The Naxi are an ethnic minority living in the upper reaches of the Jinsha River in China. In addition to a small number of distributions in Sichuan and Tibet, the Naxi mainly live in the Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province and its neighboring counties such as Zhongdian, Ninglang, Wisi, Yongsheng and Deqin. According to the 1990 census, there are 278,009 Naxi people in the country, including 260,388 in Yunnan Province and 184,894 in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, accounting for 66.5% of the total Naxi population in the country, and it is the main Naxi settlement area.

Naxi Appellation The Naxi's self-proclaimed name varies according to dialects: Lijiang and other places call themselves "Naxi", while Nyingchi and Yanyuan in Sichuan call themselves "Nari", "Nari", "Nari", "Nari" or "Nari". Naxi" in Lijiang and other places, and "Nari", "Naru" or "Naheng" in Ninglang and Yanyuan in Sichuan Province. According to the analysis of Naxi language, "Na" has the meaning of "big" or "honorable", "West", "Ru", "Heng" and so on means "people" or "race". 1954, according to the will of the people, approved by the State Council, the "Naxi" as "Naxi", "Heng" and so on means "people" or "race". In 1954, according to the will of the people, approved by the State Council, to "Naxi" as the **** the same name. Naxi language and writing The Naxi have their own language and writing. The Naxi language belongs to the Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family, and is roughly divided into two dialects with the Jinsha River as the boundary, and the dialects can not talk to each other, while the standard language of the Naxi language takes the western dialect of the Naxi language as the basic dialect, and the voice of the Lijiang county town, Dayan, as the standard tone.　In the long history of the Naxi people, there have been two kinds of scripts: Dongba Wen and Geba Wen. "Dongba Wen" is a kind of hieroglyphic writing created by the Naxi people as early as more than a thousand years ago (before the Tang Dynasty), which consists of hieroglyphic symbols, marking signs and additional symbols, and it is the only remaining living hieroglyphic writing in the world that is still in circulation in the folklore today. Naxi Religion The Naxi believe in Dongbaism, Tibetan Buddhism and other religions. In addition, the Naxi people in Lijiang also generally believe in the "Three Doves" God, becoming a multi-faith ethnic group. Naxi Social and Economic The social and economic development of the Naxi region, like that of most of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan, is not very balanced. Before the establishment of **** and the State, the Naxi settlements in Lijiang County were characterized by a feudal landlord economy and the emergence of capitalist industry and commerce; some areas of Zhongdian County still retained remnants of a lord economy; and Nyingchi was still basically in the stage of a feudal lord economy, with remnants of dyadic marriages and matrilineal families. Culture of the Naxi In their long history, the Naxi people have created a splendid culture rich in their own characteristics, and formed and developed their own religious beliefs and customs. Dongba religion is the unique religion of the Naxi people, and Dongba culture is named after the preservation of Dongba religion. It mainly includes Dongba texts, Dongba scriptures, Dongba paintings, Dongba music, Dongba dances, Dongba magic weapons and various sacrificial ceremonies. Naxi Dongba culture is unique among all ethnic groups in Yunnan, and is the pride of the Naxi people. For example, Dongba script has high academic value for the study of comparative philology and the history of human culture; and in the Dongba Scriptures, on the one hand, it has preserved a lot of ancient words and phrases, which is an excellent material for historical comparison between the Naxi language and other kindred languages, and on the other hand, it records a large amount of ancient Naxi literature.　At the same time with the development of Dongba culture, the Naxi people studied and absorbed the advanced culture of other ethnic groups, especially the Han people, thus enriching the cultural and artistic traditions and contents of their own ethnic group. From the Ming Dynasty, the noble lords headed by Lijiang Tusi first accepted the Han culture, and most of them were capable of poetry and literature, such as Mugong had written Selected Poems of Snowy Mountain, and Muzeng had written Collections of Poems such as Yunmai Temmo. Naxi folk characteristics Naxi generally believe in the dam area, river valley and semi-mountainous areas. Dam area folk housing is mostly earth and wood structure tiled house, pattern is mostly "three rooms and a wall", mountainous area is mostly low wooden houses, with wooden boards over the roof. Naxi marriage and family, monogamy is practiced in most areas, and in the old days, marriage was decided by parents and socialization was free before marriage. The Mosuo around Lugu Lake in Nyingchi, on the other hand, still retain remnants of matrilineal families and dyadic marriages. With the implementation of the marriage law, some of the old marriage customs are gradually changing.

