Attitude, belief and life may be incomprehensible, but respect is the best communication.
Mosuo, with only language but no writing, has a population of only 50,000 and cannot be defined by nationality. China is the only matriarchal nation, with words, a world of women, a world of men and an oriental country of daughters.
With Lugu Lake as the heart, surrounded by mountains, the Millennium nation is isolated from the world, and mysterious customs and rumors have cast an unpredictable veil, which makes people curious, guessing and fascinated.
Silver is cheap, silver fades easily, and silver turns black easily.
Gold and silver jewelry, only ethnic minorities love silverware.
The silver in Lugu Lake is cooked silver, which is called snowflake silver. Every time I think of it, I always think of a poem that has nothing to do with it: the Qing government spent three years and 100 thousand snowflakes and silver.
Silverware plays an indispensable role in Mosuo people's life.
All Mosuo women will wear silver belts. Stick it on your skin and hide it under your clothes. The waist is three fingers wide, just the width of the coccyx. Under the three fingers, a-mei's uterus is in front, and brother's waist and kidney are behind. Wear it day and night to stabilize the waist and protect the most important corner of reproduction.
At the waist buckle, it will stick tightly to the navel of the six-month pregnant mother, along the umbilical cord, and absorb the toxins around the baby a little, so that it can feel the protection and love of ABBA and AMBA before coming into this world.
Take three boiled egg whites, mix them with silverware, wrap them in cloth, and rub them along the baby's skin from head to toe. If the egg silverware turns black, take three more proteins and repeat them in turn for three times.
Poisoned babies are prone to jaundice. But when Mosuo baby was born, grandma used this method to eliminate the poison of latent jaundice.
At this time, the weak sister who just gave birth will be helped back to her room by her grandmother, who will collect the silver powder at home, mix it in hot water and scrub her body. Only in this way can the wound heal as soon as possible and it is not easy to be infected. There is still black blood in my sister's body after delivery, which is not conducive to recovery. Grandma will tighten her sister's uterus up and down with a silver belt, and at the same time absorb more toxins with silver ornaments.
Generally speaking, after giving birth to a child, a woman should sit for at least one month, without boasting or getting tired. However, a Mosuo woman can work in the field and still be alive and kicking after five days.
Mosuo people do not marry men and women, but they still worship romance. Mosuo men and women have a token of love, a tooth comb, the so-called white head never leaves. My sister said that only the wedding night belongs to each other. Quietly combing your hair is a very romantic thing. Quietly, just like a lifetime, once you comb it to the end, you will comb your white hair Qi Mei. Take Qi Mei as an example, it is with a good heart to paint the mirror yellow.
My brother is proficient in handicrafts. From the day he left the wedding, his sister's clothes were all over his body, which was the temperature of his palm. Clothes, ear chains, bracelets and belts are all made by brothers and sisters bit by bit. This man, knowing his sister's shoulder width, waist circumference and long fingers, carved his love and thoughts through cold materials and turned them into unique treasures. Let them take his place and stay with my sister for a long time.
Mosuo people only remember their birthdays, not their deaths. There is only one traditional festival in their lives-bar mitzvah.
Adults, the entry explains that men are adults, and Mosuo people have always maintained this ancient and traditional ceremony, which is grand and precious. After the age of thirteen, girls will learn farming from their grandmothers and menses, and boys will learn hunting, manufacturing and handicraft skills from their uncles. In a few years, when boys and girls are all grown up and have their own skills, they can get married in an alley in a certain field.
Mosuo people were isolated from nomadic people at first, and finally settled in Lugu Lake. Even now, Mosuo people have been poor. Most of the time, it eats potatoes and corn, and rarely sees rice and pork bellies on the table.
However, on the day of the bar mitzvah, no matter how poor the family is, my grandmother will get up early and spread all the rice grains and pork bellies from the threshold to the next incense. The road is short, but it is the same as the red makeup wedding in ancient times. I don't want to be rich or expensive. I only care about teenagers, eat and wear warm clothes, and be safe and happy.
The ancestors of Mosuo people once nomadic to Tibetan areas and lived as slaves for a long time, but they also blended in a little Tibetan blood. Later, he was driven away because of his impure blood. The ancestors of Mosuo people finally came to Lugu Lake and began to settle down. The formation of cavalry went out to buy necessities, and the result was captured by the Miao people in the mountains. Finally, the clothes and tops of Mosuo girls now have Tibetan culture, pleated skirts at the bottom and Miao characteristics.
At the bar mitzvah, my sister will receive gifts from two most important people.
One is an old woman, who was pregnant in October and put up with hardships. Grandma gave her sister a pleated skirt, which she sewed herself. The folds are full of love and expectation. 365 days, full and safe. And the whole dress, bearing in mind the migration path of ancestors, commemorates the culture and history of ethnic groups.
One is my uncle, my mother's uncle grew up, and my sister was raised by my uncle. My uncle will give my sister the first belt in his life with a silver buckle, all for protection. If it is a brother, my uncle will give him a big knife and dagger, and then learn to stand on his own feet.
Mosuo people take a fancy to the goddess of the earth, and only women who are equally pregnant with life deserve to sow and cultivate on Mother Earth. Therefore, Mosuo has formed a unique matriarchal society, where women are respected, engaged in agricultural labor and in charge of the family. Mosuo people will never be separated, and choose a grandmother among all the elders to take charge of the family's money and affairs.
Grandma's bed is tall and narrow. Gao Yuemi, below is a cupboard door, which is full of the family's gold and silver treasures and all the family property. As long as a person lies flat, Mosuo's marriage is a lifetime, but when grandma moved into her house from the greenhouse, she could only devote all her time and energy to her family and nothing else.
The grandmother who is in charge of a family's livelihood may be old. Chloe's grandchildren, with such rights, tell the elderly that you are also the center of the family, and your children and grandchildren earn money, so naturally you should enjoy it.
My sister said that before going out every morning, everyone would go to grandma's house to say hello and briefly explain the itinerary. Every night after dinner, everyone would gather under grandma's sofa and chat until grandma was tired.
In Mosuo culture, affection is the most important. The reason why men don't marry women is to devote all their time to the family and accompany the closest people. Prove with a lifetime that companionship is the longest confession.
Mosuo people believe in Tibetan Buddhism, do not commemorate the dead, and believe in causal reincarnation. The most important thing is to live. Before his death, all children can do and give. Respect the old and love the young. In Mosuo people's homes, children are used for stocking and old people are used for taking care of them. Delicious, easy to use, fun, give it to the elderly first.
The old man enjoyed all the enjoyment, spiritual, material and family happiness before his death, so when he left one day, he had no attachments. There is no regret for the living.
Inside the mother house, there is a small room, about ten square meters in size, with a row of pits along the wall. The door is closed all the year round, and there is a black cloth hanging in front of it. Mosuo is called the gate of life and death.
You went through life and death, and you entered this door.
Healthy.
Mosuo women will enter the door of life and death when they are in labor. Pregnant women will squat down in a stance of horse stance, with grandma holding her waist from behind and grandma carrying her arm in front. The three of them, in this most primitive way, built a stable triangle. And this gesture, for pregnant women, is the most labor-saving, without too much waste, all the forces are condensed on the uterus at once, and the production is naturally smooth.
Life is not that simple.
Mosuo people practice the survival of the fittest with the door of life and death.
After the baby was born, grandma cut the umbilical cord connected with her mother with scissors, and then carefully checked whether it was Qing Wu and edema, and used their experience and oral communication to judge whether the child had congenital diseases. If so, the pit on the side is their home. And this is only the first step in screening.
After grandma's examination, healthy babies will be screened for the second time.
They will stay alone at the door of life and death for a day and a night, without eating or drinking.
Newborn babies are extremely fragile, but they have to go through such lonely and desperate days and nights. No hugs, no comfort, no milk. In ignorance, I crossed the biggest second hurdle of my life alone.
The first one was born smoothly. At that time, he and his mother were one.
The second time was a day and a night at the gate of life and death. At this point, it is fragile and tenacious.
The next day, grandma will enter the door of life and death, holding out a successful baby. Only when he is held, walks out of the door of life and death, and is illuminated by the sun, can he truly become a member of this family and become a Mosuo.
This seems, very cruel.
But this is a custom that Mosuo people have continued for thousands of years. Lugu Lake is isolated from the world, and every Mosuo family is poor, even poor. The work of a big family can't afford to drag a sick body, a body that can't be strong, and it's not only the family who suffers, but also themselves. This is not right or wrong. It can only be said that Mosuo people used their own survival rules to put an end to bad results at the beginning of bad things and maintain the continuation of the family. In another sense, even before Darwin knew the survival of the fittest and natural selection. Now look around, Mosuo people are all healthy and strong.
