On Dongba Mythology
This article examines Dongba mythology, the substantial body of myths recorded in the Naxi people's unique living pictographic script within the Dongba scriptures. These myths form a self-contained system with distinctive ethnic characteristics, representing a treasure of Chinese mythology and a precious spiritual heritage of Naxi traditional culture. Their value extends beyond mythology itself, embodying a composite of Naxi Dongba culture's multiple elements—incorporating not only indigenous Naxi cultural genes but also ancient Tibetan Bon religion, Tibetan Buddhism, and connections to ancient Indian, Egyptian, and Persian cultures, contributing to world cultural exchange through myth and poetry. The author, long fascinated by Dongba culture's brilliant history and mysterious origins, undertakes a systematic analysis to clarify its value. The article classifies Dongba myths into major categories, including creation myths (the richest and most valuable, covering cosmogony, human origins, flood/rebirth, and human-animal common ancestry), totemic myths (reflecting primitive thinking and totem worship), and myths related to matrilineal goddess worship, while distinguishing between an indigenous ethnic deity system and an external one.
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