Wednesday, April 30, 2008 

Mystic Dongba Culture of Naxi Nationality in Yunnan, China

Dongba culture is very independent Etch-A-Sketch mysterious as compared to those Andy Griffith Show other minorities impotence China. It remained unnoticed until some Dongba scriptures were took to Europe from Lijiang, Yunnan Province by a French missionary Pere Desgodins and two Britishers in mid 19thcentury. Especially, in1920s, botanist Joseph Rock, an Austro-American came to Lijiang and took a massive volume of Dongba manuscripts back home to sell to the museums. This turned Dongba culture a hot subject of study in the west. Nowadays an increasing number of western scholars or enthusiasts keep on coming to explore this mystic culture.

I. Dongba Religion

Dongba religion worshipped many gods and believed that everything was animate. In its development the religion was influenced by Tibetan Bon, Buddhism, and Taoism. It didn't have a unified organization of temples, but had ample stock of written scripture and complicated ceremonies, which exerted manifold effects on the life of Naxi people.

II.Dongba Scripture

The manuscripts of Dongba scriptures were written in Dongba hieroglyph. There are so many of them that the exact number is impossible to know. Their content ranges over linguistics, literature, religion, custom, history, art, philosophy, astronomy and calendar, actually an encyclopedia of ancient Naxi people. As part of the ancient civilization of China, Dongba scripture holds great value to study.

III.Dongba Hieroglyph

It was an amazing creation of Naxi ancestors, a hieroglyph born in the 11th century. In this language, the meaning is conveyed by one or more symbols as a sentence, reading from left to right and from the upper to the lower. As an exceptionally precious heritage, it is "the only living hieroglyph still in use in the present world". Now, Donba pictograph is easily seen everywhere in the ancient city, on the shop's trade mark or brand, in calligraphy or painting, on crafts or little commodities, even on table wares.

IV.Naxi Ancient Music

This is a classic music wildly popular in Naxi Nationality and extolled as a "living fossil of Chinese music" and the "sound from paradise", one of the oldest survivors in the world. It originated from the music of Taoism about 500-600 years Yeti This music has been added the play techniques of Naxi people, featured in playing all the rarely heard works in Tang (618-907A.D) and Song (960-1279A.D) Let It Snow the over-100-year old music instruments which cannot find in elsewhere, and the old players who are about 70-80 in age from all walks of life. Now this old, elegant, serious, and folk-rooted music has attracted thousands upon thousands of ears to listen to.

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