Nimu Cobi

Nimu Cobi is one of the most important and elaborate rituals for the Nuosu-Yi. It is one of the most financially exhausting events too. The family member has to invest a lot of resources into ritual specialists, sacrificial animals (cows, sheep, pigs) and entertainment for the numerous clan relatives from the near and far. It lasts usually a couple of days and is very exhausting for all those who attend. Once in a lifetime, a significant and able male member of the clan is responsible for sending the souls of his deceased relatives to the Zzyzzypuvu, the first recorded symbolic place of common origin for the Nuosu-Yi, and also the last place, where the soul should return after the death. Its exact geographic location is unknown, but it is believed it lies in today's Zhaotong Prefecture in the northeastern tip of Yunnan Province. The ritual is usually organized for numerous individuals deceased roughly within a time-span of one generation (25-30 years) to reduce the aforementioned costs, which are usually starting at hundred thousand RMB, a very significant number not only in the impoverished Liangshan. This is the Nimu Cobi of my friend Jjike Hxabbu, in Hxobbo lietuo, Limu Moggu area.