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.