**Homes of Drama**, Issue No. 1 (Part 1), 2017
This article examines how narrative in religious ritual evolves into "impersonation" or "role-based representation" (代言), using comparative case studies of sheep divination and effigy-substitute-for-death rites among the Qiang (Shibi priests) and Naxi (Dabba and Dongba priests) traditions. The author argues that a pivotal step in theater's emergence from ritual occurs when the priest shifts from being a mere intermediary between humans and spirits to directly representing deities—later extended to ordinary participants and even inanimate effigies/ghosts. This transformation unfolds in four stages: (1) single-person narration, (2) "involved dialogue," where speakers describe a mute object (e.g., a sacrificial sheep) without it "speaking," (3) "indirect dialogue," where an intermediary relays messages on behalf of an unrepresented party, and (4) full "direct dialogue," where a role is directly personified through role-play. Comparing Qiang's silent, observation-based sheep divination with the Dongba's dialogic version—featuring two priests conversing about the sheep's auspicious signs—illustrates the second stage and traces this broader progression from ritual narration toward dramatic representation.
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