approved by the international astronomical calendar, ancient Yi had invented using a astronomical calendar - Yi solar, commonly known as October solar calendar or ten beasts calendar. January is black tiger , February is otter, March is a crocodile, April is python, May is pangolin scales, is a deer in June and July is blue sheep, August is the ape, is a panther in September, October is a lizard. Yi October solar calendar, 365.2422 days per year on average, ten months a year, 36 days a month, the remaining 5 days is the Chinese New Year day, but every three years, in the fourth year of the Chinese New Year day is 6 days. October solar according to motion law of winter and summer, the sun of the big dipper bucket handle to years. Equivalent to that of the mayan calendar, the calendar is the crystallization of human wisdom, is also one of the important symbol of human civilization.
October solar scenic spot - a solar calendar sculpture square is a small altar, covers an area of 20 square metre, base diameter of 5 meters, has thousands of god pillar of sculpture with ancestor god column as the center, the southern column is the gods and vulcan column, the northern column isgourds god, the eastern is bamboo column, the sun god, tiger god in turn, the western is for the dragon column, eagle god column and sheep column. October totem pole is in accordance with the ancient Yi branch post pole observed the sun to determine season for principle, by astronomers to participate in the determination of design,is scientific and strict, the observation effect is very precise. The sun to be basked in bamboo god column in the morning, column shadows cast on the ancestor god column is "the summer solstice"; According to the sun god column, column shadows cast on the ancestor god column is "vernal equinox", "the autumnal equinox"; According the tiger god column, column shadows cast on the ancestor god column says "winter solstice". These four of the season at sunset, the sunshines on the dragon column, eagle god column, sheep column, column shadows cast on the ancestor god column, and "winter solstice" at noon the sun shone on the vulcan column, column shadow cast in the center of the ancestor god column, "the summer solstice”at noon the sun shone on the ten pillar of totem god, every column shadows is in the north, with short column shadow. Walking pass the solar calendar, is a festival activities square covers an area of 24400 square meters, has the rostrum, balcony, the masses of the stands and assembly, a fire dance square, and posing a relief to the wall of the podium and balcony promenade. To express grave, rostrum is facing the greeting square, with rallies, bonfire dancing square and greeting plaza on the same axis. The balcony to the podium, on both sides of rostrum For VIP viewing sat . Every year on the lunar June 24, there will be thousands and thousands of people come here to watch the performance.
Writing in the erection is a way to mark special contributors. The northeast of the square in the center of the assembly, a bonfire dancing, there are three pieces of Yi Nationality stone tablets, former chairman of the Guizhou People's Political Consultative Conference Long Zhiyi inscription " Yi torch festival of ShuiCheng " in the middle stone tablets; The right side is the Dean of Guizhou Minorities AnYiFu inscription "Carry forward the national culture"; On the left side is a piece of original Guizhou province National People's Congress vice chairman lu Wen Bin inscription"To strengthen national unity". Both sides of stone tablet are the list of the donations to build Yi culture garden.You can have a panoramic view of the whole cultural standing before the forest of steles.
The two-story brick houses next to cultural park, it is the resident of cool city ethnic culture communication co., LTD. Hai ping Yi chorus, the establishment of the national culture communication co., LTD of cool city has played a positive role in inheritance and carry forward the national culture, is a vision of an effective national cultural workers. As the saying goes "A minute on stage, ten years of work under stage ", as usual, they want to practice singing and dancing skills here, the dress was wet with sweat, tears, just for showing to all Yi stockade friends unique musical glamour on the torch festival day.
Assembly, a fire dance square is the center of the Yi's mass rallies, mainly for the use of holidays. The square set up nine pillar of totem, put the pot on the top, for the use of lighting and decoration. During the night, the bonfire party begin, people burst into piles of fire in the middle of the square and around the bonfire, under the accompaniment of Suona, Flute, Yueqin, old man, children hand in hand, pull a circle and dance joyful, put the torch festival activities to a climax. On theTorch festival square, millions of torches formed a curving dragon, from all directions to the same place, eventually forming many campfire and burned the whole sky. Burning torches,the hope of Yi people ,Lamps, transmitting all ethnic groups friendship of the people. National unity, social well-being, liupanshui gives the dazzling brilliance in this national solidarity, friendship and mutual assistance and harmony atmosphere of prosperity today.
（By Hu Xiaoliu）
