"The door of life and death is only opened when someone in the family is born or dies. It leads to the room where Mosuo women give birth to children and where Mosuo people leave their bodies after they die."
"Why do we have to give birth and put the body in the same room?"
"Come naked, go naked, go back to where you came from," He Huan said.
"Look at the Manis around you. They believe in Tibetan Buddhism, and every household has a sutra hall. The Buddhist idea of immortal souls and reincarnation makes them think that the deceased is not dead, but reborn in the next life.
.
So they don't put the body on a bed. Instead, they dig a hole in the house, tie the deceased into the posture of a fetus in the mother's body, and put it upright in the hole. Let the deceased go back and forth wherever he goes, and reincarnate again.
The deceased is temporarily buried in the house, and the surrounding area is sealed with butter to prevent corruption. Then the whole village is notified and the lama is asked to calculate the funeral date.
The funeral is the most important event in the life of the Mosuo people! Because the Mosuo people do not celebrate birthdays, they believe that birthdays are the day their mothers suffered.
They don't get married, so there is no wedding. They don't have any major events in our lives. The full moon, coming-of-age ceremony, and funeral are the three major events in their lives.
Among them, the funeral is the most solemn. It is kept at the Gate of Life and Death until the day of the funeral, and then it is carried out and cremated. The whole process of the funeral is entirely handled by men."
"Don't they respect women?" a tourist asked.
"This is a manifestation of the respect for women. It is different from what we usually know that women cannot be sacrificed.
They are all managed by men precisely because the Mosuo people believe that women are related to life and are the source of life. They must stay away from death and not be contaminated with death, which is related to the reproduction of the family.
Therefore, men are responsible for all aspects of the funeral, from entertaining guests to cooking."
"Oh." Everyone nodded.
"Like a woman who goes to a grave, her mother's family is from an extremely poor family. Women are not allowed to offer sacrifices. This is because the traditional thinking is that women are Yin, which offends their ancestors. It is said that all ancestors have returned to Yin, how can a living person be more Yin than him, so he offends him?"
"Hahaha……"
"Men were in charge of the entire Mosuo funeral. When the cannon went off, the entire Lugu Lake heard it. Then every household in the village killed pigs and sheep, cleaned up the guest rooms, and prepared to entertain guests from other villages. Guests from outside came to every house.
Every household eats, drinks, and sits on flowing water mats."
"The whole village?" Everyone was shocked.
"That's right! A village is only so big! In addition to the matrilineal families, the whole village helps each other. People from the entire Lugu Lake gather in the village, as well as friends from outside the mountains.
The more people who come, it means that the deceased is more respected. If an older woman in the family dies, there will be a huge crowd. This is an extended reaction from a matrilineal family to a matrilineal society."
"It definitely won't happen now. Now when the cannon fires, everyone runs away, and there is no one to receive tourists."
The tourists were speechless.
"So we don't have to pay for lunch. The ethnic minorities in Yunzhou are really hospitable. If you come from afar, they won't feel sorry if you don't stay for a meal. Of course, you have to have the opportunity to meet such a real ethnic minority family."
"We are so lucky!"
"They don't invite everyone. Now that there are so many tourists, they don't dare to invite anyone into the house."
The tourists looked at him with a smile, "I know, I know, we can only be invited into the house by following you."
He Huan said with a smile: "On the night of the funeral, people sing and dance around the bonfire. This is also a social occasion for men and women. During the dance, the two parties dig their palms, which starts a relationship.
Rather than seeing death as a sad thing, ethnic minorities are very free and easy. You can't do anything to prohibit others from falling in love."
"Hahaha……"
"For example, we always have some moral guardians. When people are sad, they are not allowed to fall in love or be happy. Otherwise, it is treason."
"It's shameful not to fall in love!" said a male tourist.
He Huan glanced at him.
The tourists laughed.
"This is mainly the distortion of Confucianism by Neo-Confucianism, which destroys human desires in order to maintain natural principles. In fact, the original Confucianism does not oppose the great desire of men and women for eating, drinking, and drinking. Therefore, under no circumstances should you delay eating, drinking, and doing what you like. Compared with being a hypocrite, I would rather have nothing.
conscience."
"Hahaha……"
"You feel free to eat meat and chirp, and feel free to show off your affection!"
As he wished, the tourists began to put their arms around each other's shoulders to show their affection.
"Think about our ancestors migrating from the bitter cold north and settling in places with abundant water and grass. Isn't everything our ancestors did for the happiness of their descendants?"
"Um."
Everyone nodded, and Long Teng also looked at him.
"In addition to the influence of Buddhism, their local religion, Dabaism, was very important when sending the remains on the road. Dabaism has a certain origin with the Dongba religion of the Naxi people.
The ideological basis of Dabaism and Dongbaism is that all things are animistic, and they believe in nature worship, totem worship, goddess worship, and ancestor worship.
Daba chants the ancestral migration route and guides the deceased back to the land of their ancestors and back to nature. In a solemn ceremony, the ashes are scattered on the hillside or under the tree.
After that, there was no more worship, but during the Qingming Festival, no cemetery was left, and everything returned to nature. That party was the end of the world.
Relatives and friends still live their lives, and the dead rest in peace. So there are no graves here. They have become one with this land."
Everyone looked around and saw that the rolling green mountains were getting greener and greener, and they were suddenly moved.
"Suddenly I felt that this way was also good."
"Yes!"
"This is what I want from now on. Don't make me cry and make noise until I die."
"Hahaha……"
Long Teng looked at the rolling green mountains.
