The multitudinous ethnic groups in Yunnan have endowed the province with numerous festivals which in turn constitute an integral part of its tourist resources. It is not an uncommon case in Yunnan that an ethnic group usually observes several festivals. The following is an introduction to ethnic festivals in Yunnan from two aspects. The first is a table of the major festivals of the Yi the most populous ethnic group in Yunnan and the ethnic groups that are unique to Yunnan and the second is a brief introduction to six special festivals the Torch Festival (Yi Carnival) Water Splashing Festival (Dai New Year). Third Month Fair (millenium fair for the Bai) Sanduo Festival (Naxi national holiday in memory of their heros). Munao Zongge Dance Festival (the largest song and dance entertainment in the world) and Sword-pole Festival (a thrilling holiday).
Also known as the Yi Carnival the Torch Festival is a major traditional Yi festival. It is recorded in the Luquan County Chronicles that "Also called the Star Regression Festival the Torch Festival falls on June 24th a day the Yi keeps as the last day of a year just as New Year's Eve for the Han. "This festival is popular in Yunnan Sichuan and Guizhou and also traditional for other ethnic groups including the Bai the Lisu the Jinuo and the Pumi. It begins on June 24th of the lunar year and lasts for about 3 days.

Sometime before this festival the Yi generally ban fires. eat raw food and get pine torches prepared. On the eve of the festival all the members of the community male and female young and old put on their holiday best. With burning torches in hand they banding together climb up the hills travel across the fields or go around the villages. They may gather around a flaming bonfire on the village square singing and dancing to their hearts' content. In the daytime they busy themselves with lots of activities such as butchering drinking wrestling horse-racing bull-fighting singing contests arrow-shooting tug-of-war and swinging. Celebration activities of this festival may vary according to the specific Yi branch yet in Yunnan the festival warmth permeates any community inhabited by Yi particularly Shi1in County of Kunming and Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture. During the holiday the Yi in Guishan and Shilin for example cheerfully play their dasanxian (a large three-string musical instrument) and dance their "Axi dance" to its music. On May 25th 1985 the People's Congress of the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture passed a law making the Torch Festival an official holiday for the Yi living in the prefecture. From that year on a grand annual celebration has been held at Deer City the seat of the municipal government. On that occasion when all urban dwellers and rural villagers come out for the festival every place becomes a sea of cheerful people with torches "that emblaze the night as daytime".
In celebrating the Torch Festival the Bai set up a giant torch about 12 or 13 meters high on the open ground in a village. They decorate this giant torch with torch pears Dali cheese and color banners written with auspicious words such as "bumper harvest" and "blessing people and livestock". After the giant torch has been lighted every household walks around its own fields as prayer for a better harvest. The Naxi in Lijiang on the other hand put up a huge burning torch in front of the Stone Memorial Gate of the Mu Family beat gongs and drums and set off firecrackers. Then as a sign to greet brightness and auspiciousness young Naxi people go around the Lion Mountain with a long procession of torches. Throwing a handful of rosin powder onto the burning torch for a flare of blaze and fragrance is a habitual practice of the Yi and Naxi to express their wonderful wishes. When this is done by the younger generation for the elder it indicates respect and wish for longevity for the elder when done by the elder for te younger it indicates tender care when done among contemporaries it indicates intimacy and friendship when done mutually between a young man and a young woman it means the start of love.

Legends about the origin of the Torch Festival differ among different ethnic groups. In the case of the Yi they vary among different branches of the same ethnic group. One popular saying has it that Nagna was sent by the celestial king to destroy crops in the human world but was defeated by a human hero in a wrestling contest. With indignation he cast off incense ashes to the human world and turned the ash into insects. To deal with the insects people walk around their fields with burning torches in their hands. This is how the activities of walking around fields with burning torches and wrestling competition came into being.

