Beliefs of the Yi people: They worship many gods, mainly worshiping nature, worshiping totems and worshiping ancestors.

1. Among nature worship, the most important thing is the belief in elves and ghosts. People believe that many inanimate substances in nature are possessed by elves. Everything left by ancestors in a family, such as clothes, jewelry, silver, utensils, etc., can be attached with the elf "Gil" (which means "blessing"). ), believing it has the magical power to protect the family.

2. In addition, they also personify things in nature and worship various natural gods. It is believed that there are gods in the sky, earth gods in the earth, and sun gods in the sun. All mountains, rivers, thunder and lightning are all controlled by gods. For example, in "Leotei", the graceful grain medicine was created, which made the gods such as Radheli create the world. , creates all things, and controls everything in the universe.

3. Totem worship is the development and deepening of nature worship. Judging from the Yi family tree, animals, plants or other natural objects are often used as surnames. For example, the Yi people in Liangshan have the surnames "La (Tiger) Ma", "Jima (Bamboo)" and "Qie De (Diao)".

Extended information:

The Yi people believe that the souls of their ancestors still exist after death and can bring blessings and misfortunes to the living, so they must worship them and pray that they will bring blessings to their descendants. The Yi people believe that there are three souls after death. One soul guards the crematorium and tomb, one soul returns to the ancestral realm to reunite with the souls of ancestors, and the other soul enshrines the ancestors’ spiritual tablets at home.

But no matter which soul, whether it is comfortable or not is related to the prosperity and misfortune of future generations, so it is necessary to pray for the protection of ancestors. The ceremony of reassuring spirits and sending spirits are two important ancestor worship activities popular among the Yi people. The funeral ceremony is held on an auspicious day several days or months after the funeral and is presided over by Bimo. The ceremony includes several procedures: selecting spiritual bamboos, attracting spirits and attaching bamboos, making spiritual tablets, offering medicine to cure diseases, and offering sacrifices to spirits. After the soul-calming ceremony, the spiritual tablets are enshrined at home.

To send spirits is to send the ancestral spirit tablets enshrined at home together to the ancestral Lingqing Cave of the same clan in the wild. The funeral ceremony is the most solemn. After the time for sending the spirit is determined, relatives and friends should be notified. After hearing the news, relatives and friends should dress up and attend with gifts such as cattle, sheep, pigs, and wine. The most important activity in sending souls is a series of religious ceremonies held under the auspices of Bimo, each ceremony has a certain meaning.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Yi Nationality