China tour news: Dongba culture is an important part of the culture of the Naxi ethnic group. Dongba    culture—that is, ancient Naxi culture—got    its name from the Dongba religion where it   has been preserved. With a history of over 1,000 years, Dongba culture consists mainly of Dongba characters, scripture, painting, music, dance, ritual instruments, and all varieties of sacrificial rites.

Dongba Characters

Dongba characters are a kind of picto-phonetic system consisting of more than 1,400 characters. Acclaimed as the only picto-phonetic to be completely preserved in the world, it is a valuable cultural artifact for all of human society.

Dongba Scripture

Dongba scripture refers to sutras written with Dongba characters. There are now approximately 40,000 Dongba scriptures collected and preserved in the libraries and museums of Lijiang, Kunming, Nanjing, Beijing, Taiwan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Rich in content, Dongba scriptures are precious historical records for the study of the ancient philosophy, religion, customs, society, history, literature, and art of the Naxi ethnic group.

Dongba dance

Dongba dance notation written with Dongba characters is one of the earliest such systems in the world. Dongba dance is a kind of religious dance that Dongba flamen performed during Dongba religious rituals based on the type of ritual. It was rooted in the social life of the ancientNaxi people. Many of its move­ments, simulating those of various animals, are quite vivid. The style and character of Dongba dance, featuring primitive touch and strict stan­dards for movements, are unique among all types of dances in the Lijiang area and in the dance culture of the ethnic groups of Yunnan and other areas.

Dongba Painting

Dongba has a long history and is an artistic relic of the Naxi ethnic group with distinc­tive features. When preparing for rituals, Naxi people painted all kinds of Buddha, gods, human beings, objects, animals, plants, ghosts, and evil spirits, worshipped, and of­fered sacrifices to them. All of these paintings that served religious purposes are collectively referred to as Dongba painting.

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