The Bai story about the origin of the Torch Festival has to do with the "Burning of the Songming Building". A legend of the Lisu however holds that when Zhuge Liang the Prime Minister of the Shu Han Dynasty came on a southern expedition he helped the native people in Weixi to grow rice. He sent his soldiers back to Sichuan for seed rice but encountered fierce tigers and thick miasmas on their way to Yunnan. Thus the native people went to help with burning torches to drive away the tigers and miasmas - hence the Torch Festival.
The Torch Festival has been spread among different ethnic groups and continued from generation to generation. Since the founding of New China in 1949 especially the implementation of the policy of reforming and opening to the outside world with social development，superstitious elements of the festival have been done away with and new factors been added such as showing films theatrical performances commodity interflow and science popularization. Now this age-old festival is reviving its brilliance in the new era.
Also known as the New Year's Day in the Dai calendar or as the Buddha Bathing Holiday the Water Splashing Festival is a major traditional Dai festival Meanwhile it is also a traditional festival of all other ethnic groups in Yunnan that follow the Southern Buddhism of Theravada including the Bulang the De' ang the A' chang and others

The Water Splashing Festival originated from India and spread to Yunnan with Southern Buddhism of Theravada via Burma Thailand and Laos Related to the ancient farming work and almanacs in the South China Peninsula the Water Splashing Festival was pronounced as"Jingbimai"in the Dai language meaning celebration of the New Year Like the South China Peninsula the southwest of Yunnan China has a hot season lasting from February to May of the so1ar calendar a rainy season from June to October and a coo1 and warm season from November to the following January These natural factors determine that activities of autumn harvest such as grain cutting gathering storing and house reconstruction in these regions are sually delayed until October when the rainy season comes to an end and last till January or February of the following year On the so1ar calendar April becomes therefore the turning month when the second farming cycle replaces the first as well as the start of a new year when people bid farewell to the old year and greet the new. The Water Splashing Festival held at this time serves as the New Year Festival 1asting for a period of about 3 to 5 days around the C1ear Brightness Festival in the 1unar year.

The Water Splashing Festival of the Dai is warm and grand On that morning young men and women go out in their best to collect fresh flowers and twigs and use them for a floral house and tree. When the house 1s done they put an idol of Buddha into it and carry it with tributes to the temple. Then they pile up a couple of sand pagodas plant bamboo twigs with color banners atop sit around the pagodas and listen to the abbot (head monk) chanting scriptures hey may also contribute to the "Box of Pious Deeds" and pray for blessing or favorable weather and for bumper harvests At noon with arrangement by the abbot, they fetch clean water for washing the Buddha. They pour water into a wooden trough fixed with a wheel, make the wheel turn and spurt water drops onto the Buddha image to wash away any dust from it. When the rite comes to an end water splashing begins Middle-aged and old people sprinkle water drops onto each other with chinquapin flower bundles as a token of blessing while young people chase and splash water outside the temple all merry and happy. They regard thorough soaking as life-long happiness. Other activities are boat-racing throwing embroidered-balls shooting bamboo fireworks lighting Kongming lanterns singing and dancing performing folk operas going to a fair and So on

In areas inhabited by the Dai there is another interesting legend about the origin of the Water Splashing Festival. In early ancient times the Dai areas were struck by a fearsome disaster that resulted in disordered seasons incessant rains inability of planting deserted fields and widespread plagues. To ensure survival of the Dai people a great hero called Payawan volunteered to report this to the celestial king Indatira Investigation revealed that it was a premeditated trouble caused by the celestial weather god Pengmadaratza who was in charge of wind rain thunder lightening sunshine and cloudiness. Then Indatira went to Pengmadaratza' s for a dating in disguise of a handsome young man and Pengmadaratza' s seven daughters who were long confined to secluded palaces fell in love with this handsome youth at first sight. This young "lad" told the seven kind-hearted girls that it was their father who made this happen to the human world and they were determined to rescue the human beings by placing righteousness above family loyalty. By pretending to be pampered daughters they succeeded in figuring out their father' s Achilles' heel his own hair strands. The girls made their father drunk plucked his hairs and made a bow with which to cut off his head But the head of the celestial god was found to be a magic one that spurt flames wherever it roiled The girls had to hold the head in their arms in turn till it got rotten. In each turn they splashed water onto each other to wash away the filth. After the wicked god died the almanac was rewritten and favorable weather was restored in the human world. Payawan appeared in his father's dream and requested him to announce the rewritten almanac in the sixth month on the Dai calendar. Thereafter the Dai treated this month as the New Year's Day on which people splashed water onto each other in honor of the seven girls and this practice has continued to the present Although this story may vary in details of local versions the heroes the heroines and the gist remains the same.

Since China adopted the policy of reforming and opening to the outside world in the late 1970s new programs have been added to make the festival more colorful and enjoyable for visitors from home and abroad. The water Splashing Festival has become an important festival that promotes cultural and economic development and strengthens friendship and unity among the ethnic groups.