Introduction
Lugu Lake is located in northern Yunnan. As a national scenic spot and natural reserve, it is composed of waters in the lake area, Moso villages, and the Mountain of Gemu Goddess (see Fig. 1). With a number of Moso villages with ample ethnic customs, grasslands and wetlands, rivers and hotsprings as well as rural agricultural scenery preserved around it, the lake area has become an eye-catcher for tourists who are attracted by the distinctive and charming customs of Moso matriarchate. However, how to balance settlement protection and community development under the contradiction between traditional folk culture and the modern lifestyle in the outside world remains a great subject for local settlement protection and utilization.
General situation of house settlements of Moso matriarchate in Lugu Lake area
Cultural characteristics of houses in Moso matriarchate
Distinctive matriarchate houses
Despite the long history of social evolution, the fundamental social structure in the Moso matrilineal system in Yongning, namely matriarchal families and walking marriage as well as corresponding social customs, has survived. Subsisting in a social system ruled by feudal lords, the Moso matriarchate possesses strict social organizations and a hierarchy system [
1]. The governor of the society is the chieftain class, which represents male power and mastery; existing only in families, houses, and the clan system, the matrilineal system knots kindred groups together and expands them into social organizations, and this cohesion guarantees the survival and development of the society. As a survival mode, Moso matriarchal families fit the local environment of the Moso and are the choice of survivorship and culture. As the fundamental social unit, the matriarchal family takes the major responsibilities of inheriting culture and making a living.
Social connotation of matriarchate houses
Houses bear the culture of joint production and sharing: based on the principle of household division not being allowed, the Moso people work together and share the fruits of their labor. Houses are where the Moso people hold their traditional culture and witness the process of decision making, in which the power is centralized. The head of the Moso matriarchal home is a female. Voted by the household as possessing the greatest headship, she charges all affairs in the household and steers for the survival and development of the family. She is basically responsible for acquiring resources for production and living in Moso society and is the key person for family cohesion [
2].
Connotation of yard space in matriarchate houses
The houses in the Moso matriarchate were traditionally built of wood shuttle. The material came largely from nearby mountain forests, and self-production and recycling were realized to assure sustainable development. As for spatial allocation, the room for the grandmother is regarded as the center of the house, and Huotang (a pit for making fire) serves as the key site for family members to inherit and share things. Architectural spaces, such as the Flower Floor, oratory, and Grass Floor, also play roles in maintaining social relations (see Fig. 2).
Characteristic analysis of settlements of matriarchate houses in Lugu Lake area
Settlement location
Function is the prime factor considered in settlement location. There should be sufficient arable lands on the circumference of villages to make the agriculture self-sufficient. As arable lands are limited, most villages were built against mountains in small scales and distributed in strips along contour lines. If the hinterland is too small, the villages may also assemble at the bank of the lake to spare valuable arable lands.
Settlement layout
The overall layout of villages is formed by connecting similar house units, and special buildings or small squares similar to centers are laid. The boundary of a settlement is defined by large trees and mani heaps. The internal parts are mostly arranged loosely (see Fig. 3). The houses are basically built of logs and keep a distance with one another, which reflects the relative independence of the matriarchal marriage system.
The area of each house is in the shape like the Chinese character “hui” and is generally one fourth of the area of the surrounding agricultural land. Under the influence of the principle of rejecting household division, the growth of a family is often embodied in the enrichment and perfection of its interior space rather than in the increase of unit number. As each component was not necessarily built in one same period, the construction methods were different. Generally, however, the house for the grandmother was built the earliest, and the other parts were built orderly in the sequence of Grass Floor, Flower Floor, and oratory.
Settlement traffic (network of streets and lanes)
If a settlement is located on a narrow zone of a hinterland, most of its main streets are arranged following the natural lines of mountains and along contour lines. If it is located on the open ground of a hinterland, its main streets are in a grid shape pointing in the south-north and east-west directions. The distance between two adjacent streets ranges from 120 m to 200 m, and the streets are 3 m to 6 m wide; the distance between two adjacent secondary streets can be as short as 25 m, which is mainly decided by the fact that the “hui”-shaped house unit is around the dimension of 25 m×25 m. The houses are distributed among the streets in a staggered manner.
