Nakhi
Encyclopedia
The Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas
in the northwestern part of Yunnan
Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan
Province in China
.
The Nakhi are thought to have come originally from Tibet
and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa
and India
. They were brought to the attention of the world by two men: the American
botanist Joseph Rock
and the Russia
n Taoist
doctor Peter Goullart
, both of whom lived in Lijiang and travelled throughout the area during the early 20th century. Peter Goullart's book Forgotten Kingdom describes the life and beliefs of the Nakhi and neighbouring peoples, while Joseph Rock's legacy includes diaries, maps, and photographs of the region.
The Nakhi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China
. The official Chinese government classification classes the Mosuo
as part of the Nakhi people. However, despite similar origins and very striking resemblances from a linguistic point of view, the two groups are now culturally distinct, the Nakhi more influenced by Han Chinese culture, the Mosuo more influenced by Tibetan culture.
, Song
, and Yuan
dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha
, Dongjing
, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments.
The origin of Baisha music lies in a gift from the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
, Kublai Khan
. Upon his expedition to Dali
, he had difficulty crossing the Golden Sand River, and received help from Mailiang, the chief of the Nakhi people. To show his appreciation, Kublai Khan left half of his band and many musical scores as a gift to the chief. "Baisha Fine Music" is one of ancient China's few large-scale, classical orchestral forms of music and has twenty four tunes, locally known as qupai. Although archaic, simple, and elegant in style, modern Baisha is exquisite, euphonious, and energetic in character.
Taoist in origin, and fused with some indigenous elements, Dongjing music was introduced to the Nakhi from the central plains during the Ming
and Qing
dynasties, and today it is the most well-preserved musical form in China
. In addition to its intrinsic stateliness, purity, and elegance, Dongjing music incorporated the local musical elements and styles. Originally reserved for the nobles, the local passion for music overcame this restriction. Music is very important to them.
and the Tibetan
, the houses of the Nakhi are built in a unique vernacular style of one courtyard with five skylights, which have a crude and simple appearance, but with elaborate and delicate patterns on casements and doors.
The temples, though looking very staid and ordinary from the outside, are decorated on the interior with carvings on poles, arches and idols of gods. The decorations include depictions of episodes from epics, dancers, warriors, animals and birds, and flowers. The mural paintings depict Dongba gods, and are derived from Tibetan styles. A good example is the Delwada Temple.
The Nakhi celebrate the annual Torch Festival on the 24th and 25th of the sixth month of the Lunar calendar, which corresponds approximately to July 8–9, and the Sanduo Festival on February 8
According to legend, Sanduo is a war god who defends the local people. In ancient times a hunter discovered a strange stone on Jade Dragon Mountain, and carried the stone home. On his way home, he had to put the stone down for a rest, because it was extremely heavy. When he decided to continue his trip, he could no longer lift the stone, and many thought that it was the embodiment of a god.
The Nakhi later built a temple to honour this god, whom they later named Sanduo, and depicted as an immortal in a white coat and a white helmet, carrying a white spear and riding a white horse. They believed that Sanduo would protect the local people and their land. Because Sanduo was thought to have been born in the year of the goat
, a goat is sacrificed at his festival.
Among the Nakhi in Yongning County in Yunnan
and the Yanyuan County in Sichuan
, existing remnants of a matriarchal family structure were evident until the beginning of democratic reform, when it changed to a patriarchal structure.
As the heads of the family, the women gave inheritance to the children either through the mother, or to her nephews through her brothers. This is called matrilineal
decent, where one belongs to one's mother's lineage.
A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are female. In Nakhi society, women also acted as the main work-force; thus they were respected at home and in the Nakhi society.
In 2005, Kuang Jianren, a famous Chinese film script writer produced "Snow Bracelet", a film based on the life of (Nakhi) Nakhi ethnic minorities in Yunan.
Nakhi men have a tradition of hunting with falcon
s.
and the Chinese-inspired dongjing
.
is worn slung over the shoulder. Especially in Ninglang County, the women wear short jackets and long skirts reaching the ground with several folds. Large black cotton turbans are worn around their heads, which are accompanied with big silver earrings. The men's costume is much like that of Han Chinese. In modern times, traditional dress is rarely worn among the younger generation, since most of them prefer to wear Chinese dress. It is now usually only worn at cultural events and on special occasions.
The dress of the Dongba
lama
s resembles that of the Bön priests of Tibet
; they wear conical hats like those of the lamas of the Black Hat sect, with a piece of red cloth.
is an independently invented proto-writing system.
and Tang
dynasties, the Nakhi were known as the Mosha-yi, or the Moxie-yi. Only after communist rule in China did they call themselves Nakhi, which means "people who worship the black things of the nation".
Frequently harassed by neighbouring tribes, the proto-Nakhi then moved to head of the Nujiang River from the Jinsha and then to the Along River in the present-day province of Sichuan in western China. After being pushed south by other conquering tribes, the Nakhi finally settled in Baisha
and Lijiang by 3 CE.
The Nakhi split into three groups while their ancestors were still in Baisha. The ones who remained are known as the Nakhi, those in Dali
are known as Bai
, and those living around the Lugu Lake are called the Mosuo
. Even today, the three groups share similar customs.
Between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, agricultural production in Lijiang underwent marked changes, and agriculture eventually replaced livestock breeding as the main occupation of the people. The production of agricultural, handicraft, mineral, and livestock products led to considerable prosperity, and during this period a number of slave-owning groups in Ninglang, Lijiang, and Weixi counties grew into a feudal caste of lords. Tibetan Buddhism
got a foothold among the Nakhi from the fourteenth century onwards.
In 1278, the Yuan Dynasty
established the Lijiang Prefecture, which represented the imperial court in Yunnan
. A chieftain, Mude, was made the hereditary chieftain of Lijiang Prefecture, exercising control over the Nakhi people and other ethnic groups during the Ming Dynasty
. The hereditary chieftains from the Mu family collected taxes and tribute, which then went to the Ming court in the form of silver and grains. The Ming relied on the Mu family as the mainstay for the control of the people of various ethnic groups in northwestern Yunnan Province.
Land-leasing began to take place, thus marking the beginning of an economy controlled by a landlord. In 1723, during the Qing Dynasty, hereditary local chieftains in the Lijiang area were replaced by court officials, and the Mu chieftain became the local administrator.
The ancient Nakhi town of Lijiang is now a major tourist destination. Some Nakhi run shops catering to tourists, such as those serving traditional Nakhi bread (baba).
religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism
(especially in the case of the Mosuo
) and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the tenth century.
named Dongba Shilo, who lived in a cave near Baishuitai 900 years ago. According to Nakhi legends, he was said to have created the Lijiang Mural.
Anthropologists claim that many of the Dongba rituals show strong influences from the Bön religion, and are not native in origin. Bön lamas are believed to have settled among the Nakhi as farmers, and to have begun to practise exorcisms as a way of earning a little money on the side; they were thus in competition with the native ritual specialists, locally known as Llü-bu, or Ssan-nyi.
Religious scriptures suggest that the Llü-bu were female shamans who practised divination, exorcism, and other rites in a trance. By the early nineteenth century, the Dongba priests had created a huge religious vocabulary accompanied by a variety of rituals, and had largely displaced the Llü-bu.
Adherents of Dongba had no places of worship, and so they were not officially recognized as a religion. A Dongba shaman is merely a part-time practitioner priest, who is literate in Dongba religious texts that were unreadable by most Nakhi.
The Dongba religion is based on the relationship between nature and man. In Dongba mythology, "Nature" and "Man" are half-brothers, having different mothers. According to the villagers of Shu Ming Village, nature is controlled by spirits called "Shv". These gods are depicted as human-snake chimeras. The Dongba priests practice rituals such as the "Shv Gu" to appease these spirits and prevent their anger from boiling into natural disasters such as earthquakes and droughts.
Before communist rule in China, many villages still had shrines or places of worship dedicated to nature gods such as Shu, and until recently, at least, inhabitants of Tacheng, which is in the Lijiang-Nakhi Autonomous county, still professed belief in the "nature and man" concept.
Their attitude towards nature is clearly illustrated by the story of He Shun, a Dongba priest, who forbade his three sons to cut down more trees than they needed, as this would anger the gods and bring misfortune to his family.
One of the most widely practised Dongba rituals, Zzerq Ciul Zhuaq (literally, to repay the debts of a tree), is often seen in the village of Shuming. The ritual was conducted if somebody was stricken with illness or bad luck, when a Dongba priest would be consulted. On many occasions, the result would show that the person had carried out logging or washing of dirty things in the forest, and the family or person concerned would have to ask the Dongba priest to hold the ritual near where the activity had taken place, and apologise to the nature god Shu.
Being a conservative people, the villagers prohibited logging, and even the cutting of tree branches and gathering of dry pine-needles from the coniferous trees wasn't generally allowed. The gathering of pine needles was only allowed in July, when the forests were lush and green. However, only one person of each household was allowed to do this job, in order to enforce fairness between households with more or fewer labourers.
The elders, locally known as Lao Min (老民), would watch the all these activities. The elders also voluntarily carried out the public affairs of the village. Traditionally, they played an important role, which still influences many villages.
Especially in Longquan, the villagers have a traditional custom for regulations for logging and firewood. Known as Jjuq-ssaiq or Jjuq-Hal-Keel by the local people, this refers to the regular logging of trees and firewood every two to three years in the forested area near the particular village. A group of people comprising the Lao Min, the village headman, and the mountain guards will organise the procedure in advance. Even in recent years, Nakhi villages still retain an organisation that protects the forests, who were administered by the members of the village committee. This necessarily include the heads of the agricultural Productive Cooperatives, the members of the female union, and the village mountain guard.
Until the communists came to power in China
in 1949, villagers followed these traditional principles and tried to use the natural resources conservatively, with thought for the preservation the natural resources for future generations. However, after 1949 serious cultural and social change came to the Nakhi, and the government encouraged logging in the area, which in turn led to a relaxation of the traditional customs.
lineage of Tibetan Buddhism
during the fourteenth century. Over the years, the Nakhi in Lijiang built Buddhist Gompa
s which acted as the place of worship for the Nakhi Buddhist community. The first monastery, Ogmin Namling at Lashiba, was founded by the tenth Karmapa
, Chöying Dorje
. Religious Mani stones can also be found in some of the Nakhi households, especially among the Mosuo
sub-group.
The story is told of the Nakhi king inviting the eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje
to Lijiang in 1516. The king, worried about the safety of the Karmapa on his long journey to Lijiang, dispatched an army of four generals and ten thousand soldiers to accompany him. On the third day of the fourth month the Karmapa reached the border between Tibet and the Nakhi kingdom. Accompanied by his brother and his uncle, who were both riding elephants and escorted by many riders on horseback, the Nakhi king, riding on a palanquin, received a magnificent welcome. The king prostrated himself before the Karmapa, the elephants broke their tethers and bowed down three times before him, and raised their trunks to the sky causing thunderclaps with their trumpeting.
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
in the northwestern part of Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
Province in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The Nakhi are thought to have come originally from Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. They were brought to the attention of the world by two men: the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
botanist Joseph Rock
Joseph Rock
Joseph Francis Charles Rock was an Austrian-American explorer, geographer, linguist and botanist.-Life:He was born in Vienna, Austria, but emigrated to the United States in 1905 and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1907, where he eventually became an authority on the flora there...
and the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Taoist
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
doctor Peter Goullart
Peter Goullart
Peter Goullart was a Russian-born traveler, explorer and author, who is best known for a number of books describing the life and customs of various peoples living in remote parts of East and Southeast Asia.-Life:...
