As we were finishing breakfast at Luma’s House of Tibet restaurant, we struck up a conversation with Erin, a Canadian, and her friend Dennis. She had won a global essay contest and her prize was to carry the Olympic Torch in the idyllic city Shangri-la, which we will visit in a few days. She told us that her entire family was coming to China to support her. What an experience for her, eh? We talked about some of our previous travels to Nepal, Pakistan, Mongolia and Siberia. Dennis jokingly asked us if we’re doing our “bucket list” as featured in the recent movie by the same name starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
Then we headed to Luguhu Lake in the middle of the Yi minority area. The Yi are a proud people with strong character who have kept their language and script, which is a combination of Tibetan and Bhutanese. They do not judge others, nor do they like those who are judgmental. Their costumes are similar to those in Laos and they wear their traditional dress everyday. Their diet consists of lots of vegetables and soup but they eat very little meat.
The road from Lijiang to Luguhu Lake followed the Jin Sha river (the Angry river), and we were told it would take six hours. After a short time we understood why. The route, literally cut into mountainsides, was a tortuously winding road that was one driving mistake from disaster. The road is paved with cobblestone on the steep sections to make it less slippery, and there was repeated evidence of recent landslides and rock falls. One section was entirely dirt as repairs were underway. In several areas along the way men were working on the outer edge constructing foot high concrete curbs, presumably to serve as a guard rail. It’s hard to imagine that this would prevent an errant vehicle from a five-second tour of the canyon. Originally, we thought these were isolated conditions, but as the day wore on we felt as if we were back in Pakistan on the Karakorum Highway, albeit not as severe.
We stopped for a panoramic scene of a deep valley with a view of numerous switchbacks down to a bridge over the river. Yesterday we explained to Elena what switchbacks were and today she actually used that term. In conversations during the long ride, we definitely increased her vocabulary of American words and phrases such as kicking the bucket, buying the farm, fuchsia, scarecrow (in Chinese it’s “grass-stuffed man”), moose, buttercup, soft soap, butter you up, and callous, just to name a few. She’s very smart and great fun to be with.
The next stop was at Three Trees Restaurant for lunch, which supposedly had the best toilets for the next two hours of traveling. If these restrooms were the best, we couldn’t begin to imagine what the others looked or smelled like. Hold your breath and just move quickly was the best course of action. We ate our light lunch in a separate tiny room built over a large lily pond.
Continuing to Luguhu Lake, children standing by the roadside would raise their hands as our vehicle passed and we were told this not only means hello but also shows respect to the people inside. We stopped at a small Yi village where the Polaroid photos were a HUGE hit. Elena told us that these people don’t get their photos taken, and apparently to have it taken by a Westerner is very special. One excited small boy grabbed the picture and ran away from his mother. Word spread quickly and soon many parents and children joined us, some coming from their work fields, to ask for a family photo. The interaction was a great experience for all that resulted in Tamara distributing 25 Polaroid pictures to a happy crowd.
To enter the Luguhu Lake area there is a toll of ¥80 or the equivalent of $11.50 per person with these funds used to protect the local villages. In return we received ticket package that includes a mini-DVD describing the area.
The minority people in this area are the Mosou, part of the Naxi. They have 25 villages scattered around Luguhu Lake and it is the only matriarchal society in China. The women are in charge, namely the mother who controls all the money, handles the business and tells everyone what will be planted. Their religion is Daba and they worship Holy Mountain – the goddess to protect the Mosou people.
The Mosou practice what is called “walking marriages”. The Chinese government tried to encourage the people to get married, but they wanted to keep their tradition. Ninety percent of their population still embraces the “walking marriage” concept.
At thirteen years old, the boys go through a special ceremony conducted by the mother’s oldest brother and the priest to put on his “adult clothes”. The boy must walk over big bags of rice as a ritual representing his readiness for work. Then another three years are needed to learn how to socialize with people and an additional three years to start the walking marriage process. A walking marriage is not permitted until they are at least nineteen. A special festival held in July is when the young people meet each other. Dressed in their costumes, they sing, dance and the young men jump over flames to impress the girls. The boys talk to the girls and if a girl likes the boy, she tickles his palm.
A girl’s family usually adds another room in the back of their house or builds a separate house calling it the “flower house room” in anticipation of a walking marriage. A young man must pass “three doors” to get to the girl’s room. The first door requires strength and intelligence to climb up and over a high wall with glass shards embedded in the top. The second door requires he pass by a big dog. To do this, Mosou men must “deliciously cook the meat for the dog” and throw it to the dog to keep it quiet. For the third door, the young must man be “as light as the swallow” meaning be quiet, because her parents’ house has thin walls and they can hear everything.
Once a walking marriage is established, the man continues to live in his mother’s house and the girl lives with her mother. A man goes to sleep with his girl at night but the next morning he returns to his mother’s house to work. The man must leave the girl’s home before dawn or he will be considered lazy. You might think this is easy at first, but strict guidelines accompany this way of life. Men are not allowed to hop from one woman to another, a practice that is severely looked down upon by Mosou society. If the walking marriage doesn’t work out, a three year waiting period must be observed before another walking marriage can be arranged.
When a child is born, the child is raised at the mother’s house.
Our afternoon activity at Luguhu Lake was a canoe trip to visit two islands. We climbed into a trough shaped row boat where a young Mosou woman with her husband rowed in the bow and the woman’s uncle in the stern steered using a paddle. On our way to the first island the sky looked threatening, so the woman suggested that we bypass the small island and go directly to Liwubi Island to see a Buddhist temple. When we returned from the boat ride, the husband went off with the seat cushions and left the woman to carry the three heavy oars. As Elena told us, “It’s better to do it yourself rather than ordering a lazy dog.”
Since 2002 the area surrounding the lake has become a very popular tourist spot and it is having a negative impact on the Mosou culture. It’s said if one returns in two years one will not recognize the place with additional guesthouses and shops dotting the shoreline.
Dinner at the Big Tree restaurant along the waterfront proved to be one of the least interesting meals. To order fish or chicken you had to arrange it beforehand so the owners could kill the chicken or catch the fish and have it ready before you arrived. Our meal consisted of a toasted goat cheese sandwich, watery carrot & corn soup, and a potato pancake that we washed down with some Happy Hour brand beer.
Our guest house rooms were comfortable…and entertaining. In the bathroom above the toilet hung a sign “Beware of Landslide” with a character of a person falling on a slippery surface. We couldn’t help but laugh.
Enjoying the humorous English translations,
Rich, Garry and Tamara
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