CelloftheFamily

1、Cell of the Family Love makes the world go around. Marriage holds it together. But does it really? How do people stay together in their relati on shi p forever? Well, took a weight? of mountains and about 2,700 feet above the sea level is a group of people who, we believe, have found the secret of e

2、ternal love. This is the Tribal Sex & Marriages. (singing) (Boy Singing) Little darl ing, you left me for ano ther groom. All I am left with is grief. (Girl singing) Darling, the moon is setting. Why do you have to go? I vbeen so gen tle to you, and I am unhappy to see you leave The Mosuo Peo pie Th

3、ese court ing coup les bel ong to p ossibly the only liv ing and p ractici ng matriarchal (母系氏族的)society in Southwest Chi na, Yunnan. Called the Mosuo peop le, they live around this lake called Shin ami (Lugu Lake?), which happ ily means the Mother Lake. About 15,000 of them live around the lake in

4、large timber houses, where each family has its own courtyard. Gran dma Zhuo is 85 years old. She is the matriarchal head of the household. In a Mosuo society, the woma n is the chief executive officer and adm ini strator of her cla n - the most cap able woma n elected to be the matriarchal body of t

5、he wome n. She man ages all econo mic and social affairs of her household out of her bedroom., which is also known as the life-a nd-death chamber. Due to rece nt ill health and old age, Gran dma Zhuo has beg un to p ass on her matriarchal duties to Wu Jin, her oldest daughter, who is well versed in

6、Mosuo edict? and customs. (Wu Jin speaking) We cannot step on the stone floor near the fire. We are not suppo sed to put bowls, chop sticks and dirty things on the altar. It is imp orta nt to have a woma n in the family to take care of all these thin gs. The older woma n sit on the left side, and th

7、e wome n on the right side of the altar. This is where gran dma slee ps. This is how a Mosuo woma n should sit in Gran dmas bedroom. This is the room where we put the dead. The body of the dead will be bound with stri ps of cloth, and kept in the room for 17 to 18 days. Beforecrematio( 火化) _, the bo

8、dy is put on the“ flower bed ” for p rayers. The only light in the room comes from the firep lace where an imp orta nt stone lies. It represents the entire family ancestry. The Mosuos believe that the souls of their previous ancestors live in this stone. The fire must therefore continue to burn, or

9、around to kee p them warm. If it dies, it means that the family is decli ning. This is a typical family gathering. Every morning when Grandma goes? outhe day s jobs to every one in the household. This amaz ing matriarch has bee n 3 childre n and the leadershi p of the wome n like her. The Mosuo soci

10、ety has kept its ide ntity almost in tact from an cie nt times till today. She has man aged to kee p the roles of men and wome n apart by maintaining one of the most unu sual marriage customs in the world, called the walking marriages. Gran dma Zhuo has n ever bee n a wife nor did she have a husba n

11、d, because there is no such a word or concept in their Ian guage. If a Mosuo woma n falls in love and bears a child, she does n etmarried. In stead, she continues to live with her mother. When the child is born, it is raised by her maternal relatives (母系親屬).The man in the house becomes the father fi

12、gure of the child. The custom is so unu sual that the Mosuo society has ofte n bee n called the Females Kin gdom. (In terview with Gran dma) Does every one liste n to you? / Yes. / Do you punish the children when they are disobedient? / Yes, I will beat them if they are lazy and disobedie nt. / How

13、do you punish the childre n if no one helps with the harvest ing? / It s useless to scold them, I d rather not do it. The walking marriages custom has worked for the woman because she is free to choose who she wants to be with. In fact, she decides how many lovers she wants as well, with no p ressur

14、e or disa ppro val from home. (Interview with Ci Er) How many girlfriends do you have until now? / Three / Which do you like most? / That one sitting on the fore(船頭)./ She is so beautiful. / Does she love you? / I have no idea. I have to ask her tonight. / Did you expressyour in terest to her? / I h

15、ave no cha nee to say that. I will go for it toni ght. True to his pro mise, Ci Er is trying his luck on this moon lit ni ght. How the walk ing marriage worki ng and p racticed is, whe n a Mosuo woma n is in terested in a man, she in vites him to spend the ni ght in her room. (In terview with Ci Er)

