Boar Lake

May 23rd 2023
Photo
Region
China
Researcher
Formats
Field research
Disciplines
Anthropology
Soundscape studies
Themes
Human footprint

On a journey to a high mountain village to search for the Baishi, we met a local Lisu youth who just back from the town and was heading home

He told us that every winter when the water level of the Nu River drops, he goes to the banks of the Nu River to look for stones and names them based on their patterns or shapes. He can make money by those stones. So, we decided to follow him to have a glance on his collection of stones. The village where he is located is called Boar Lake. It is said that his ancestors migrated here and discovered a high mountain lake with many wild boars by the lake, hence the name. This lake was buried after a landslide many years ago, and now there are no traces of the lake or wild boars visible here, but there is a high mountain stream here now, which can provide important water source for this village meanwhile for Black Squirrel Village, which is more than ten kilometers away behind the mountain.

After lunch, the young man took us to the mountaintop opposite his home. The mountaintop had an elevation of 2200 meters and was a narrow ridge with a width of 80 centimeters. There was only one small path, and both sides were cliffs. He told me, “When I was young, we used to come here at night with a flashlight to date and sing. At night, the valley often echoed with sweet and flirtatious songs, but now people can't do it at all.”