Traditional Naxi Festivals

Dongba Hui

On March 5 of the lunar calendar every year, dongbas from the Naxi settlements gather at Yushui Zhai in Lijiang, the holy place of dongbas in the central part of the country, to hold their annual dongbas here in a grand scene. On this day, the Dongba came to Yushuizhai Dongba Shiluo Temple early. They light the incense burner, burn big incense, pay homage to the gods and ancestors, pay homage to the founder of Dongba, Dongba Shilo, and recite sutras and do puja. The Dongba Festival is also an opportunity for Dongba from all over the world to "compete" and display their talents and skills. One by one, Dongba from different places recite Dongba sutra and dance according to their own styles. Afterwards, they share their experiences and learn from each other. They all love their own ethnicity and national

culture

. National cohesion, national sense of responsibility so that they come together, for the inheritance of the ancient Naxi culture, and carry forward the vast and **** with efforts.

Stick will

Every year on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, is the Lijiang Naxi "stick will". At that time, the city of Lijiang is crowded with people, and the streets are full of bamboo and wooden agricultural tools, fruit trees and flowers. This event marks the end of the Spring Festival and the beginning of spring plowing. The will by the "Milao will" evolved from the original temple fair held in the temple, the early Qing Dynasty after the return of the land to the stream, to catch the meeting place moved to Lijiang ancient city, and gradually developed into the preparation for the spring plowing of bamboo and wood farming equipment trade fair, in recent years and increased the fruit tree seedlings, flowers and bonsai trading content, to catch the meeting place from the ancient city to the new city. In addition to the first month of the fifteenth county stick will be, there is the first month of the twentieth of the Baisha agricultural tools exchange, Naxi called Baisha when the United States empty Pu, meaning Baisha Dabaojigong open door. This is a continuation of the Ming Dynasty since the Baisha Dabaojigong, Liulideng, Dadingge and other temples once a year to open the door for people to burn incense to worship Buddha, and later evolved into a traditional festival based on the trading of agricultural tools. Exchanges, not only a complete range of agricultural tools, but also children's toys and daily groceries have everything, so the saying goes, "In addition to chicken Lu head, you can buy everything.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Three Duo Festival

"Three Duo" for the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain of the gods, is the legend of the war, to help the heroes, so the Naxi people for thousands of years worshipped as the protection of God. According to the ancient records of the Dongba, three of the sheep, so in the past, every year, the eighth day of the eighth month of February and August Sheep Day, all over the Naxi people have to Lijiang Baysha "Jade Dragon Shrine" (i.e., Beiyue store) solemn worship of three God, and some also held in their own homes, "sacrifices of three" ceremony. In addition to worship activities, but also a variety of recreational activities. Because the eighth day of February when "ten thousand camellias" bloom, spring is bright, and gradually formed the Naxi people's spring festival. 1986 August, Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress passed a resolution, the lunar calendar February 8 when the three Duo Festival "as the Naxi traditional festival. Every year on this day the whole county holiday I and by the county government specific arrangements for a variety of festivals, such as organizing various exhibitions of the masses to enjoy the flowers, held a seminar and so on. At that time, the tourists like a tide, the city is full of jubilation, day and night singing, lively and extraordinary. Now Naxi three dozen festival, has become Lijiang's grandest large-scale folk cultural events.　　　　　　　　　　　　　

