Sichuan boasts an ethnically rich population. Many of them are members of China’s minority nationalities, including the Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Bai, Qiang and nine other groups. Based on recent statistics, the estimated figure of the local minority nationalities is 5.7 million, 7 per cent of the entire population in Sichuan. The estimated figure of the local minority nationalities is 5.7 million, 7 per cent of the entire population in Sichuan. The minorities are mostly concentrated on the plateau northwest of Sichuan, and the highlands southwest and southeast of Sichuan. Below is a brief introduction of the Yi, Tibetan and Qiang nationalities.

Yi Nationality
The population of the Yi nationality is 1.5 million in Sichuan. The Yi people mainly live in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and other counties nearly. Traditionally, this area is subdivided into the Greater Liangshan Mountain area, which lies east of the Anning River and south of the Huangmao Dyke, and the Lesser Liangshan Mountain area, which covers the Jinsha River Valley and the south bank of the Dadu River. Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is the largest Yi community in China.
The Yi language has lasted over one thousand years. It is a syllabic language, which belongs to the family of Tibetan-Burmese languages in the Chinese-Tibetan languages system. The language has six dialects. Its syllabic script is called the ancient Yi language, formed in the 13th century. It is estimated that the ancient Yi script has about 10,000 words. 1,000 of them are daily words. The ancient Yi script has recorded the Yi history, literature and medicine. After 1949, concerned scholars started to systemize the Yi language. They tried to unify their dialects and writing systems. Since 1974, three major research projects have been carried out in order to standardize the Yi writing systems. They are the Sichuan Liangshan Regulated Script Project, the Yunnan Alphabetic Script Project, and the Project of Comparison of Scripts in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi. These projects have facilitated the overall progress of the Yi people’s writing system in word form and pronunciation. In 1980, the newly standardized Yi language started to be formally used.
The essence of Yi’s religion is ancestor worship. It emphasizes that all things on earth have spirits. The concept of the supernatural beings has dominated the Yi people into a five-grade hierarchy according to their blood relationship. Hereditary headmen were at the top grade; slaves were at the lowest. Slaves were subject and dependent to slave-owners who could sell or even kill their slaves as they pleased. The savage system expired in 1949.
The Yi farmers are mainly engaged in cultivation. They grow barley, potato, beans and paddy rice. In addition, farmers manage their animal husbandry. With the gradual introduction of farm machinery into the Yi areas, the Yi farmers have yielded good crops in recent years.
The diet in the Yi areas is based primarily on potatoes, buck-wheat, oats and corn. They like eating pork meat, cut into cubes. Their daily eating utensils are made of wood or fur. They are bowls, trays, spoon and cups, which are carved in red, black and yellow colors.
Traditionally, timber structure, soil walls, double-plane roof and wooden tiles characterize the houses in which the Yi people live. Each house inside generally consists of upper, middle and lower rooms. In addition, there is a living room, which faces the house entrance. A fire pan is a symbol of the Yi people’s custom, and it is placed in the middle. The Yi people in Southern Yunan Province live in two-story houses. The kitchen and cattle shed are usually on the first floor, and the living room is on the second.
Traditionally the Yi people’s head-turban and clothes have bright and decorative patterns. Everyone enjoys having an unlined blanket-like shawl over his /her shoulders. The Yi people, male or female, all wear a kind of upper outer garment. It is a tight and short jacket, its sleeves are narrow and buttons are slantwise to the right. Male’s pants are in different sizes at the bottom. Usually the bottom-size are fixed upon different areas where the Yi people reside.
Women of the Yi nationality wear multifold skirts in variegated colors. Unmarried women’s clothes like graceful and charming. They are made of multi-color cloth with silk thread; varied pattered silver ornaments are attached to their clothes. Girls enjoy stitching butterflies and flowers on their clothes. It is said that it takes half a year to complete embroidering a delicate suit. Their hats are sewn with big and small silver bubbles, which symbolize brightness and happiness.
The Yi people have their own important festivals. In Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, the Yi Nationality New Year lasts three days starting on October 10 every year. During the festival, local people worship their ancestors and visit their friends. At the same time, traditional sports games are held like horseracing, wrestling and seesaw playing.
The Yi people’s Torth Festival is one of the main ethnic traditional festivals in China. The Torch Festival starts on the twenty-fourth of the sixth lunar month. There is a legend about the origin of the Torch Festival. A long time ago, there was an invincible wrestler whose name was Eqilaba. He was so famous that the God in Heaven sent down another good wrestler to have a match with him. Unfortunately the wrestler from Heaven was killed, and the God became angry. He sent down swarms of “ Heaven Insects” to destroy crops and damage farmer houses. Eqilaba and his friends went up to the mountains. They cut down bamboo trees and made fire torches with bamboo stems. They lighted the torches and used the burning torches to fight against the “Heaven Insects”. Finally, the insects were killed and the crops and houses remained safe. In order to honor Eqilaba’s victory over the insects, the local people repeat the torch ritual every year at the end of the sixth month. During their ritual ceremony, the Yi people hold wresting, singing and dancing activities. As time went on, the torch ritual ceremony developed into the current torch festival.
