Geography

The Lisus inhabit a mountainous area slashed by rivers. It is flanked by Gaoligong Mountain on the west and Biluo Mountain on the east, both over 4,000 meters above sea level. The Nujiang River and the Lancang River flow through the area, forming two big valleys. The average annual temperature along the river basins ranges between 17 and 26 degrees Centigrade, and the annual rainfall averages 2,500 millimeters. Main farm crops are maize, rice, wheat, buckwheat, sorghum and beans. Cash crops include ramie, lacquer trees and sugarcane. Many parts of the mountains are covered with dense forests, famous for their China firs. In addition to rare animals, the forests yield many medicinal herbs including the rhizome of Chinese gold thread and the bulb of fritillary. The Lisu area also has abundant mineral and water resources.

Religion
In the past the Lisu people worshipped many gods, nature and a multitude of other things. This appeared to be a remnant of totemism. Religious professionals made a living by offering sacrifices to ghosts and fortune-telling. During the religious activities, animals were slaughtered and a large sum of money spent. In the middle of the 19th century, Christianity and Catholicism were spread into the area by Western missionaries.

Customs and Habits

The monogamous family was the basic unit of Lisu society. Sons left their parents and supported their own families after getting married. The youngest or only son remained with the parents to take care of them and inherit property. The daughter had no right of inheritance but could take her husband into her parents' home instead of being married off. Marriages were arranged by parents, with enormous betrothal gifts.
The dead were buried. Generally the village or the clan had its own common graveyard. For a man, the cutting knives, bows and quivers he had used when alive were buried with him. For a woman, burial objects were her weaving tools, hemp-woven bags and cooking utensils, to be hung by her grave. When an elderly man or woman died, the whole village stopped working for two or three days. People tendered condolences to the bereaved family, bringing along wine and meat. Generally the mound on the burial ground was piled one year after the burial, and respects to the dead were paid three years after the burial, and offerings ended.
In most areas the Lisu people wear home-spun hemp clothes. Women put on short dresses and long skirts. Their heads are decorated with red and white glass beads and their chests with necklaces formed by strings of colored beads. Men wear short dresses and pants reaching the knee. Some of them wear black turban. A cutting knife dangles at a man's left waist, and a quiver hangs at his right waist.
Their main staple foods are maize and buckwheat. Hunting yields abundant meat. During their major festivals, they slaughter oxen and pigs. Both men and women are heavy drinkers.
The Lisu people live in two types of house. One is of wooden structure, with the four sides formed with 12-foot-long pieces of timber, and on top of them is a cover of wooden planks. It looks like a wooden box. The other is of bamboo-wooden structure, supported by 20 to 30 wooden stakes and surrounded with bamboo fences, with a thatched or wooden roof. In the center of the house is a big fireplace.
The festivals of the Lisus living closer to the hinterland are nearly the same as those of the Han, Bai, Naxi and other peoples around. During the Lunar New Year, the first thing they do is to feed their cattle with salt to show respect for their labor. They have the Torch Festival in the sixth month of the year, and the Mid-Autumn Festival in the eighth month. The Lisus in the Nu River and Weixi areas enjoy their "Harvest Festival" in the 10th month, during which people exchange gifts of wine and pork. They sing and dance till dawn.