"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me"
(B.J. Thomas, lyrics of the song)
I followed the same motto. During my cultural explorations the rain was even heavier, but I didn't worry too much, took the umbrella from my cozy little hotel (Zen Garden hotel /Riheyuan, with excellent atmosphere and Naxi bread for breakfast) and went out in the search of... the charme of Lijiang and the minorities living in this old town.
The charme of the old town is obvious: canals, bridges, narrow cobblestone streets, Naxi style houses, small shops (of course it is touristy..), cafés and restaurants. It's over 800 years old, and guess what? Unesco World Heritage.
In Yunnan 21 minorities are living more or less peacefully together. The main minority in Lijiang (two third of the inhabitants), the Naxi, originate from the neighbouring province of Tibet. Astonishingly Naxi women still wear their traditional costume (not for tourists, but in everyday life). The Dongba are Naxi shamans working as healers (drive the devil out of people) or mediators between Naxis and the spiritual world. They still exist, but you cannot just decide to become a Dongba, which endangeres their future. To become a Dongba, your father has to be a Dongba as well and you have to be male. In order to make sure this profession doesn't cease to exist, the Chinese government allows Dongbas to have up to three children instead of the usual one child (Chinese one-child-policy).
One sub-tribe of the Naxi doesn't marry. Their culture is matriarchal. The men just spend the night at the womens' home and after some time the women quit the men and look for new lovers. When the woman is pregnant, paternity doesn't play a role - they raise the child by themselves. Women also inherited all property in the past when the parents died.
Naxi also had a own writing system consisting of pictographs which is also quite interesting.
One sub-tribe of the Naxi doesn't marry. Their culture is matriarchal. The men just spend the night at the womens' home and after some time the women quit the men and look for new lovers. When the woman is pregnant, paternity doesn't play a role - they raise the child by themselves. Women also inherited all property in the past when the parents died.
Naxi also had a own writing system consisting of pictographs which is also quite interesting.
If you want to know more about the Naxi, feel free to read e.g. wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakhi.
P.S: One of the photos is from a Naxi music show. The wikipedia link also includes some information about the famous Naxi music.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen