彝　族

　　彝族是中国西南地区人口最多的一个少数民族。远在2,000多年前，彝族的祖先就在那里生活。他们主要居住在云南、四川、贵州、广西等省区，四川凉山彝族自治州是最大的彝族聚居区。

　　彝族的传统服装样式很多。妇女常穿镶边或绣花的大襟上衣和多褶长裙，裙边镶各种颜色的布。云南红河地区的彝族姑娘还喜欢戴一种鸡冠式的绣花帽，据说这是吉祥、幸福的象征。彝族男子一般都穿黑色窄袖、右开襟的短上衣和多褶、宽裤脚的长裤，喜欢用长长的青布或蓝布包头，并且在前面扎一个长锥形的“英雄结”。男女外出时都要披一件用羊毛线织成的斗篷，白天用它挡风寒，晚上用它当被子。

　　火把节是彝族最隆重的传统节日，一般在农历的六月二十四日前后举行。每逢节日，各地的彝族人都要身穿节日盛装，举行各种活动。火把节上，人们举火把边唱边跳，形成一条长长的火龙，把村村寨寨映得通红。据说，人们点燃火把，是为了驱赶害虫，保护庄稼。节日期间，彝族人还要杀鸡宰羊，祈求丰年。

　　在漫长的历史发展过程中，彝族人民创造了灿烂的文化。“阿细跳月”是著名的彝族舞蹈；流传全国的事长诗《阿诗玛》，讲述了彝族姑娘阿诗玛的动人故事。除此之外，彝族在天文、历法、气象、医药等方面也有独特的创造。相传，“云南白药”就是根据彝族民间医生的祖传秘方配制而成的。

　　The Yi

　　The Yi is the most populous ethnic group in southwest China, where their ancestors lived more than 2,000 years ago. They are predominant in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces. The Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Liangshan in Sichuan Province is the largest Yi community.

　　Traditional Yi clothes have many styles. Women often wear an edged or embroidered jacket with buttons on the right side of the front and a pleated long skirt edged with cotton of various colors. Yi girls in Honghe area of Yunnan Province like to wear a kind of cockscomb-shaped embroidered hat, regarded as a symbol of good luck and happiness. Yi men generally wear a short black jacket with tight sleeves, buttons on the right, and long trousers with many pleats and loose bottoms; they like to use a long black or blue cloth for a head covering, tying it in an awl-like "hero knot" in the front. When the Yi people go out, they wear a sleeveless cloak woven with wool, which they can use as a quilt at night.

　　The Torchlight Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the Yi people, usually held around the 24th day of June in the lunar calendar. The people hold torches while singing and dancing in their festive attire, forming a long fiery dragon that bathes villages in a crimson glow. Traditionally, people lit torches to drive away pests and protect crops, and during this festival, the Yi also kill chickens and goats to pray for a good harvest.

　　During the long process of historical development, the Yi people have created a diversified culture. "A'xi Dancing Under the Moon" is a famous Yi dance; a long narrative poem Ashima which circulates throughout the country tells a touching story of a Yi girl Ashima. The Yi have also made unique contributions in the fields of astronomy, calendar, meteorology, and medicine. Legend has it that the White Medicinal Powder of Yunnan is compounded according to a secret recipe of a folk Yi doctor handed down in the family from generation to generation.