Mount Gemnu —— A sacred mountain in Mosuo people's hearts.

Walking in Lugu Lake at the junction of Yunnan and Sichuan, I met the Goddess of Gemstone Mountain and boarded this Mosuo Mountain by cable car from Nisai Village. Unexpectedly, I accidentally broke in, but the goddess of Gemstone Mountain gave me an unexpected surprise.

Mount Gemnu, also known as Lion Mountain, has a main peak at an altitude of 3,770 meters. It is the highest mountain around Lugu Lake and the sacred mountain in Mosuo people's hearts. The lion is called "gem" in Mosuo language and "Sengem" in Tibetan language, which means lion, and "gem" means white goddess. In Mosuo legend, the goddess Baoshishan is the embodiment of the goddess of gems, and has been worshipped by the local people in Lugu Lake for thousands of years. In recent years, with the development of tourism, Goddess Mountain has become a highlight of Lugu Lake tourism.

There is a beautiful myth circulating among Mosuo people. Long ago, there were no mountains around Lugu Lake. The goddess gem and the northern male gods often fly to Lugu Lake to take a bath and have sex at night, and the rooster flies back to the north at dawn. On the night of the 25th day of the seventh lunar month, the male gods came here early, but the goddess of gems came late. When they were about to play, the rooster had announced the dawn. If the immortal can't fly back, he will stay by Lugu Lake. The goddess of gems became the goddess of gems, and the male gods became Hawa Mountain, Zezhi Mountain and Asha Mountain respectively, and surrounded the goddess of gems. Gem goddess is beautiful and kind, and often goes out for a cruise on a white horse, which not only bless the prosperity of people and animals in this area, but also give women a strong and beautiful body, a happy life and the reproduction of future generations. It is said that the goddess Kyoto Electronics Industry Co., Ltd. of Japan is beautiful and enthusiastic. She makes friends with the male gods around her. The male gods are brave and enterprising, and all want to be the "xia" (lovers) of the goddess. They live a free and romantic life together. Later, the 25th day of the seventh lunar month became the festival of the Gem Goddess. On this day, mountain gods from all over the country come to the party for fun. The Mosuo people turned the Gemu Mountain God into the incarnation of women, and they held an activity of offering sacrifices to the goddess Baoshi Mountain, which is called "Gem Gua" in Mosuo language, meaning Mountain God Festival.

On the day of Chaoshan Festival, people put on holiday costumes and bring rich food. Some people ride horses to Mount Gemu and light cigarettes. Lamas recite the Chaoshan Sutra and pray for the goddess to bless Mosuo people with good weather, good luck and happiness. People have offered wine, meat, cakes and fruits to the goddess, kowtowing and worshipping. Old people still burn branches in the cave of the goddess gem and use fireworks to drive away ghosts and evil souls. Everyone went to the waterfall to take a bath for peace, and then had a picnic on the spot, held duet, lion dance, swinging, archery, horse racing and other activities. Young people take this opportunity to find the right person and fall in love.

Goddess Mountain is magnificent and stands in the sky. The Goddess Gemstone Cave is located in the neck of Lion Mountain, walking along the narrow gap of the cave, and the colored lights reflect the stalactites in a strange way. Several natural stalactites sit around the cave as if surrounded by goddess gems, giving people a very close feeling.

Standing on the observation deck at the entrance of Gemu Goddess Cave, overlooking the whole picture of Lugu Lake, there are various forms of Rige Island and Snake Island. Nisai Village, Xiaoluoshui Village and Dazui Village are evenly distributed, with overlapping mountains and misty clouds in the distance. In particular, the long and narrow island of Rige, which extends into the lake from the northeast, is like a big hand reaching into Lugu Lake to catch fish. I don't know how big the fish is.

In the pine forest at the southern foot of Gem Goddess Mountain, there is a statue of Gem Goddess. The inside wall of the temple is painted with a portrait of Gem Goddess riding a deer with hair on her feet. From the myths and legends and the activities of offering sacrifices to the goddess, we can see the important position of women in the social life of Mosuo people, and an outline of the marriage form of xia of Mosuo people.

After coming down from the Goddess Mountain, I got a general understanding of Lugu Lake and Mosuo people, and continued to drive forward, ready to live in Haige Village and feel Lugu Lake.