Formation And Evolution: The History Of Village Settlement Of Yi Ethnic Group In Wumeng Highlands

Wumeng highlands is a base of Yi people’s long-term survival and reproduction,they are in the process of production and living,combined with the special natural environment and culture,formed the Yi`s unique traditional rural settlements,and settlements constantly adapt and adjust in the development of the society.Rural settlements can be understood as the environment,cultural subject and cultural items of three parts,the three mutually reinforcing,jointly construct a complete settlement.Site selection is the first step in the formation of settlements,which is also equivalent to the basic point of settlements.In the early primitive society,the ancestors of Yi ethnic group basically lived in nature and kept searching for ways to survive.After they learned the use of natural resources for self creation and invention,and have more needs for production,living and reproduction.When they move from arboreal to cave and then turn to the ground,different groups form different ways of living according to different living environments.In the long-term migration process,they choose different environments to live according to their different requirements for survival elements,thus presenting diversified settlement forms.In addition,through the naming of the settlement space,the history of the settlement and the survival logic of this group can be explored from another Angle.When the settlement site was determined,the Yi`s ancestors started to transform the living environment,creating ecological space,production space and living space in the process of rational utilization and development of natural resources,which gradually formed the ideal settlement spatial pattern of "mountain-forest-water-cropland-village",and this is the skeleton frame of the settlement.Not only that,they also use the power of faith to restrain the behavior of the group,in order to maintain the stability of this framework.Specific to the settlements` inside,as the main building in the settlement,the homes determines the dynamic layout of the settlement,and they are also the main place for the Yi people to work,living,communicate and interact with each other.From the construction of the Yi people’s houses to the spatial layout and use process,the general dynamic situation of the Yi in the settlement can be presented,and that the spatial relations and orders,there are also embodies Yi`s spatial view and belief system.This home is no longer the place offered shelter in the traditional sense,it is the Yi people’s survival mode,social relations and cultural habits`carrier.Of course,the ancestors of Yi ethnic group created such rural settlements in the long course of history.It will also show a dynamic change process with the development of society,and rural settlements must be respond with the impact of nature and culture.Faced with the challenge of nature,the cultural subjects in the settlement learned to follow the trend of the mountain and set up new villages.In the face of the cultural challenge,they began to break some traditional spatial patterns,making the production and living space alternate,and the crowd interaction space also gradually changed.However,such settlement adjustment has its cause to be followed,which is under the dual function of external factors and internal factors,the groups in the settlement make initiative or passive response in order to survive and develop better,thus leading to the changes of the settlement.In reality,the history of Yi’s rural settlements`s change is also the development history of the Yi people.The cultural subject is the key,the settlements` exist because of people and change along with the transformations of people.It is the demand of such a group of people for survival--living--enjoying life that makes the settlements present the complex spatial changes of natural--artificial--diversification and social space`s changes.However,no matter how it changes,the Yi people are always pursuing an unchanging principle,that is,in this "change" and "unchanged" to achieve the harmony and unity of heaven,lands and people.