An Investigation on the Use of Dough Figures in Naxi Dongba Rituals

Yang Hongrong

（Department of Arts， Lijiang Normal College， Lijiang， 674100， Yunnan， China）

JOURNAL OF ETHNOLOGY， VOL. 6， NO.4， 66-70， 2015 （CN51-1731/C， in Chinese）

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2015.04.09

Abstract：

Dongba rituals are one of the important expressions of Naxi polytheistic worship， and they reflect the Naxi ancestors view of animism. Relying on a large number of manuscripts written using Dongba pictographs which contain the content and procedure of Dongba rituals， a complete religious ritual system has been formed. Among the large number of Dongba ancient manuscripts， there are many descriptions of the dough figures depicting deities， ghosts and animals， the materials for making them， and the way to use them in the rituals. This shows clearly that the dough figures， a traditional style of art， are very popular in Dongba rituals. Because the materials for making the dough figures used in Dongba rituals are mostly fried wheat flour， buckwheat flour and highland barley flour， they are called as “haxi duoma” by the local people， meaning “dough figures of deities and ghosts made of grain”.

Due to social and historical reasons， the transmission of Dongba culture was interrupted for a while，  and Dongba culture suffered a severe blow. As a result， various Dongba rituals which embodied the Dongba cultural arts gradually disappeared  from the social life of the local people. Since the 1980s， work to restore Dongba culture started in full swing; the protection， inheritance and research of Dongba culture recovered; and the Dongba cultural arts have been given a new vitality. Various areas have conducted Dongba culture transmission work through opening cultural inheritance schools or the old Dongbas accepting apprentices. Meanwhile， in some areas， where the foundation of Dongba culture is relatively good， for instance，  Shuming of Tacheng township， Xinzhu of Ludian township， Wumu of Baoshan township of Lijiang， Yunnan， and Eya of Xichang， Sichuan， etc. some ritual activities， in combination with folklore and festivals， have been reinvigorated and developed. In truth， ethnic religious activities and folklore cannot be divided. To restore and develop ethnic religious activities is to build a kind of comprehensive cultural site through self-awareness， and to enable multi-cultural elements interact via this carrier so that it can be transmitted and develop naturally among the folk. Under the new situation， this kind of method is  a positive and efficient mechanism of transmission for exploring and building up a framework for efficient ethnic cultural transmission.

Since 2008， I have done a lot of fieldwork in the villages where Dongba rituals have been frequently held， and the traditional cultural foundation is relatively strong. I interviewed 15 Dongba priests of different ages and from different places; observed many Dongba rituals; and investigated the basic status of Dongba priests， the revival of Dongba rituals， and the use of Dongba paintings， dough figures and wooden figures in the rituals. I filled out a total of 35 different questionnaire forms. Because my major is art education， I specially focused my attention on the investigation and research of the plastic arts， such as Dongba painting， sculpture， and their use in the rituals. Therefore， during the process of fieldwork， I collected and sorted photos， and video materials of the objects， objects that included  Dongba scroll paintings， wood block paintings， paintings on squares of paper， Dongba wooden images， and dough figures.

From this fieldwork on Dongba culture， we are able to see that Dongba dough figures are still widely used during the revival of of rituals in modern times. There are differences concerning the system of transmission， formative characteristics， and the use of Dongba figures in different areas. This is reflected in the following aspects：

1. Because Dongba dough figures must be used in Dongba rituals in large numbers， it is a technique that the young Dongba must learn. So， in the areas where Dongba rituals are held frequently， the method for passing down its techniques is very smooth; the number of Dongba who can make dough figures are relatively more; and the use of dough figures in the rituals is very widespread the number of dough figures is large， and they are preserved well.

2. There are significant differences regarding the form of the dough figures made in the “eastern dialect region” and those made in the “western dialect region”. For instance， in Shuzhi， Youmi， and Ciwa villages of Jiaze township， Ninglang County in the western dialect region， some of the dough figures are relatively abstract， and obviously reflect the primitive worship of wood and stone. Some of them highlight the characteristics of the images of deities  described in the manuscripts， for example， the eagle mouth， intertwined snake or snake with wings. Some highlight the characteristics of ghosts， such as a human body with an ox head， snake head， or pig head. The animal sacrifices highlight the characteristics of the head， body and tail of cow， horse and pig. However， in the eastern dialect region， for instance， in Taocheng， Ludian， Dadong， and Minyin townships of Lijiang， the dough figures of deities， ghosts and animals stress the modeling of the head and the facial expressions. Moreover， the bodies of the figures  wear clothing. Hence， there is a strong sense of personalization.

3.Making and using Dongba figures differ in various areas. In the areas where the rituals are held frequently， for example， in Shuzhi， Youmi， and Ciwa villages of Ninglang county， and Tacheng，Ludian，Dadong， and Minyin of Yulong county， Lijiang，Yunnan province， Eya village of Muli County， Xichang， Sichuan province， the technique for making dough-figures is very skillful， the numbers of dough figures large， and the people are very familiar with how to use them. In other areas， however， the tradition of using dough figures has been simplified or even lost. We see this， for instances， in Longshan and Fengke townships of Lijiang.

The art of making Dongba religious dough figures is an important part of Dongba cultural arts， and is an expression and content of Dongba rituals that cannot be absent. With their rich cultural connotation， unique modeling characteristics， as well as a complete and standardized use， they reflect Naxi Dongba religious animism， including fertility worship， ancestor worship， the worship of deities and ghosts， and the worship of nature. The figures imitated nature or gave a fantastical transformation of objects， which reflected the emotional concept and aesthetic consciousness of the ancestors. They are a medium through which human beings can have dialogue with deities， ghosts and nature. From abstraction， imitation， to personification of the dough figures， we can trace a development from totem worship， to ancestor worship， to worship of deities to a worship of personification. Hence， these figures are a precious cultural heritage for studing  the early cultural arts of the human beings， and we need to further research so that this ethnic cultural art could have a new shine in modern times.