Present situation and difficulty of conserving settlements of Moso matriarchate houses
Public space and affairs of settlements lack attendance, and the basic units of social culture are in difficult situations
At present, local villagers are facing the competitiveness and impact of the vast free market as individuals or as single families, and travel and tourism seem to be spreading in villages along Lugu Lake. Under the force of development that has lost control, individuals appear powerless. They neither can exert influence nor have any capabilities to change it even if they are willing to conserve their traditions. The Moso people’s traditional culture and lifestyle are faced with the unprecedented threat that originated from not only the pressure by the outside world, but also from the longing and expectation of the natives for the modern life. Tourism has been developed in the village of Luoshui owing to the fame of Moso culture. As for the overall development of Moso culture, however, no benign cycle has formed yet. The profits from tourism have been shared by families and consumed for household affairs, which has resulted in the lack of attendance to the public space and affairs in the village. In the mean time, the increase of personal wealth and the difference between families has caused the traditional social pattern of Moso trending to collapse. The transformation in the pattern of economic interdependence has brought great difficulty to the reservation work on the basic units of traditional social culture.
Uneven distribution of resources for tourism development
From a general view of the Lugu Lake scenic spot, a few villages (i.e., Luoshui) are overexploited by receiving too many tourists, while other villages are short of software and hardware facilities for attracting tourists and sharing tourism resources. Therefore, the key issues at present involve reasonable orientation for local tourism and the exploration of approaches to balanced development. As for the inner parts of the villages, the income gap between the houses on favorable sites and those on bad sites is growing, which has given rise to some social contradictions and is unfavorable to the long-term development of the scenic spot and the harmony of settlements.
Village perforation and house reconstruction triggered by over exploitation in tourism
Wealthy outsiders raised money and built large-scale tourism facilities at both sides of main street and near the banks; residents in the settlement with economic capabilities also attempted to rebuild their houses using other materials and by doing so, flaunted their riches; another phenomenon was the development of folk lodges, and the interior of lodges was enlarged to meet tourist demands. As a result, the whole village was disturbed by these unplanned additional construction and reconstruction, and it lost its original style and features [
3] (see Fig. 4).
Planning attitude for settlement conservation
Integrated conservation
Man, buildings, and the culture should coexist. Apart from measures for preserving living spaces such as buildings, settlements, and the nature and landscapes, residents should have opportunities to preserve, continue, and develop their regional history, cultural life, and cultural industry, etc., so that the dual connotations of settlement conservation and community development can be embodied [
4].
The distinctive Moso settlements in the Lugu Lake area have encountered the structural contradiction induced by tourism development, for the settlement plays the dual roles of scenic spot for travelers and living quarters for residents. Future planning for settlements should be oriented at Integrated Conservation, and Responsible Tourism will be developed to improve the residents’ living environment and the quality of living. The planning should not only promise the conservation of settlements, but also make it possible for the social system of the Moso matriarchate and the house culture that back the settlements up, to be preserved and developed. Therefore, architecture is in essence the reflection of social culture. If the culture ceases to exist, the settlements, which then become merely material shells and sightseeing spots for one-time consumption, will be of no significance nor will they be attractive when opened to tourists in the name of Folk Village. Such a result is completely against the pattern of sustainable development which is currently being promoted with great efforts.
Limitation of planners: spontaneity of residents
As planners coming from the outside world, what we can do is only to propose schemes and precautions so as to reduce the time consumed in the planning process. However, what is more important in the process of protection and exploitation is the inclination of local residents. Only when they realize that their settlements constitute a priceless residence and really comprehend their significance and the experiences accumulated in life instead of regarding them as evaluable tourism houses in the real estate trade market, can conservation be acknowledged from low-level society to the upper sides and be realized instead of being preserved like in a museum, and the settlements can still meet the residents’ demands of self-production and keep their living standards while being opened to tourists.