March Meeting

Lijiang March Meeting is held every year in March of the lunar calendar, the meeting period is generally seven days. Originally sacrificed to the dragon to seek rain days, to the Qing Dynasty Qianlong ten years, Lijiang city north of the Black Dragon pool built Yuquan Dragon God Shrine, began to hold three to five days in March here "Dragon King Temple". After the Xinhai Revolution, Lijiang commercial persuasion will take the opportunity to worship the Dragon King, department store exchanges, and in the Yuquan north of the forest lawn between the main livestock, trading market to the sudden horse. Near and far merchants continue to take the plunge and drive the horse to come, Yuquan gradually turned into a plunge horse market center, the March meeting began to evolve into a plunge horse material exchanges, and has been continued to the present day. During the March Fair, in addition to the exchange of mountain goods and herbs, local products, daily necessities and the plunge horses and livestock, but also organized sports competitions, folk songs and singing, ancient music and other activities. Lijiang City, a sea of people, full of festive atmosphere.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

July meeting

Lijiang July meeting, held in the middle of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, is another important festival of the Naxi people. It lasts for about ten days. Because of the plunge horse, cattle and other large livestock trading, also known as "July plunge horse will be". July will, a long history, known far and wide. Legend has it that the Naxi ancestor of the creation of Chong Nin Li En, after the flood, and the God of the sky princess lined with red praise white encounter love, break through the obstacles, finally married, from the sky to return to the earth when the creation of the heavenly palace of the horse trade will also be passed back to his hometown, so Lijiang will have a sudden horse event. In fact, Lijiang France 'ancient has "flower horse country" reputation. Here a long time ago with the horse and Sichuan merchants also iron. Written in Naxi hieroglyphics, "Dongba scripture", there are many wonderful depictions of horse breeding life. Lijiang horse body proportional, small eyes, neck short thick, ang powerful, muscular, four strong, hard hooves, hard-working, light, good at climbing mountains and other advantages, pack, ride, pull are suitable, not only in the local is widely used, and every year there are a large number of horses lost to all over the world. Due to the military and transportation needs of the Ming Dynasty, the introduction of good donkey breeds from Shanxi, with the local good horse with the development of the plunge. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Lijiang Wood's Tusi to local horses sent to Beijing tribute. Qing Dynasty Qianlong years, in the city of Lijiang part of the annual March of the Dragon King Temple has been plunge horse livestock trading. In the early years of the Republic of China /, in all parts of the plunge horse on the basis of the mutual market, and in the old city of Lijiang Lion Mountain west of the hillside held in July plunge horse will be. After the liberation, with the prosperity and development of the national economy, the old July will be more prosperous, become a new type of trading horse, exchange of materials, dissemination of culture event. With the increasing scale, the site has been relocated to a more expansive county southeast of the red star exchange venue. During the festival, the Naxi people holding livestock, with agricultural and sideline specialties and a variety of Chinese herbs, came to the town of Danyan to catch the meeting. Neighboring Han, Bai, Yi, Tibet, Baojian, Pumi and other ethnic brothers and sisters, also dressed in national costume to the meeting. Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Anhui and other places of merchants, also came from afar to participate in the event. People rush to the daytime, shopping, exhibitions, performances, from the street to the venue of three kilometers of the road never stop the flow of people. At sunset and dusk, when the lights first came on, Sifang Street, New Street and the square, the people were abuzz with voices. Some play the flute, some play the lusheng, some sing "valley gas tune", some circle dance "Aliri" and "Ohmerda". Today's Naxi July meeting, has become a veritable frontier of the new look of the exposition, the exchange of national friendship, more and more to show its unique characteristics.

Naxi festivals

Diqing Naxi festivals are the first month of Spring Festival, February 8, March Ching Ming Festival, May Dragon Boat Festival, June Torch Festival, July Ancestor Festival and so on. Among them, the most characteristic and grandest festival is February 8th.

February 8: the eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar is the most important traditional festival of the Naxi people in Diqing, especially in the three dams of white most lively. Also known as the "white water". During the day, from near and far to the Naxi, Tibetans, Yi, Hui and other tens of thousands of people will gather in the white water platform, to participate in the pilgrimage to the white water God event. People first burn incense and kill chickens to the sky, sacrifices to a variety of gods after the song and dance performances and horse races, lively and extraordinary.

