Lisu use code words for courtship

There are many other ways to court the Lisu people. For example, "burying a lover in the river sand" is one of the oldest ways for Lisu men and women to court each other. The "Qash" festival is coming, Fugong area of the Lisu young people have come to the wide Nu River beach, with the mouth string, pipa, "Diritu" (bamboo flute) and other musical instruments accompanied by dance, exchange of feelings. They are in groups of three to five, unrestrained, looking for a mate.

Once the heart is in the same place, or usually already know each other, and want to be partners, young men will dig a pit on the beach, about a few good same-sex partners, will be interested in lifting to the sand pit, with fine sand buried in the body. Afterwards, the partners quickly leave, and the young men immediately plow away the sand, which also expresses their love. Don't look at the girls usually gentle and quiet, but this time is spicy and generous, often seven or eight people act in unison, with a sneak attack and the male youth will be pulled and pushed into the sand pit, any young man physically strong, it is difficult to escape this love scene farce.

"River sand buried lover" also includes crossbow shooting, young men are often superb crossbow shooting technology to win the love of the girl. Crossbow shooting field, people gathered in a semicircle, scrambling to watch the wonderful performance of love arrows. See the girl head a wooden bowl full of rice, rice on an egg as a target. The young man stood four or five meters away, unhurried, crossbow strung, aiming to launch. "Whoosh" sound, instantly, the egg cracked, egg splash. At once, the field erupted in applause. In the midst of this thrilling action, one is to show the male youth's crossbow shooting kung fu, and the other is to test the girl's sincerity towards the male youth.

Of course, some young men shooting crossbows are not sure, would rather not hit the eggs, but also do not want to hurt the beloved, only to let people say that not brave enough to be strong, which does not affect their partners. Shooting crossbows finished, making fun of young people will bring bamboo wine (also known as concentricity wine) so that pairs of lovers to drink dry, in order to set life. People drink, sing and dance, immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

The Lisu young men and women used to avoid the interference of others, and sometimes the love affair was very secret, they would use the lute, mouth string and blowing leaves, spreading leaves, tying the grass lumps, etc. as a code contact to determine the time and place of the meeting, and make secret contact.

For example, skimming a bunch of one-foot-long branches, placed on the couple often come and go on the roadside of the mound of rocks, the top of the pressure of a stone, suggesting that the date of the time of the direction of the Lisu language, called the "division before the morning". If a party did not go to the appointment, the other party on the date of the location of the Department of grass lumps as evidence of failure, the next appointment called the other party to explain the reason, the Lisu language called "Poetry Guti".

Blowing leaves is to call the couple or inform each other that they have something to do and can not go, the Lisu language called "division before the wood". In the wedding banquet to participate in the double chopsticks cross up or inverted resting on the bowl, chopstick head indicates the direction of the rendezvous. In public, it is playing a secret signal that tonight to a village to a cottage to go to the appointment, in fact, is to inform the couple to where to go to the rendezvous.

These secret codes are some traditional practices in the past, and now with the openness of men and women's interactions, there are not many, but occasionally there are such ancient secret codes appear.

Crossbow and poisoned arrows

The Lisu economy is based on agriculture. The staple food is corn, buckwheat and so on. They like to drink tea, wine, and eat steelyard meat. Most of the housing for the dry bar type bamboo and wood structure of the two-storey house, there are also cottage-style wooden houses or plank houses.

Clothing varies from place to place. Men wear long linen shirts and knee-length black pants. They wear black, white or blue headbands. Women mostly wear right-breasted clothes and pleated skirts. Wearing a beaded hat made of shells and coral beads strung together "Ole" or a variety of colors on the head. In the past, because of the different colors of clothing, there were "white Lisu", "black Lisu", "flower Lisu" of the common name.

"Ming" Jingtai Yunnan Book Records "contained:" famous chestnut millet people ...... often with medicine and arrows bow and crossbow, hunting birds and animals ". Nanzhao wild history": "force some, that is, chestnut millet, ...... especially good crossbow, each make its women negative small wooden shield forward, from the back of the shot, in the shield and does not hurt the woman". This is the history of the Lisu superb crossbow skills described and depicted.

The Lisu people live in the high mountains and valleys area, in the past, the mountains are vast virgin forests, a variety of birds and beasts in the forest. In the long-term practice of life, the hardworking and courageous Lisu people invented and created a variety of production tools, practiced a set of fierce birds and beasts, and adapt to the environment, transforming the natural skills and abilities. Crossbows and poison arrows are representative of this.

The crossbow is a kind of mechanical power to shoot arrows. Lisu crossbow by the crossbow body, crossbow plate, arrow slot, crossbow string, crossbow teeth and crossbow machine composition. Crossbow board with hard and flexible rocky mulberry wood or green chestnut wood made of different sizes. The crossbow string is twisted with 4 strands of fine twine of appropriate thickness. The crossbow teeth and the crossbow bolt are made of bone. When used, the tough crossbow string pulled to the crossbow teeth, arrows placed on top of the crossbow body, aiming at the target after triggering the crossbow, the use of crossbow plate, crossbow string of the elasticity of the arrow shot.

