Wood Gathering

Visiting the Yi region feels like stepping centuries back in time when mere survival was life’s greatest challenge. Intense manual labor fills most of the villagers’ day. Seasonal weather is becoming more unpredictable and natural catastrophes can wipe out an entire region. That day, this older man made five trips to the local forest to gather enough firewood, not just for his household but also for his aging neighbor. He walked over 20 miles, carrying over 200 lbs.

Local Farmer at the Market

For many centuries, barter was the form of trading among the Yi people. Goods for exchange included livestock and grain. Salt, cloth, hardware, needles and threads, and other daily necessities were available only in places where Yi and Han Chinese lived together. This local farmer has been selling his livestock for decades. He cherishes the downtime when he can share a smoke with his friends. Business is survival, but friends are life.

Old Sage

The Chinese zodiac consists of a twelve-year cycle, each year being associated with a certain creature. The order was determined in the so-called Great Race, where each species had to complete a contest of running and racing across a river. The horse is featured as the seventh in the cycle. Without horses, the Yi region would fall even further back in time. This Old Sage stopped and asked about my experience in his remote village. It was not a typical curiosity conversation, but rather a heart-felt welcoming.

Yi Farmers Smoking Traditional Pipes

The Yi people used to have a syllabic script called the old Yi language, which was formed in the 13th century. It is estimated that the extant old Yi script has about 10,000 words, of which 1,000 are words in everyday use. Since the old Yi language is not consistent in word form and pronunciation, people often communicate in Mandarin, especially in the regional centers. These two farmers wanted to share their stories but none of my guides could understand them. We all smoked and had a good laugh.

Boy and his Father at the Market

The government has tried to improve access to education for the Yi, but it struggles to recruit teachers to work in such remote areas. Many Yi people do not speak Mandarin, the main language in China. As a result, they have limited options for earning a living beyond farming. My guide struck up a conversation with them and unfortunately gathered that the old proverb was still true: “Like father, like son.” It does take a strong will to break the cycle.

Boy with Toy Pistol

Despite having invented gunpowder in the 9th century, Chinese culture has no history of glorifying gunslingers. Swords have always been the weapon of choice in Chinese folklore. With so few firearms in Chinese culture, the emergence of toy guns, a growing phenomenon, is all the more inexplicable. The young boy was determined to flag me down. When he got closer, I reciprocated with my fingers as a made up gun. Everybody started to laugh.

Ring Leader

At eight years old, she seems to have already gone through a full cycle of life. She takes care of all her siblings when her parents work in the field. She is the go-to person in this one street village, as other kids look at her for direction. Her exterior demeanor shows toughness, but the inside is tender and warm. On a subsequent trip I shared images with her and she thanked me with a big smile and laughter with her friends.

Grandmother and Kids

At first, this family was resisting our presence. The two girls had just carried water to the house and the young boy was already eating. Rice production is limited, most poor Yi peasants live on acorns, banana roots, celery, flowers, and wild herbs all year round. After we struck up a conversation through the young girls (the grandmother spoke only the Yi dialect), they invited us inside their house. The moisture and piercing cold were forgotten as they welcomed us with open arms and hot drinks around their traditional fireplace.

Old Dwelling

Most Yi houses are low mud-and-wood structures without windows and are dark and damp. Interior decoration is simple and crude, with little furniture and very few utensils, except for a fireplace consisting of three stones. The government offered to build this gentleman a new house, which at first he resisted. His son convinced him otherwise and construction was already under way. The future modern structure will host the extended family to the joy of all.

Kids at Play

They have very little, one set of clothes, a few toys. Their parents work the fields during the day and leave the kids behind. Their instinct for survival is ingrained at a very young age. The big lesson I learned is that they truly care for each other. When we shared food, toys, etc., they made sure that everything was evenly distributed. Their hearts are in the right place.

Homework

Lighting is not a given in Yi homes, but this young girl is eager to learn. Education was quite limited in the old days. Since the late 1950s, the autonomous prefecture began setting up middle schools, secondary technical schools and schools for training ethnic teachers. A new generation of Yi intellectuals with socialist consciousness is coming to the fore, and many Yi cadres hold leading positions at all levels of government in the prefecture. This young girl aspires to become a teacher.

