The marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County have been passed down since ancient times. It is an important area for the marriage customs of the Yi people in Guizhou and even in China. The Yi area in Pan County mainly includes Yi settlements such as Pingdi Township, Sige Township, and Yuni Township. Pingdi Township in Pan County is located in the northern part of Pan County, bordering Longchang Township, Yingpan Township in Shuicheng County and Tianba Town in Xuanwei City, Yunnan Province, and adjacent to Saki Town, Songhe Township, and Sige Township. Sige Township is located at the northernmost end of Pan County and is known as the "Northern Gate" of Pan County. The slope grassland in its territory has been listed as a provincial scenic tourist area. Yuni Township is located in the northern part of Pan County, adjacent to Baoji, Nantong Yangchang, Xilian Jichangping, Songhe, and Pugu in the north. Yuni Township has its own unique cultural heritage. As early as 2000, it was named "Hometown of Song and Dance" by the Provincial Department of Culture and the People's Government of Liupanshui City. The formation of the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County has its own historical origins and causes. It was formed around the time when the Yi people moved eastward to Guizhou and the original nomadic culture gradually transformed into agricultural culture. After more than a thousand years of continuous ethnic cultural identification and integration, the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County have gradually formed today. Today, although the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County have also been affected by modern marriage etiquette and concepts, and have undergone some changes, the essence of their marriage customs still exists. The marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County mainly consist of four parts: singing to get acquainted, inviting a matchmaker to propose marriage, eating engagement wine, and getting married. Singing to get acquainted is the first link of the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County, and it is also the main way for young men and women to get to know each other. Traditionally, love songs cannot be sung at home, and they often choose to sing in hillsides and valleys that are a certain distance away from home, with beautiful scenery and a certain degree of concealment. Both parties express their feelings through singing. The styles of their love songs are varied, and most of them are improvised. As long as they can convey true feelings, it will be fine. For example: "The man grows grapes in front of the mountain, behind the mountain, on the left and right, and the girl embroiders purses in front of the mountain, behind the mountain, on the left and right. The man's grapes are sour, sweet, spicy, and bitter, which suits the girl's taste, and the girl's purse is hung on the man's waist with a swish." Asking a matchmaker. The marriage of the Yi people in Pan County is mostly a combination of parents' orders, matchmaker's words and free love, so the custom of asking a matchmaker ("Mo Zuo" in Yi language) to propose marriage has been preserved in the Yi people in Pan County. Proposing marriage through a matchmaker is to show the outside world that they are already lovers, and others should not ask for marriage proposals again. The matchmaker plays the role of notarization here. Once there is any change in the marriage, the matchmaker must stand up and speak and judge. Drinking engagement wine and betting on the horoscope. Betting on the horoscope is to drink engagement wine, which is an important link in deciding the marriage of both parties. According to the ancient religious customs and clan rules and village rituals of the Yi people, young men and women must match the horoscopes after confirming the marriage relationship. That is, see if the five elements and zodiac signs of the two parties' birth years, months, and days are compatible. If they are suitable, they will be formally engaged. There are also those who do not need to match the horoscopes. For example, some Yi compatriots in Yu Ni Township do not have this step of betting on horoscopes. Once they are in love, they will be engaged directly. The next step is to set up a banquet at the woman's house to entertain the guests. The relatives of the woman's family, that is, the respected people in the village, are mainly present. The man's family must also have representatives to participate, at least four people, such as the man's father or mother, younger brother (older brother cannot go), cousin, brother-in-law, etc. The man's family representative must first set off firecrackers outside the woman's house, and the woman's relatives must also fire back. Before the meal, incense, paper, and food must be lit to show respect for the ancestors. During the meal, everyone will be informed of the marriage of the girl from the family, and the relatives of the woman's family will discuss who will send what furniture and things. The first day of the wedding is held at the bride's home. The groom (called "Awuqi" in Yi language) will not be present on this day. He will only go to pick up his relatives, and his brother and sister-in-law cannot go. The number of people varies from 6, 8, to 16, but it must be an even number. The number of people sent by the bride's side is generally twice the number of people picked up by the groom. The bridesmaids must be the elders of the bride who have been married, or at least people of the same generation, and absolutely not the younger generation. When picking up the bride, you must bring a pair of baba (put in a dustpan with a big red "Xi" character on it), three incense sticks, three pairs of candles, brown sugar, at least two bottles of wine, 60 kilograms of meat, and ham. In ancient times, the bride had to ride a horse when she got married. The bride's mount was provided by the groom's family. When she was about to reach the door of the bride's house, she would set off firecrackers first, and the people in the bride's family would be ready to splash water. When you arrive at the door, you must sing a tune and sing a duet, otherwise you will not be allowed to enter. You must splash water when you enter. The next morning, everyone drinks first. When eating breakfast, the women persuade the bride-receiving people to eat. They bury chili powder, salt, and fat meat at the bottom of the bowl and force them to eat. They string the meat and vegetables into strings and secretly hang them behind their clothes. After eating, kerosene, pot soot, and wine are mixed into a paste and used to smear the faces of the bride-receiving people, indicating that the bride's family has face. Before going out, the bride must dress up. When the pre-determined auspicious time comes, the hairdresser will cover the bride with a headscarf. When she gets up, the bride must first put on the bamboo hat brought by the groom's brother, then wrap her head, and put on a black gauze