Banqiao Liqiujie Festival

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What is tradition? you stick to what your ancestor had done! festival date wouldn't change just because an thick ass official in the government didn't have time on that day! I was a bit worried about the Autumn Festival in Banqiao will not happen on the traditional date as it will fall on a Monday, as many times the local government would just switch it to a Sunday for convenience. But yeah...tradition is tradition there. The Liqiujie Festival for the Yi people in Banqiao area had came down from a long time, it happened every year on the day of the arrival of Autumn, it set the line between the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. The Yi read this day by the weather, if it is a sunny and mild day, the crops of the coming harvest will be good, and the opposit if the weather is sour. The main event for the festival is bull fight, every year villagers took their beasts here for games and entertainment, also a chance to work up the buffalo before the hard work of the coming harvest.
The festival was happened on a beautiful sunny day, also market day in Banqiao, but the crowd had been attracted to the festival ground 2 km outside of town. Seem like the government was involved as a permanent stage and bull-ring had been build, I saw a sign written "the 1st bull-fight festival" so and so, so...tourism I guess! and...long speeches and dance should be in the schedule. so easy to predict and so typical...yes...you already knew...the techno music and aerobic dance was included! prehaps one day you will find the festival not happen on the Autumn day anymore! but...who care!?! as long as the people has a day like this every year, sit around watching whatever present as long as it was free! vendors could turbo up their price and business, the media can praise the successful event, how harmony of the togetheration of minorities, the Han and the tourists, the greatness of the party and the government to made all these happen...so and so! A win win! And tradition had been preserved, at least...on the news!
For costume scene...of course...I wouldn't be disappointed. I had seen this Yi back 6 years ago in one of the market in the area, but on the festival I could spot more details. A robe with big loose sleeve, coverd with a poncho style dress where most of the embroidery were, heavily wrapped by ribbon belt in red, some even wrap a full-chest size almost half meter height. long skirt either in orange and blue tone or in white. young women wear round headdress, some had it styled like the Miao, and old woman wear dark turban with colour spot stitch design. They call themselve White Yi, the Baiyi. I asked them what the Black Yi's costume was like? "they dress like the Han" one man said. I also saw a couple of Miao girl in multi-colour appeared, small vest top with stitching work design, long sleeve in colour zebra rings. plaited skirt in typical Miao style. but it wasn't any daily dress you could see in the area, as I went through 3 market in Xundian area this time and all I find was the typical printed fabric plaited skirt that many of the Miao wear nowaday, some women kept a long sleeve shirt with simple embroidery on cuff area.
and in Jijie market couple of the White Yi showup as well. Less and less dressed hilltribe could be seen in daily life especailly outside Honghe and Wenshan prefecture, perhaps won't be long before my market hunting travel will come to an end!

note
bus Kunming to Xundian 25 yuan
bus from Xundian to Banqiao 14 yuan

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Comments

[Fanny en Peter]

Banqiao
Hi, This year we wanted to do Banqiao, but we had no time. The festival was surely very special to see YI, we have never seen them in another place in Yunnan. GREAT FOTO'S !!! It's nice to follow you in your travels. Fanny and Peter

[sarah fitzpatrick]

looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing! :-)