Lisu people mainly live in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, and the rest are scattered in Lijiang and Diqing counties of Yunnan Province and Xichang and Yanyuan areas of Sichuan Province. In the long-term struggle with nature, the unique taboos of this nation have gradually formed.
(1) Sacrifice taboo. When offering sacrifices to ghosts or dragons, women are forbidden to participate. Those who run away from home must come back before the New Year, otherwise, their families will regard those who have not come back as sacrifices when they worship their ancestors in the New Year, which is unlucky. When offering sacrifices to ghosts at home, don't let outsiders in until the meat is finished, otherwise there will be diseases. It is forbidden to worship hunting gods with tea. People think that tea can cover the eyes of hunters so that they can't catch wild animals. Sacrifices offered to hunting gods should not be eaten by others, but must be eaten by hunters themselves, otherwise the hunting will get nothing.
(2) production taboos. When a woman gives birth, she hangs thatched leaves or thorns at the door of the base house to prevent ghosts from breaking in. If the baby cries, it will hang 1 poison arrow (2 non-poison arrows) at the door. Maternal women should avoid eating pork, beef and chicken with white and gray feathers. If a boy is born, guests are not allowed to bring bows and arrows and long knives into the country; Give birth to a girl and enter the house without shoes; Visitors from afar are forbidden to enter the country, and the taboo period is from 10 to 13 days. Avoid holding the baby horizontally, thinking it is holding a dead person. The delivery room can't burn popcorn, can't bring firewood, and so on If these taboos are violated, babies are in danger of premature death and short life.
(3) Funeral taboos. Someone died in the village, and the whole village was forbidden to eat Chili before burial. Only people who have enemies with the dead will deliberately eat Chili. When a child dies young, the whole family should avoid eating mutton, onion and garlic, otherwise it will offend ghosts and gods and lead to more serious disasters.
(4) etiquette taboos. Lisu people avoid guests going directly from the front door to the back door, thinking that the funeral of the deceased is the only way. Don't walk into the house on crutches. You only use crutches when mourning for the dead. Avoid sweeping the floor and washing your face when there are guests at home. When killing chickens to entertain guests, avoid women cutting meat.
(5) Taboo of life customs. At dusk, you must close the door behind you to prevent ghosts from entering. Parents should avoid sweeping the floor when they go out, for fear of being bad for their parents. They won't sweep the floor until they are dead. Don't shout "Oh" in front of and behind the house, only when exorcising ghosts from the dead. Don't whistle in other people's homes, musical instruments can call ghosts into the house.
(6) Farming taboo. Don't find digging tools such as hoes on your shoulders when you are in the field, especially when you enter the house with hoes, because that's what happens when you bury the dead. When rice blooms, it is forbidden to wash clothes and peel hemp at the edge of rice fields, otherwise it will scare the flowers and reduce production. If there is a strong wind when corn blooms, women should not weave linen, and men should not cut bamboo and logs.