Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs

Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs

The Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs are situated on the summits of two small hills in Guo'onujiu, Alimi Village, Longgou Township, Guli Area, Zhaojue County. They lie approximately 7 km south of the Guli Work Committee and about 4 km north of the seat of Longgou Township government. From the tomb site and the surrounding topography, valleys can be seen to the north and south, farming terraces at the base of the hills, the scenic Shuogalada to the east, and the mysterious Jiu Lidebo (Eagle Perch Mountain) to the west. The road from Zhaojue County to the Guli Work Committee runs through this area, which is steeped in many mysterious legends.

The Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs are ancient burial sites distributed across Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Their shapes can generally be divided into three types: circular, single-tiered circular platforms, and three-tiered stacked pyramids. The latter consists of large, medium, and small circular platforms stacked together, with the top of the third tier built with stones to form a concave opening facing the sky. There are two types of single-tiered platforms: one where the circular center of the platform’s end is built with stones forming a sky-facing concave; the other where the skyward flat surface is filled with earth. The ring-shaped Sky-Pointing Tombs resemble well curbs, with their openings facing upward. Hence, they are collectively called Sky-Pointing Tombs. They served as observatories or astronomical platforms for studying celestial bodies and stars (as noted in *A Major Discovery in Archaeoastronomy—The Structure and Function of Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs*, authored by Liu Yaoh Han and Lu Yang, published in 1985 in the *Collected Essays on Yi Culture Studies* by Yunnan People’s Publishing House). The recently discovered Yi Sky-Pointing Tombs in Guo'onujiu, Zhaojue, are precisely of the single-tiered circular type with ring openings facing the sky. Their structure and design are highly unique.

A total of eight Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs have been discovered in Guo'onujiu, arranged in an east-west line.

Two tombs were found on a small hilltop to the east of the road. Tomb Μ1 has a diameter of 1.90 meters and was looted long ago. Tomb Μ2 has a diameter of 1.60 meters and is relatively well-preserved. Both tombs are circular in shape with openings facing the sky. It is speculated that before burial, a circular pit was dug in the ground, into which several natural stone slabs were vertically embedded to form a circular burial chamber. The body, bones, or ashes were placed inside, then covered with an earthen mound shaped into a circular fort with an opening facing the sky. Alternatively, after digging a circular pit, several stone slabs were set up to create a burial chamber, firewood for cremation was piled inside, the body was then placed atop the firewood and burned, and finally the site was filled with earth. The fill dirt was left unfilled intentionally, leaving the opening facing upward. Since the tombs have not yet been excavated, details of unearthed items are unknown. The earthen mound of Tomb Μ1 has a diameter of 4.40 meters and a remaining height of 0.54 meters, with the tomb wall constructed from seven stone slabs. Tomb Μ2’s mound has a diameter of 3.70 meters and a height of about 0.60 meters, with the tomb wall made of nine stone slabs.

On another hilltop to the west of the road, six densely distributed small tombs of the same type were found, but accurate measurements were difficult due to thick overgrowth of grass. The two tomb sites are about 100 meters apart.

The distribution of tombs here is extremely dense. Judging from the exposed stone slabs of the tomb walls, there are some structural differences between the tombs on the east and west sides of the road. First, the two tombs on the east side of the road are spaced 2 meters apart, while the six tombs on the west side are tightly packed with almost zero spacing, even sharing tomb wall slabs in some cases. Second, the earthen mounds of the tombs on the east side of the road are more distinct, with each having its own mound. In contrast, the mounds of the six tombs on the west side are less obvious—we are also unsure whether all six originally had mounds. We observed that the stone slabs used to build the tombs were natural flagstones that were slightly modified, then vertically embedded in a circular pit to form a burial chamber. Bones or ashes were placed inside, and the site was finally covered with earth. No signs of processing or polishing were found on the stone slabs, and their sizes and thicknesses vary.

As no trial excavations have been conducted on the Yi People's Sky-Pointing Tombs in Guo'onujiu, the cultural preservation status and specific cultural content within the tombs remain unclear. Therefore, the ethnic group and time period of the tomb occupants cannot be determined. This site urgently requires further archaeological investigation and excavation.

According to local Yi farmers in the vicinity, the area of Guo'onujiu was long ago the dwelling place of the Shama Zimo of the eastern Liangshan region, referred to as "Zimo Chihuo" (Yi People's Zimo Tomb Site). "Zimo" originally meant king, chieftain, or leader, and later evolved into the meaning of tusi (local hereditary official). "Chihuo" means cremation tomb. It is also believed that this was the tomb site of the Shama Zimo before A'zhi Ni'ai, the eldest son of A'zhi Niwei (the An family tusi of Guizhou’s Shuixi), succeeded to the throne. Judging from the natural environment and feng shui of the area, it is a fine place suitable for human habitation.