Dietary taboos of the Yi people

There are no unified enforcement standards for the Yi people's dietary taboos. The core taboos are mostly formed around ancestor worship, natural beliefs, and production and labor traditions. The most popular common taboos are the prohibition of dogs, horses, bears, and monkeys. The rest of the taboos vary greatly depending on the branch, region, and era. The rules of different villages may even be completely opposite. There is no general conclusion.

There was a joke the first time I entered the village in Meigu County, Liangshan. I had dog meat jerky bought from other provinces in my bag, and I took it out to hand out snacks to the fellow villagers who lived with me. When the father of the house saw it, he was not angry. He just smiled and waved his hands and said, "We don't eat this." Later, when we were roasting potatoes around the fire pit in the evening, he chatted with me and told me that there is a saying that has been passed down here for thousands of years. When our ancestors were about to starve to death due to famine, it was the dog that ran for three days and three nights to retrieve the grain seeds and saved the whole family. In addition, the dog has been looking after the house and the courtyard all his life. He is like half of the family, so he can't get enough to eat. However, when I turned around and told my friend from the Yi ethnic group in Yuanyang, Honghe, he was stunned and said that their village did not have such a saying. As long as it was not their own guard dog, if a wild dog ran outside and died accidentally, they would eat it.

Relatively speaking, the rule of fasting horses is more popular. I have traveled to more than a dozen districts and counties in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou where the Yi people live together, and most of them have this rule. After all, the road in the mountains is very steep. In the past, hauling supplies, visiting relatives, and sending children to school all depended on horses. They were the most important labor force in the family. They had feelings for them for three to five years. Not to mention killing and eating, they were reluctant to use them even to death when doing daily work. Last time I met a fellow villager in Zhaojue whose old horse couldn't walk on the road anymore. He took the horse to the old forest in the back mountain and let it go, saying that he would let it die on its own and never sell it to a slaughterhouse.

As for the taboos about bears and monkeys, most of them are tied to natural beliefs. Last time I went to the local Bimo to perform a mountain god festival, the old man told me that bears are animals raised by the mountain prince, and monkeys are distant relatives of humans. If you kill them or eat them, you will offend the mountain gods and regret your ancestors. Your luck will be bad, and you won't even be able to pick up matsutake mushrooms in the mountains. However, hunting is now prohibited on the mountain. Not to mention bears and monkeys, even hares and pheasants are not allowed to be hunted. This taboo now has only a symbolic meaning, and few people actually encounter it.

In addition to the rules about what to eat, there are also many little things to pay attention to when eating. For example, when pigs are killed during the Chinese New Year, pig blood cannot be sprinkled on the ground casually. It must be collected in a basin and mixed with glutinous rice to make blood sausage. Otherwise, our ancestors will think you are wasting food. ； The meat and wine used for sacrifices must be held in front of the shrine three times before being offered to the ancestors. The elders move their chopsticks before the younger ones can reach out to take it. Last time I was greedy and just reached out to grab a piece of sacrificial meat, but my grandma smiled and slapped the back of my hand. Also, when visiting a Yi family, don’t lift the pot lid on the stove casually, especially when cooking meat. The elders say that it will take away the family’s blessings. However, most young people nowadays don’t care about this. If they do, no one will blame you. At most, they will mention it to you.

Interestingly, many taboos would not work in another place. For example, friends from the Yi ethnic group in Weining, Guizhou said that cats are forbidden in their area and that cats are messengers from the underworld and eating them will bring bad things to them. However, the folks in Liangshan shook their heads and said they had never heard of this statement. There used to be rules that said you couldn't whistle while eating, otherwise the soul of the food would be blown away. Now the young men in the village are watching short videos while eating, and whistle louder than anyone else. Mom and dad will only mutter a few words when they see it, but they won't really care.

In fact, if you really want to visit a Yi village, you don't have to memorize a lot of taboos in advance. The older generation are very tolerant. If you don't understand, just ask a few more questions, like "Can I touch this?" "Can I eat this?" No one will laugh at you, but they will think you are honest. After all, these taboos have been passed down for thousands of years. In the final analysis, they are the respect that the older generation has for nature, living creatures, and ancestors. Whether they keep it or not, it is always right to have a lot of respect.