Guardianship and Origin in Yi Mythology

To the Yi people, the tiger is no predator—it is an ancestor, a mountain spirit, a guardian of the cosmos. In Yi oral tradition, the tiger embodies not just strength and courage, but also the beginnings of life itself. Many Yi clans call themselves descendants of the tiger, and among their oral traditions, the tiger often appears as a mother deity—giver of fire, harvest, and the skills of survival.

Tiger motifs appear not just in embroidery, but on altars, masks, and ritual implements. They are more than symbols: they are silent conversations across generations—binding the living with the ancestral, the present with the sacred wild. In older villages, stories still circulate of the "Four Directions, Eight Tigers" and the "Tiger Mother and Her Six Sons"—origin myths in which the first Yi clans were birthed not by humans, but by a cosmic tigress. With thunder as her voice and mountains as her body, She gave life, then vanished into the peaks—leaving behind her rhythm, her spirit, her watchful presence.

A Dialogue with Tradition

In YarnGi's Tiger Lineage series, we echo more than form—we honor the unseen stories stitched into memory. The tiger-shaped cushion takes inspiration from ancient Yi cosmology: one eye is the sun, the other the moon; the nose bears a flame-shaped motif. The black and white versions mirror duality—day and night, protection and renewal.

This is not an animal rendered in realism, but a cosmic presence made tangible—an emblem of cycles, balance, and spirit. It rests quietly, yet looks back with knowing.

Explore the Tiger Lineage series—and listen closely. the spirit of the tiger may still be whispering through the hills.