Yi

A mountain-dwelling people united by diverse dialects and a revered black heritage.

via Wikipedia: Yi people · see source

The Yi people (Nuosu: ꆈꌠ; Chinese: 彝族), also known as Nuosu, are a significant ethnic group in southern China with a population of nine million. Recognized by the Chinese government as the sixth largest of its 55 minority groups, they primarily inhabit rural, mountainous regions across Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. The Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture holds the largest concentration within China, home to two million Yi people. Beyond China's borders, a small subgroup known as the Lô Lô resides in northern Vietnam, with 4,827 recorded there as of 2019.

Quick Facts

Group

Yi people

Related

Tibetan
Bamar (Burman)
Nakhi
Qiang
Tujia

Lore & Background

Yi tradition traces all life to water created by snowmelt, which formed the Ni, an ancestor name also meaning 'black' in their culture. Their common progenitor was Apu Dumu (ꀉꁌꅋꃅ or ꀉꁌꐧꃅ), who had three wives and six sons. These sons migrated to Zhaotong, spreading in four directions to establish the Wu, Zha, Nuo, Heng, Bu, and Mo clans. A unique lineage system dictated that younger brothers were treated as slaves by elders, driving a culture of constant migration as they left villages to forge their own domains. Historically, these clans formed distinct kingdoms; for instance, the Mo clan split into branches like Awangren and Ayuxi, while the Chele branch settled north of the Chishui River by the Tang dynasty (618–907). By 300 AD, the Luodian kingdom covered much of the Shuixi region before its ruler Moweng renamed it Mu'ege.

Reader's Guide

The Yi speak various Loloish languages closely related to Burmese, with Nuosu serving as the prestige variety written in the Yi script. Their self-identifications vary widely; groups refer to themselves as Nisu, Sani, Axi, or Lolo, though these are often mutually unintelligible. The name 'Lolo' derives from 'lo,' meaning tiger in their dialects, and was historically a graphic pejorative in Chinese (猓) before language reforms replaced it with neutral characters like 罗。Geographically, over 4.5 million Yi live in Yunnan, 2.5 million in southern Sichuan, and 1 million in northwest Guizhou. The terrain is so varied that an old saying notes, 'The weather is different a few miles away,' reflecting how altitudinal differences dictate distinct climates and living methods for each subgroup.