The festival on the eighth day of the second month looks more like a large-scale group picnic. On this day, people from all villages and cottages, dressed in the festive costumes of all ethnic groups, set off in groups before dawn on the road to Baishui Terrace. To the white water platform, the first family branch, the family as a unit in front of the platform of the child-seeking hole side burning incense kowtow, and then to their respective fire pit fire picnic. From ancient times to the present day, the location of the respective fire place remains unchanged, because each family or each family in the fire above the altar of God set up. On that day, the Naxi people first in the fire side of the ancestors, and then to the White Water Terrace spring next to the big burning incense altar for ancestor worship. Ancestor sacrifice is completed, then sit to their respective homes by the fire pit, enjoy a variety of dishes and pastries already prepared. In the smoke decorated in the middle, the people of Oshuwan first sang and danced the "Akabara" dance, along with other villages and villages of people also such as people to the dance among the team. The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on some of the most popular products and services in the world," he said.

Clothing, food, housing

According to the relevant historical records, the Naxi ancestors of the dress of "men and women are wearing sheepskin" custom, which may be more developed with the livestock industry and nomadic nature of the people concerned. Yuan Li Jing saw the Naxi men are "good at fighting and hunting, holding a short sword, decorated with giant clams", while the women are "wearing felt, soapy clothes, tricked, high buns of hair; women's hair cut eyebrow, to hemp rope for the skirt. To the end of the early Qing Dynasty, Naxi men's clothing has been roughly the same as Han men, women's clothing has changed from wearing skirts to wearing pants, but still retained a more distinctive ethnic characteristics. Lijiang area women wearing a wide waist and big sleeves, short front width, back width of the long rimmed women's jacket, plus purple or navy blue kangshi, waist pleated apron, wearing pants, feet wearing boat-shaped embroidered shoes, back draped with a seven-rounded cloth circle and seven pairs of drooping spikes of the sheepskin shawl, commonly known as "Phi Xing Dai Yue". Married women will be bun comb disk on the top of the head, wearing a round gauze hat; unmarried girls are knotted hair braid disk in the back of the head, wearing a cloth turban or black velvet hat. Naxi women in Zhongdian County and Deqin County in Yunnan Province often wear colorful linen shirts with open collars, pleated linen skirts, colorful belts, sheepskin shawls, and boots. Young women generally like to keep long hair, in the braid of hair mixed with colorful silk or wool coiled in a bun at the top of the head, similar to the neighboring areas of Tibetan women's headdress; and married women are often wrapped in red cloth head, and then wear a disc-shaped silver ornaments commonly known as "bone with".

Hugu Lake Mosuo people due to more interaction with the Tibetan people, the belief in Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) is increasing, most men have changed to wear Tibetan clothes. Women are wearing short shirts of various colors, under the pleated skirt, waist belt, back draped in sheepskin, and yak tail hair braided into a thick fake braid coiled on the top of the head, and then outside the fake braid wrapped in a circle of blue and black silk thread, will be this braid after the waist to the intersection of the pendant, looks beautiful and generous.

Naxi ancestors may have practiced cave dwellings in the early days, some history books to "some hole barbarians" said. Later gradually learned to build and cover the "wood-lined room", that is, to the round wood vertical and horizontal stacked for the wall, base to about 10 feet will be added to the rafters and trusses, covered with wooden boards, and then pressed on the wooden boards with stones. The main room to the fire as the center of activity, the bed is located in the fire on the side of the fire, cooking is also carried out on the fire. Lijiang area in the Ming Dynasty, there are tile room, but mostly for the head and the head of the residence. With the development of social and economic culture in the Naxi region, towns and dams in rural areas has been widely used "three houses a wall" or "four five patio" type of wood and stone structure, soil and wood structure of the tiled house building. This kind of tiled house is mostly a two-story building, with the foundation made of large stone blocks, the middle part of which is made of adobe or bricks and stones, and the upper part of which is covered with wooden boards. The eave extends outward, and two "wind and fire boards" are nailed to the ends of the truss beams (some of them are also decorated with "hanging fish") to protect the wooden parts from rainwater erosion. Doors and windows of the main house more carved flowers, birds and animals and other decorations, the dam is also set clamp various patterns of cobblestones and tiles, and then planted all over the flowers and grasses, appearing to be beautiful and comfortable.

