The torch is the soul of our Yi family. Igniting it is to ignite the wish for a happy life. "Looking at the burning torch, He Yinggui's eyes were filled with flames. Every year around the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, solemn and grand fire ceremonies are held as scheduled in various Yi villages in southwestern China. He Yinggui is the inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage representative project of the Yi Torch Festival. During the festival, he wears a ceremonial hat, traditional costumes, and holds religious instruments. He recites sutras and worships fire with several Bimo (Yi priests), strikes stones to fetch fire, praying for good weather and rain in the coming year. He also passes the "sacred flame" symbolizing happiness and hope to the highest torch platform, lighting the giant torches erected. The Torch Festival is a symbol of Yi culture, which can be traced back to the primitive worship of fire by the Yi ancestors. It is also known as the Star Return Festival and is called "celebrating the New Year" by the Yi people. As a regional inheritance of Southwest ethnic folk culture, the Torch Festival has a long history among other ethnic groups in the Yi language branch, such as the Bai, Naxi, Hani, Lisu, Lahu, Jino, Achang, etc. ”Professor and doctoral supervisor Bai Xingfa from Yunnan University for Nationalities said. He introduced that although the Torch Festival has more than ten legends such as "Anan burning his body" and "welcoming Zhuge with a torch", the core customs of worshipping and praying for blessings, visiting villages and households, and celebrating with torches are similar, all of which pray for a bountiful harvest according to the new year. Among them, the Yi Torch Festival, which has been selected as a representative project of China's national intangible cultural heritage, is the most grand. In Yunnan, compared with the ten thousand person three string dance carnival and the "Bull King Competition" in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, the Yi singing tour in Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County, and the Axi Jumping Moon in Mile City, the Torch Festival in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, known as the "Chinese Fire City", is particularly famous for its grand scale, complete ceremony, and lively atmosphere. In Chuxiong, the traditional Torch Festival is celebrated for three days. He Yinggui introduced that the first day was the most grand. During the day, every household slaughtered pigs and sheep, preparing a sumptuous feast. At night, a grand ceremony of offering and lighting fire was held under the leadership of Bimo, followed by a torch carnival sweeping the entire village. In the next two days, sports activities such as bullfighting, wrestling, and left foot dance carnival will be staged in rotation. During this time, family and friends will be invited to gather together, and there is a custom of divination during the meal. The elderly will also sing ancient songs (about the history of the Yi ethnic group) to children. On the evening of the fire ceremony, after enjoying fine wine and delicious food, people of all ages and genders of the Yi ethnic group dressed in festive costumes rushed to the center of the village. That night, in addition to small torches, every village erected large torches nearly two zhang high, divided into four sections, symbolizing the four seasons of the year, with each section measuring four feet and six inches, symbolizing peace and prosperity throughout the year. As the towering fire was ignited by He Yinggui and others, a Yi ethnic carnival began. Tens of thousands of people gathered around the fire, holding hands and standing shoulder to shoulder, singing and dancing, and enjoying themselves to the fullest. Young men and women paired up to sing Yi folk songs by the bonfire, and thousands of small torches of different sizes were lit immediately. Everyone chased after each other, and the entire village presented a magnificent scene of "thousands of lotus flowers blooming in the sea, stars falling on earth all day long". (New Society)