Lugu Lake Circling Festival of Mosuo Ethnic People in Ninglang County, Lijiang

The Lake Circling Festival of the Mosuo People

The Lake Circling Festival of the Mosuo people, a unique folk custom in Yan Yuan County of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, is recognized as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Sichuan. The Mosuo people, who live around Lugu Lake in Yanyuan County and in the Li Jia Ju group of Wujiao Village in Muli County, belong to the Mongolian ethnic group. They have a deep reverence for nature and their ancestors, practicing “Daba” and “Lama” religions, and uphold a strong tradition of natural and polytheistic worship. The Lake Circling Festival is a manifestation of the Mosuo people’s primitive beliefs, deeply intertwined with their daily life and spiritual practices, reflecting their veneration for various deities, sacred mountains, and lakes (referred to locally as highland lakes).

Basic Content

The Lake Circling Festival occurs on the first, fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth days of each lunar month, with the Muli County celebration specifically held on the eighth day of the first lunar month. It is believed that on these days, deities come out to be active, so the Mosuo people conduct grand ceremonies and festivities to welcome the deities, offer sacrifices, seek blessings, and celebrate with the gods. People from each village and household come out, forming large groups to participate in the festivities. In Muli County, wealthier families might invite a “Daba” to accompany them. Participants of all ages dress in festive attire and bring abundant food such as chicken, eggs, meat, and Sulima wine. They travel by foot, horseback, or boat around the mountains and lakes. At designated points along the route, they stop to perform elaborate rituals including burning incense, bowing, chanting, blowing conch shells, beating gongs and drums, and ringing bells. They also scatter “Zhilu Bu” (buckwheat popcorn) as offerings, symbolizing sheep and harvest.

The circling starts at dawn and continues around Lugu Lake and its grasslands until evening. Along the way, the colorful procession resembles a vibrant dragon winding through the landscape. Incense smoke rises from the mountains, and pig-trough boats also filled with incense float on the lake. The participants on the lake interact with those on the shore. At midday, when they stop for a picnic, they perform dances, sing mountain and love songs, and hold horse racing and wrestling competitions, with joyful songs, flute music, and laughter echoing through the valleys.

In Muli, the “circling the mountain and lake” activity follows a fixed route according to family customs, usually in a clockwise direction, and on foot. Each family has numerous fixed incense-burning mounds along the route, where they first burn incense and chant. They place various spices, grains, milk, and temple-blessed items on or around the mounds, recite blessings and prayers, and pray for family happiness, children’s health, livestock prosperity, and abundant harvests. The circling can be divided into three types: the large circling (about fifteen days), the medium circling (about nine days), and the small circling (about seven days).

Basic Characteristics

The Lake Circling Festival, an ancient and unique folk festival of the Mosuo people, originated from primitive religion but has evolved into a fixed traditional celebration. It combines rich and unique folk activities with grand rituals to worship natural deities, reflecting the Mosuo people’s love of life, reverence for nature, and their beliefs in enjoying, protecting, and harmonizing with nature.

Main Values

Cultural Value: The Lake Circling Festival, with its profound cultural connotations and rich folk festival content, offers a precious cultural resource with high preservation and utilization value, characterized by its broad participation, entertainment, display, and viewing aspects.

Social Value: The Lake Circling Festival is a historical testament to the animistic worship of deities, highlighting concepts of harmonious coexistence with nature and environmental protection, making it significant for the transmission of human civilization, ecological protection, and the construction of a harmonious society.