BimoismPan Jiao, 2011 (, ''bi mox'') is the

indigenous religion Indigenous religion or native religion is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being " indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the " world r ...

of the Yi people, the largest ethnic group in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

after the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

. It takes its name from the ''bimo'',

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s who are also masters of Yi language and scriptures, wearing distinctive black robes and large hats.

Bimo

''Bimo'', which means 'master of scriptures', officiate at births, funerals, weddings and holidays. One can become bimo by patrilinial descent after a time of apprenticeship or formally acknowledging an old ''bimo'' as the teacher. A lesser priest known as ''suni'' (ꌠꑊ ''su nyit'') is elected, but ''bimo'' are more revered and can read

Yi script The Yi scripts (; ) are two scripts used to write the Yi languages; Classical Yi (an ideogram script), and the later Yi syllabary. The script is historically known in Chinese as ''Cuan Wen'' () or ''Wei Shu'' () and various other names (), amon ...

s while ''suni'' cannot. Both can perform rituals, but only ''bimo'' can perform rituals linked to death. For most cases, ''suni'' only perform some exorcism to cure diseases. Generally, ''suni'' can only be from humble civil birth while ''bimo'' can be of both aristocratic and humble families. The Yi worshiped and deified their ancestors in much the same way as did followers of

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

, and also worshiped gods of nature: fire, hills, trees, rocks, water, earth, sky, wind and forests. Bimoists also worship dragons, believed to be protectors from bad spirits that cause illness, poor harvests and other misfortunes. Bimoists believe in multiple souls. At death, one soul remains to watch the grave while the other is eventually reincarnated into some living form. After someone dies they sacrifice a pig or sheep at the doorway to maintain relationship with the deceased spirit. The ''bimo'', once considered by the Chinese government to be promoting a "backwards religion", are now being promoted as ambassadors of Yi culture. They organise large-scale rituals for the yearly Torch Festival. Since the 1980s, with the loosening of religion restrictions in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Bimoism has undergone a revitalisation. In 1996, the Bimo Culture Research Center was founded. In the early 2010s, the government of China has helped the revival of the Bimoist faith through the construction of large temples and ceremonial complexes.

Folklore

The most famous hero in Yi mythology is Zhyge Alu. He was the son of a dragon and an eagle who possessed supernatural strength, anti-magic, and anti-ghost powers. He rode a nine-winged flying horse called "long heavenly wings." He also had the help of a magical peacock and python. The magical peacock was called Shuotnyie Voplie and could deafen the ears of those who heard its cry, but if invited into one's house, would consume evil and expel leprosy. The python, called Bbahxa Ayuosse, was defeated by Zhyge Alu, who wrestled with it in the ocean after transforming into a dragon. It was said to be able to detect leprosy, cure tuberculosis, and eradicate epidemics. Like the Chinese mythological archer, Hou Yi, Zhyge Alu shoots down the suns to save the people. In the Yi religion Bimoism, Zhyge Alu aids the bimo priests in curing leprosy and fighting ghosts. Jiegujienuo was a ghost that caused dizziness, slowness in action, dementia and anxiety. The ghost was blamed for ailments and exorcism rituals were conducted to combat the ghost. The bimo erected small sticks considered to be sacred, the kiemobbur, at the ritual site in preparation.

Torch Festival

The Torch Festival is one of the Yi people's main holidays. According to Yi legend, there were once two men of great strength, Sireabi and Atilaba. Sireabi lived in heaven while Atilaba on earth. When Sireabi heard of Atilaba's strength, he challenged Atilaba to a wrestling match. After suffering two defeats, Sireabi was killed in a bout, which greatly angered the bodhisattavas, who sent a plague of locusts to punish the earth. On the 24th day of the 6th month of the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

, Atilaba cut down many pine trees and used them as torches to kill the locusts, protecting the crops from destruction. The Torch Festival is thus held in his honor.

Bibliography

* Pan Jiao, Institute of Anthropology, Minzu University of China. ''The State's Presence in the Religious Revival in the Liangshan Yi Ethnic Area''. In:
Religious Revival in Ethnic Areas of China
'. Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 2011. * Olivia Kraef, Institute of Sinology, Free University of Berlin. ''Mapping Li(a)ngshan – The Changing Implications of Yi (Nuosu) Bimo Culture''. In:
Religious Revival in Ethnic Areas of China
'. Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 2011.

References

External links

Yizuren
(Yi people's website)
Bimo and suni: Yi religious priests
{{Religion topics Ethnic religions in Asia Shamanism in China Yi people