Naxi Dongba Culture and Feng Shui Beliefs
This article by Tao Lifan examines fengshui (geomancy) beliefs among the Naxi people through the lens of Dongba culture, an area previously unstudied by scholars who focused mainly on Naxi history, Dongba rituals, and pictographic scriptures. The author argues that Naxi fengshui beliefs are evident in Dongba scriptures, village-site selection, and house-building customs, with particular emphasis on burial-site selection reflecting a cautious, conservative worldview. The study traces these beliefs to two foundational Dongba cosmological concepts: yin-yang duality, expressed through paired deities "Dong" (male/yang) and "Se" (female/yin) governing creation myths; and the five-elements (wuxing) system, illustrated by the "Bage Tu" (Eight Trigram-like diagram) originating from the myth of the divine frog's death, whose body parts transformed into the five directional elements. While fengshui beliefs aim to secure good fortune, they also embody rational adaptation to local mountain and river geography, showing clear influences from Han, Tibetan, and Bai cultures.
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