Nari Photographic Exhibition captures matriarchy around Lugu Lake

The Nari Photographic Exhibition themed around "the matriarchy on the shore of Lake Lugu" will open in Tsinghua University from Jan 5-10.

The photographic exhibition by Zhu Xiao'an will present audiences with a record of the real face of the women's kingdom.

Mosuo people would prefer others call them the Nari people instead of the Mosuo people. Currently, there are about 15,000 Nari people living around Lugu Lake in Yunnan province, and most of them are from the Naxi ethnic group. The local culture there is vastly different from others in some aspects, especially the ancient family structure considered as the last realm of matriarchy.

Zhu Xiao'an, a photographer, entered more than 10 of the local villages and experienced their local customs. In that period, Zhu took more than 20,000 pictures. The exhibited pictures are selected from them. In 2012, Zhu made his first cultural investigation in Lugu Lake and made the decision to record the lives of this motherland. "My decision is more because of the mysteries and simplicity of the local culture instead of its specialty," said Zhu.

The photographic exhibition will include four parts: Women's Kingdom, Daba Religion, Mother and Daughter, and Stories of Nari People.

Edited by Michael Thai