"So just be happy and live your own life. Someone who truly loves you will never talk about love and say how much she has paid for you. Someone who truly loves you doesn't want you to wallow in sadness.
inside."
Yuan Yuan bit his lip. Yuan Yuan's father held his shoulders.
Long Teng was also lost in thought.
"Grandma is the head of the family. She is not as majestic and blessed as some old ladies. Everyone in the family gets excited when they see her!"
The tourists laughed, remembering the majestic old man from a wealthy family on TV.
"I just saw it in the grandma's house. The grandma's bed is very narrow and can only be used for lying down. The furnishings are not gorgeous and cannot be compared with the flower house.
It means that with so many children and grandchildren in the family, being a family member is not enough to enjoy the blessings. She does not do anything. Grandma guards the fire pit in her grandmother's house so that the fire never goes out.
Get up before dawn, bake cakes and butter tea by the fire pit, and prepare breakfast for the family. Therefore, a man who is walking away from a marriage cannot leave too late, otherwise he will be caught by his grandmother.
Other jobs also need to be done. The children in the family also grew up in or around the grandmother's house. The old grandmother is the backbone of the family, maintaining and taking care of the entire family.
After thousands of years, the paternal line has evolved into patriarchy. However, the matriline has existed among the Mosuo people for two thousand years, but it has not evolved into maternal authority.
The old grandmother witnesses the life and death of the whole family, full-moon ceremonies, adult ceremonies, Mosuo people's daily life, and major life events are all completed in the grandmother's house, under the eyes of the grandmother.
However, this has not evolved into matriarchy. The old grandmother is still so kind and hardworking. This is amazing!"
Everyone nodded.
"Perhaps women pay more attention to family and relationships, are more willing to give, and have little desire for power. Therefore, matrilineal families are very warm. Mosuo people, regardless of gender, respect their mothers and voluntarily contribute to the family."
Everyone was very moved.
"Nowadays, the media likes to pit men and women against each other, and everyone is very impetuous. In fact, both men and women can come to Mosuo people for education. Mosuo women maintain their virtues of hardworking and gentleness, and Mosuo men also respect and protect women from the bottom of their hearts.
Many people come to Lugu Lake because of the gimmicks, what they think, or what they claim to be locals and travel agencies to promote. They look at the Mosuo people with a romantic look, thinking that they are not responsible. In fact, both men and women know how to do it.
responsibility."
Everyone nodded. Indeed, at noon, we saw the Mosuo family's kindness at the top and filial piety at the bottom. The brothers, friends, and sisters were respectful and enthusiastic towards the guests. The matrilineal family actually did a good job in Confucian culture.
Now after Xiao Bailong's explanation, they no longer stay at the superficial level of walking marriage.
Everyone thinks that if it were not for the entry of outsiders and the impact of foreign culture, perhaps the love and family of the Mosuo people would really be an utopia and could continue in these mountains and lakes.
But how can a person, no matter how humble he is, withstand the impact of a person who is obsessed with wealth and power?
Perhaps, that was the last Mosuo family they saw.
He led everyone down and asked them to go to the roadside to get on the bus. Long Teng looked up at the green mountains in a daze, his face full of melancholy. He Huan stopped and looked at her with concern, "What's wrong?"
Long Teng shook his head and continued walking forward.
As we move around the lake into Sichuan, there are gradually more scenic spots and more people.
He Huan said: "There are scenic spots that my parents have to fight over. Yunzhou and Sichuan compete for Lugu Lake and Shangri-La."
The tourists laughed.
"We are now in Sichuan, and there are many scenic spots along the way. So friends from Sichuan often feel unhappy, which means that all the scenic spots in Lugu Lake are in Sichuan! Why do you say it is from Yunzhou?"
"Hahaha……"
“The main reason is that Yunzhou’s tourism development was early.”
A car full of laughter.
“Yunzhou’s tourism management measures are also relatively fast and complete. For example, if you visit Mosuo’s home to buy money to buy medicine and feel you have been cheated and no longer want it, you can directly return it for a refund.
Return the goods directly to the Yunzhou Lugu Lake Tourism Management Office, so you don't have to worry about the merchant cheating. Because the penalty is very severe, most merchants will refund you quickly.
If you file a complaint in Sichuan, you can only say that they will investigate and regulate it. Thank you for your opinion and thank you for your call."
"Hahaha……"
"As for the Yunzhou tour guide, in order to avoid punishment, he took you to the Sichuan jurisdiction to buy things. As long as you complain to Yunzhou, Yunzhou will handle it for you quickly.
As long as either the tour guide or the store is managed by Yunzhou, it can be handled quickly.
But if it’s not a Yunzhou tour guide or a store under Yunzhou’s jurisdiction, Yunzhou can only say: Dear, I will help you contact Sichuan immediately. Then..."
He Huan coughed.
The tourists laughed again.
"So it doesn't matter whether Lugu Lake is from Yunzhou or Sichuan, but when buying things in Lugu Lake, it is very important whether you buy it in Sichuan or Yunzhou, and whether the Sichuan tour guide takes you to buy it or the Yunzhou tour guide takes you to buy it.
Already."
The tourists laughed.
“It’s not about Sichuan. The main reason is that Sichuan has a large land and rich resources, and it took a long time to regulate Lugu Lake. Yunzhou has developed tourism throughout the province and has experienced many complaints before establishing such a rapid processing mechanism. I have to give Yunzhou Tourism a thumbs up for this.
.”
He Huan gave a thumbs up, and the tourists applauded.
Long Teng looked at him with a bit of stupidity. It was not easy for him to live!