Lugu Lake Mosuo people still live in "wooden houses", each family has at least one main house and a building stables, more populous or wealthier families built four houses constitute a compound. The main house generally consists of a main room, an upper room, a lower room, a back room and a storehouse. Inside the main room there is a large fire pit for cooking and heating; the fire pit is surrounded by wooden planks, which can be used by the whole family for eating, deliberations, rituals and reception of guests, and at the same time is a place for elderly women and children to sleep at night. The upper room is the bedroom of the elderly men, the lower room houses the pestle, the mill and the cooking stove, which is the place for processing food and cooking pig's food, and the back room is used as the place for stacking sundries. The upstairs room is separated into three or four small rooms, which are used as "flower rooms" for the young and strong women of the family to receive male Axia. This kind of "wooden house" building is simple, but live in the inside of the warm winter and cool summer, but also can resist a strong earthquake of about seven magnitude.

According to history, the ancient Naxi people to buckwheat, tares, round roots for food. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, in a large number of absorption of Han advanced production technology and new crops on the basis of the Naxi people's agriculture has been a relatively rapid development, life has also made new changes. Corn, wheat, rice, barley, tares as the main food. Farmers in the dam area mostly open garden beds in front of and behind their houses, and plant some vegetables for self-feeding. At the same time, the Naxi people in the winter every year during the month of Lunar New Year's custom of killing pigs, made of ham or bacon, usually cut and eat, lard used as cooking oil. Generally, people also have a variety of salty and sour pickles, black beans, liver sauce, sausages, pickled eggs and so on. In general, three meals a day are mostly dry rice, rice or rice, corn mixed rice, two or three dishes and soup. In winter and spring, they love to eat steaming hot pot dishes; in summer, during the busy farming period, most of the farmers use rice wine mixed with cold water to quench their thirst, and some places also eat fried noodles and butter tea in the morning. Naxi people like to drink wine, tea and smoking leaves, love to eat spicy, sour, sweet, flavor. Townspeople's staple food is mainly rice and wheat flour, generally a small amount of fine, vegetables rely on suburban vegetable farmers supply. The city sells the famous Lijiang ham poop, delicious.

Sacrificing Heaven and Ancestors

The Naxi people of Sanba offer sacrifices to heaven once a year and to their ancestors three times a year. In the first month of the festival, on the 14th day of the lunar month, they have to make wine, cook and invite guests, invite the old people to chant, on the 30th night, they have to "car search", on the first day, they have to kowtow to the god of the stove, and on the second day, they have to wash their heads, feet and clothes, and go to the riverside to drink water. On the evening of the third day, the god of the sky is invited to the house to offer sacrifices. On the fourth day, we have to kill chickens, burn incense in the sacrificial heaven, kowtow and gin and sip, and come back for archery and other activities, and have dinner at the home of the chief priest after the activities. On the fifth day, a big pig was brought out at dawn and boiled into three pots, and after cooking, they read "Heavenly Good Yagami" and "Crow Friends". The elders eat the wine and meat, and then all the people eat. After eating, they go home in turn. On the sixth day, each family sacrifices itself. On the eighth day, a pig is carried to heaven. On the ninth day, a small pig is sacrificed to heaven. This is the end of the whole activity of sacrificing to heaven.

Ancestor worship: once on the sixth or seventh day of the first month or on the twelfth day of February, once in early June, and once on the second day of November. Generally, three yellow chestnut trees are used for the sacrifice, and each family sacrifices itself.

Funeral

In terms of funeral customs, the Naxi people around Lijiang have always practiced cremation before the "change of land and set up a stream". After the death of a person with a bamboo basket or a wooden coffin without a cover to the mountains or villages outside the crematorium cremation, after a period of time and then go to pack the bones for the funeral ceremony. After the early Qing Dynasty "change the land and set up a stream", the central dynasty sent a stream of officials had repeatedly ordered to change the cremation for burial, all due to "the soil is still confused about the knife Ba wu fu said" and failed to work. Until the Qianlong period, the flow of officials mobilized by all means a Naxi small head of his mother buried, people did not see the disaster will gradually change the cremation for burial. But in some remote mountain townships, the custom of cremation is still retained.

