Bimo paper-cutting and folk paper-cutting patterns of the Yi ethnic group
In folk belief activities of the Yi people, Bimo (folk priests of the Yi people) create and use paper-cutting art to express and spread peoples beliefs and feelings about ghosts, gods and ancestors. Bimo paper-cutting has its own unique look in terms of subject matter, expression and artistic style.
The function of Bimo paper-cutting can be seen from the Yi proverb "paper-cutting to offer sacrifices to ghosts and gods". In addition to animal sacrifices, wine sacrifices, water sacrifices and medicine sacrifices, the Yi peoples ceremonial occasions such as sending ancestors, gods and ghosts are sent away. Paper sacrifices are also an important form of sacrifice. Among the three folk rituals of the Yi people are the paper-cutting ceremony. These rituals are the "Nimuchobi" ceremony to send away ancestral spirits, the "Silji" ritual to send away rheumatism ghosts and the "Chuji" ritual to send away epilepsy ghosts. Using paper-cuts to make sacrifices is actually to express the sacrifices in paper-cut patterns and offer them to gods and ghosts. Compared with physical sacrifices, paper sacrifices can symbolically provide a variety of sacrifices to gods and ghosts through various patterns.
The theme and content of Bimo paper-cutting is based on peoples conception of the world of gods and ghosts, which is a replica of human life in this world. Therefore, the themes of Bimo paper-cutting are mostly common things that people use, including daily production utensils, such as wooden helmets, wooden spoons and other tableware, bows and arrows, broadswords, axes and other tools, combs, grates, collars and other daily necessities, livestock, such as Cattle, sheep, cats and dogs, etc., natural scenery such as the sun, moon, stars, etc. Generally, in the ghost-sending ceremony, Bimo paper-cutting is relatively careless and random, and the cut patterns are relatively rough, and the content is only some daily necessities, in order to achieve the purpose of coaxing away ghosts and gods. However, the content and quantity of the paper-cuts used in the ceremony to send the ancestral spirits are related to the use of the ancestral spirits in another world. Therefore, Bimo not only cuts carefully, but also has rich content and large quantities of paper-cuts. In addition to supplies for daily life and production, there are also the road to return to ancestors, the ladder to return to ancestors, drinking water ponds on the way to ancestors, and even the sun, moon, stars, etc. It can be said that the paper-cutting festival offers a whole world to the ancestors in a unique and symbolic way. It is worth mentioning that the content of the paper-cutting is a true portrayal of the life of the Yi people in Liangshan.
The only tool Bimo uses for paper-cutting is scissors. The themes are passed down from generation to generation. No drawings are needed, and monochrome paper is cut. Usually give ancestral spirit paper cuttingsUse white paper, and use red, yellow, green and other colored papers to send gifts to people with rheumatism and epilepsy. There are three techniques: positive carving that retains the outline of the pattern, negative carving that cuts off the outline, and dark carving that does not hollow out the pattern after cutting it. The form of paper-cutting is to cut the paper into a long strip about one meter wide, fold it up and down, and then cut it flat or in half. After the pattern is cut, open the folded strip of paper. What is displayed in front of us is Multiple continuous patterns in strips. When offering sacrifices, these long strips of paper cut with various patterns are offered to ghosts and gods.
Bimos paper-cut window grilles are small in length, simple in pattern, and use materials to express objects but not events. Bimo focuses on the depiction of individual objects and does not elaborate on the scene. The pattern is elegant and rough, and even looks rough because it is not used for decoration. The technique is more realistic. According to the needs of content expression, we grasp the characteristics of the object and make certain selections, generalizations and refinements without breaking through the natural image. We also simply use exaggeration and deformation techniques. This realistic technique of cutting out the complex and simplifying is in line with the appreciation habits of the Yi people, giving people an artistic experience of simple and expressive shapes, clear and compact compositions.