Mosuo people believe in Buddhism and reincarnation. No Mosuo will have an abortion. The arrival of every life is expected. No matter where it comes from, whether it is tolerable or not, every life is worth coming to this world. But when I open my eyes and see the world for the first time, I need to take on my own destiny, whether it is life or death, struggling alone at the door of life and death. Therefore, when I grow up, I will be a hero, no matter whether I am brilliant or ordinary, I will fight against my fate from an early age. ?
Go to hell.
People die like lights, and cause and effect need to be circulated.
After the death of the Mosuo people, their families will take off their clothes, remove the tendons of their hands and feet, and curl up into a ball, just like the mother's fetus and baby, which means that how to come and go becomes a cycle.
There should be a corpse disposal here, but I really don't remember. )
People who believe in Tibetan Buddhism believe that celestial burial is the most sacred burial. However, Lugu Lake is not a plateau and there are no vultures. In Jin Mu, fire, water and earth are the five elements of burial method, from which Mosuo people choose cremation.
All those who leave will be put in the door of life and death for 7749 days before cremation.
Find a piece of land, burn it, don't pick up the ashes. Let it drift with the wind and fall into the dirt until it dissipates and really disappears, leaving no trace on earth.
The deceased had no portraits, tombstones or sacrifices. All their enjoyment before their death has been realized, and the meaning of coming into this world has been completed. The living will not cry, because there is no need to cry. What we need to do is to cherish and treat the people around us, which is the greatest significance.
The most mysterious and fascinating thing about Mosuo is marriage.
Men don't marry women, Mosuo people never marry. Love between men and women, seeing the right eyes, holding hands three times, meeting in the greenhouse at night, and one-night stand in the spring night are like one-night stands. It is irresponsible not to get married.
In the outside world, people who are used to feasting and making noise are curious and envious when they hear all kinds of things. Polygamy, regardless of gender, can be changed every night, right?
Three men make a tiger, and rumors abound. Naturally, it changed its taste and spread widely. However, according to the personal ideas of the people, they are secretly polished and rendered.
After the bar mitzvah, men and women learn their own skills, and they can get married in two or three years. One day, in an alley in the field, or at a party at night, if my brother sees his favorite A-mei, and the time is right, he will boldly step forward, without saying much, gently scratch his palm, once, once, no more, no less, just three times, and then wait quietly. If A-mei doesn't like it, she won't leave and embarrass her brother in the wind. She will only turn back quietly and do nothing. At this time, my brother will understand, don't entangle, and turn around and leave. If this happens, A-mei also likes her brother, so she will give three kickbacks to show her mind.
In the evening, when the A-mei family went back to their room to sleep, my brother came to the greenhouse in A-mei with three things and climbed over the wall.
My brother is carrying three things, namely a piece of pork belly, a dagger and a felt hat.
Pork belly is the key. All families have dogs, and when they see strangers coming and going at night, they will bark, which will inevitably wake up their families. My brother will bribe A-mei's dog with chopped pork belly to prevent it from being born, which will disturb the family's dream and ruin the owner's good thing.
Daggers are used to climb walls. It's time to show my brother's skills, climb greenhouses, climb tall buildings and embrace beautiful things. My sister said there were stairs in the greenhouse, but my brother had to climb over the wall. If he can't climb a greenhouse, how can he expect other skills if he does nothing?
The felt hat is a courier. If someone comes back in the middle of the night and sees the felt hat outside the greenhouse window, they will know that the host's name has been occupied tonight, and some good things have happened, and they will not rush forward to disturb, which will make the host feel embarrassed and unhappy.
Early the next morning, my brother will leave early before A-mei's family gets up and go back to his home. As long as you are in love with a-mei, if there is nothing important, you must go every night, walk between the two families, and walk, hence the name, get married. Although there is no name, it is no different from the actual husband and wife.
If one day, A-mei finds that A-mei has bad conduct or weak feelings and doesn't want to have any more contacts, she will prepare an egg in advance and hide it quietly. When A-mei wakes up in the morning, puts on her shoes and finds an egg lying quietly in the shoes, she will understand A-mei's thoughts and leave in despair, which is called "fuck off".
