Fire sacrifice

Author: Ge Yongcai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: In the vast and rugged mountains of Yunnan, China, where peaks rise one after another and ravines crisscross, lives the renowned Ashi Yi tribe. Due to the high mountains and deep valleys, the Ashi people have had little contact with the outside world since ancient times. Over the centuries, their production, life, traditions, and beliefs have remained tied to the unchanging customs of their ancestors. On the third day of the second lunar month each year, the Ashi people of Hongwan Village hold a grand fire worship ceremony (known as Mudeng Sairenbie in the Ashi language). Legend has it that Mudeng, the Yi ancestors, was the first hero to create fire by rubbing sticks together. Therefore, in the hearts of the Ashi people, Mudeng is revered as an eternal Prometheus.