Well, early in the morning the Torch Festival starts. People begin to dress up. A man puts on a new embroidered short jacket and a pair of new loose trousers. He has a red or yellow pearl in his right ear and a blue or black turban tied around his head. A woman wears an upper garment embroidered and trimmed with lace, and a multifold skirt in variegated colors. During the daytime, some people participate in wrestling, bullfighting, archery contests, or horseracing. Many others watch the games and drink wine throughout the celebration. At night, people light up torches. They hold fire torches and go around to houses and fields to expel insects. Thousands of torches are seen moving along paths in the fields, and they finally gather together on the village outskirts. Afterwards all the participants gather around a burning fire. They dance in groups, hands in hand. Sometimes boys play bamboo flutes, moon-shaped guitars or big three-stringed instruments; girls do moon dancing. Such a happy occasion may go on until dawn. This is also the occasion for young people to look for a life partner through their antiphonal singing.

Tibetan Nationality
? The Tibetan people in Sichuan Province mostly live in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture as well as Muli country of Liangshan Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture. The total population is 1,087,000.
Anduo and Jiarong Tibetans live in Aba prefecture. Its capital is Ma’erkang. Unlike much of Tibet, the Ma’erkang area is well-watered, and the landscape is breathtaking. Knagba and some Jiarong Tibetans live in Ganzi prefecture. Its capital is Kangding, which is known for a Kangding Love Song. Fifty years ago, five young Tibetan students sang the song at the world youth parth in Vienna. Since then the song has widely spread across the country as well as many parts of the world.
The Tibetan language is an alphabetic writing. It was formulated in the 7th century, which belongs to the family of Tibetan-Burmese languages. These are three major dialects: Weizhang, Kangba and Anduo.
By the end of the 14th century, Tibetan Buddhism had had a variety of sets, which has permeated the Tibetan society. One of the sects was called the Red Sect. It was founded in the 11th century, and is the oldest sect. This sect paid great attention to absorbing the fine points of the Bon religion. The sect called itself Nyingma based on its practice of Buddhism deeply rooted in the Tubo Kingdom of the 7th century. The word “Nyingma” Sect wore red hats, and therefore it was named the Red Sect.
Another sect is called the White Sect, shich was also established in the 11th century. It is also known as the Gagyu Sect. The White sect stresses the study of Tantrism; it advocates that Tantrist tenets be passed down orally from one generation to another. Gagyu, in the Tibetan language, means “passing down orally”. The fouders of the Gagyu Sect wore white monk robes when practicing Buddhism, and therefore were called the White Sect.
During the 15th century, a sect called the Yellow Sect came into being. This sect is the most famous Buddhist sect in Tibetan history. The sect was founded during the reform of Tibetan Buddhism initiated by Zongkapa. At that time, upper-class monks involved in a political and economic power struggle led a decadent life, and rapidly lost popularity with society. Faced with this situation, Zongkapa called for efforts to follow Buddhist tenets. Gelug in the Tibetan language means “commandments”. Zongkapa and his followers wore yellow hats, and this is the reason the sect is named the Yellow Sect.
The Tibetan people have their own traditional clothes. They like shirts in white, bright red, azure, pink, and tangerine colors. A man usually appears in a loose woolen garment with the right arm slipped out of the sleeve to show the white undergarment or woolen sweaters inside. His hat is brocade knit, four-flab hat with golden and silvery threads. He wears high boots and has a broad silk sash around his waist. Women’s clothes are almost similar to men’s, but their dresses are even more colorful. The material used is even better than the men’s. The loose garment from the collar down is open on a slant to show the silk blouse inside. Each woman enjoys having a beautiful shawl over her shoulders and a colorful apron around her waist. Both men and women wear earrings.
The diet in the Tibetan areas is based primarily on toasted barley flour, wheat flour as well as mutton and beef. They drink wine made of barley. Tea and salt is their daily necessities.
Zanba is roasted qingke barley flour. It is the staple of Tibetans, similar to fried flour, but its major ingredients are highland barley, peas and oat. Tibetans bring zanba with them when they go to work, herd or travel. They put zanba in the bowl and mix with ghee, the Highland Barley Liquor.
Yacha Tea is made of large leaves of tea shrubs and produced mainly in Ya’an. It is a strong tea. So it is named “Yacha”. It was also called the Macha in the Ming Dynasty, and the Biancha in the Ming Dynasty, and the Biancha in the Qing Dynasty. Tibetans eat much meat daily, and so they drink Yacha tea to digest food. The ghee tea is butter and milk, mixed up with walnut powder, peanut, sesame, egg and salt. It smells fragrant.
In the Tibetan agricultural areas, a Tibetan family usually lives in a flat-roofed house of timber-earth or stone-timber structure. The house usually has two or three floors. The flat-roof is used as a sunning place to dry their crops. The top floor is a meditation hall where the whole family prays to Buddha and recites Buddhist scriptures. Rooms on the second floor are used as a living room and bedrooms. The family always has their house windows and doors painted.