, both of whom lived in Lijiang and travelled throughout the area during the early 20th century. Peter Goullart's book Forgotten Kingdom describes the life and beliefs of the Nakhi and neighbouring peoples, while Joseph Rock's legacy includes diaries, maps, and photographs of the region.
The Nakhi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The official Chinese government classification classes the Mosuo
Mosuo
Known to many as the Mosuo , but known often to themselves as the Na, the Mosuo are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet...
as part of the Nakhi people. However, despite similar origins and very striking resemblances from a linguistic point of view, the two groups are now culturally distinct, the Nakhi more influenced by Han Chinese culture, the Mosuo more influenced by Tibetan culture.
Culture
Nakhi culture is largely a mixture of Tibetan and Han Chinese influences, with some indigenous elements. Especially in the case of their musical scores, it acts as the foundation of the Nakhi literature.Music
Nakhi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the TangTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, and Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha
Baisha xiyue
Baisha xiyue is one of the two surviving forms of traditional music of the Naxi people of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China, known as "Naxi ancient music"...
, Dongjing
Dongjing (music)
Dongjing music or donjiang is a type of Chinese ritual music traditionally performed by the Nakhi people of Yunnan.-History:...
, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments.
The origin of Baisha music lies in a gift from the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
. Upon his expedition to Dali
Kingdom of Dali
Dali or Great Li was a Bai kingdom centred in what is now Yunnan Province of China. Established by Duan Siping in 937, it was ruled by a succession of 22 kings until the year 1253, when it was conquered by an invasion of the Mongol Empire. The capital city was at Dali.- History :The Kingdom of...
, he had difficulty crossing the Golden Sand River, and received help from Mailiang, the chief of the Nakhi people. To show his appreciation, Kublai Khan left half of his band and many musical scores as a gift to the chief. "Baisha Fine Music" is one of ancient China's few large-scale, classical orchestral forms of music and has twenty four tunes, locally known as qupai. Although archaic, simple, and elegant in style, modern Baisha is exquisite, euphonious, and energetic in character.
Taoist in origin, and fused with some indigenous elements, Dongjing music was introduced to the Nakhi from the central plains during the Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
dynasties, and today it is the most well-preserved musical form in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. In addition to its intrinsic stateliness, purity, and elegance, Dongjing music incorporated the local musical elements and styles. Originally reserved for the nobles, the local passion for music overcame this restriction. Music is very important to them.
Art and architecture
Absorbing architectural styles of the HanHan Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
and the Tibetan
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
, the houses of the Nakhi are built in a unique vernacular style of one courtyard with five skylights, which have a crude and simple appearance, but with elaborate and delicate patterns on casements and doors.
The temples, though looking very staid and ordinary from the outside, are decorated on the interior with carvings on poles, arches and idols of gods. The decorations include depictions of episodes from epics, dancers, warriors, animals and birds, and flowers. The mural paintings depict Dongba gods, and are derived from Tibetan styles. A good example is the Delwada Temple.
Festivals
According to legend, Sanduo is a war god who defends the local people. In ancient times a hunter discovered a strange stone on Jade Dragon Mountain, and carried the stone home. On his way home, he had to put the stone down for a rest, because it was extremely heavy. When he decided to continue his trip, he could no longer lift the stone, and many thought that it was the embodiment of a god.
The Nakhi later built a temple to honour this god, whom they later named Sanduo, and depicted as an immortal in a white coat and a white helmet, carrying a white spear and riding a white horse. They believed that Sanduo would protect the local people and their land. Because Sanduo was thought to have been born in the year of the goat
Sheep (zodiac)
The Goat is the eighth sign of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Goat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 未.- Years and the Five Elements :...
, a goat is sacrificed at his festival.
Customs
Cremation has been a tradition since ancient times, although burial was adopted in certain Nakhi areas during the late Qing Dynasty. Religious scriptures were chanted at the funeral ceremony to expiate the sins of the dead.Among the Nakhi in Yongning County in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
and the Yanyuan County in Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, existing remnants of a matriarchal family structure were evident until the beginning of democratic reform, when it changed to a patriarchal structure.
