Roast Fish of the Lop People

Roast Fish of the Lop People

　　Roast Fish of the Lop People

　　　　The Lop people live alongside the wilderness, and their customs are imbued with its characteristics—rugged, primitive, and marked by extraordinary endurance and adaptability. Their diet mainly consists of roast fish, and roasting fish around a fire has become one of their defining traditions. The Lop people's dwellings, known as “satumas” (houses), are simple and uncontrived, featuring unique architecture. Typically, they find a large poplar tree by a lake (known as a “haizi”) and use its canopy as a roof, weaving together red willow, reeds, and tree branches to form a thatched hut. It’s also remarkable how the Lop people travel without horses or camels—instead, they skillfully navigate between lakeside villages in a “Lop boat” (known in Uyghur as “kapan,” meaning a dugout canoe).