Tangka is Tibetan painting, which has a history of over 1,000 years. The paintings have strong ethnic and religious sense. Before painters start to work, painters usually spend several days on preparation. Their work is a religious act so that seldom write their names on their Tangka painting s when they are completed. Usually painters use local natural minerals as pigments with gold, silver, agate, vermilion and others. Painting processes are complicated. The minerals are groud several times and mixed up with a bit of ox gallbladder to antisepticise paintings. All the gold powder is made as pure as possible. To increase the luster of gold, they repeatedly polish the Tangka painting with “lezi” (opal) until it becomes splendid.
The Tibetan New Year is one of the most important holidays. The day is calculated according to the Tibetan lunar calendar, and it happens at about the same time as the Chinese New Year. It is said that the Tibetan calendar was introduced to Tibet by Princess Wencheng, and remains in use today.
As a cock crows early on the first day of the Tibetan lunar January, housewives get up and carry “new water”. The fuller the bucket with the “new water” is, the more prosperous the family will become in the coming year. It is said that Heaven offers the “new water” will be free from illness and enjoy a healthy and long life.
In the morning of the first day, all the village men will ride to the Village Holy Hill for prayers. In daytime of the first day, all the villages will hold a horseracing event. On the second day, people go out to visit other families and exchange greetings. Hosts offer wine. In the evening people hold recreational activities, which last for at least three to five days. In some places, a grand meeting is held, in which a sorcerers’ dancing is performed. People in colorful dresses wear weird masks when they sing and dance. Tibetans are good singers and excellent dancers. Songs are melodious and words are in rhyme. During the holiday people also exchange greetings with hada. Hada is a specially made long silk scarf in different colors. Mostly it is white in color, semi-transparent and extremely light. To offer someone a hada means offering him a pure, friendly heart.
Qiang Nationality
The Qiang nationality has a population of 200,000. They mostly reside in Wenchuan, Lixian, Maoxian, Songpan in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and Beichuan in the Mianyang region. They dwell in hilly areas and locations by rivers and streams. A small number live with Tibetan, Han and Hui groups in places, including Wenchuan, Heishui and Songpan.
The Qiang nationality has a long history. The Qiang has established a splendid civilization in the Northwest of the country and be counted as one of the important founders of civilization in China.
As legend has it, when the ancestors of the Qiang moved to the upper reaches of the Minjiang River in Sichuan Province, they came upon a strong enemy. The leader of the Qiang was instructed in a dream to overcome the enemy with white stones. The leader and his people followed the instructions, and the Qiang people finally defeated their strong enemy. The Qiang nationality therefore began to worship the white stone as a way of expressing their gratitude to the god who had appeared in the dream. This tradition has been passed on from generation to generation ever since. After the Qiang nationality settled along the Mingjiang River, they put white stones on the top of their houses, on shrines for idols, as well as on the sides of roads and fields.
The Qiang people are mainly engaged in cultivation. The chief farm products include corn, wheat, highland barley, and a variety of beans. The white beans called snow mountain beans are the local specialty. The Qiang people also raise animals, such as pandas, flying foxes, and golden monkeys. It also grows the main raw materials of valuable Chinese traditional herbs.
From a linguistic point of view, all modern Qiang people speak the Qiang language, which is a member of the Tibetan-Burmese linguistic family. However, the local dialects are extremely varied. Qiang scholars created their own writing system and compiled a dictionary of the Qiang language. They started in the middle 1980’s after receiving approval from the State Council. They used a Romanized alphabet based on the standardized Ququ dialect. Since 1994, teachers have been trained to learn the standard Qiang language and the new writing system. After training, they are sent to Qiang villages to teach local villagers. The Qiang people believe that they are speaking the same language.
The Qiang and Han peoples have had time-honored close ties in political, economic and cultural fields. In ancient China the imperial courts in different dynasties had political units in the Qiang-occupied areas. In the early Qing Dynasty the central authority set up a system to appoint local hereditary headmen to rule over the Qiang. The central administrative system helped enhance the ties between the Qiang and Han ethnic groups.
The Qiang people lived in primitive conditions, marked by slash and burn farming. The primitive life ended in 1949. Nowadays, the life of the Qiang people has been changed considerably. The industry and agriculture in the Qiang inhabited areas has undergone remarkable progress. Many small and medium sized hydropower stations have been built. Electricity has replaced pine torches for lighting. Besides, TV sets and electric cookers are commonly used.
Traditionally, Qiang village buildings are built with stones, and the roofs are flat. The houses are connected to form a village. In some villages all houses face inwards, the back walls are connected, forming the the outer rampart. The structure is solid. In ancient times wars frequently broke out. The Qiang people were forced to build houses with strong defensive capabilities. The houses usually have three stories. The first floor is used to house domestic animals. The second provides a living area and the third floor is used to store grain and other odds and ends. A long corridor links all the houses in the village.
The symbol of fortress village is its defense towers. These towers were built of stone. Each is about 15 to 20 feet across at the base, and becomes gradually narrower up to the top. Many exceed 100 feet in height. According to the natives, all these defense towers were built at least 80 years ago.