Ethnic customs of La Meng Township

The territory of La Meng Township*** is inhabited by seven ethnic groups, mainly Han Chinese. Most of the Lisu people live in Bai Nitang Village, passing on their history and culture with their unique ethnic flavor. Lisu have their own language, Lisu language belongs to the Tibetan-Burmese branch of the Chinese-Tibetan language family Yi language. The Lisu language is a branch of the Yi language of the Tibeto-Burman language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The original script is very imperfect, and a new script based on the Latin alphabet was created in 1957. Lisu folklore is rich and colorful. Myths and legends such as "Genesis" and "Our Ancestors" are invaluable materials for the study of the ancient history of the Lisu people, and are also treasures in the treasure trove of Chinese folklore. Its poetry is more concerned with rhyme and rhythm and neat battle. In some of the puns, the poems often cleverly contain fresh metaphors, which is the most prominent feature of Lisu poetry. The Lisu people are very fond of singing songs and tunes, and have the saying that "salt, not eat; song, not sing". Folk songs are simple and touching, with rich tunes, and traditional dances are mostly group dances, imitating animals and expressing productive life. Traditional musical instruments include the pipa, the mouth string, the four-stringed instrument, and the lusheng. The Lisu are mainly engaged in agriculture, planting corn, rice, buckwheat and so on. The Lisu people believe in primitive religion and worship nature. Some also believe in Christianity, Catholicism.