Namu - Leaving Mother Lake Full Overview

Nathan Schulman
10/7/12

Yang Erche Namu- "Leaving Mother Lake" - Book Profile/Moso SubCulture Review



Namu's memoir takes place in the remote areas of the Himalayas (Northern Yunnan); a place the Chinese call "the country of daughters." This is the home of the Moso, a society in which women rule. In this society life is pretty simple; Namu doesn't yet know of popular media and its sources, about electricity, modern clothing like shoes and industrial customs like everyday working plumbing.

Many customs of the Moso society have been passed down for generations.  Property is passed from mother to daughter making the upbringing of matrilineal descent.  The Moso people favor daughters over sons as women inherit the family home and rule the household.  Marriage is a foreign practice and therefore, Moso women may have lovers and many children.  Children live in their mother's homes and take the family name of maternal ancestors.  The men in the house are brothers and uncles of the women and they assist in raising the children, herd the yaks in the mountains, sometimes ride horses with the caravans, or become Buddhist Lamas.  All Moso women are hardworking and skillful. They plow the earth, chop wood, sew clothes and butcher animals.

Namu writes saying throughout the chapters of the book how much she loves her family, especially her mother (Ama Latso).  She praises her skills at everything, her courage, love and support.  In the early chapters, Namu states how having a strong and close relationship with her mom has meant so much to her.

Most people in Moso families stay together.  Daughters and sons remain with the mother’s family for their entire lives. Dividing the maternal house goes much against Moso tradition.  All Moso speak the same language (which is unwritten), but each village has its own dialect. They abide by rules of honor and harmful gossip is forbidden. Also, generosity and hospitality are very important ideals. No one would ever be rude to a guest.  In this memoir, we find that both Namu and her mother, Latso, both chose to break with some of the Moso traditions.

Yak butter is very important to the Moso people and is considered a sacred, cosmic thing (used for teas, sculptures, and healing ointments.  In her memoir, Namu shares that she spent 5 years with her uncle in the mountains where she helped him to care for the yaks and horses. It became very cold in the winters, and when Namu arose in the morning, she would let the yak urinate on her hands and legs to warm her up.  I find this odd and interesting, however, I realize that I have never experienced such cold weather, and am usually inside my heated home during the coldest times.

 

Namu shared how Zhemi (her father, called “uncle”) returned to the Moso village bringing gifts. He brought her a treasured pair of red shoes. Here the reader finds out that most Moso do not wear shoes even in the icy snows of winter. Their feet become very rough and cracked.
In the later half of her memior, Namu shared her journey from Moso society and culture, into the bright lights and media-focused industry of the music business.  Namu never knew what the outside world had to offer.  She was clueless to the "industry" culture that was out there; however, Namu had a passion to find out what was beyond her small village.  As her story progress, dreams, Namu made her way to Shanghai, where there was a fine music school, the Shanghai Musical Conservatory.  After five years learning to read music and play piano, and to speak and write Chinese, she later hit the recording studio and released multiple records.

The video above is Namu with another famous Moso singer. The stage visuals and lights cause the quality to look bad, but the audio sounds good.

 

This is a video of a Moso folk song (this clip is not connected to Namu herself).  The Moso songs have few tunes and are for specific reasons, like praising mother, singing to a lover and rhythmic work songs.

Mosuo Dancing Team

 

 

Namu's memoir is very easy to read and is almost like a novel in the sharing of her experiences with her mother, Latso, her time in the village, and her explorations out into the world at a very young age.  After she won singing contests, and had the opportunity to travel, she wanted to follow her own dreams.  Even though the reader learns of the importance of the Moso customs, Namu's strong and courageous spirit leads her away from her village home.  She is fearless in her resolve to become a famous singer, and she finds her way to Shanghai.  After five years away from Zuosuo,  Namu returns home to her Ama, and she says that there is no purer beauty than her country.