As the heads of the family, the women gave inheritance to the children either through the mother, or to her nephews through her brothers. This is called matrilineal
Matrilineality
Matrilineality is a system in which descent is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors. Matrilineality is also a societal system in which one belongs to one's matriline or mother's lineage, which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles.A matriline is a line of descent from a...
decent, where one belongs to one's mother's lineage.
A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are female. In Nakhi society, women also acted as the main work-force; thus they were respected at home and in the Nakhi society.
In 2005, Kuang Jianren, a famous Chinese film script writer produced "Snow Bracelet", a film based on the life of (Nakhi) Nakhi ethnic minorities in Yunan.
Nakhi men have a tradition of hunting with falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
s.
Nakhi music
The Nakhi have several indigenous forms of music, including baisha xiyueBaisha xiyue
Baisha xiyue is one of the two surviving forms of traditional music of the Naxi people of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China, known as "Naxi ancient music"...
and the Chinese-inspired dongjing
Dongjing (music)
Dongjing music or donjiang is a type of Chinese ritual music traditionally performed by the Nakhi people of Yunnan.-History:...
.
Dress
The Nakhi women wear wide-sleeved loose gowns accompanied by jackets and long trousers, tied with richly decorated belts at the waist. SheepskinSheepskin (material)
Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is tanned with the fleece intact, as in a pelt.-Uses:...
is worn slung over the shoulder. Especially in Ninglang County, the women wear short jackets and long skirts reaching the ground with several folds. Large black cotton turbans are worn around their heads, which are accompanied with big silver earrings. The men's costume is much like that of Han Chinese. In modern times, traditional dress is rarely worn among the younger generation, since most of them prefer to wear Chinese dress. It is now usually only worn at cultural events and on special occasions.
The dress of the Dongba
Dongba
The term Dongba refers to the religious priests, the culture, and script of the Nakhi people, who are found in southwestern China.- Religion :...
lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s resembles that of the Bön priests of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
; they wear conical hats like those of the lamas of the Black Hat sect, with a piece of red cloth.
Language and script
The scriptDongba script
The Dongba, Tomba or Tompa symbols are a system of pictographic glyphs used by the ²dto¹mba of the Naxi people in southern China. In the Naxi language it is called ²ss ³dgyu 'wood records' or ²lv ³dgyu 'stone records'. They are perhaps a thousand years old. The glyphs may be used as rebuses for...
is an independently invented proto-writing system.
History
The Nakhi are believed to be the descendants of the nomadic Qiang, an ethnic group inhabiting the Tibetan plateau since ancient times. During the SuiSui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
and Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
dynasties, the Nakhi were known as the Mosha-yi, or the Moxie-yi. Only after communist rule in China did they call themselves Nakhi, which means "people who worship the black things of the nation".
Frequently harassed by neighbouring tribes, the proto-Nakhi then moved to head of the Nujiang River from the Jinsha and then to the Along River in the present-day province of Sichuan in western China. After being pushed south by other conquering tribes, the Nakhi finally settled in Baisha
Baisha
Baisha Town , Bak-sa in the Taishanese language and "White Sand" in the English translation; in Taishan County, Guangdong province.-History:Baisha town was the ancestral home of many of the first Canadian-Chinese...
and Lijiang by 3 CE.
The Nakhi split into three groups while their ancestors were still in Baisha. The ones who remained are known as the Nakhi, those in Dali
Dali, Yunnan
Dali City is a county-level city in and the seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, northwestern Yunnan province of Southwest China.-History:...
are known as Bai
Bai
The Bai or Baip are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They numbered 1,858,063 as of 2000....
, and those living around the Lugu Lake are called the Mosuo
Mosuo
Known to many as the Mosuo , but known often to themselves as the Na, the Mosuo are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet...
