A Field Investigation of Funeral Rituals and Their Soundscape among the Mosuo People of Wayi Village
This article reports a field investigation of the funeral rites of the Mosuo people in Waiyi Village, Laba Township, Ninglang County, Lijiang, Yunnan. The Mosuo, a small ethnic group living around Lugu Lake, practice funeral customs shaped by their history, geography, ethnicity, and religion—chiefly Daba (indigenous) beliefs and Tibetan Buddhism. Based on a case study of the funeral of a 93-year-old Mosuo woman in January 2010, the authors document the ritual procedures (death announcement, animal slaughter, "gold/silver breath" exchange, body washing, binding, and burial preparation) alongside their accompanying musical and sonic elements, including Daba chanting, lama recitations, suona music, and dance. The study analyzes religious dimensions of ritual sound, the dual nature of instruments, and concepts of life and death embedded in the music, revealing the interactive relationship among ritual system, ritual behavior, and ritual music in Mosuo funerary practice.
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