Travel around Lugu Lake and you often see two kinds of religious signs: at village gates, mani piles carved with the six-syllable mantra; and inside the Mosuo mother houses, the fire hearth with the Ramaba (冉巴拉) altar set above it.
What do the Mosuo (摩梭) actually believe? This article explains the relationship between the indigenous Daba religion and Tibetan Buddhism at Lugu Lake.
Daba Religion: The Mosuo's Own Faith
Daba religion is the Mosuo's own primitive faith, far older than Tibetan Buddhism.
Daba religion has no scriptures, no temples, no idols. Its entire content lives in the chants handed down orally by the Daba (达巴). The Daba is the Mosuo priest — he knows history, ritual, divination and medicine.
What does Daba religion worship?
Nature. Mountains have mountain gods, lakes have lake gods, trees have tree spirits, stones have stone spirits. The Mosuo believe that all things have spirits. Mount Gemu is a goddess, Lugu Lake the mother lake; both have personality and character.
Ancestors. The Ramaba above the fire hearth is the symbol of the ancestors. It is worshipped at every meal and at every festival. The Mosuo believe the ancestors' souls are always in the home, guarding the family.
Life and death. The Mosuo funeral is the most important rite of Daba religion. The Daba recites the migration scripture, telling the soul to follow the ancestors' route back to the northern grasslands. This is the very core of Daba religion.
When Did Tibetan Buddhism Arrive?
Tibetan Buddhism came to Lugu Lake around the Yuan dynasty.
At that time Kublai Khan campaigned south against Dali and passed through Lugu Lake, bringing Tibetan Buddhism with him. Later the Mosuo chieftains strongly patronised Tibetan Buddhism and built Zhami Monastery (扎美寺) at Yongning — one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in northwest Yunnan.
If a chieftain's household had sons, one was usually sent off to become a lama. Lamas held high status in Mosuo society: literate, educated, able to chant, they were the most learned people in the village.
The Relationship Between Daba and Tibetan Buddhism
It is not that one replaced the other; they coexist.
The Mosuo believe in both at once:
For everyday matters, you go to the Daba. A child is born — ask the Daba to give a name; someone falls ill — ask the Daba to chant; someone dies — ask the Daba to conduct the funeral; a new house is built — ask the Daba to choose an auspicious day.
For important matters, you go to the lama. At the New Year, invite the lama to the home to chant; for the salvation of the dead, ask the lama to perform the rite; for a child entering the monastery, the temple makes the arrangements.
The two have a clear division of labour: the Daba handles "birth, ageing, sickness and death," the lama handles "blessings and salvation." They do not conflict, and the Mosuo believe in both.
Mosuo Lamas Also Take Lovers
This is what most surprises outsiders: Mosuo lamas also practise Walking Marriage.
A Tibetan Buddhist lama is supposed to remain celibate. But a Mosuo lama chants in the temple by day and, by night, still goes to visit his female axia (阿注).
Why? Because Mosuo society has a great need for lamas — every village needs someone to chant, perform rites and save the dead. If the rule that lamas must not marry were strictly enforced, no one would want to be a lama.
So the Mosuo reached a compromise: a lama may take a wife, may walk, as long as he does the temple's work properly by day.
This is unthinkable in other Tibetan Buddhist regions. But at Lugu Lake, it is simply the reality.
What Religion Do the Mosuo Belong To?
To outsiders, the Mosuo generally say they follow Tibetan Buddhism. For Daba religion is a primitive faith without a systematic doctrine, and outsiders find it hard to understand.
In truth, the Mosuo faith is a mixture: the nature worship of Daba religion, the rebirth of Tibetan Buddhism, and the ancestor worship of the Mosuo themselves.
This is not superstition; it is a cultural product of the Mosuo adapting to Lugu Lake's special environment. In mountain country with poor roads and scarce goods, a person needs spiritual support, a theory to explain birth, ageing, sickness and death, and a way to connect with the ancestors. Daba religion and Tibetan Buddhism, taken together, provide exactly these.
Are There Many Daba Left Today?
Fewer and fewer.
The old Daba are dying off one by one, and the young do not want to learn. The Daba's oral chants depend entirely on word of mouth; learning them takes many years, and the income is less than running a guesthouse.
Around Lugu Lake today there may be fewer than ten Daba left. In another two or three decades there may be none.
This is one of the greatest crises facing Mosuo culture. Without the Daba there is no migration scripture, no funeral rite, and no Mosuo people's own historical memory.
What Visitors Can See
Zhami Monastery. At Yongning, it is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Lugu Lake area. You may go in to visit, watch the lamas chant and turn the prayer wheels.
Mani piles. By the roadside, at village gates, along the lakeshore, mani piles are everywhere. Carved with the six-syllable mantra, you may walk clockwise around one as you pass, to pray for blessing.
A Daba ritual. This is not something you see any time. Daba chanting appears only at a funeral or a major festival. If local friends invite you, go and see.
Daba religion and Tibetan Buddhism are the two wheels of Mosuo culture. Remove either one, and it cannot turn.