Yiche Ethnic People

The Yiche people (奕车人) are an ancient subgroup of the Hani ethnic group (哈尼族), known for being the oldest branch within the Hani community. With a population of fewer than 20,000, the Yiche people are primarily distributed across three townships in Honghe County (红河县): Da Yangjie (大羊街), Langdi (浪堤), and Chegu (车古).

Over centuries of migration and interaction with nature, the Yiche people have developed a unique and fascinating culture. Their customs encompass various aspects of life, including agriculture, religion, rituals, calendars, folklore, clothing, marriage, and food, providing a deep insight into sociology, folklore, and ethics.

Traditional Clothing of the Yiche People

1. Headwear: “Pa Chang” (帕常)

Yiche women wear a distinctive headpiece known as “Pa Chang” (帕常), a soft hat made from white cloth with a pointed top. The design resembles a rain hat, but with a tail at the back, which is embroidered with colorful patterns. These intricate designs represent ancient clan symbols, and they serve as a form of identity for the Yiche people. The headpiece is secured to the hair with a white string to prevent it from being blown away by the wind. The tail features patterns that resemble the Chinese character for “fire,” a symbol tied to the Yiche people’s ancestral heritage.

2. Outer Garment: “Que Lang” (雀朗)

The “Que Lang” (雀朗) is a dark indigo-colored, short, collarless jacket with large sleeves that reach the elbow. The front of the jacket is fastened with decorative buttons, stitched together with five threads of red, green, black, and other colors. After being dyed, the fabric is coated with a thin layer of cowhide glue, giving the jacket a slight reddish sheen. This special effect can only be achieved by skilled Yiche women.

3. Shirt: “Que Ma” (雀马)

The “Que Ma” (雀马) is a shirt without a collar, with a sharp neckline and a rounded hem at the back, resembling a crescent moon. The bottom of the front is slightly wider, and the shirt is tied with a cotton string under the right arm, creating a scissor-like opening at the collar.

4. Inner Garment: “Que Pa” (雀帕)

The “Que Pa” (雀帕) is a close-fitting inner garment that is collarless and has no buttons. It is designed with a round neckline and is adorned with a string of silver chains on the right side of the collar. This garment is typically used to hold small items like sewing kits or personal accessories. The garment’s front hem is decorated with blue and green simulated borders.

The Yiche women typically wear multiple layers of clothing, sometimes up to ten pieces, creating a rich, multi-layered look. The more layers worn, the more it symbolizes wealth and beauty within the family. Once dressed, the Yiche women wear their attire in a way that the left chest is fully covered while the right chest remains partially exposed, symbolizing a special connection with their “Che Ai” (车艾), meaning their intimate partners.

5. Trousers

The Yiche people wear indigo-colored, tight-fitting shorts (similar to short pants), known as “twist-crotch pants.” These shorts reach the upper thighs, leaving most of the legs exposed. The waistband has four fine hemp strings, with two shorter ones in the back and two longer ones in the front, tightly securing the pants. Some women, especially the younger ones, add colorful tassels to the top of the waistband as decoration.

There are two types of trousers based on age:

La Ba: These pants are intricately pleated and tightly gather around the hips, with the excess fabric rolled up to accentuate the curves of the wearer’s body.

La Lang: Simpler and less pleated, these are commonly worn by middle-aged and older women, showing a more modest yet confident style.

6. Accessories

Yiche people are known for their love of silver jewelry, often crafted in the shapes of fish, birds, snails, and floating plants. These accessories are worn in various places: fish and birds are hung on the chest and back, while snails are worn around the waist, with six on each side representing the twelve months of the year. The pieces are connected by silver chains or ribbons, creating a beautiful jingle sound as the wearer walks. The finest sets of silver jewelry can cost thousands of yuan, making them a significant part of the Yiche woman’s attire.

The Legend of Yiche Women’s Clothing

There is a popular legend regarding the origins of the Yiche people’s clothing. According to the tale, the King of Zheyi (者奕国王) had ten sons, with the youngest, Yiche (奕车), being the most intelligent, capable, and filial. When the king grew old, there was a dispute about who would inherit the throne. The citizens favored Yiche, but his nine older brothers disagreed. A martial competition was held, and Yiche won the throne. After the king passed away, the other brothers plotted to kill Yiche and seize the throne.