Strategic scheme for conservation and tourism exploitation of settlements of matriarchate houses in Lugu Lake area
Promoting settlement conservation with “Responsible Tourism”:
Core of strategy
The Moso people’s unique culture, architectural heritage, and natural scenery are the key advantages that attract tourists. Thus, the core of the strategy is to balance the aspects of society, economy, and ecology and natural environment in the process of protection and exploitation (see Fig. 5).
Specific policies
1) The village community is formed from all houses, and the public space and affairs in the village are coordinated and managed uniformly through collective power.
The proposed mode of operation is to found a Village Condominium Association from houses to manage public affairs in the village uniformly. A single service window representing a tourist information center is set up in each village to solve the uneven distribution of tourism profits. On the other hand, all resources, such as shoestring, hardware like places provided for lodging, restaurants and shops, etc., and software like human resources, etc., are regarded as investments and are put in the stocks of the Village Condominium Association. Afterwards, tourism profits are shared among the investors according to the proportion of their investment so as to avoid cut-throat competition among families.
The Village Condominium Association, to be founded by the villagers’ joint contribution and for the purpose of reaching their collective agreement, becomes a new collective power in the village to resist the invasion of the commodity economy from the outside world, so the rights on inner affairs and lands are still in the villagers’ hands. As there is sufficient capital for integrated planning, the repair and maintenance of public space and facilities are secured, and each house is not necessarily burdened with debts alone for constructing facilities. In the meantime, the environmental problem caused by the intrusion of tourists can be disposed of using the clan’s public funds through discussion. Doubling as the basic unit for daily village management and for contact with upper-level governments, the Village Condominium Association can apply for the governments’ support and fund aid in a uniform and authentic way, and coordinate and promote the communication and comprehension between villagers and the government. Thus, a reciprocal local network of society and economy can be formed, which is indeed favorable for the harmonious and sustainable development of the villages.
2) Integrated planning should be applied in the scenic spot of Lugu Lake so that the space for living and production as well as that for tourism in villages can coexist [
5].
The Moso people once lived on farming from which they achieved self-sufficiency. However, the revenue of Luoshui Village has increased greatly after tourism development, and its revenue gap against other villages has been growing. Consequently, we hope tourism can also extend to other Moso settlements, and the quality of living can be improved. However, because of the instability of income from tourism and the Moso culture’s origination from the existing production mode and rhythm of the primary industries (such as farming and stock raising), it should not be suggested that Moso families abandon their original agricultural production rashly. Instead, the feasibility for them to be occupied with agriculture, business and tourism, etc., should be considered comprehensively based on ecological balance and the practical conditions of each village and family. Thus, an integral industrial chain can be formed to promote the comprehensive development of the Moso economy, society, and living (see Fig. 6).
3) Gross regulation and education for tourists
First of all, Lugu Lake should be singled out as a natural reserve where gross regulation is carried out to avoid the disturbance of intruding traffic, and a certain number of tourists and polluting vehicles are restricted from entering the scenic spot. Secondly, those who attempt to get into the spot should take the pollution-free buses, bicycles, carriages or Zhucao Boat (a boat with the interior in the shape like a pig slot), etc., which are provided in the spot. To practice the principle of Responsible Tourism, it is proposed that videos relevant to local issues be played on the public transport heading for the scenic spot. Tourists should sign pacts concerning folk customs and ecology, and they will be fined once they break the pacts. Lastly, once the average number of tourists reaches the upper limit that the scenic spot can take, the access mode is changed to reservation-based access to reduce tourist visits, while the time for their stay is extended. As a result, tourists can slow down their pace for in-depth sightseeing and comprehend the life situation of the Moso people little by little, instead of engaging in cursory sightseeing as done by hurrying travelers.
