by Jim Goodman
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| Wufenglou, the former entrance gate to Fuguo lamasery |
Before the tragic earthquake
of 1996 devastated Lijiang, the old Naxi town of Dayan offered travelers a
wonderful experience of traditional urban life. Concentrating my research on northwest Yunnan then, I
explored the city on many excursions in those years, wandering down every
street and lane in Dayan, at all times of day, but especially in the early morning,
when activity commenced.
Dayan’s Naxi rose later than
those in rural areas. The first
establishments to open were the noodle-makers and those preparing black bean
pudding. People began setting up
market stalls and opening shops around 9 a.m. Women came to the streams to wash vegetables, men led
pony-carts of charcoal and firewood and shoppers started appearing shortly
after.
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| White Horse Pond, Dayan |
The one activity missing was
anything religious. No shrines or
statues stood anywhere on the streets. The only religious building was the temple next to White
Horse Pond in the southern quarter.
It marks the spot where the Tang Dynasty Buddhist scholar Xuan Zang, on
his way to India to procure religious manuscripts, supposedly stopped to give
his horse a drink. The modest
temple, built in the 18th century, did attract occasional devotees who
bought fish to set free in the pond.
Still influenced by the
Confucian tradition, the Naxi maintained their ancestral altars and made
offerings to them at festivals.
But even the surviving village temples, those that hadn’t been converted
to schools, were hardly active and the big monasteries barely maintained. In general, the Naxi, in contrast to
the Tibetans, Bai, Hui, Dai and Bulang, were not very religious-minded.
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| pictographs of a dongba manuscript |
Long before exposure to
Buddhism or Taoism, the Naxi had established their own belief system, built on
the propitiation of natural elements and the presumed existence of myriad
unseen forces. Everything in the
world was endowed with a soul and life-force of its own, including inanimate
objects such as mountains, streams, fires, cliffs and stones. Ancient Naxi believed something or other
controlled the weather, the rain, the wind, etc., and so deified and gave names
to these assumed agents, while lesser deities and spirits were associated with
other natural phenomena. And to
account for all that could go wrong in the course of a life the Naxi identified
over 500 demons.
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| wooden swords for funerals and the propitiation of nagas |
To deal with these pernicious
spirits, and to properly honor or beseech the gods, a class of specialists
arose within Naxi ranks. Known as
a dongba, this specialist performed a wide array of numerous complicated
rituals. To prompt his memory he
used manuscripts in coded pictographs and performed rituals both privately for
patrons and publicly for the welfare of the realm. He was so much at the core of traditional religious practice
that even today the original Naxi belief-system is known as "Dongba
Religion" or "Dongba Tradition."
A few rituals lasted several
days and required recitations from over a hundred books. Among the most frequent were: propitiation of the nagas—the huge, dragon-like serpent
spirits believed to be the invisible owners of the land; the expulsion of
demons, with rituals varying according to the type of demon and sometimes
involving dancing while wielding swords; rites for suicides, who were nearly
always young couples whose parents had forbidden their marriage; and funerals,
the most spectacular being that of a dongba. The highlight of the latter was the
display of a painted scroll twenty meters long and a recitation of a text
explaining the illustrations.
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| dongba performing a ritual at Dazui, Lugu Lake |
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| dongba funeral painting |
In the old days, village dongbas customarily wore large-brimmed
felted wool or bamboo hats.
Otherwise they did not stand out among the villagers. They lived in the same kind of house and
while the ceremony patrons fed them for the occasion, they did not receive a
salary. The only social advantage
a dongba had was the prestige accorded
by being one.
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| mural inside Dabaoji, Baisha village |
For rituals they generally
donned a five-lobed crown, called kho, with deities painted on each
lobe. They employed thick, oblong
cards with figures painted on them, called dzu, which they stuck upright
in groups of 7, 9 or 11, in bowls of rice in the middle of the altar. They also used wooden swords, called khobya,
painted with pictographs, which they thrust into the ground next to streams (to
propitiate the nagas) or on a hill away from a funeral site. For some rites the dongbas also
made small figurines of deities and demons out of corn flour.
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| mural at Suhe Dajue Temple, Xiawu village |
The venues for these rituals
could be anywhere within the village or outside by a stream or on a
mountain. There was no dongba temple of any kind, though. The first temple in Naxi territory was
to their own war god Sanduo, but it was built in 784 under orders of King Yimoxun
of Nanzhao, the state that ruled over Yunnan at the same time as the Tang
Dynasty in China.
