New Year Ceremonies of LISU-2

Later that night people congregate at the village priest's house. While elders drink and sing, young people first dance around his New Year tree then go in procession from house to house throughout 'sweeping out' the bad and impure elements from the entire village.

At cockcrow the next morning, women from the village priest's house go to the water source and make offerings of joss sticks, rice cakes, and pork, then bring 'New Year water' back to the house. This 'New water', considered to be special, is used to fill the cups on the ancestral altar, and to cook offerings for the ancestors. The priest and his wife wash their faces with some of this water by their New Year tree to 'wash away the evil of the old year'.

Later that morning men from each household go to the village shrine with the priest to present offerings of rice cakes, liquor, and pork to the guardian spirit. During the offering the priest prays, '…. Like a stream, like clear water, let us have no trouble or sickness. …Let us not separate. Come receive this offering. Sha-a-a'

Each household sends later similar offerings to the priest. He arranges these on the plat form under his altar, and then prays again in the same fashion. Strings are tied to the necks of those presents, then dancing resumes. Some of the elders inside the priest's house sing songs asking for unity, good health, and other blessings for New Year

On New Year's day there is almost constant dancing around the village priest's tree. The music is provided by men playing either musical gourd pipes or lutes, the type of dancing varying according to the instrument used and the tune played. At one celebration we observed the headman and other adults started the dancing in the morning; later small children joined in. it was not until early afternoon that young women, who had spent the morning hours dressing in all their finery, came to the dance area. Towards evening the young men, also in their finest attire, joined in. The next day the site of the dancing shifted to the headman's house and continued all day.

Two or three men in the village are appointed to be 'idiots' (paka) who tease those who are not dancing to get them back into the group whenever the number drops too low. They throw dirt on people, grab their drinks, and generally carry on to make it a happy, festive occasion. During the celebration it is important for the villagers to maintain friendly relations. Quarrelling and bickering are taboo. There is much visiting with clan members and friends. Lisu used to put up a 'taboo sign' (ta leo) at the entrance of the village during the New Year celebration so no outsiders would enter. Since the 1960s the Lisu have gradually dropped this, and now visitors are no longer prohibited.

At the next dawn the village priest announces that the 'sun has risen', and the New Year celebration is over. Each family ties a piece pork and two rice cakes to its New Year tree and casts it out into the jungle, ending the festival.

New Year Ceremonies of LISU-1

The most important festival is that of the New Year, when they celebrate the turning from the old to the new. Many hours and considerable sums of money are devoted to the making of new outfits for the young people. Silver ornaments are cleaned, and silver buttons are sewn onto the clothing. Quantities of liquor are distilled, each step in the process being punctuated by shooting a gun.

The New Year festival begins with the announcement by the village priest that on the following day they must make 'rice cakes' (pa pa). The household of the village priest is the first to make the cakes then a gun is shot as a signal that the other villagers can start making theirs. Each family gathers around its pounder and together makes the cakes to be used in New Year offerings, and to be eaten by the family.

During the day the young people make excursions to the fields to collect large quantities of vegetables, and men from each family go to the jungle and cut a New Year tree (leh dzuh). After sunset the priest calls out from the guardian spirit shrine that the sun has set, then each family ceremonially plants its tree in front of the house. The 'Old Year' celebration is observed, in preparation for which each house is 'purified' by being swept thoroughly and having all leftover food discarded.

That evening hard-boiled eggs and strings, one of each for every person in the household, are placed in a basin of uncooked glutinous rice. The oldest man in the household takes the basin outside and calls the souls of the household members to come into it, then takes it back inside, gives an egg to each person to eat, and ties members and the wrists or elbows of children and guests.

Later in the evening the senior shaman goes into a trance for his household and the village as a whole. While in the trance he blows fireballs of lard, and sprays water from his mouth in order to drive the 'bad' of the Old Year away, so that everything will be clean and good for the New Year. The spirits speak through him, emphasizing that everyone must make a break with the old, so as to enter into the New Year from sickness and evil. He says such things as, 'people, don't separate. Wherever you go, whatever happens, stay together and be united'. This theme is expressed in other ways as well, because there may be families who plan to leave the village soon after the New Year.

Religious Practitioners of LISU-3

Shaman: In the event of a serious illness, the shaman may be asked to perform the 'spraying' of the sickness. A pan of lard is placed on the fire, and while it is heating he sings himself into a trance. He then scoops hot fat into his mouth, and sprays the fat over a torch he carries, making big fireballs - a most spectacular sight in a dark house. Then he moves to the door and blows fireballs out of the house.

While the shaman is in a trance the spirits speak through him telling those assembled what offering is required to bring healing - usually a pig or chicken. The following day the sacrifice is made to the ancestor or other spirit causing the sickness. The ancestors most commonly associated with sickness are those who have recently died, especially fathers and mothers.

When there are clear signs that a man is called to be a shaman, other shamans in the area gather with him in the jungle outside his village to hold an initiation ceremony. One of the older shamans calls down some of the powerful yet potentially benevolent spirits, such as the village guardian spirit, to ride the new shaman. Lisu say they do this so the wild, fierce spirits will not come to ride him first, as it is 'just like when someone gets a new horse, everyone want to ride it'. The good spirits keep away the evil spirits, until the shaman is strong enough to deal with them.

Religious Practitioners of LISU-2

Shaman :Whereas the priest serves as the representative between the villagers and the guardian, a shaman serves as the link between the human and spirit world. The shaman belongs to his spirit, just as the priest belongs to the village guardian, but only the shaman becomes possessed.

Any male may become a shaman who shows an aptitude for contacting ancestors and spirits and passes an initiation test given by other shamans in the area. The spirit of his clan chooses a shaman. The first manifestations are that he is physically weak, wants to play in the fire, and prefers staying at home rather than going to the fields. If he eats food denied to a shaman, such as onions, garlic, or fried foods, he will become insane for a short time, and a sacrifice must be made to the household spirits to bring him to his senses. This is proof that he has been 'called' to be a shaman.

The main function of a shaman is to divine the cause of illness or misfortune, then sign away the spirit who is responsible. When called to someone's house to go into a trance and be 'ridden by the spirits', he first changes the water in the bowls on the ancestral altar, and then lights joss sticks. Bending over with his hands on his knees, he whistles for his spirit to come, and sings himself into a trance. The spirits ride him as if the were a horse, and they speak to the people assembled in the house through him. Him finally falls unconscious to the floor, which is a sign that he has sung the spirit out of the patient into himself. As the shaman sleeps in a coma the spirit returns to its abode.

Religious Practitioners of LISU-1

As the Lisu religion combines ancestor worship and spirit propitiation, two types of practitioners are necessary in carrying out religious functions: the 'village priest' (mu meu pha), and the shaman (ne pha).


Village priest: The elders to direct ceremonies and to be the go-between in all dealing with the village guardian spirit choose the village priest. One of his most important duties is to announce the special days in the Lisu calendar, such as the semi-monthly holy days, various ceremonies, and most important of all, the New Year festival. He directs the men in caring for the altar of the village guardian spirit, as well as all other religious affairs of the village, and is given the highest status. Any improper behavior towards him on the part of the villagers endangers everyone, for he is virtually the incarnation of the guardian spirit.

Durrenberger tells of one priest who did not change the water at the village shrine and neglected other duties. One day while he was fishing with explosives an accident destroyed one of his eyes. This was taken as a sign that the guardian spirit was angry and wanted to kill him, so the elders chose a new priest to take his place.