Intertextuality Between the Naxi Dongba Narrative Tradition and Folk Narrative Tradition
This article examines the concept of "Dongba narrative tradition"—the cultural practice of storytelling by Dongba, the folk ritual priests of the Naxi people in southwestern China, performed within Dongba ceremonies and daily folk customs. This tradition is characterized by religiosity, ritualism, reliance on written pictographic texts, and conservatism, driven by religious belief and practice, using myth as its core content, and formulaic units as its expressive mode. These traits distinguish it markedly from the broader Naxi folk narrative tradition, which is primarily oral, tied to everyday production and life, and serves educational and cohesive social functions. Despite these differences, the author argues that Dongba narrative belongs within the larger scope of Naxi folk narrative, since Dongba priests, rituals, and audiences are fundamentally rooted in folk life. Drawing on historical Chinese sources tracing Naxi ancestors' rich tradition of metaphor and oral eloquence, the study demonstrates intertextuality between the two traditions in narrative function, content, and form—alongside notable non-equivalence in purpose, genre, and expression.
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