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Religion
Of Tibetan origin, the Nakhi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Owing to both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they later adopted Tibetan Buddhism, and to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.
Dongba The Dongba religion was believed to be rooted in the beliefs of the Tibetan Animistic Early Bön religion of Tibet. Tracing its origins to a Bön shaman from eastern Tibet named Dongba Shilo, he lived in a cave near Baishuitai 900 years ago. According to the Nakhi legends, he was said to have invented the Lijiang Mural.
Dongba customs are related to the concept of "Nature and Man", specifically pointing to the concept of Nature and Human, who are two brothers born to the same father and different mothers, which deeply reflected in Dongba Religion. Especially in the villages of Yuhu, Yulong, Longquan and Shuming, elderly villagers knew the nature gods such "Shu", and the community's rituals such as "Shu Gu" were practiced to appaese the god.
Prior to the communist rule of China, many Nakhi villages had religious places for worship, most notably for nature gods such as Shu. From these beliefs and rituals, rigid regulations and customary laws were formed. Until recently, the concept between nature and Man the two half-brothers still remain in the mind of many villagers in the mountainous Shuming village of the Tacheng Township, which is located in Lijiang-Naxi Autonomous county. Shuming is located in forested areas of the upper reaches of the Yangtse River, which is not far removed from the main town of Lijiang.
He Shun, a Dongba priest, strictly forbidden his three sons to be involved in any kind of logging for benefits, as he thinks that if one cut trees over his daily demand, it is definitely against the will of the nature gods, and the traditional custom. It is believed that logging will would bring disasters to his family and offspring.
One of the most widely practiced Dongba ritual, Zzerq Ciul Zhuaq, literally, to repay the debts of a tree, is often seen in the village of Shuming. The ritual would only be conducted on the condition that if somebody was stricken with illness or bad luck, consultation upon a Dongba fortue-teller priest to seek for divination would be made. On many occasions, the result shows that if they had done forest logging and washing of dirty things in the forest, the family or person concerned would have to ask the Dongba priest to hold the ritual nearby the spring or where they had cut the tree, and apologize to the nature god Shu.
The reason for the preservation of the forseowes to the fact that upon the beginning of Summer on the seventh solar term, when most temperate plants and wild animals regrow and reproduce after the long winter. Being conservative, the village people were prohibited logging, and the cutting of tree branches and gathering of dry-pined needles from the coniferous tres were not even allowed. Gathering of dry-pine needles is only allowed in July, when the forests were lush and green. However, only one person of each household was allowed to do this job by following to the village regulations, as the Makhi thought that was a good way to keep an equal balance between the households with more laborers or less laborers.
The Elders, locally known as Lao Min, would watch the all these activities personally. These Elders also served for the public affairs of the village voluntarily. Traditionally, these elders play an important role, which is still influenced many villages at present. Successful management of forest resources such as those in the Yulong village of Baisha Township, uses the Lao Min of the village, and many elders of high prestige are members of the organization, which is very active to assist the villagers' committee, and the headman of the village is to protect the community's environment and resources.
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 in every two to three years in the forested area near the particular village. A group of people comprises of the Lao Min, the village headman and the mountain guards, will organize the ritual in advance. Even in recent years, Nakhi villages still retain an organization who specially 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 communism came to power in China in 1949, villagers who rigidly followed the traditional principles will try to use the natural resources consertatively, with the consideration for preserving the natural resources so as to give their future generations would to use when necessary. However, since the communist took control of China in 1949, serious cultural and social change dawned upon the Nakhi. The government encouraged forest logging around the area, which in turn led to the fact that rigid traditional forest preservation customs has became more relaxed.
One could see from it the traditional custom still has its own spiritual power to influence the villagers.
Lamaism Owing to the fact that they are of Tibetan origins and their close proximity with Tibet, the Nakhi began to embrace Lamaism during the 14th century.
Historical sources stated the Nakhi king of heard about the teachings of the eighth Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje, invited him to Lijiang. An army of four generals and ten thousand soldiers was dispatched to accompany the Karmapa on his long journey. On the third day of the fourth month in 1516, 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, who was riding on a made a palanquin horse, made a magnificent welcome. The king, while prostating before the Karmapa, the elephants broke their tethers and bowed down three times before him at the same time, and raising their trunks to the sky. Thunderclaps caused by the elephants' trumpeting were heard overhead.
It is through the Kagyu lineage that the Nakhi developed devotion to the Buddha Dharma. Today, there are at least five Gompas in Lijiang itself.
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