Gemu Mountain Goddess in the distance — Yugu Lake, Yunnan
Elevation – 37o metres
The lush Yunnan province, in the far eastern foothills of the Himalayas, is said to have as much flowering plant diversity as the rest of the Northern Hemisphere put together. The camellia is the floral emblem of the province, holding the same place in the hearts of its people as the kumquat and peach fruits do in other parts of China. The sacred Gemu Mountain graces the edge of the pristine, deep azure blue Lugu Lake (also known as the Mother Lake} and serenely stretching along its sierra in the form of a woman in a sublime respose, resides a mountain Deity on her lofty throne. This was recognized by the ancient Tibetan tribes of the Mosuos as a good omen for the region and especially because of their matrilineal traditon, they were encouraged to adopt this secluded location for settlement.
To this day in this remote utopian encleve, they still hold annual celebrations for the remarkable Gemu Mountain Goddess on the seventh moon of the lunar calender, with music, dancing and circumnabulations of the mountain, to honour her as their protectress and venerate her as a feminine fertility symbol and for a healthy harvests of their crops. Their deep reverence being transported from a diistant past that reaches into times where the forces of nature ruled their instinctive perception and behaviour.
Mosuo women celebrate the Mountain Worship Festival (known as Zhuanshanjie)
Lugu Lake
Mosuo women celebration of the Mountain Goddess
Gemu Mountain — Lugu Lake
Valley of flowers at Yunnan
Yunnan bird
Chen Yongle—reduction block print
Yunnan Art School painting
Chen Yongle—reduction block print
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