. Even today, the three groups share similar customs.
Between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, agricultural production in Lijiang underwent marked changes, and agriculture eventually replaced livestock breeding as the main occupation of the people. The production of agricultural, handicraft, mineral, and livestock products led to considerable prosperity, and during this period a number of slave-owning groups in Ninglang, Lijiang, and Weixi counties grew into a feudal caste of lords. Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
got a foothold among the Nakhi from the fourteenth century onwards.
In 1278, the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
established the Lijiang Prefecture, which represented the imperial court in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
. A chieftain, Mude, was made the hereditary chieftain of Lijiang Prefecture, exercising control over the Nakhi people and other ethnic groups during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. The hereditary chieftains from the Mu family collected taxes and tribute, which then went to the Ming court in the form of silver and grains. The Ming relied on the Mu family as the mainstay for the control of the people of various ethnic groups in northwestern Yunnan Province.
Land-leasing began to take place, thus marking the beginning of an economy controlled by a landlord. In 1723, during the Qing Dynasty, hereditary local chieftains in the Lijiang area were replaced by court officials, and the Mu chieftain became the local administrator.
The ancient Nakhi town of Lijiang is now a major tourist destination. Some Nakhi run shops catering to tourists, such as those serving traditional Nakhi bread (baba).
Religion
The Nakhi are traditionally followers of the DongbaDongba
The term Dongba refers to the religious priests, the culture, and script of the Nakhi people, who are found in southwestern China.- Religion :...
religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
(especially in the case of the Mosuo
Mosuo
Known to many as the Mosuo , but known often to themselves as the Na, the Mosuo are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet...
) and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the tenth century.
Dongba
Dongba religion was rooted in the beliefs of the Tibetan Bön religion; the word "Dongba" literally means "wise man" in the Nakhi language. Tracing its origins to a Bön shaman from eastern TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
named Dongba Shilo, who lived in a cave near Baishuitai 900 years ago. According to Nakhi legends, he was said to have created the Lijiang Mural.
Anthropologists claim that many of the Dongba rituals show strong influences from the Bön religion, and are not native in origin. Bön lamas are believed to have settled among the Nakhi as farmers, and to have begun to practise exorcisms as a way of earning a little money on the side; they were thus in competition with the native ritual specialists, locally known as Llü-bu, or Ssan-nyi.
Religious scriptures suggest that the Llü-bu were female shamans who practised divination, exorcism, and other rites in a trance. By the early nineteenth century, the Dongba priests had created a huge religious vocabulary accompanied by a variety of rituals, and had largely displaced the Llü-bu.
Adherents of Dongba had no places of worship, and so they were not officially recognized as a religion. A Dongba shaman is merely a part-time practitioner priest, who is literate in Dongba religious texts that were unreadable by most Nakhi.
The Dongba religion is based on the relationship between nature and man. In Dongba mythology, "Nature" and "Man" are half-brothers, having different mothers. According to the villagers of Shu Ming Village, nature is controlled by spirits called "Shv". These gods are depicted as human-snake chimeras. The Dongba priests practice rituals such as the "Shv Gu" to appease these spirits and prevent their anger from boiling into natural disasters such as earthquakes and droughts.
Before communist rule in China, many villages still had shrines or places of worship dedicated to nature gods such as Shu, and until recently, at least, inhabitants of Tacheng, which is in the Lijiang-Nakhi Autonomous county, still professed belief in the "nature and man" concept.
Their attitude towards nature is clearly illustrated by the story of He Shun, a Dongba priest, who forbade his three sons to cut down more trees than they needed, as this would anger the gods and bring misfortune to his family.
One of the most widely practised Dongba rituals, Zzerq Ciul Zhuaq (literally, to repay the debts of a tree), is often seen in the village of Shuming. The ritual was conducted if somebody was stricken with illness or bad luck, when a Dongba priest would be consulted. On many occasions, the result would show that the person had carried out logging or washing of dirty things in the forest, and the family or person concerned would have to ask the Dongba priest to hold the ritual near where the activity had taken place, and apologise to the nature god Shu.
