The Naxi and Dongba

The Naxi (sometimes written Nakhi) are an ethnic group who live in the foothills in northwest Yunnan, including the Lijiang area. Many people in Lijiang wear Naxi costumes, though it's unclear how much of that is for tourism. The Naxi also have their own--primarily pictographic--script, Dongba. The script takes its name from the priests who use it, also called the Dongba. The following are from the Dongba Museum in Lijiang, near the Black Dragon Pool.

A museum installation with excerpts from the Dongba creation myth.

Stone carving with Dongba and illustrations.

The Dongba area also known for the paper that they write on. Here are some manuscripts from the museum.

Like early Chinese characters, Dongba is closely tied to divination rituals.

Chicken bone divination.

42-stone divination.

Lijiang is full of trilingual songs, although the Dongba is more for show than utility, as few people can actually read and write Dongba. The translations are sometimes amusingly literal. The following sign is in Shuhe.

"Be kind to the followers and grasses", or as the Chinese actually says "Please love and protect the flowers and grasses."