scarf (called "Su Po" in Yi language). Hanging a mirror on the chest means that the mirror on the body can shoot away the ghosts or evil spirits that may be encountered on the way to the wedding, and bless the bride and groom to be safe and sound, and have children and raise daughters smoothly. Then the bride's elder brother, younger brother or brother-in-law will carry the bride on the horse or car. After getting on the horse, she will drink wine again. After drinking, the bride will throw the wine bowl behind her to break it, which means that after breaking the bowl, the bride will slowly forget her longing for her hometown and concentrate on building this new family. On the way to the wedding, the bride is absolutely not allowed to get off the horse or car, nor can she look back. The bride's dowry (two boxes, two cabinets, shoes for worship, etc.) is all delivered to the man by the bride's pick-up person. Whoever picks it up at that time is responsible for the whole process. It is not allowed to be divided and delivered by other people halfway. The bride's escort is not responsible for taking things. When arriving at the entrance of the groom's village or the door, the husband's family will find two people with good fortune to help the bride get off the horse. A Bimo is invited to drive away the God of Happiness (called "Se Le" in Yi language), which means to drive away the evil spirits that they may encounter on the road and keep them outside the house, so that the bride and groom can live a safe and happy life with children. After the bride enters the new house, the people who escorted her are invited to the main hall to drink "dismounting wine". The bride is accompanied by the bridesmaid and only comes out to eat with the people who pick up and escort the bride at dinner time. The people in Pugu Township are generous and enthusiastic, and the relationship between neighbors is very harmonious. When there is a wedding, they will come uninvited and give gifts, blankets, quilts, electrical appliances and other items to show their congratulations. After dinner, the bridal chamber begins to be disturbed. The participants are generally the groom's brother-in-law, brother-in-law, cousins and good friends of the newlyweds. The main programs of the bridal chamber are drinking cup-to-cup wine, biting apples, lighting cigarettes, etc. After the disturbance, the bride gives each of these people a pair of insoles to let them share the joy of her new marriage. The next morning, the bride gives her parents-in-law the cloth shoes she made herself, and her parents-in-law give her a certain amount of gift money in return. Before returning to the door, an elder directs the newlyweds to kowtow, and everyone sets off after having enough food and drink. Bring twelve pairs of glutinous rice cakes, three pieces of meat, and two bottles of wine to distribute gifts to the people who escorted the bride. After going to the bride's home, bowing and eating, if the distance is not far, they will return on the same day. If the distance is far, they will wait until the third day to return. When they return, the bride's father will send them back, and from then on the two families become one family. The main inheritors of the Yi marriage customs are: Wu Chaoying, from Moshili Village, Pingdi Township, Pan County, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province; Wu Yunlong, from Moshili Village, Pingdi Township, Pan County, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province; Wu Darong, from Moshili Village, Pingdi Township, Pan County, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province. They not only pass on the customs to their own children and grandchildren, but also to young people who are interested in Yi culture and young people in Yi families. There are currently three apprentices, Wu Hui, Li Zhikun, and Li Shengyong. The marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County follow a certain ancient system and are the accumulation of the profound historical and traditional culture of the Yi people in Pan County. It maintains a large number of traditional cultures and concepts mainly based on marriage culture in the process of the Yi people's transition from nomadic culture to farming culture. It respects the free love of young people and maintains the etiquette of ancient rules. The Bimo culture of the Yi people is also the main manifestation of their belief culture and one of the characteristics of the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County. The marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County also show a rich culture of singing and dancing. Among them, singing is mainly divided into two categories, one is the wine ceremony song, and the other is the crying wedding song. In the customs, the ethnic folk music, singing and dancing culture and art of the Yi people in Pan County are also fully displayed, especially the singing culture is the most complete. In the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County, singing is an important carrier, and the development of marriage customs is inseparable from singing. The marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County are a prominent form of expression of the traditional culture of the Yi people. They contain the spirit, beliefs, and value orientation of the Yi people, and involve many fields such as the ethics and folk customs of the Yi people. It is an existing fresh traditional culture of the Yi people and a relatively traditional marriage culture relic on the edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Yi cultural circle. At the same time, the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County are also a platform for the display of the local Yi song and dance culture, from which many Yi song and dance art and cultural expressions can be seen. Due to the great influence of modernization and the cultures of other ethnic groups around, the traditional consciousness in the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County is fading. Most Yi youths believe that the etiquette procedures of their traditional marriages are too complicated and outdated, and are not as simple and trendy as those of other ethnic groups around them, especially the Han people. They turn to imitate other ethnic groups and are no longer willing to hold ceremonies according to the etiquette procedures of their traditional marriages. In addition, under the great influence of modern communication technology and the accelerated pace of human life, young Yi men and women often use the products of modern civilization such as telephones, mobile phones, and text messages when they talk about love, instead of singing love songs and telling each other their hearts in the mountains and valleys under the moonlight as in the farming era, which makes the most vivid singing culture in the marriage customs of the Yi people in Pan County disappear day by day, which greatly affects the inheritance and protection of the traditional culture of the Yi people.