Ashma

Ashma or Ashima (Sani: ; Nuosu: ꀊꏂꃀ; Chinese: 阿诗玛; pinyin: Āshīmǎ) is a long narrative poem of the Sani people,[1] who are centred in southwest China, in the area of Kunming, Yunnan Province.

During the 1950s, as the Chinese government undertook a classification process for its non-Han minority nationalities, the Sani applied for independent status, but they were turned down and are now classified as part of the Yi people.

[2] Originally part of a long-standing Sani oral tradition, transmitted from generation to generation by recitation or song, Ashma was transcribed in 1813 from a Sani elder by ethnographer Wang Wei and published with other folk tales in a scroll entitled "Tales from the Mountains.

It can be performed on various occasions, such as at weddings, memorial ceremonies, sacrificial rites, or at work.

[4] The story of Ashma has been translated into more than 20 languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Korean.

English translation, translated by Gladys Yang and published by Fredonia Books .