When a person is in the dying, an elder in the family holding a packet with a little silver, tea leaves and rice paper bag waiting at the side, in the time of the fall of gas must be put into the mouth of the dead. This is intended to make the deceased very precious "gas" can continue, in order to contribute to family reproduction and prosperity. In addition, the funeral, mourning, stopping the spirit of activities should be in a respected family elders under the command, and to ask the Dongba priest to preside over some of the rituals. After the death of a person generally stop the spirit of three days to the funeral; funeral ceremony held within three days after the family relatives still need to offer sacrifices every day. Next, a series of activities such as "Doing Seven", "Hundred Days" and "Yearly Lent" will be held to mourn the dead, and the Dongba or Lama will be invited to come to the home to recite sutras until the third anniversary of the death of the deceased. After the third anniversary of the death of a person to do "three years of fasting", the whole worship activities can be considered to be over. Women who die during childbirth, children die young and other unnatural deaths are generally not buried in the family cemetery, nor cremated in the family or village crematorium.

The Mosuo people basically maintain the custom of cremation, but before the funeral ceremony must be bundled up in a burlap bag, buried in the main room indoor earth cave in the "morgue" for a period of time (up to 49 days). In addition, after the cremation, there is the custom of packing some of the bones into a small cloth bag and sending them to the family cemetery for burial. These customs have changed considerably.

The Naxi people attach great importance to the rituals of life and death. In terms of fertility, many areas of the Naxi people have maintained the ritual of seeking children, non-expectant women seeking children more. The work of midwifery is often done by elderly women from families with many children and grandchildren and prosperous families, and it was only around the 1960s that they generally switched to hospitals or health centers to give birth to their children. Ten days after the birth of a child, the father would send people to the homes of relatives such as parents-in-law, uncles, uncles and aunts to announce the birth by sending rice wine and eggs. After announcing the birth, friends and relatives will come to congratulate the child and send gifts such as hens, eggs, rice and baby clothes and hats. On the sheep or ox day before the child's full moon, the dongpa will be invited to preside over the naming ceremony and invite friends and relatives to attend. After the full moon guests are invited to carry the child out of the house, the mother can also get out of bed to participate in household chores. When the child is one year old shall invite the weekly guest, and the public spread down the ink and paper, iron carpenter tools and needles and threads, etc. to let the child "grasp the week", as a prediction of the child's future. Lugu Lake, the Mosuo people to give birth to a woman as a noble, that more women more blessings, because as long as there is a girl will be able to continue the matrilineal blood family "root".

Marriage customs

Naxi people due to the historical origin between the clans, the geographical distribution of different reasons, the formation of a distinctive marriage customs and family form. Gathered in the Lijiang area of the Naxi people have long practiced monogamy, while living in the area around Lugu Lake at the junction of Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, the Mosuo people, in the past, they did not marry not married "A Xia" (that is, close friends of the opposite sex) marriage life. In the same ethnic group there is a patriarchal, matriarchal and patriarchal and matriarchal parallel marriage and family form, this phenomenon has long attracted general attention, become a hot spot of academic research.

Lijiang Naxi people around the implementation of monogamous marriage for a long time, the old days of children's marriages are often made by the parents, please matchmakers to set up, and then through the betrothal, wine, wedding and other procedures to marry. When the boy grew to seven or eight years old, parents will pay attention to his search for a daughter-in-law, if it is hit by the "door-to-door" people's girls with their son's birthdays and eight characters match, can be entrusted to the matchmaker to bring a pot of wine to go to the woman's home to propose marriage. To be agreed by the parents of the woman, you can choose an auspicious day to send the engagement bride price ceremony, commonly known as "send small wine". In this ceremony, the man's family must send to the woman's parents "four-color gift": about five pounds of white wine a altar, two packets of tea, four boxes of brown sugar, two liters of rice. After the "send small wine" ceremony, if any party feels that the marriage is not suitable, can be proposed to reverse. If the woman repudiates, she must return the bride price sent by the man, but if the man wants to repudiate the marriage, he may not ask for the bride price back, and simply asks the matchmaker to notify the woman. After a year and a half, the man's family must send a second bride price to the woman's family, commonly known as "sending a big". In addition to the gifts in addition to the full range of the above "four-color gift", but also to send a bolt of about seven feet long cloth, two sets of dresses, half a pork, a pair of jade bracelets or silver bracelets, and a number of cash. The woman's family also to a pot of white wine, two boxes of brown sugar and some patties to the male family gifts. After the ceremony of "sending big wine", both sides generally can no longer express regret for the marriage, otherwise it will be discussed. When young men and women reach the age of about 18, they can choose an auspicious date for their wedding.