Yiche fled to Amu Mountain (阿姆山), but his brothers surrounded the mountain and set it on fire to burn him alive. As the fire raged, a mountain antelope appeared and carried Yiche away. Unfortunately, the antelope was shot, and Yiche was forced to flee on foot, losing his shoes and tearing his pants. In the end, he was left wearing only his short pants (shortened by tree branches) and found refuge under a large tree, crying in despair. His cries moved Momi, the sky god worshipped by the Hani people, who sent three white “Pa Chang” (帕常) headpieces to help him escape.

After surviving the ordeal, Yiche met the beautiful and kind Princess of Apo Lei Mountain (阿波雷山), who was revealed to be the transformed mountain antelope. They fell in love and married, settling on the mountain and starting a family. The princess passed down the three “Pa Chang” headpieces to their daughters, and the tradition of wearing these headpieces, along with the tight-fitting shorts, was passed down through generations of Yiche women.

The Symbol of Strong Thighs in Yiche Culture

In Yiche culture, the strength of a woman’s thighs is considered a symbol of beauty and fertility, tied to their agricultural lifestyle. Strong legs are essential for working in the terraced fields, and women with healthy, toned thighs are admired by both their peers and suitors. It is said that after a long day of work in the terraced fields, Yiche women will gently rub their thighs with pebbles by the creek or mountain spring, enhancing the smoothness and health of their legs. These beautifully toned legs are often admired by women from the city, who envy their strength and grace.

In Yiche culture, the thighs are not only seen as a physical attribute but also as a representation of the hard work and vitality that define their way of life. The long-standing association between women’s physical beauty and their ability to thrive in agricultural labor continues to shape Yiche women’s self-image and societal role.

Festivals of the Yiche Ethnic People

The Yiche people (奕车人), a subgroup of the Hani ethnic group (哈尼族), celebrate a variety of traditional festivals throughout the year. These festivals highlight their deep cultural heritage and are vital to maintaining their community’s identity. Among the most notable are the Yang’ana Festival (仰阿娜), the Kuzhazha Festival (矻扎扎), and the Zatela Festival (扎特勒), each symbolizing different aspects of their social, cultural, and economic life.

1. Yang’ana Festival (仰阿娜) – Also Known as the Girls’ Festival (姑娘节)

The Yang’ana Festival is a time when the Yiche people gather to celebrate the end of spring farming. It is a festival for both the young men and women of the community, who come together to express their love and enjoy leisure activities in Mengzi Hongdu Mountain (孟子轰都山). The festival takes place on the first Monkey Day (属猴日) after planting the rice seedlings, which typically falls in the third month of the lunar calendar.

Key Traditions and Celebrations:

In the morning, elders gather on the mountain to offer prayers for a prosperous harvest, good health, and well-being.

Yiche women wear their finest attire, including the “Pa Chang” (帕常) headpiece, “Que Lang” (雀朗) outer garments, and “Que Ba” (雀巴) shirts, with layers of clothing and tight-fitting shorts held by fine hemp ropes. Their outfits are adorned with silver jewelry shaped like fish, birds, and snails.

The young people sing and play traditional instruments like the small sanxian (三弦) while engaging in playful songs and dances. The exchange of tokens between lovers, such as the white headscarf (白头巾), symbolizes a commitment to one another.

This festival is a vibrant celebration of love, youth, and cultural pride.

2. Kuzhazha Festival (矻扎扎) – A Grand Celebration of Joy

The Kuzhazha Festival takes place annually during the fifth month of the lunar calendar, starting on the first Monkey Day (申猴日) and lasting five days. This festival focuses on the celebration of joy and community togetherness.

Key Traditions and Celebrations:

The first day is marked by a ceremony in which villagers select pine trees to be used as “moqiu” poles (磨秋杆), which are believed to possess sacred qualities. The trees are then cut down, and villagers touch them for good luck.

On the second day, the village elders lead a ceremonial meal around the moqiu poles, followed by more festivities in the coming days.

The highlight of the festival occurs on days three through five, when villagers engage in a variety of games, including “moqiu”, a game similar to a seesaw where a long wooden pole is lifted and spun around, reaching heights of up to 10 meters.

The festival also includes singing, dancing, and music, with Yiche women playing the sanxian and engaging in folk song duels with the men.

The drum dance (鼓舞) is an essential part of the festival, with the beating of drums symbolizing the community’s prayers for good harvests and prosperity.

The Kuzhazha Festival showcases the Yiche people’s rich cultural history, blending joy, community unity, and spiritual devotion.

3. Zatela Festival (扎特勒) – Also Known as the October Year (十月年)

The Zatela Festival takes place in the tenth lunar month, starting on the first Dragon Day (展龙日) and ending on the Monkey Day (属猴日), lasting six days. It is a grand festival marking the transition from the old year to the new and is celebrated with feasts, dances, and community rituals.

