Bimoism

Bimoism is the indigenous religion of the Yi people of the mountains of Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, named after the bimo, shaman-priests and masters of the Yi scriptures. Only the bimo, who can read the Yi script, perform the rituals linked to death.

The Yi honoured their ancestors and worshipped the gods of fire, water and sky, and also dragons, seen as protectors against the spirits that bring illness. Each person was held to have several souls: one stays to guard the grave and another is reborn into some living form.

Yi legend gives the hero Zhyge Alu, son of a dragon and an eagle, who shot down the extra suns. The Torch Festival, on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, honours the strong man Atilaba, who burned locusts with pine torches.