The Lisu minority

The Lisu ethnic group numbers 634,912 people, and most of them live in concentrated communities in Bijiang, Fugong, Gongshan and Lushui counties of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan Province. The rest are scattered in Lijiang, Baoshan, Diqing, Dehong, Dali, Chuxiong prefectures or counties in Yunnan Province as well as in Xichang and Yanbian counties in Sichuan Province, living in small communities with the Han, Bai, Yi and Naxi peoples.

Religion
In the past the Lisu people worshipped many gods, nature and a multitude of other things. This appeared to be a remnant of totemism. Religious professionals made a living by offering sacrifices to ghosts and fortune-telling. During the religious activities, animals were slaughtered and a large sum of money spent. In the middle of the 19th century, Christianity and Catholicism were spread into the area by Western missionaries.

Customs and Habits
The monogamous family was the basic unit of Lisu society. Sons left their parents and supported their own families after getting married. The youngest or only son remained with the parents to take care of them and inherit property. The daughter had no right of inheritance but could take her husband into her parents' home instead of being married off. Marriages were arranged by parents, with enormous betrothal gifts.

Traditionnal dress
In most areas the Lisu people wear home-spun hemp clothes. Women put on short dresses and long skirts. Their heads are decorated with red and white glass beads and their chests with necklaces formed by strings of colored beads. Men wear short dresses and pants reaching the knee. Some of them wear black turban. A cutting knife dangles at a man's left waist, and a quiver hangs at his right waist.
Their main staple foods are maize and buckwheat. Hunting yields abundant meat. During their major festivals, they slaughter oxen and pigs. Both men and women are heavy drinkers.

Architecture
The Lisu people live in two types of house. One is of wooden structure, with the four sides formed with 12-foot-long pieces of timber, and on top of them is a cover of wooden planks. It looks like a wooden box. The other is of bamboo-wooden structure, supported by 20 to 30 wooden stakes and surrounded with bamboo fences, with a thatched or wooden roof. In the center of the house is a big fireplace.

Script and languages
The Lisu language belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language family. In 1957, a new alphabetic script was created for the Lisu people.