In terms of marital relations, in the past, Lijiang area of Naxi people in the aunts and uncles table marriage is more common, the uncle's son has the right to marry the aunt's daughter as a priority for the wife, so the aunt's daughter in general for the uncle's son to choose, and then can be considered for marriage to outsiders. In some places, there is also the custom of "transferring rooms" between brother and sister, but it is generally the case that a brother marries his sister-in-law after the death of his brother, while the case of a brother marrying his sister-in-law is relatively rare. In addition, the Naxi people in the case of divorce is also rare, because it is generally believed that this is a very dishonorable thing, not as a last resort will never do so. After the divorce, the woman can return to her mother's home, and the bride price is generally not returned. According to traditional custom, widows are allowed to remarry regardless of whether they have children or not. Since the founding of New China, the rights of young men and women to freedom of love and marriage have been fully guaranteed.

Lijiang Naxi families are mostly monogamous patrilineal families, children from the father's surname, property is also passed on by the father to the son, the son to the grandson of the inheritance of the way, the father has the right to decide on family matters. Families without heirs can recruit a son-in-law, but the consent of the main close relatives must be obtained beforehand, and the children must all take the mother's name, so that they can enjoy the right to inherit the family's property. The Naxi family is mostly three or four generations of the same family, the main family, small couples **** with the life of the nuclear family, until the 1950s and 1960s after the gradual increase. Multi-child family also has in the son after marriage to implement the custom of separation, in the separation of the family is often the sons of the equal share of fields, livestock and houses and other means of production and living, and the youngest son has the right of first choice. The youngest son usually inherits the ancestral house and assumes the responsibility of supporting both parents and making offerings to the spirits of the ancestors.

The Mosuo people living in the area around Lugu Lake on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan mainly practiced a strange "Axia" marriage in the old days. The characteristics of this marriage system is that men do not marry, women do not marry, men in the night to the women's home to visit the night, the next morning and return to their homes to engage in productive work, the spouses are not organized **** with the family. The conclusion of this twilight together and separate Axia relationship to the principle of matrilineal descent of close relatives do not marry as the limit, in addition to the general no longer subject to age, money, generation, rank and ethnic conditions such as restrictions.

According to the traditional customs of the Mosuo people, when girls and boys reach the age of thirteen, they have to hold the ceremony of "wearing skirts" and "wearing pants" respectively, which marks that they have become adults and can start to participate in some labor and social activities. Generally speaking, from the age of 15 or 16, women and 17 or 18, men can begin to live with the opposite sex. They establish Asha relationships through contacts in daily production life, festivals, temple fairs and other social activities, and the main criteria for choosing an Asha are beauty, youth and competence. In the initial stage of the Axia relationship, the man to visit the woman's home to stay often in a more secretive state, a few months before the public with the woman's family meeting. During the meeting, the man is required to give some gifts to the woman's elders as a sign of respect and gratitude. This type of Asha marriage is basically female-oriented, and every young girl who has held a rite of passage has her own "Asha room" in her home to receive male Asha, and if she no longer likes a man, the Asha relationship is over if she closes her door to him. In addition, all children born in the course of an Asha relationship are given to the woman to raise, and property is inherited entirely from the mother. Because of the characteristics of Axia marriage is easy to get together and easy to leave, men and women will rarely produce a strong desire for exclusivity or jealousy, on the dissolution of the Axia relationship to be indifferent attitude, very few disputes over this.

