DONGBA PRIEST - YUNNAN (digital) (38 images)

The term Dongba refers to the religion and the priests of the Naxi people of Southwest China, who are masters of traditional culture, literature and Dongba symbols. The Dongba as priests are believed to have originated from the Tibetan Bon religion. They play a major role in Naxi culture and preach harmony between man and nature. Their costumes show strong Tibetan influence, and pictures of Bon gods can be seen on their headgear. Dongba conduct religious rituals to propitiate the spirits, as...
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The term Dongba refers to the religion and the priests of the Naxi people of Southwest China, who are masters of traditional culture, literature and Dongba symbols. The Dongba as priests are believed to have originated from the Tibetan Bon religion. They play a major role in Naxi culture and preach harmony between man and nature. Their costumes show strong Tibetan influence, and pictures of Bon gods can be seen on their headgear. Dongba conduct religious rituals to propitiate the spirits, as they were believed to be living in every part of the natural world. The Naxi are an ethnic group inhabiting the hillsides in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi people developed two writing systems, a phonetic system called Geba and a hieroglyphic (pictorial) writing system that is said to be the world's sole surviving hieroglyphic writing system. There is now an attempt to preserve and teach the traditional Naxi culture and younger people are learning it from their Dongba Priests at local Naxi villages.
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