Lying at the foot of Jade
Dragon Mountain, just below present-day Yufeng Temple, Sanduo's temple is
called Beiyuemiao—Temple of the North Sacred Mountain. A statue of the god, in white armor and
helmet, brandishing a white spear, astride a white horse, stands outside the
temple entrance. A manuscript
inside contains prayers to the god, as well as the legends and exploits
associated with him.
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| Tibetan deity in Yufeng Temple |
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| Naxi fresco at Suhe Dajue Temple, Xiawu |
The most famous
legend is of Sanduo’s aid to Azong, the last Naxi ruler prior to the Mongol
conquest of Yunnan in 1253. The
god appeared to Azong in a dream, complimented him as an "upright"
magistrate and promised to help him on the battlefield. From then on the god appeared whenever
Azong went to war, “rushed furiously in the front line of battle," and
disappeared in a storm afterwards.
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| Wenfeng Monastery |
After the Mongol conquest
Mahayana Buddhism gained a foothold in Lijiang with the construction of Jinshan
Temple and Donglin Temple. Dabaoji
in Baisha village is its finest Ming Dynasty expression. Daoism found a place as well in Dayan
and adherents built the Jade Emperor Tower Temple and the Royal Heaven Temple. Its philosophy was popular among the literati
and its Dongjing music became part of Naxi tradition.
The introduction of Buddhism
and Daoism influenced Naxi painting, which rapidly evolved from the simple,
almost crude pictographs of the dongba
manuscripts to the sophisticated wall murals that graced thirteen temples in
the Dayan area. The overall
balance of the murals, the orderly disposition of the figures, reflected the
Han tradition. Subject matter
could be Mahayana Buddhist or Daoist themes. The vivid coloring, emphasizing red, gold, black and silver,
and the decorative aspects, reflected the Tibetan influence.
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| monk in his quarters at Wenfeng Monastery |
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| Wenfeng Temple lama |
Sadly, most are gone, for nine
of the temples fell to ruins and the other four were completely destroyed or
badly vandalized during the Cultural Revolution. The outstanding extant example is at Dabaoji in Baisha
village. The main fresco depicts
the Buddha achieving enlightenment, surrounded by haloed holy men and
bodhisattvas that appear to be floating in the clouds. Other murals feature Tibetan lamas, dakinis,
fierce deities and magistrates in hats and robes conversing, while elsewhere
the Day of Judgment takes place.
Vignettes of contemporary life, such as plowing or weaving, are
sometimes in the margins.
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| thangkas at Puji Monastery |
Nearby Dading Tower also has
some Qing Dynasty frescoes, mostly restored, except for the gouged-out eyes.
The only other testimony to the expertise of classical Naxi painters is the
smaller set of murals at Xiawu village, west of Baisha, in the Suhe Dajue
Temple. Against a black
background, the figures are skillfully painted, emphasizing gold, red, black,
white and yellow, with fine details on the faces and in the jewelry.
Lijiang’s lamaseries date from
the end of the 16th century, with the introduction of the Karmapa
(Red Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
The earliest was Yufeng Temple, built between 1579 and 1619 at the edge
of the forest on Jade Dragon Mountain, a kilometer up the hill from Beiyuemiao.
The great camellia tree, which
attracts so many to the Sanduo Festival, was planted a century earlier, so one
of Yufeng's courtyards was constructed around this tree. Carved doors and windows, a pebbled
courtyard floor in geometric designs and the remains of the original interior
frescoes are the other attractions of this temple.
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| Puji Monastery |
More dramatically sited is
Wenfeng Monastery, high up on Wenbishan, nine km southwest of Dayan. Completed in 1733, it is isolated far
above the nearest village, lying beside a forest and spring. Until 1949 monks came here to perform
an unusual ascetic rite. Digging
holes near the spring, they climbed into them and made them their residences
for the next three years, three months, three days and three hours. During this period they never left
their holes and spent the time meditating, chanting and otherwise purifying
themselves. When they finally
emerged, they were supposed to be endowed with supernatural powers, such as the
ability to fly.