Crossbow arrows are made of bamboo chipped, the tip of the head can set the iron arrowhead. The tail of the arrow is made of bamboo skin, which can increase the flight stability of the triangular tail. Divided into non-toxic ordinary arrows and poisoned arrows two kinds. Ordinary arrows are generally used to kill birds, squirrels, pheasants, rabbits and other small animals.

Against fierce and strong tiger, bear, boar and other large animals, you must use poison arrows. The poison is made by soaking the roots of the giant poisonous wild plant Black Cohosh. It is applied to the small groove at the tip of the arrow and becomes a poisoned arrow. This kind of poison arrow is extremely toxic, the arrowhead is shot into the muscle, as soon as it touches the blood, it will soon flow all over the body, causing the animal to die of poisoning.

"Russia": adorned with love headdress

Gathered in Fugong, Gongshan around the white and black Lisu, young girls like to be decorated with small white shells of the red line braid, married women like to wear beads on the head cap "Russia". "Ohler" is made of coral, material beads, sea shells, small copper beads woven.

The specific production method is: first choose a dozen white sea shells about two centimeters in diameter, drilling small holes in them, with a flat line threaded into a round set that can cover the back of the head. Sea shell circle in the upper part of the shell below the tie a small copper beads, and then the small copper beads across into a string. This constitutes a sea shell string behind the head, forehead copper bead string for the upper and lower sides, to red and white coral, material bead string as the center of the curtain, half-moon shaped bead cap, worn on the head just to the skull and both sides of the ear and temples cover.

Lisu women wear "Ohler", the top of the head of the piece of sea shells as silver moon hanging high above, the following beads, like the stars of the moon. The bottom end of the copper beads, embedded in the forehead, golden, giving people a gorgeous, honorable feeling.

On the "Ole", Lisu folk also circulated a beautiful and touching legend:

In ancient times, there was a year of severe drought, the river dried up, the crops withered and scorched, starvation took countless people's lives. A pair of Lisu young men and women by the Miz God's instructions, in a place of beautiful scenery settled home. The man hunted in the mountains and the woman managed the household, and they gradually developed a love for each other. Although the two worked hard at farming, life was still very hard. Young men wear simple animal skin clothes, can not cover the body, cold. The girl saw in the eyes, pain in the heart. So she was determined to weave a set of comfortable clothes for the young man. She went through a lot of hardship, finally found nettles, and then kept tearing hemp, cooking hemp, rinsing, twisting line, I do not know how many days and nights, and finally weaved into a horizontal linen shirt.

Seeing the beloved girl for their own hard work, and gusts of mountain wind, she was blown away hair from time to time blocked the line of sight, stinging her eyes often shed tears of the scene. The young man secretly wondered if he could make a hat to gather the girl's dark hair. A moonlit night, he looked at the sky, fantasizing if you can use the moon as white, glossy things made of a hat, the girl dressed like the moon under the green hills, how good!

So, he traveled all over the mountains, and finally found the sea shells at the foot of the Tanggula Mountain as he wished, and used the girl to roll out the twine, and ground the sea shells and white and red tree fruits into a string to make a beautiful and generous "Ole". On a harvest night in mid-autumn, the young man took out the "Ole" and put it on the girl's head with the moonlight. The girl took out her long shirt and draped it over the young man's body. The two were y in love, and finally became lifelong companions, had children and multiplied.

From then on, the love of the Lisu young man is bound to do a top "Ohler", to their beloved girl, as a token of affection. The girl also want to personally weave a long shirt, back to their own people. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation.

"Chewing tobacco" and "face wine"

Lisu men and women have the custom of chewing tobacco and drinking wine. Guests come, to honor the gift of tobacco; men and women seeking companionship to throw the tobacco box as a token. Visible tobacco in the Lisu people's lives in the position.

When chewing tobacco, the first tobacco into the mouth, and then put some by betel nut roots, plum tree bark, chestnut tree leaves boiled together with the black gelatinous substances and slaked lime slowly chewing. Soon, the mouth and lips are like smearing coconut red. Today, some women believe that chewing tobacco is indecent, quit smoking gradually become their conscious behavior.

"Sticky face wine", also known as double cup wine and concentric wine, is the Lisu men and women social scene of a playful and interesting way. They often brew their own high concentration of wine hidden with the home, stay as a hospitality guests. As for the banquet singing and dancing on larger occasions, they tend to drink temporary brewed water wine, so as not to get drunk. The Lisu people drink wine when the container, the more primitive is a bamboo tube, now sometimes with ceramic vessels.

When drinking wine, the master took a bamboo tube wine, and guests face to face with drink all together, there shall be no wine overflow drip ground, otherwise we must start from scratch. Drinking "face-to-face wine" is absolutely not avoid the suspicion of men and women, husband and wife with the feast, the husband and her woman face-to-face and drink, the wife also with other men to a "double cup," which is normal.