The Ye people considered themselves to be the same people as the people of
Goguryeo, and shared their language and ethnic origins with the people of
Okjeo and Goguryeo. This may indicate that Dongye also shared a common origin with
Buyeo and
Gojoseon. The population was recorded to be 20,000 households. Very little information about Ye has survived; most of the extant information comes from the discussion of the Eastern barbarians in the Chinese
Records of Three Kingdoms. The custom of "Mucheon" (무천, 舞天), a festival of worshipping heaven through song and dance in the 10th month, is mentioned in some records. This appears to have been closely related to the Goguryeo festival of Dongmaeng, held at the same time of year, which also incorporated martial displays. The people worshipped the tiger as a deity. The economy of Ye was based primarily on agriculture, including
sericulture and hemp cultivation. The Mucheon festival was largely aimed at securing a good harvest in the coming year. Their agriculture appears to have been well-organised at the village level. Ye law meted out stiff penalties for those who encroached on communal land. ==See also==