A-mei, a married brother, won't have much contact during the day and won't go to each other's home, let alone financial matters. My brother, as an uncle, raises the children of my family, and my sister, as a woman, assumes the responsibilities of my family.
If a-mei gives birth to a child, she will take the child to know her relatives, just to let her brother know that she has a child and who the father is. She doesn't have to bear the responsibility and burden of raising her own children, and her uncle can raise them freely. ?
The marriage of Mosuo people has the solemnity of Mosuo people. Many people, if they leave one person and meet the right person, it will be their life. For Mosuo, a family that has never been separated, divorce means more, that is, to accompany their loved ones for life, to thank their mothers for being pregnant in October, and to thank their loved ones for raising adults.
Han people are going to split up. Brothers and sisters are separated, the elderly are raised separately, and no one is even filial. As the old saying goes, marrying a woman pours water, but in fact, after marriage, both men and women have become small families, and their focus and energy are more on their husbands, wives and children. What about their parents? Just a little care. Years of nurturing kindness, just to send it to another family, have worked hard for most of my life, and I have no time to get a reward. Time is running out.
There are 365 days a year. Apart from work, entertainment and family, how many days are left for parents who have worked hard for many years? However, just a few decades of life, how many days are left to accompany?
When you grow up, when you are alone, can you see the vicissitudes of your parents' foreheads, the white hair covered by black silk, and feel your waist bent and your hands and feet slow? After sighing, I still go further and further without hesitation, and it is difficult to turn back. However, one day, after the experience, I understood that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind will not stop. Full of helplessness, but no regrets.
Mosuo people perfectly interpret the profound meaning of companionship by walking marriage, while silverware, walking marriage and various customs and cultures are the crystallization of wisdom of Mosuo people from generation to generation, showing their unique charm.
We may not understand all kinds of things, just as they can't understand our birthdays and anniversaries, but it is precisely because of differences that life is wonderful, so we don't have to forcibly understand it, just respect it from time to time.
Graduation trip, a group of four people struggled for a long time, saving the crispness and neatness, and held a four-day tour group. Lugu Lake in Liangshan is not close, but it is the farthest trip you can go.
It took a whole day to drive from Chengdu to Lugu Lake, during which I climbed a hill with an altitude of more than 3,000, and some slight altitude sickness. Along the way, the mountain road has eighteen bends, constantly shuttling through the bends and crossing many mountain obstacles.
Bad luck, just in time for rain. The tour guide said that there were many tour groups in Lugu Lake, and it rained only where we went. Before the team swam to the next scenic spot, the rain caught up with the last one.
At Wedding Bridge and Lugu Lake, we were all driven away by the rain. It didn't rain for a while, and it rained for a while. Just then, the rain came at once.
The tour guide warned us never to go to the end of the marriage bridge, whether it is love, friendship or affection, don't go to the end, leaving a little room is the best state. If you take the wedding bridge from the beginning, I don't know if it's like that joke, the lovers who agreed to take the lover bridge together eventually broke up.
I attended the Mosuo party in the evening. There are not many programs, but they are carefully compiled by Mosuo children and presented to tourists. They told the story of bar mitzvah and wedding by dancing. Although I don't know much about it, I feel a kind of respect and piety in half understanding and half guessing. The last program of the party is that everyone dances around the bonfire. Between dancing and dancing, I let go of my formality, immersed myself in the carnival atmosphere, and looked at other people's smiles, filled with more comfortable smiles.
On the second day of Lugu Lake, a special sister took us to their house, went to grandma's house and told us about their culture and customs, which is the material of this article. They still belong to the cooperative mode. Collective labor, income cm. It is a responsibility and an honor to be chosen as the sister who speaks Mosuo culture.
This once isolated nation is famous for its tourism. Their Millennium culture collided with the impetuous world outside. I don't know whether this is good or bad for them. It is true that the quality of life has improved, but will their marriage, their life and death, and their customs be subtly changed?
When an ethnic group is closed, it may be a paradise, but the opening of the gap, the influx of new things and all kinds of ideas will have unpredictable consequences like Pandora's box.
It's not that I think Mosuo culture is too fragile, but that society is too strong. Too many traditional cultures, driven by the grinding wheel of time, have no residue or trace. Only the remaining lines can vaguely spy on the past, leaving only a sigh.