A Funeral as a Festival: Celebrations of Life in the Mosuo Tribe in China

This article attempts to provoke a discussion concerning the definition and nature of festivals by considering the process of Mosuo funerals in Southwest China as a festival event. The role of women and men in daily life and within the funeral ceremony is discussed – the Mosuo is a matriarchal society – as are the vernacular architectural settings which have evolved for both ritual and everyday activities. The article looks at the religious perception of death in Mosuo culture, which considers funerals as celebrations of a life cycle including birth, growing up and death; through onsite observations, it documents the process of a Mosuo funeral in relation to its physical space. Even though, unlike most other festivals, funerals occur at unpredictable times, it is argued that for the Mosuo the funeral event is also a festival

To Good to Be True

480 hal.;ill.;23 c

Be Afraid be Very Afraid

256 hal.;21 c

No.214, Jan Harold Brunvand, interview by Everett L. Cooley

Transcript (234 pages) of interview by Everett L. Cooley with Jan Brunvand, University of Utah English professor, on January 11, 18, and 25, 1990. This interview is no. 214 in the Everett L. Cooley Oral History Project, and tape no. U-1143 through U-1148. Includes copy of Brunvand's vitaBrunvand (b. 1933) recalls his family life, education, and academic career. He discusses his professional colleagues; the administration of the Department of English, University of Utah, 1960s-1990; foreign study; and his work in folklore, especially his work with urban legends. Interviewer: Everett L. Coole

The Choking Doberman

240 hal.;22 c