Yi people attach importance to wine, which is a necessary gift for welcoming guests, festivals, weddings and funerals, visiting relatives and friends, and Bimo offering sacrifices. At the same time, it is accompanied by rich meat and warmly treats guests. Yi people said: "bacon is tasteless, add salt to the guests;" Buckwheat wine is not fragrant, add honey to the guests. "Anyone who has been to Yi Township can realize that Zhaojue Yi people are extremely hospitable. When a guest enters the door, the host will let the guest sit by the fireplace and take out delicious wine. Please have a few drinks before the host family drinks with the guests. The praise banquet of the Yi people is like this: "The altar is like a red stone, and the toast is like a bee." "Flower cups sound like magpies, black cups sound like crows, and white cups dance like butterflies".
Wine used in various occasions has its own proper name. Such as: "people's farming and animal husbandry wine, please help the people drink; Family wine, harmonious unity wine; Relatives and friends drink and greet each other with wine; Dispute mediation wine,' Degu' elder wine; Young people's wine, brave and good at fighting; Daughters and girls drink. They are very skillful in drinking. Welcome wine, good luck wine ... "
In the high-standard hospitality ceremony, the slaughter of cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens is generally integrated with the drinking culture, including the ceremony of offering "ochre cloth" (a group of bowls of wine), which is a special etiquette. The host family specially sent a toaster. First, put eight bowls of white wine, a bowl of sparkling wine and a bowl of water on the lacquer ware "Zheti" (wooden plate) covered with a piece of white cloth. If the host is Qu Nie of Yi nationality, the toaster holds Zheti in his hand and rotates clockwise in front of the top VIP. If the host is an ancient Hou nationality, rotate counterclockwise to the top and enjoy the VIP reception of "Zhebu". According to the Yi people's custom of enjoying Zhebu (group bowl of wine), first pick a bowl of water to gargle on Zhetai, and then drink all Zhebu on Zhetai. If a person can't finish it, he can pass it on to his companions around him. If a person can accomplish it, it is called magnanimity and admiration. At this ceremony, there are many onlookers from the host and guests, which is shameful for those who don't drink according to the traditional rules. After the VIP drinks Zhebu according to the rules, it is reasonable to say that the guest should give a gift to the host family. The gift (silver ingot or cash) should be placed on Zheti's white cloth and given to the person who respects Zhebu, and the host family will accept the gift from the VIP.
In order to show their sincere feelings, Zhaojue Yi people will offer wine and then have a big meal when they are not ready to cook. Yi people are very particular about food and wine, and often prepare different delicacies according to the situation of VIPs. Generally, guests kill chickens to entertain, and invite the elderly to look at the chicken tongue to see what the guests will do in the future. More important guests want to kill sheep and pigs. The most respected guest has come, and we must kill the cow to entertain him. No matter what kind of livestock and poultry are slaughtered, the items to be slaughtered should be given to the guests for a look before slaughter, indicating that "it's a treat to drink slowly, and good wine and food are yet to come!" At this point, the host and guests pour out pleasantries, toast each other and say hello at will. This place is full of sincere feelings expressed by the host and guests with wine, whether it is rhetoric or whispering, from which you can feel the charm of Zhaojue Yi wine culture.
The most wonderful and scientific is the Yi nationality hip flask. Its production is unique and exquisite, which integrates the wisdom and aesthetic ability of the Yi people into the hip flask and is named "Salbo". There are flat ones and round ones, all with hats. On the surface, it looks seamless, and even the mixed place is not easy to find. Pots have various shapes. The wine is mixed from the bottom of the pot, and it is not stuffed or sealed after being fully mixed. A thin bamboo tube is inserted obliquely from the waist to the bottom of the pot, and the other end exposes a bamboo tube of about 10 cm for smoking. There is a small hole for mixing wine in the center of the bottom, which can only be used after being filled with wine. The hole at the bottom does not leak wine. The main purpose of this modeling is to reduce and control alcohol emissions, so that wine can maintain its original flavor for a long time. The exquisite shape of the small hip flask is rare in the world.
