Ethnic groups in southwest China celebrate Torch Festival

Ethnic groups across southwest China, including the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lahu and Jinuo, celebrated the Torch Festival on August 10, the 24th day of the sixth month of the traditional Chinese calendar.

Yao people celebrate the Torch Festival in Nangang, Guangdong Province on August 22, 2020. (Photos: CFP)

As part of the annual celebrations, people light fires to expel evil spirits, sing and dance to pray for safety and a good harvest and use the occasion to make friends and trade goods.

Dubbed the Eastern Carnival, the Torch Festival is the most important festival of the year for several ethnic groups. Although different ethnic groups have their own legends about the origins of the festival, most of them involve extolling ancestors and ethnic heroes.

Residents gather at a square in Qingshan Village, Guizhou to celebrate the Torch Festival on July 25, 2019.

The Torch Festival celebrations held by the Yi people are perhaps the most well-known of all. Famed for their rich tradition of song and dance legends, the Yi people's epic performances have been passing on their Torch Festival customs for generations.

On the first day of the festival, villagers sacrifice cattle and sheep to their ancestors, create sparks from stones to make a holy fire on an altar and listen to the priest chanting sutras. Later, they light torches from the altar and parade across the fields to scare away pests and evil spirits.

A man lights a torch using holy fire from an altar at a Yao village in Nangang, Guangdong Province as a part of the rituals to celebrate the Torch Festival on August 22, 2020.

The next day, villagers gather at a square and hold various activities under light from the altar's holy fire, such as horse racing, wrestling, singing and dancing, and bull and sheep fights. The most exciting event is the annual beauty contest as young men and women get together to try their utmost to display their charms.

On the last day, all the torches are collected to create a large bonfire. People sing and dance until midnight and play games together. Young people also use the occasion to fearlessly express their admiration to their loved ones.

The Torch Festival of the Yi people was included on the national intangible heritage list in 2006.

Yi people gather at a square in Dafang County, Guizhou Province to celebrate the Torch Festival on July 29, 2019.