Lisu (傈僳族)

Geography and Language of Lisu (傈僳族)

The Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan province is where most of the Lisu people live. Their language is related to Chinese-Tibetan and in 1957 a new alphabetic script was devised for them.

• Population: 634,912
• Distribution:  Yunnan and Sichuan
• Language: Lisu
• Religion: Polytheism

Culture of Lisu (傈僳族)

The Lisu people share some of their festivals with the Han Chinese, including the Torch Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

History and Traditions of Lisu (傈僳族)

The Lijiang Prefectural Administration, set up by the Yuan dynasty, ruled over the Lisus after the twelfth century. At the turn of the 20th century, Naxi, Han and Bai peoples moved to the river valleys and improved local production.

The Lisu people struggled against oppression between the 18th and 19th centuries, resisting the Japanese between 1941 and 1943, when they tried to invade Yunnan province.

Before 1949, Lisu social economy varied in different areas. Production was relatively low, so hunting, along with collecting fruit and wild vegetables, made up for small yields. Primitive markets started to be established in Bijiang and Fugong counties where traders bartered goods.

Land ownership before 1949 was divided into private ownership, clan ownership and public ownership.Not much land was publicly owned and private ownership was the most dominant of the three systems.Between the 16th and 20th centuries, patriarchal slavery existed, whereby slaves were treated as adopted family members and could buy back some of their freedom.

After 1949, some of the last vestiges of the clan system could still be found around the Nujiang River valley, where there were over a dozen clans whose names (Tiger, Monkey, Snake, Frost, Fire, etc) served as the clan totems. The accepted head of the clan, usually an elderly man, settled disputes, presided over sacrificial ceremonies, signed alliances with other villages, among other duties.Alliances formed between clans during war times, but when the war was over, the alliances were broken.

Clans shared betrothal gifts as well as debts, making long-term clan relationships possible by the equal division of obligations and responsibilities. Their tradition of worshipping clan totems extended to their religious activities; ghosts were offered sacrifices and fortune-telling offered religious people a way to earn a living. Western missionaries in the mid-nineteenth century spread Christianity, including Catholicism, into the area.

After marrying, sons left the monogamous family unit to set up families of their own.The youngest (or only) son would remain with his parents to inherit and to look after them in their old age. Daughters could not inherit, and parents arranged marriages with generous betrothal gifts.

The Lisu people buried their dead, with each village or clan having its own graveyard.Everyday objects were buried with the body.Work stopped for two to three days when the person who had died was elderly.

Houses are built of either bamboo (supported by stakes and with a bamboo fence) or wood (four-sided structures resembling boxes).A fireplace is the central focus of the houses.

Climate of Lisu (傈僳族)

Sorghum, beans, rice, buckwheat and maize are the main crops grown on Lisu farms and the forests of the area are inhabited by rare animals and medicinal herbs.

Modern Times of Lisu (傈僳族)

The Nujiang Lisu Autonomous District was established in 1954 and was changed to a prefecture in 1957.