A Tentative Interpretation of the Development Trends of Naxi Dongba Culture
This article examines the decline and transformation of Dongba culture among the Naxi people of Lijiang, Yunnan. Discovered and introduced to the world by American scholar Joseph Rock in the early-to-mid 20th century, Dongba culture—preserved through the Dongba religion (a primitive, animistic, polytheistic faith influenced by Bon, Buddhism, and Taoism)—represents a millennium-old civilization documented in the pictographic "Dongba script," one of the world's only living hieroglyphic writing systems. Lijiang's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1997. The authors argue that since religion is the essential core sustaining culture ("without religion, there is no culture"), the decline of Dongba religious practice—suppressed after 1949 and only partially revived recently through new priest training, dance, and music programs—threatens to reduce Dongba culture to a superficial revival lacking authentic spiritual substance. The paper analyzes political, economic, policy, and modernization-related causes of this erosion among younger Naxi generations, calling for greater protection, research, and attention to this endangered world cultural heritage.
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