The black road to the underworld: Funeral Ep.1 彝族俐侎人葬礼第一集 死于非命

0:00 Purification Ritual
8:06 Interview

**Ritual Overview and Purpose
The "Go Black Road" (nei man) ritual cleanses "unclean deaths" to purify souls, guide them to the underworld, and protect the living. Unclean deaths include illness with ulcers, accidents, suicide, poisoning, or neglect by children (e.g., elderly dying outside home). Clean deaths are natural old-age deaths, uninjured, with children’s care and "soul-catching" (jieqi) by sons or nephews. It purifies souls, shields them from evil spirits, and ensures acceptance by the underworld god (Limi "moo mir bbehl xi mo," like "Yama").

**Ritual Process and Items
Core Items: Grass figures, made from shii kel pae grass, represent deceased; female figures have long grass hair, heads valley-facing, symbolizing soul departure. One chicken per deceased, beheaded with myrtle branches, thrown valleyward to dispel bad luck. Straw hats with grass arrows protect souls, kept after first cleansing, burned at funeral. Black-and-white headscarf (oo bbo), under figures or on coffins, separates realms, wards off evil. Myrtle branches, seven pairs for females, nine for males, symbolize ancestors’ survival.

Process: First cleansing chants "Go Black Road" post-death, purifies, buries; hat retained. If no auspicious day, bury first, then use grass figures for second cleansing. Bimo chants guide souls to sky’s black clouds, forbidding looking back (lest all withers). Crowd shouts "peh" to awaken souls; shouts with chicken-throwing enhance ritual. Filial sons move figures valleyward, then home. At funeral’s end, figures, hats, headscarfs burned.

**Cultural and Custom Details
Clean vs. Unclean Deaths: Clean deaths are natural, uninjured, with soul-catching by sons or nephews; congenital disabilities don’t affect. Unclean deaths include ulcers, accidents, suicide, unmarried without children, or neglect. Unmarried need ghost marriages before funerals.
Gender Differences: Male funerals have a three-circle coffin dance; females have "bbi zei" ritual. Ancestral worship is male-only; daughters ineligible. Childless rely on male relatives.
Location and Timing: Rituals on family or borrowed land, valley-facing, start after 12 PM, no auspicious day needed. Soul-catching by sons or nephews only.

**Ethnic Origins and Symbolism
Black-and-white headscarf, from Limi migration to hide identity, separates realms, protects souls in funerals. Myrtle trees, used for bud sap and walking sticks, guide souls as ritual staffs. Shii kel pae grass, for migration path-gripping and bedding, now used for grass figures and wax innards (seven marks for females, nine for males). Straw hats and arrows shield souls; arrows fend off evil spirits. Cattle horns, once for scaring beasts, are symbolic in funerals.

**Modern Changes and Challenges
Poverty once limited funerals (1000 yuan, now 20,000-30,000 yuan); now common but costly, with poor families delaying or combining funerals. Children working away increase unclean deaths (e.g., elders falling outside home). Child deaths lack funerals, buried in family plots without tombstones. Shii kel pae grass, reduced by herbicides, needs Bimo assistants to collect. (60 words)
Ritual Taboos and Details

References links:
Bimo https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimoism
毕摩 https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A...
Yi people https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_pe...
彝族 https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B...
指路经 http://m.yizuren.com/tradition/yzcsyk...