With this form of marriage associated with the Mosuo people in the past there is a widespread matriarchal family form. Its main feature is: each family by an older or capable woman as the head of the family, responsible for the arrangement of daily production and life, management of warehouses and family property, preside over the family rituals and reception of visitors and other activities. The main members of the family consist of the grandmother and her siblings, the mother and her siblings, the siblings and the children of the sisters, etc., and generally comprise two to four generations, with about ten or more members in each family, and in some cases as many as twenty to thirty members. All members of the family live in Axia marriage, and the property is completely inherited according to the mother's line, and the lineage is also calculated according to the mother's side. Therefore, the Mosuo people identified the "woman is the root of the bone, missing the root" traditional concept, when a family once there is no heiress situation, will always try to find ways to continue the lineage of adopted women to continue.

Science and technology

Born on the Yulong Mountain, Jinsha River, the Naxi people in the long-term agricultural and animal husbandry production and social life practice, and constantly summarize the experience, and accumulated a lot of astronomy, calendars, animal husbandry, farming, medicine and other aspects of the scientific knowledge, and the emergence of accomplished scholars and experts.

The ancient scientific and technological knowledge of the Naxi people, many of which are in the form of myths and stories in the folklore, and hieroglyphics were recorded in the Dongba scriptures. According to the Dongba scripture records, the ancient about the sky has dozens of proper nouns; from the "Bagh Tu" and "the origin of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs" and other scriptures, the Naxi people have long been on the four words and four corners (similar to the Han's eight trigrams) have a clearer concept; created to the moon rounding fixed month, thirty days per month, a year of twelve months, * * * three hundred and sixty-five days of the calendar, and twelve phases of the genus to record the day, the month and the year. The calendar also used the twelve phases of the zodiac to keep track of days, months and years. Folk also from the sky and biological activity observation, feel out a set of wind, rain, flowers, snow, and the activities of a variety of birds, to separate the characteristics of the season, do not miss the agricultural time for agricultural activities.

The Naxi people are famous for raising horses. Lijiang horse is the famous "Dali horse" of the nickname, Dongba scripture in the "horse's origin" of the book. Lijiang is one of the famous "Dali horse" origin. Lijiang horse is one of the country's best breeds, small and tough, can load, good at climbing mountains, adaptability, and can walk continuously for two or three months. Recently, the agricultural sector and the introduction of Kamaba breed, and Lijiang horse mating, so that it to the tall body development.

Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County has gradually established and improved the technical network of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and medicine, and trained nearly ten thousand scientific and technological personnel. They have carried out in-depth scientific research activities and made remarkable achievements in the modernization of rural areas. For example, potato is the main food crop in the mountainous areas of Lijiang, the county agricultural department for its virus damage and variety degradation is more serious, after a long period of experimentation, summed up suitable for the local sexual reproduction technology, to take the live seedling transplanting and live potatoes use of technical measures, basically solved the problem, and obtained high yield. Another example, the county to wheat after the promotion of good seed and good method, also gained a substantial increase in wheat production in successive years.

In the mid-sixties, Lijiang science and technology departments according to the overall development of the rural economy, based on repeated scientific experiments, the promotion of the apple "bud complex seed selection, high head" and other new planting techniques, so that the county planted apples to realize the good seed, to the late seventies, the county's annual output of apples reached one million pounds, into the emerging Yunnan Province. Hundreds of thousands of pounds, into one of the emerging apple production base in Yunnan Province.

Naxi is located in the Hengduan Mountains, high mountains, river valleys, flat dams, fertile soil, long hours of sunshine, abundant rainfall, suitable for a variety of plant growth. Known as the "treasure house of plants" of the Yulong Mountain, growing more than 500 kinds of Chinese herbs, including the marketing of the country's valuable medicinal herbs amounted to more than 200 kinds. Lijiang's medical care has been greatly developed, malaria, cholera, typhoid and other infectious diseases have been eliminated, common and frequent diseases are gradually reduced, the people's physical fitness greatly improved.

Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County of Ludian Township, known as the "township of medicinal herbs", as the center, Lijiang region has established a different scale of cultivation of medicinal herbs, research and planting more than four hundred plantations.

In addition, the Naxi people there are a number of distribution in all parts of the country, senior scientific workers, such as Chinese and foreign well-known history scholars, educators, Prof. Fang Guoyu, wheat breeding expert Zhao Zhongxiu, wood celery, wood full chapter, Yang Feng and other well-known people. They have made due contributions to the cause of the Naxi people and the motherland.