Yi

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.

In Their Own Story

In 225, during Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign, the Cuanman people rose to power in Yunnan. By 649, Xinuluo (細奴邏), chief of the Mengshe tribe, founded the Great Meng and took the title Qijia Wang, acknowledging Tang suzerainty. In a peaceful transition, he absorbed the White Mywa realm of Zhang Lejinqiu, an agreement consecrated under an iron pillar in Dali. Decades later, in 737 AD, Piluoge (皮羅閣), Xinuluo's great-grandson, united the six zhaos with Tang support to establish the Nanzhao kingdom. The capital was set in Taihe in 738, a defensible site amidst rich farmland. Under Piluoge, the White Mywa were resettled west while Black Mywa warriors occupied eastern Yunnan, creating a solidified caste system. Nanzhao endured for 165 years until 902 AD, eventually succeeded by Duan Siping's Kingdom of Dali, under whose rule Yi people lived with little communication to the royalty until Kublai Khan conquered the region.

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.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Lolo' comes from the Yi word 'lo', which means 'tiger'.
• There are exactly 4,827 Lô Lô people (a Yi subgroup) living in northern Vietnam as of 2019.
• Apu Dumu is the legendary common ancestor who had six sons that formed the major Yi clans: Wu, Zha, Nuo, Heng, Bu, and Mo.
• The Chinese name 'Yí' is widely believed to be derived from the autonym 'Ni'.
• By 300 AD, the Luodian kingdom covered much of the Shuixi region before being renamed Mu'ege.