Old Man at the Market

In the past, there were no professional doctors, and the only way to avert and cure diseases was to pray. Now there are hospitals and clinics in all counties. Serious epidemic diseases such as smallpox, typhoid, leprosy, malaria, and cholera have either been brought under control or wiped out for the most part. The joy of a smoke overshadows their struggles.

Builder

Few words were exchanged with this builder as he wanted to finish his job before the cold winter months. The Yi have their own calendar – comprised of ten 36-day months – with a year that is divided into two halves, each ending with a solstice. An additional five days are tacked on to each year for festivals. The Yi calendar is believed to be the oldest continually used calendar in the world.

Pig Farmer

Her business acumen helped her upgrade her store from an open-ground market to a fixed covered structure. Pigs are raised for food and consumed at special events, such as weddings and festivals. After someone dies, a pig or sheep is sacrificed at the doorway to maintain a relationship with the deceased spirit. The Yi believe that spirits cause illness, poor harvests, and other misfortunes and inhabit all material things.

Horse Culture

Since they eat grass, horses can go almost anywhere that humans can, eating as they go. And unlike cows and camels that must sit and rest to digest food, a horse’s digestive system allows it to graze and walk all day. Horses are still a common vehicle, as on this day, where building material was transported from the main town to his small village. Travel time was about 4 hours.

Picture Perfect Life

The Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they are capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away. In the eyes of the grandparents it is a picture-perfect life. From an outsider's point of view, it would be, if one can ignore the poverty, the dirt, or the lack of education.

Homemade Skateboard

Kids are very creative and build their own toys. After being pushed a few times down the main street of his village, the young boy broke the steering of his homemade skateboard. It didn’t take him long to fix it using old CDs as washers, and the show was back on! He was very particular and allowed only these two girls to push him. Nothing could have deterred them from their daily joy.

Boys Playing

In a typical Yi village, which is comprised of 10 to 20 dwellings, kids get creative during play time. The handmade wheelbarrow used to carry crops is the perfect tool for racing down the one bumpy dirt path in the village. I was the edge of my seat, watching them speeding down the narrow path, fearing that a fall would injure them badly. I did notice bruises and scabbing on one the kid’s head and did wonder where they came from.

Photo Studio at Torch Festival

The torch festival should be a joyful celebration involving colorful ethnic clothes and eating a freshly slaughtered pig. Instead, for some families it’s a time of stress. Parents will often drain their savings to buy or make the traditional clothes for their children and to record the event at the local photo store. To my surprise, I rarely saw these portraits hanging in their houses. Where are the photos?.

Horse Race at Torch Festival

The Torch Festival and Yi New Year are celebrated by the largest number of Yi. Competitions are fierce declaring the best rider. Racing bareback in a made-up stadium, the riders go through elimination rounds before competing in the finals. The large crowd cheers loudly, especially when the lead rider is about to lap the last rider. The winner of this race ended up being the youngest rider, shown on the front.

Grandfather and Child

Day-to-day tasks and chores are segregated: for instance, spinning and weaving are strictly female activities, while felting is deemed to be a trade that can only be performed by men. But one of the favorite activities for everyone is to take care of the children. The grandfather was playing with his grandchild, waiting for the siblings to get out of school. Their home was located 1 hour away by horse carriage.

Seeding

The Yi depend on an agricultural system which has evolved over thousands of years to optimize for their environmental conditions which are now changing. The timing and frequency of critical conditions indicate that there are serious threats to the stability and adaptability of their food production system, leaving them at risk. Their resistance to outside help is affecting their food supply but is keeping the land from being over-used by the Government.

Yi Farmer at Cow Market

Men and women, when going outdoors, wear a kind of dark cape made of wool and hemmed with long tassels reaching to the knee. In wintertime, they line their capes with felt. This farmer was the wise man for the younger farmers who stopped by his side for advice. Very unassuming, he gladly obliged, keeping a watchful eye on his cows. Tobacco seemed to be the trade currency for advice.