16、 Have you ever bee n rejected by a woma n before? / No, n ever. This pairing (配對(duì)) is usually done secretly with the man that literally walks in her room, which is roma ntically called the Flower Chamber. He can only do this whe n it is dark, and he must leave whe n the sun rises. (In terview with Na

17、n Jin) What do you think of a woma n who slee ps with several men? / It s a normal thing. The fact is many of them do stay in a relati on shi p through a very long time. Still, this age-old custom of walki ng marriages has created bad repu tati on for them. And they are a little self-con sciou(害羞-不自

18、然的) whe n asked about it. (Interview with Nan Jin) Can you ask another question? How am I supposed to an swer that questio n? It been two mon ths since Nan Jin vsalki ng marriage with Ci Er. But she has dumped (拋棄) him as she found some one else whom she likes better, ano ther 18?-shi nin g? armor?.

19、 (Interview with Nan Jin) Who are you waiting for? / I am waiting for Sai Nuo to show up. / What about Ci Er? / After a p eriod of time, I realized that he is not quite suitable for me. We are no Ion ger together. / Why do you think Sai Nuo is better tha n Ci Er? / Sai Nuo is easy-go ing and hardwor

20、k ing. / Do you feel happy with him? / Yes, I d rather stay with Sai Nuo. The gen tlema nobliges (強(qiáng)迫)(be nefits) us by visit ing visit Nan Jin in the daylight, because the custom is to do this only at ni ght. Although we want to hear the wedding bells in a Mosuo com mun ity, there are obligations no

21、t uni ike ano ther marriage. But, these are more imp licit and subtle. Sai Nuo is helping Nan Jin to build a house. He has to dem on strate his feeli ng to the household that bel ongs to his sweetheart. As a sig n of acce ptan ce, he is welcome into the folks of her family, where her mother brews ya

22、k-butter tea for him, a com mon Mosuo and Tibetan drink.酥油茶 As per Mosuo custom, should a couple had a baby together, it will be raised by Nan Jin family. Sai Nuo will have no responsibility towards the child. The child will be only introduced to Sai Nuo upon adulthood. It is therefore not un com mo

23、n that Mosuo childre n don t know who their biological father is. ghee tea 酥油茶 (Interview with children) Is your father at home? / No. / Where has he gone to? / I don t know. Do you miss him? / Yes, I do. / How does your father look like? / I don t know. / Yong Er works as a bar ten der in an inn wh

24、ere he has bee n in teract ing with tourists from all over the world. In the last five years, because of their unu sual outlooks on love, sex and marriage, the Mosuo people have become a great tourist attract ion. (Ci Er speaking) It s difficult to express love verbally in Mosuo because if you tran

25、slate it, it loses its esse nee. We can only exp ress it in our own Ian guage. This is how we say “I love you ” in Mosuo. (Yong Er speaking) Physical needs is more important. / Does that mean walking marriages n eed not have an emoti onal basis? / Emoti on is the p riority. People have sexual relati

26、 ons after they know each other well. / In this accommonation? community,the word prOmiscuity(舌L交)” or“ lodnaes ” not much of judgme nt value to it. （Yong Er sp eak ing） I feel that in Mosuo customs, walk ing marriages are not that different from love affairs in the cities. For a woman to have sever

27、al partners is no rmal, just like in the cities. But the baby is born, the relati on shi p is fixed. Their versi on of a disco or asquare danc（廣場(chǎng)舞）floor if you like. Hold ing hands and moving around the bonfire（篝火）,repeating a course makes good socialization, because that is how young Mosuo people c

28、heck each other （了解清楚）.When the tourists get into the act, it can lead to love affairs which are p retty com mon with Mosuo people. They are not obliged to marry their own kind, yet they will be able to observe their ide ntities and customs over the cen turies. This is because of their sense to sp i

29、ritual world to find who they are. Today, the Mosuos are Tibeta n Buddhists. But they have no t lost their esse ntial beliefs in n aturalism and their an cestral worshi p. They believe that their an cestors will return as little children, which is why they regard the younger generations as the con t

30、i nu ati on of the p ast. In every Mosuo household, there is an ancestral hall（宗祠）.If it is a rich family, it will be elaborately decorated. This is where they and again the women who keep the sp irit of worshi p alive. （Woman speaking） The holy water must be changed twice everyday in the morning an

31、d evening. Thebrickea （磚茶） and fruit should be changed three times a week. The rout ine will bring good luck for the family. Ano ther traditi on that is holdi ng the com mun ity together is the famous Mosuo adult cerem onies that every girl has to go through. It is a very imp orta nt custom because,

32、 un til a child goes through the ritual, she is not regarded as a compi ete person. If she dies prematurely （過早地，早產(chǎn)地）,there will be no funeral for her. It is also during the cerem ony that she is give n one of the n ames from the deceased family member. It is Da Chu adult ceremony today. She is 18,

33、and yes, after this ritual she is entitled to p artici pate in walk ing marriages. （Da Chu sp eak ing） I am an adult from no w. It means that we are grow n up, and we can now go for walk ing marriages. A few mon ths after her n essiati on? cerem ony, Da Chu has already made good （實(shí) 現(xiàn)）on her newfound

34、 freedom of adulthood. She found a job working as a waitress in the an cie nt city of Lijia ng. （Da Chu sp eak ing） Why do you want to come to the city? /I decided to look for a job here because back home, I kept depending on my mum. I wan ted to find a job, and be more independent. As Mosuo young p

35、eople like Da Chu out of their tribal com mun ity, it might app ear that their walki ng marriage custom will die a n atural death eve ntually. But, the irony is it would be p robably this very urba n world of tourism that would kee p the p ractice of walki ng marriages in tact in years to come. The

36、Wa People More than a thousand miles away from Leshinami is another tribe that is holding firmly to their values of love and courtsh ip. The Wa Tribe is one of the least known peoples in the world. Here in Yunnan about 350,000 of them live in the mountains. Their sp oke n dialect that has no writte

37、n form is one of the least known Ian guages in the world. In stead of words or characters, the Wa people use everyday objects to exp ress how they feel. Sugarca ne, bananas or salt could mea n frien dsh ip, while chili is an ger, and cock feathers is urge ncy. Uni ike the Mosuo peop le, the Wa has t

38、o marry with their own ki nd. Meet the 19-year-old Ni Ma. He is hoping to win the heart of one girl in his village, Yi Ga. (Ni Ma sp eak ing) Is there a girl in the village that you are going after? / Yes. / Is she beautiful? / Yes. / What gifts are you planning to give her? / A n ecklace and bracel

39、et. / Do you mi nd if she is a virgin or n ot? / No. To win the hearts of a Wa girl, you n eed to know the ki nd of p rese nts she would like. It is very imp orta nt to choose the right kind of gift. Because if she acce pts it, it means that your love as a Wa young man has been dulyreciprocated Ni M

40、a and his friends do the sho pping at the village s wbOdhstEoeies eno ugh varieties for them to choose from. The boys are hoping to get lucky with their lady love. It s not easy to get past the front door for your first date. You ll have to see your way through and pray the gid to let you in. (Boys

41、singing) PI ease open the door for me / Whoualreys outside? Are you stragglers (游蕩者，游手好閑的人) ? / No. We are smart, hardworking boys. The dati ng game is n ever easy done in the city or up in the mountains. This Wa young people are no less p assi on ate from their urba n counterp arts, exce pt the rul

42、es of love and courtship (戀愛)are laid out for them. Up this group dates, the plain field is usually in the sitting room of the girl s home. Sometimes their parents are watching, but not today. If she likes him, she lights up his pipe for him. Ni Ma is about to prop ose to Yi Ga. His cha nces are goo

43、d because she has just lit up his pipe. However, the lady has some concerns. （Ni Ma and Yi Ga sp eak ing） I am so glad to meet you. I fell in love with you at first sight. /I cannot acce pt you, because I do not know much about you. Furthermore, I am the only girl in the family so I have to marry so

44、me one cap able. I can tell that you are a lazy guy from your clea n and white han ds. / That s because I just graduated from school. I can do anything for you. Ni Ma had more luck with Yi Ga. His friend was not so lucky. He had a long way to go. For most acco unts （= reas on s）, the Wa people are o

45、pen in court ing each other, but they draw a straight li ne whe n it comes to premarital sex（婚前性行為）. （Yi Ga sp eak ing） Pregnancy before marriage will be seriously puni shed. Everybody will look down on the couple. Villagers will blame them for disasters or illnesses because they believe that its th

