Yi
- For other uses, see Yi (disambiguation).
| Yi (ꆇꉙ) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | People's Republic of China, |
| Region: | Throughout the Far East. |
| Total speakers: | 6 million |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | none |
| Regulated by: | none |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ii |
| ISO 639-2 | iii |
| SIL | Various: YIC (for Yi, Central), |
| See also: Language – List of languages | |
The Yi people (Chinese: 彝族 Yìzú, own name: Nosu) are a modern ethnic group in China. Numbering 6.6 million, they are the seventh largest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They live primarily in rural areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, usually in mountainous regions. The Yi speak a Tibeto-Burman language.
Writing System
The Yi have developed their own pictographic script for use by the bimaw, or shaman priests. It has recently been partially adapted for modern use. Yi script can also be used to write the Yi language.
History
The Yi are descended from the Ancient Qiang (古羌) people of Western China, who are also believed to be the ancestors of the Tibetan, Naxi (纳西) and Qiang (羌) peoples. They migrated from Southeastern Tibet through Sichuan and into Yunnan Province, where their largest populations can be found today.
They practice a form of animism, led by a shaman priest known as the Bimaw. They still retain a few ancient religious texts written in their unique pictographic script. Their religion also contains many elements of Daoism and Buddhism.
Many of the Yi in northwestern Yunnan practiced a complicated form of slavery. People were split into the Black Yi (nobles) and White Yi (commoners). White Yi and other ethnic groups were held as slaves, but the higher slaves were allowed to farm their own land, hold their own slaves and eventually buy their freedom.
See also
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Chinese ethnic groups (classification by PRC government) |
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Achang - Bai - Blang - Bonan - Buyei - Chosen - Dai - Daur - De'ang - Derung - Dong - Dongxiang - Ewenki - Gaoshan - Gelao - Gin - Han - Hani - Hezhen - Hui - Jingpo - Jino - Kazak - Kirgiz - Lahu - Lhoba - Li - Lisu - Man - Maonan - Miao - Monba - Mongol - Mulao - Naxi - Nu - Oroqen - Pumi - Qiang - Russ - Salar - She - Sui - Tajik - Tatar - Tu - Tujia - Uygur - Uzbek - Va - Xibe - Yao - Yi - Yugur - Zang - Zhuang |