Studies on Naxi Dongba Manuscripts and Language
This article examines the Naxi Dongba classics (Dongba jing), the sacred scriptures of the Naxi people's primal Dongba religion, as material for linguistic research. Written in pictographic and syllabic scripts created by Dongba priests and recited or sung during rituals, these texts embody the language of a specific historical stage of Naxi society. The author identifies key linguistic features: the classics retain strong oral characteristics while showing early written-language development, using vivid metaphor, parallelism, proverbs, and rhythmic patterning rooted in colloquial vocabulary rather than formal literary diction; and they correspond to an early, immature stage of writing—dominated by nouns with fewer verbs and abstract terms—since the pictographic script evolved directly from mnemonic picture-records. The article argues these features, including diachronic-synchronic coexistence in Dongba script, make the classics invaluable "living fossil" material for studying early language, primitive thought, and culture-language relations, and calls for greater scholarly attention.
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