Puji Temple, all but hidden in
a forest five km northwest of Dayan, was the third Karmapa lamasery, originally
built in 1771. Two great
crab-apple trees with twisted trunks stand in the main courtyard. Time, the weather, and neglect have
reduced most of the exterior wall murals to mere traces and outlines. But the interior furnishings are in
better shape, featuring painted religious scrolls (thangkas), bright silk suspended banners and various images of the
Buddha and venerated Tibetan lamas.
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| special lantern hung for the Mid-Autumn Festival |
The other two Karmapa temples
were Zhiyunsi, on the shores of Lashi Lake, and Fuguosi, above Nguluko, the
northernmost village on the Lijiang Plain. Zhiyun Temple has been turned into a school and the
buildings of Fuguo Temple were removed to Black Dragon Pool Park in
Lijiang. The very ornate entrance
gate, Five Phoenix Tower (Wufenglou), graces the southern end of the park.
After 1949 the lamasery
residents were reduced to a bare minimum.
Proscribing their dongba
ceremonies, the government co-opted the dongbas
by making them village chieftains.
Beyond the Lijiang Plain, though, the dongba tradition survived, even if not so openly, especially
Baishuitai, its birthplace in southern Shangrila County. After the reforms of the 70s and
80s it became more public.
Around Lijiang, hardly any
former dongbas were still alive. The rituals did not revive, but the
local government set up the Dongba Research Institute near Black Dragon Pool
Park and hired them to translate the pictograph manuscripts that had
survived. A museum next door
exhibited some of these books, plus the hats and robes, wooden swords, funeral
paintings, drums, figurines and other items associated with dongba rituals.
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| Sanduo--the ancient Naxi war god |
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| floating a lamp in Dayan at the Mid-Autumn Festival |
Like other minority
nationalities in Yunnan, the Naxi were reviving their traditions, but that didn't
necessarily include whatever religious piety they once had. While in areas far from Lijiang, like
Baishuitai, or Dazui, the Naxi village on the northern shores of Lugu Lake, the
dongba tradition continued, not many
young men were taking up the role.
No new dongbas appeared in
villages on the Lijiang Plain. The
mind-sets of the Naxi people had moved beyond the animism and nature-worship
that essentially characterized the dongba
tradition.
None of Lijiang’s lamaseries
regained their former popularity. In
the 90s Zhiyun Temple was still used as a school. Lay caretakers looked after Pujisi and two septuagenarian
monks lived at Wenfengsi. Only
Yufengsi had been able to recruit any new novices. About twenty were living there by mid-decade, compared to
the hundreds resident before 1949.
The new mood of official tolerance meant monks could preach again and a
Tibetan huofu (reincarnated lama) of
the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) order set up in Dayan to instruct Naxi in
Tibetan-style Buddhism. But after
two years of scant success he departed.
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| the old camellia tree at Yufeng Temple |
Traditional festivals,
however, came back into vogue. The
Naxi celebrate the major Han festivals, but sometimes with special
features. Their New Year rites
include an outdoor Sacrifice to Heaven and at the Mid-Autumn Festival for
venerating ancestors, they hang fancy big lanterns at their doorways. On the first day, with firecrackers and
hot-air balloons, the Naxi salute their ancestors and invite them to their
homes. On the second night they
place small paper lanterns, usually lotus-shaped with a candle in the center,
into the streams. And on the third
night they inscribe their clan names on paper and make sacrifices of fruits and
grains to their ancestors.
The biggest traditional event,
8th day of the 2nd moon, is the Sanduo Festival, honoring
their chief indigenous deity. In
the morning they hike up to Beiyuemiao, kowtow to Sanduo’s statue and leave
offerings. Afterwards they ascend
to Yufengsi, where the old camellia is in full bloom, to pose for photographs. Then they may make a stop in the
compound where the lama is performing his rituals for the occasion. Upon departure they will head for a spot
in the woods or on a nearby hill and have a leisurely picnic.
Back in Lijiang in the
afternoon, they may form up for ring dances in one of the squares. Sometimes
traditional orchestras are contracted to play for the day and much feasting
ensues from dark. Ostensibly a
religious festival, but one totally identified with the Naxi identity, people
relish this as a time of socializing and public entertainment.
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| Naxi devotees passing a reliquary mound en route to Yufeng Temple |
*
* *
For more on the dongba
and the Naxi, see my e-book Children
of the Jade Dragon.
Lijiang and Baishuitai are both stops on Delta Tours Vietnam’s
route through northwest Yunnan.
See the details at https://www.deltatoursvietnam.com/northwest-yunnan
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