Key Traditions and Celebrations:

Villages come alive with the sound of fireworks, music, and singing, and everyone wears new clothes. Pigs and chickens are slaughtered, and glutinous rice cakes are made as part of the festive meals.

The festival includes two unique traditions:

1. Stone Fighting (打石头架): On the last few days of the festival, young men from different villages engage in a stone-throwing competition across the Langdu River (浪堵河). This ritual is believed to ensure a bountiful harvest and prosperity in the coming year.

2. Abado Feast (阿巴多): On the last days of the festival, young men and women from different villages host a feast with singing, dancing, and drinking. The evening is filled with joyful exchanges, and the feast continues into the early hours of the morning. The participants often exchange food and gifts, cementing relationships and expressing affection.

The Zatela Festival is a celebration of community, tradition, and the agricultural cycle, reflecting the Yiche people’s strong connection to nature and their ancestors’ customs.

Religious Practices

In significant festivals or ceremonies that require sacrifices to deities, the Yiche people perform religious rituals. These rituals are conducted by a priest called Dà Bèi Mǎ (大贝玛), a title which in the Hani culture refers to a “Bèi Mǎ.” The priest holds great prestige among the Yiche, serving as a healer, exorcist, and intermediary between the people and their gods. Dà Bèi Mǎ plays an essential role as a bridge between humans and divine forces. The ancestors of Qián Sīhòu (钱思厚) were priests, and this tradition has been passed down through generations, with him being the 18th-generation Bèi Mǎ.

Marriage Customs

The marriage customs of the Yiche people are unique, and they are similar to the “walking marriage” system of the Mosuo people. Yiche girls are betrothed by their parents at a very young age, sometimes as early as 5 or 6 years old, or even just weeks after birth. The marriage contract is finalized by the time they reach 14, at which point they are eligible to marry.

Yiche girls are allowed to marry multiple times in their lifetime, and the dowry increases with each marriage. For example, the first dowry may be 1,000 yuan, the second marriage requires 2,000 yuan, and the third increases to 4,000 yuan, and so on. As a saying goes, “The more times a Yiche girl marries, the wealthier she becomes.”

Even after a marriage is arranged, Yiche girls retain the freedom to pursue romantic relationships. In traditional Yiche homes, there is a small “ear room” (a private space) outside the house. Once a girl reaches 14, she can move into the ear room, where she can freely meet and converse with suitors without parental interference. If she finds a partner she likes, she can break the engagement and pay a higher dowry to cancel it, usually double the original amount.

After marriage, Yiche women still have the freedom to love anyone they choose, as long as they haven’t had children. Even if they are married, they can still engage in relationships. They may even bring their lover into the home. However, once they have children, such behavior is strictly forbidden, and violators will be expelled from the family.

Love and Courtship

The Yiche people have a unique way of expressing love. Girls play a small stringed instrument, known as the Xiǎo Sānxián (小三弦), and sing while engaging in a “mountain song” exchange with their suitors. If a girl likes a boy, she will remove her white hat and give it to him. If she does not like him, she will only give him a small mirror as a token of the meeting. If the boy forcibly takes the white hat, it does not necessarily mean the girl likes him. The white hat symbolizes a girl’s willingness to offer herself.

Traditionally, the boy would give the girl a handkerchief, but now it has changed to a key, a more direct expression of a desire to live together. Girls often prepare multiple white hats to manage the courting of multiple suitors, and boys may have relationships with several girls at the same time.

Yiche girls take pride in having their own “Chē ài” (车爱), meaning “close partner.” Even after marriage, a woman may still have her “Chē ài” as a free and intimate companion. The festival that celebrates this tradition, called Gūniáng Jié (姑娘节), is mainly attended by young men and women, but married individuals may also join, though women who have children are prohibited from participating.

Traditional Customs

According to the oldest traditions, Yiche women never wear shoes throughout their lives. It is only when they pass away that their descendants will dress them in a pair of beautifully embroidered pointed shoes. These shoes are meant to carry the spirit of the deceased woman across mountains and rivers to return to the land of their ancestors.

On the day of Gūniáng Jié (姑娘节), all Yiche people go up the mountain to celebrate. As long as the girl does not object, the men are free to touch her chest, often walking up the mountain together while doing so. This tradition, called mō rǔ (摸乳), is a greeting among lovers. Unmarried girls allow men to touch both breasts freely, while a married woman’s left breast belongs to her husband, and her right breast belongs to the world.