In fact, the special functional modeling of "Salbo" seems to be nothing mysterious. As long as you have studied physics, you will know that this is a clever application of the principle of atmospheric pressure. When we slowly pour the wine into "Salbo", the air in the pot is gradually exhausted. When filling wine, there is almost no air in the pot (the straw extends into the bottom of the pot and will not leak into the pot). In this way, the atmospheric pressure outside will come in handy and put "Salbo" directly in. Because of the action of gravity, the atmospheric pressure at the small hole at the bottom of the pot and the gravity of the wine will form a pair of balance forces, and the wine in the pot will be sealed by air. But if you touch the jug with your hands or shake it up and down hard, a small amount of wine in the jug will naturally be shaken out. So in order to avoid this phenomenon, a thin bamboo tube was added from the wine mixing hole to the top of the pot, and the wine went up along this tube, flowed out from the top of the pot and returned to the bottom of the pot. This bamboo tube plays a clever insurance role, and you can't see it without sealing it. In its interior, a special structure with two bamboo tubes obliquely intersecting is formed. The whole hip flask structure, except for two bamboo tubes, is made of wooden tires, and the upper and lower wooden tires have male and female tenons. Then scrape the gap with plaster and paint it. From the appearance, there is no trace of the combination of two wooden tires.
Humans don't know the history of atmospheric pressure for a long time. It is admirable that Yi ancestors can skillfully use the principle of atmospheric pressure and make such magical wine sets with their own wisdom. According to the characteristics of its modeling, the exterior is painted with corresponding colored paint patterns to make it more colorful.
With a rich wine culture, we need to have a profound wine culture.
Yi nationality has a mysterious history and splendid culture, and it is a nation that advocates wine. One of their proverbs is the most classic: "Chinese tea, Yi wine", which shows the status of wine in the minds of Yi people. From weddings and funerals to daily life, wine is essential. Traditional brewing of Yi people can be divided into three categories: sweet wine, which is similar to the mash of Han people; Liquor, that is, distilled liquor; Soaking wine is made by mixing high-quality grain with distiller's yeast for fermentation, transferring it into the jar, sealing it for several months, and soaking it in pure water, commonly known as "jar wine", "pole wine" and "miscellaneous wine". The function of wine is just like the magic weapon of "everything": welcoming guests, celebrating entertainment, making friends, mediating disputes, offering sacrifices to ancestors, and mourning at the end of life. The drinking custom of Liangshan Yi people is unique and unparalleled: firstly, it is divided into occasions, objects, uses and conditions in form; Secondly, in order, first respect the elders, then respect the younger generation, first respect the guests, then respect the host, and then drink and eat first. Yi people are particularly popular with "drinking too little", chatting while drinking, with a warm atmosphere, singing and drinking together, and blending interests; When you see one, form a circle on the spot, each person takes a bite, and then hand over the wine in turn, commonly known as "transferring wine".
Yi people don't propose a toast, and they don't insist. "There is one last sip of wine for the host family to drink, to show that the host family has wine every year, and it is rich and healthy." There is no end to wine, and there is no future. "In Liangshan area, the Yi people wear robes for the guests who come to the door, drink three glasses of wine in the door, and then drink it off. The host is only satisfied when he drinks red. Yi people treat guests with wine first, and they can use a glass of wine for big and small matters. These wines bear the culture of the Yi people for thousands of years, including the good wishes of the Yi compatriots to their guests. Can you be embarrassed not to drink?
Yi people's wine culture is rich and unique. From the history, production and function of wine, to the custom of making wine vessels and the idea of saving drinking, we can all reflect the long history, unique customs, bold personality and lifestyle of Yi people. Approaching them, we can appreciate the wine culture that people in the Central Plains usually don't understand, and we can also appreciate the wine culture that we rarely see.
There is no toast in the traditional drinking style of Yi people. Drinking in the house, sitting around the fire pit, drinking wine, talking about things, talking about nothing. Alcoholics should drink more, and those who cannot drink less should drink less or not, but the glass must be handed over. The host never forced the guests to drink more. "An altar wine, a glass of wine, all expression. Generally, it's ten Jin and five Jin an altar wine, and one hundred Jin and one thousand Jin is also an altar wine. I don't care how much I drink or love. " This shows that the wine culture of Yi people is interesting and colorful.