Life style : Vocation

Farming     The Lisu consider their main source of livelihood to be farming. It is like the heart and soul of a Lisu. Thus, the Lisu take special care in choosing a site for farming. They will select a site where the soil is fertile, ensuring a high yield. In searching for a site to farm, a Lisu will look for land that is densely forested, where the earth is black and moist and not far from a stream or other water source. If possible, a Lisu will try to find a place like this close to the village to cut down on commute time. Once a suitable place has been found, the farmer will cut down the trees, clearing the land. The area will then be left alone for a few days while things dry out, after which time the farmer will set the field ablaze. Any unburnt debris will be collected and the field will again be left to sit for a few days. When the farmer returns a ceremony will be performed to make an offering to the spirits of the forest, the mountains, and the pathways, to ask permission to use the field and to ask for a good harvest. Following the ceremony, the farmer will pull out all the weeds and begin tilling the earth in preparation for planting the seeds. The planting will be done in May, during the rainy season. The Lisu's main crops are rice and corn, followed by other fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, chili peppers, sesame seeds, ginger, potatoes, and various different kinds of beans.

Rice planting season (Ja ya mee)        As the first rains of the rainy season fall to the ground in early May, the Lisu begin preparing themselves for the hard work ahead, as the planting season is upon them. The Lisu will await the rain to start planting their corn and rice. Once the soil has been prepped as described above, the planting is fairly easy. The only things needed for the job are a small spade and seeds. The seeds will be planted by a male and female team, with the man walking in front and digging the holes and the woman dropping the seeds in behind. The man will use a long bamboo shaft with a small metal spade attached to the end of it. He will plunge it into the ground and then pop it up lightly, creating a small hole. The woman, carrying a bag of seeds over her shoulder, will insert about 3-5 seeds and leave the hole open. When the rain comes, the dirt will erode and cover up the seeds on its own. This work is always done in pairs and is often accompanied with singing and playful conversation, keeping the atmosphere fun and light.

September is the season for planting opium (Ya pee)       At the beginning of August the corn will be harvested, leaving the land free to plant opium, which will be done around September. The two crops are planted in rotation with one another and complement each other well as the dead corn stalks serve as a shelter for the young opium seedlings, protecting them from the sun's intense rays. Later, the corn stalks will decompose and become fertilizer, providing nourishment to the growing opium plants. Planting opium is hard work and requires close attention, making sure the plants don't grow too closely together, choking each other and fighting for diminishing nutrients. If too many plants are grown on too small a plot of land, the farmer will get diminishing returns as the soil can't properly sustain the whole lot. The plot must be continually weeded and the ground tilled over in order to ensure healthy growth, beautiful, hardy flowers, and a good harvest of opium. The season for harvesting opium (Ya pee)     After the rice harvest in November and early December comes the season for harvesting opium poppies, collecting their hallucenogenic sap. It is at this time that the poppies are in full bloom and the fields are bursting with a spreading array of red, purple and white opium flowers. The harvesting will be done in the late morning, when the sun has been up for awhile. Under the hot rays of the sun the sap will flow more freely and dry faster once collected. A special scraper is used to get at the sap, which is made of 3-5 small, sharp, and pointy knife blades wrapped tightly together. Holding the poppy flower in one hand, the scraper is used to cut lines from the heart of the flower up to the tips, following the natural lines of the flower. Careful attention must be taken when scraping to use just the right amount of pressure. Scraped too hard, the sap will flow out too fast and drip out onto the ground. Scraped too softly, the sap just won't leak out at all. It takes a lot of practice before becoming expert in the art, and only the best will be allowed to do the scraping during harvest time. The sap from the poppies is milky white in color and thick. Once the flower has been scraped, the sap will ooze out and collect at the heart of the flower. The flower will then be left out overnight for the sap to dry to a tacky consistency. During this process the sap will turn brown in color. The next day a crescent moon-shaped knife blade will be used to scrape the hardened sap off the flowers and onto a sheet of paper where it will be collected for safe storage.

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