46、e immoral couple who has brought them bad luck. So every one will curse and spit on them. Today is a happy day for Yi Ga and Ni Ma, as they are gett ing en gaged. Right from the start of courtship to the engagement day, it is all about gifts. Ni Ma has prepared all the required items for her parents

47、. The ceremony can only proceed with Yi Ga s uncle accepts these gifts. It is unlikely that that going to happen , because, prior to this, her family has already tested out Ni Ma to see if he s hardworking or lazy fellow. （Uncle sp eak ing） Since you both love each other, I pray that you will have a

48、 good life together. May your love grow and last forever. And may the both of you live a long and happy life. The Wa tradition of marriage hasn suffered from onslaught of modernity, even though young people like Ni Ma and Yi Ga have bee n exposed to the world outside their tribe. After receiving the

49、ir technical education （職業(yè)技術(shù)教育）in town, the two of them have returned the village to work on the farms of tea plantations. What could be threatening their traditions is probably more religious in nature. In the p ast, like many an cie nt tribal com mun ities, the Wa people worsh ip n ature and belie

50、ve in animism （萬物有靈論）.They see deities in the mountains, rivers, trees and natural disasters. They worship these elements of nature to avoid being cursed by gods. Hen ce, elaborate rituals are p erformed to ask p rotect ions from gods and ghosts alike. Today, 800 years later, this practice has evolv

51、ed into a mixture of animism and Buddhism. Un til a few decades ago, some of them still p racticedove-to-all （普神論） or head-on-thi ng （人祭）.In stead of sacrifici ng food to the gods, they use huma n heads in stead. However, their conv ersi on to Buddhism for some of them has made the practice obsolete

52、 （過時(shí)）_. Or late, Christianity has also begun to enter their tribal culture, and some have bee n conv erted. Un like the Mosuos, the Wa people will not have tourism to extend the slight ben efits? of their customs, because they are not dependent on foreign dollars for their livelihoods. Will the new

53、western religious ideas and beliefs change the intrinsic （固 有） way in which they live and love? Love has many splen did thin gs?. And if it is one thi ng Yi tribe has in its customs to capture this elusiencity?, it has to be this - Hua Wei Yao （花圍腰）or flower belt sewed by the young girls in their tr

54、ibe. They have been learning how to embroider （刺繡）this since they were 7 years old. While the girls hold on （抓緊不放）dearly to their flower belts, the boys are doing their best way to imp ress them, and hope they will have the object of their love, they only know if the girl gives her flower belt to th

55、em. （Pu Chu n sp eak ing） How old are you? / 18 years old. /I heard that only after 3 years of marriage, the bride will the n be allowed to live with the husba nd. Can you tell me why? / Only after 3 years of marriage that you can test your husba nd. If he is not suitable, you may look for ano ther.

56、 It is a custom that has gone on for hundreds of years. One has to keep the relatio nships stro ng in that com mun ity. As with the Mosuo peop le, Yi wome n are not bound by strict rules of chastity （貞潔） _. Relati on shi ps are not as comp licated here. It is p ractical love in acti on. Young lovers

57、 do not suffer the same an xious （an chersters?） as their urba n counterp arts, because the Ian guage of love is all in that flower belt. When the flower belt is given for good, not returned or taken back, the relationship has moved on to the next level - the marriage ceremony. Pu Wenshun is the bri

58、degroom-to-be. And his day begins with an offering （祭祀）to all the various corners of the house, where deities reside. Wen shu n does everythi ng as he is told, because he has see n many before him going through the same rituals. Such weddings in Yi tribe are a clan fair, with almost every uncle, aun

59、ty and relative being invo Ived in the whole ceremonial prep aratio ns. Back in the bride house, Shi Meiyi is also gett ing ready. Shi and Wenshun have known each other for 5 years. She works as a farmer and He the village head. The basis for Yi marriage is a rep roductive activity, to put it plai n

60、iy, marriage is for the purpose of having offspring. The unusual custom to have the couple wait for 3 years before con summati on （圓房）is to en sure this will happen .It also en ables the couple to understand each other better before they raise a family. It is really like a very long engagement （約會(huì)）p