Yi ethnic group is the largest among ethnic groups in Yunnan Province,with a population of 4.69 million,totaling about 60% of the whole Yi population in China.

       The Yi ethnic groups has over 100 branches.In Han language,"Yi"means solemn,ancientness and ample food and clothing.The Yis have their own language and writing system,a branch of the Tibetan-Burma Stock of the Sino-Tibetan Language Family.Yi people belive in primitive religion,which shows the characteristics of animism and ancestor worship.They especially worship fire and regard it as a sacred object.They regard tiger as their totem and belive that after death,kind people will turn into tigers after a baptism of cremation.The fire pit is where the God of Fire lives.Some Yi people belive in Daoism,Buddhism and Christianity.