Lugu lake: Exotic Oriental land of Daughters

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Lugu Lake, 200 kilometers from the city center of Lijiang, Yunnan, resembles a sparkling jewel nestled in the high plateau among the many mountains of western Yunnan Living among the unsurpassed beauty of the lake and mountains live the mosuo people, one of the few peoples in the world still living in a matriarchal society. Their unique “azhu marriage ceremony and natural and primitive folk customs have given this ancient land an air of mystery and romance, and for this reason it is known as the exotic oriental land of daughters.”

An ancient local legend explains the origin of lugu lake as follows. Gemu, the female spirit, was a wise and beautiful young woman who was not only the girlfriend of many local male mountain spirits, but of distant male mountain spirits as well. One time when a distant male mountain spirit came to visit her she was having a rendezvous with a local male mountain spirit. He hurriedly turned the horse around causing it to neigh three times. When she heard the sound of the horse she immediately chased after the visiting mountain spirit, but he was already far away and all she could see was a large hoof printat the bottom of the mountain. by the time she reached the hoof print, the sun was comingup and she stood by the hoof print sobbing uncontrollably until her tears filled the hoof print, forming the present Lugu lake. When the departing mountain spirit heard the sound of her sobbing he turned around to look and lovingly threw some pearls and flowers into the lake. The pear ls became small islands in the lake and the flowers floated to the shore and grew into a fragrant patch of flowers, including azaleas, which bloom year after year.

In actuality, Lugu Lake was formed by a fault in the earth. It has an area of 50 square kilometers and averages about 45 meters in depth. the lake is shaped like a horse hoof long north-south and short east-west in the shape of a gourd. the scenery around the lake changes constantly during the day as the surrounding mountains fade in and out of view. Theundulating shoreline creates many beaches, some large, some small, on the long shore of the lake, making it a perfect spot for tourists to relax and play.

The last matriarchal society in the world is found by Lugu Lake. In the”azhu marriage of the Mosuo, the man does not marry the woman and vice-versa. In work, life and financial matters, the couple does not have to remain in contact zhu”is a word in the Mosuo language that means “intimate sweetheart. Mosuo marriages come in three forms The main building of Jinsui Orchard .

Azhu marriage without cohabitation

In an azhu marriage without cohabitation, the man does not marry the woman and vice versa. The man and woman both continue to live in their parents home. The man only goes to the womans home to spend the night and then returns to his mothers home in t morning to work and live. This is known as a”traveling marriage. Children resulting from an azhu marriage without cohabitation are considered members of the woman’s family take the woman s last name and are raised in her mother s home. though the father does not live together with his children, he often visits them and stays interested in their lives and development. The father may send gifts of clothing and daily necessities and children may visit the father s home on holidays .

Among the mosuo, 20% practice one-on-one marriage. After Kublai Khan led the Mongolian rmy south to lugu lake, he set up a feudal government system, installed warrant officers and stationed troops there. He also introduced Lamaism and exercised a rule that combined civil administration and religion in Yongning and Lugu Lake. The new officials continued to practice their traditional monogamous marriage. Mosuo people living in Jiaze and tuodian and sites near the county seat such as Yankouba and Wakai have also been gradually adopting the practice of one-on-one marriage after a long time living among other ethnic grous. aSome mosuo, however, have retained the custom of showing greatest respect for mothers an parents-in-law, with mothers enjoying especially high social status.