4) Restrained arrangement for tourism space inside settlement
The Moso residents in Luoshui Village carried out distinct separation of the spaces for living and tourism, which unquestionably alleviated the impact and damage to the traditional Moso culture caused by tourism. However, it restrained the tourists’ activity space in merchandized modern hotels and made it difficult for them to gain access to the real life of the Moso people as well as make further acquaintance and communication with the Moso people’s culture. In the presently developed patterns such as visiting ethnic families or family inns, the tourists are basically prying into Moso people’s homes and their lives with curiosity, and the settlement is observed passively as a target similar to a museum. It is impossible for the tourists, due to their short-term stay, to experience the Moso people’s living and interpret the connotation of their culture. If the pattern of Responsible Tourism can be developed, more opportunities for sightseers to be in contact with Moso people can be found in family inns under gross regulation, and propaganda of Moso culture and customs as well as different development patterns oriented for different settlements can be strengthened so that sightseers can participate in and experience their culture like friends.
a) With the single village as the unit, sightseers should pay for being accompanied by local guides if they want to visit villages.
It is preferable that tourists should watch relevant short films at the tourism center in Lugu Lake Town before entering villages by minibuses. The number of tourists that one local guide can lead should be no more than 10 so as to keep close interaction with them. Local guides have the responsibility of informing tourists of the customs and the culture of the Moso people and reminding tourists of the Moso people's taboos so as to prevent tourists from offending the natives.
b) Tourists can choose to be accommodated in the Moso family lodges inside houses when desiring to stay in villages.
The houses are forbidden from being rebuilt into large hotels to maintain the integrity of the settlement. The places for tourists’ accommodation are allocated by the only office in the village. The total number of beds in family lodges should not exceed one third of the population in the settlement, and relatively expensive and high-quality Moso folk lodges are also available. Each family can receive no more than 10 tourists so as to avoid the phenomenon of Moso residents becoming the minority and targets of observation; congregation of mass tourists is avoided, so the income of each family can be comparatively uniform. As the tourists allocated to each family each day is limited in number, the excessive reconstruction work of natives on their houses for extending operations is avoided.
5) Regulations on construction forms of houses inside settlements
The reconstruction of traditional Moso matriarchate houses should follow traditional methods to control structures, materials, and colors, etc. As for clearly designated rooms for grandmother and oratories, they can only be managed and protected based on the original form of traditional Moso architecture. The basic form and shape of the “hui”-shaped courtyard should be preserved. The roof made of yellow board wood should also be preserved and replaced periodically to keep its original mechanism of work shift, and relevant outlay should be aided by the government. As for the Flower Floor and Grass Floor, moving the space for livestock out of the inner yard so that they can be rebuilt into lodges for tourism based on the form of traditional Moso wood-shuttle houses, can be considered. Each lodge is equipped with no more than ten beds and in terms of height, should not have more than two floors, with the total height no more than 6.5 m. The guest room should be equipped with an independent bathroom and the Flower Floor should reserve a front aisle facing the inner yard, but the conditions can be improved to certain extent. The introduction of green technologies in heating, energy saving, and sound insulation, etc., which are favorable to sustainable development, is encouraged. Additionally, outbuildings such as gate towers and public toilets are all required to be built on the basis of traditional Moso structures and materials to preserve the original style and characteristics of the integral architecture in the village.
Conclusions
The core strategy for the conservation and tourism development of the settlements of Moso matriarchate houses in the Lugu Lake area is to realize the dual purposes of settlement protection and sustainable development through the reciprocal local network of society and economy (induced by Responsible Tourism) under the self-management of village communities as well as the support and supervision of tourist administration bureaus, so that the local ethnic culture and social customs can be inherited and developed.
Note: This paper is based on the achievements of the international joint research on Lugu Lake settlements and regional planning, which was conducted in the International Forum on Urban (IFoU). The study involved many organizations, including: Delft University of Technology in Holland, Taiwan University, Tunghai University in Taiwan, Beijing University of Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, and Southwest University of Science and Technology.
Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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