Being a conservative people, the villagers prohibited logging, and even the cutting of tree branches and gathering of dry pine-needles from the coniferous trees wasn't generally allowed. The gathering of pine needles was only allowed in July, when the forests were lush and green. However, only one person of each household was allowed to do this job, in order to enforce fairness between households with more or fewer labourers.
The elders, locally known as Lao Min (老民), would watch the all these activities. The elders also voluntarily carried out the public affairs of the village. Traditionally, they played an important role, which still influences many villages.
Especially in Longquan, the villagers have a traditional custom for regulations for logging and firewood. Known as Jjuq-ssaiq or Jjuq-Hal-Keel by the local people, this refers to the regular logging of trees and firewood every two to three years in the forested area near the particular village. A group of people comprising the Lao Min, the village headman, and the mountain guards will organise the procedure in advance. Even in recent years, Nakhi villages still retain an organisation that protects the forests, who were administered by the members of the village committee. This necessarily include the heads of the agricultural Productive Cooperatives, the members of the female union, and the village mountain guard.
Until the communists came to power in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1949, villagers followed these traditional principles and tried to use the natural resources conservatively, with thought for the preservation the natural resources for future generations. However, after 1949 serious cultural and social change came to the Nakhi, and the government encouraged logging in the area, which in turn led to a relaxation of the traditional customs.
Tibetan Buddhism
The Nakhi's Tibetan origins and proximity to Tibet led them to embrace the KagyuKagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
lineage of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
during the fourteenth century. Over the years, the Nakhi in Lijiang built Buddhist Gompa
Gompa
Gompa and ling are Buddhist ecclesiastical fortifications of learning, lineage and sadhana , located in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
s which acted as the place of worship for the Nakhi Buddhist community. The first monastery, Ogmin Namling at Lashiba, was founded by the tenth Karmapa
Karmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
, Chöying Dorje
Chöying Dorje
Chöying Dorje , also Choying Dorje, was the tenth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Chöying Dorje was born in Khaytri Tang in the kingdom of Golok in Amdo. At the age of eight, he was recognized by Shamar Mipan Chökyi Wangchuk, the sixth Shamarpa and received the complete...
. Religious Mani stones can also be found in some of the Nakhi households, especially among the Mosuo
Mosuo
Known to many as the Mosuo , but known often to themselves as the Na, the Mosuo are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet...
sub-group.
The story is told of the Nakhi king inviting the eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje
Mikyö Dorje
Mikyö Dorje , also Mikyo Dorje, was the eighth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Mikyö Dorje was born in Satam, Kham. According to the legend, he said after being born: "I am Karmapa." and was recognized by Tai Situpa. In this case there was another child from Amdo who...
to Lijiang in 1516. The king, worried about the safety of the Karmapa on his long journey to Lijiang, dispatched an army of four generals and ten thousand soldiers to accompany him. On the third day of the fourth month the Karmapa reached the border between Tibet and the Nakhi kingdom. Accompanied by his brother and his uncle, who were both riding elephants and escorted by many riders on horseback, the Nakhi king, riding on a palanquin, received a magnificent welcome. The king prostrated himself before the Karmapa, the elephants broke their tethers and bowed down three times before him, and raised their trunks to the sky causing thunderclaps with their trumpeting.
External links
- Joseph Rock Maps – Deqen, Lijiang, Weixi, & Yenyuan (Website no longer online, see archive)
- The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University – holders of most of Joseph Rock's work
- Joseph Rock Images – an alternative interface to the images held at Harvard
- Forgotten Kingdom – book by Peter Goullart
- Nakhi Manuscript Collection – on-line selections from the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
Nakhi manuscript collection - Unlocking Nakhi scripts
- Picture of Nakhi murals (Website no longer online, see archive)
- Relentless advocate 'greens' rural China, village by village (retrieved 25 November 2007)